This is our ship...holds 120 passengers and it's a good size. Gradually meeting most passengers and it's a good mix. Have had great food on the ship but last night's dinner at a local hotel was nothing special. Tonight is the Captain's dinner on board the ship so it should be very nice. Heard about a local summertime drink...white port,tonic,mint & lime. Haven't had one yet but will try it out.

Nothing like port tasting in the morning! Our bus picked us up and we drove up the side of one of the mountains here ( not like the Rockies ) on a very narrow switchback road. The bus driver kept us on the road but lot of people couldn't look outside. The driveways into these estates are usually lined with cypress trees such as the ones in the picture as a sign of welcome. We were greeted by our guide dressed in the black cape and flat Spanish hat typical of th...

Another shot of the valley showing the rows of vineyards. Over 100 grape varieties are used in this area. It's the oldest marcated wine area.

This picture shows the landscape of the area.

We left the ship and hopped on the bus again for a 45 min drive to visit Mateus Palace. We drove through very hilly country with all possible land planted with grape vines. The roots of these vines go down around 45 ft as the climate is very dry and the soil is mostly shale. It's amazing that they grow at all. The villages are all preparing for grape harvest which will start around the first of Sept. They need so much help as it's still done by hand. With the vi...