Posted October 22, 2019
Porto is our last stop in Portugal, not counting our night in Lisbon to catch our early morning flight to Bangkok, coming up in a few days.
We’ve had six nights and five full days to enjoy this beautiful city, with only one full day left. We’ve run around to the major attractions, starting out our first day under heavy clouds, and our second day in the pouring rain.
Thankfully we’d purchased a small magenta umbrella on our way out of Coimbra, which saved us from ending up like giant, sopping wet sponges that day.
Sunshine
We woke up our third morning to bright sunshine, just like our weather app had promised.
Instead of heading down the hill for coffee, as we had done each previous morning, I suggested we try a new direction just to our north.
Truthfully, I only suggested this new route to avoid all the hills in every other direction.
The Ponte Dom Luis I Bridge
All I can say is thank goodness we went the flat and unexplored direction that third morning. The Ponte Dom Luis I bridge, an enormous, pedestrian and metro only bridge spanning 500 feet over the Douro river, laid before us, to our great surprise.
The bridge, made of dark wrought iron, towers high above the river, with steep hillsides plunging down to meet the river on all sides. The bridge was built in 1880, designed by Gustavo Eiffel’s protege, but looks new and modern.
We’d seen the bridge from below our first day out while walking the Ribeira along the waterfront. We had no idea the access was so close to where we were staying, and it wasn’t necessarily on our “to-do” list.
What a View
The sheer expanse of the view was overwhelming.
Looking east, on our left, the sun was having its way with a large patch of morning fog hovering over the bridge upriver. The fog looked like it had been placed there solely for the pleasure of the photographers, who were quickly getting in their shots before it burned off.
We could see at least two other bridges up river, along with the funicular we had taken the prior day hugging the side of the giant hill.
Looking towards the west was historic Porto, in all its splendor. And splendid it was.
We had a breathtaking view of it all. The sunshine was such an added bonus, deepening the reds of the tile roofs, brightening the whites of the stucco buildings, and glittering off the Douro River.
After Dark
We finished out that day, the way it had begun, by visiting our bridge. After all, there was no uphill or downhill to impede us, and I was excited to see the view by night.
The Ferris Wheel was all alight, changing bright colors every minute or so.
Out in the middle of the bridge, enjoying the beautiful night views and the light breeze, I started thinking about what would happen if a big earthquake hit right then. I began looking more critically down at the dark river and tiny buildings so very far below us. Suddenly I was feeling very uncomfortable.
We hightailed it off the iron bridge, and I felt much better once my feet hit solid ground. I’ve never had a reaction to heights before. Maybe it was the mediocre Chinese food we’d had for dinner just prior. Yep, that must have been it.
The Sunset
The next day, we were back “home” after a long day trip to the Douro Valley (home of Port wine). We hurried over at 6:53 pm (thanks again, weather app) to catch the sunset at the bridge. Apparently this is a popular thing to do. The bridge was crowded with tons of tourists, even late October. I can only imagine what it’s like in the summer.
Of course, even the crowds couldn’t detract from the view. It was spectacular. Like two separate sunsets in one, looking east and looking west. Good night Porto.