Day 7: A Portal to the Past - Porto

Our group on the other side of the Atlantic

Two summers ago, I was selected to serve as a Teacher Ranger Teacher for the National Parks Service. This basically means that I was an educational intern. I worked throughout the summer evaluating the educational program offered at Salem Maritime National Park and was able to design and update a few lessons as well.  It was a really fun way to spend the summer. 

As I worked on several lessons focused on Salem's Maritime trade in the early 1800s, I kept on coming across Porto in the primary sources that I was examining (captain's logs, manifests, etc). While I had previously traveled to Portugal, I had never been to Porto.  It led me, in some ways, to offering this trip to the kids. Well, today, we made it to Porto.  I am so glad we did! It really lives up to the hype. 

Yesterday's breakfast critic admitted that he preferred yesterday's offerings to todays!

With only a few days left in our tour, some of the kids have realized that they can catch a little extra sleep if they choose to skip breakfast. Today's offerings were fairly standard, but the bacon and the beans were not there. I did make a warm ham, turkey, cucumber, and cheese sandwich. It got me ready for the day. Most of the kids seem to be eating cereal, fruit, and other common breakfast regulars...I don't see many sandwiches among them.

We boarded our bus just after 815am and headed for Porto. It is over an hour from here and mostly everyone napped on the ride. Again, the suspension on these buses are great. Our first destination was a river cruise along the Douro River. If we wanted a narration, there was a QR code for your phone, but most of use opted to just take in the sights. This city really is postcard ready. Below are a collection of photos from the cruise. The kids all took a bunch too:

This was our boat. We boarded first and had the best seats!

Right before boarding!

About to disembark.

These cable cars help people get from the docks to the upper hills. We didn't have a chance to ride them, but it is a reason to come back!

The river is deep in a valley and Porto surrounds it. Very high bridges connect the sides of the city into one. 

The whole river was lined with houses and restaurants stacked upon each other. 

Old and New, Porto's history is apparent everywhere you look!

A modern rail bridge. it was very high...a modern vehicle bridge in the background

The way the other half lives, lol.

A view up the streets of Porto! Will our legs be able to handle it?

Our cruise took us to the edge of the river and the Atlantic

Heading back to the docks!

After we landed, we returned to the bus and Horacio navigated the winding hills and walled blind spots up and down many of the hills that make up this city. We crossed into the old town and broke for a quick lunch before our walking tour began. 

This was our meeting spot for the day. 

My first churro of the trip, generously donated by one of the students!

A customary Porto hotdog, complete with ham, cheese, and potato sticks. Everyone who ordered said it was great.

My lunch was a Pernil Sandwich with some french fries.

I'm always happiest after I eat.

Walking down hill to return to our meeting spot.

Our walking tour today was scheduled for 2.5 hours. I think we all appreciated that we could eat beforehand, but as you might be able to tell, it was hot out today. Our guide, Joshua (I think that was his name), made sure we had plenty of rest stops and several were at places where we could get a drink or some fresh fruit. He told us all about the city while we walked up, and up, and up, and sometimes down, but only then to go up again.  At one point, near the highest point in the city, he said we could walk up a tower that had 250 steps and followed a narrow winding staircase. Needless to say, I decided against that challenge, but most of us conquered the task. You'll have to look for the kids pictures of the view of the city, but here are some shots I took of our walk:

Walking uphill, I had just walked down that hill, lol

A cat mural. It was purrfect!

Inside the train station. It was adorned with tiles in both Dutch and Portuguese tradtions

The kids attention was trained onto Joshua's every word!

Now a nightclub, this building used to be apartments for some very important writers. 

Some Sachems were in that tower at the time of this picture. Some where on ground level!

JK Rowling lived in Porto when she started writing Harry Potter. This fountain supposedly inspired her.

Walking down a hill, to go up a hill.

Their don't walk sign looks like Sasquatch. 

Another market, filled with food vendors. Quite a few kids got smoothies and fruit cups. 

A performance at the market. The music was fun and the audience laughed at the guy who was speaking to them. I think it was comedy inspired. 

When we take a walking tour, like this, it is common for us to use "whisper" headsets. It is a radio transmitter that the guide wears while we listen through receivers and headphones. It isn't a perfect solution to large crowds, but it helps. Sometimes, they have interference and the kids grow tired of them. That kind of happened in Salamanca, but Carmen was really good and didn't need them to catch our attendance. Today, they worked fine, but it was so nice out that the kids were happy just looking around and walking (Truth be told, most of the kids were listening). It was a lot...we logged in 18k steps today and the equivalent of 47 floors (and that doesn't include the tower stairs that the other kids walked).  

The reason I mention the whispers is because Stefano had told the kids if they all returned their receivers today, then he would give them a surprise. The surprise was a quick trip to the beach!

The three schools were very excited to visit the beach. Many of them quickly discarded their shoes and ran across the sand to dip their toes in the cold Atlantic Ocean. Some of the kids played some beach volleyball with Stefano. Others sat on a stone wall embracing the cool sea breeze that cooled our sunburned necks, arms, and faces. 

I had told the kids that Porto and Saugus were basically just 1' off from each other when we consider latitude. This means that directly across the Atlantic was their homes, their families, and their friends. It makes sense why Salem merchants would seek out this place, on the other side of the world, to make their living. It makes sense as to why so many Portuguese Americans live in or near Saugus. As I told the kids about the latitude, I mentioned it to the kids from Oxford too. While it's an hour from us, it is basically on the same latitudinal plane. That's when the group leader from Racine, Wisconsin looked up their town...they are on the same latitude as us! Three groups of kids all lined up together for a group shot mimicking geographic lines! Who would have thought!

Sometimes, the further away from home you are reminds you of how much you love your home!

 

Tomorrow, we make our way to Lisbon, via Coimbra and Fatima. It will be another hot day and we have several walking tours before the next hotel. I am sure we will all be exhausted. It's just two more days of touring before the long journey home. It seems like we just got here and now we are seeing the end of our trip just in front of us. 

As I write this blog, it is just past 10pm. A few kids have walked next door to a local pizza shop in hopes of ice cream and our hotel has been infiltrated by a school from Ottawa, Canada. They are running a day behind us, but on the same itinerary. Those kids, and ours, were just outside playing soccer and having fun. These are some of my favorite moments while on tour. Writing and chatting with kids about what they've seen and what has stood out to them. We only have a few more moments like this, so I won't send them to bed right away. Just don't tell them that is a key to staying up!

Mr. Lavoie, being pleasantly surprised with a slice of crispy bacon and pepperoni pizza while hanging out in the lobby.