Around, above and in Pinhao

Our breakfast in the accommodation was had precisely at 8:30 at the direction of the caretaker and we were very aware that even though she could not speak English we would not want to incur her wrath by being tardy.

As expected and warned, the town of Pinhao was closed at the time we decended on it. Driving in instead of walking was a great idea as it saved 30 mins and we knew we had to there by 10 in order to join that tour time. The girl in the tour shop was still waking up, however kindly took our money and got things arranged. Thought we were going on a 3 hour cruise, however as it transpired it was 2 hours on wheels and 1 on keels. And it was fabulous.
Started off with our guide showing us the train station murals which were about 120 years old showing the history of the place.

As it transpires the Roman's started it all by creating the terraces as they had recognized the soil and atmosphere was good at producing vino. Then the Venetian, the Ottomans, the Spanish...yadda yadda as per the rest of the continent. The Poms really got stuck into it though as the French were starting to charge too much for their grog. Some bright spark came up with the idea of adding brandy to the wine to stop it evaporating by the time it got to London and thus port was born. And they've been sucking the stuff out of the place ever since. Most of the area is now owned by big conglomerates of English origins and we figure this is probably one reason there are still strong ties between the two countries. That and a general disdain for frog legs in garlic.
We then piled into a van and drove up a steep winding road and through a small village with ridiculously tight access to what has been rated as one of the best view points in the world.

It was good. It was spectacular and as the sun had come out and we were in no particular hurry and our personal guide seemed chilled we hung around for a bit enjoying the vista. "Best in the world" is a big call though. Suspect the judges have not stood on the top of Uluru to compare. However, given current circumstances, they never will.
It was great and as stated later...thus whole experience is almost sensory overload, seriously - how much stupendous sights can one take in before loosing the ability to truly appreciate it? This bloggers answer is to capture it all via devices and thus allowing reconsumption at a later time. Many snaps later we poured back into the van and headed back down the to one of the vineyards highlighted to us from up top to have a briefing before tasting of their wares.
We are really lucky to be here when there are minimal crowds. The town has approx. 350 residents. Last year they had over 2 million visitors. Apparently you can't move when they swarm in. We pretty much had the place to ourselves over the public holiday weekend, suspect it may ramp up in the next couple of days.
It's great to see the area has been granted UNESCO heritage status. This means that the dogooders from afar have effectively doomed the town into disrepair as the locals no longer have the fiscal capacity to maintain their homes. Gotta love bureaucracy, especially when it inadvertently destroys what it is charged to protect. In the meantime we paid good dosh to keep many peoles employed (not all locals obviously - there aren't enough of them). Cynical comment, as our guides dad had worked and stayed as a young kid in the impressive, sadly now abandoned, vineyard across the river. After the tour and tipple it was indeed onto the river we went.

This time we had to actually share the experience with another person! Luckily he had a floppy dog companion, so he was sort of local (native at least) and was therefore welcome to our fold. The river from the surface is (hmmm...running out of superlatives again ... I know ...let's go understated for a while...) quite nice. The warm sun was making the whole area glow in a range of pleasant colours whilst the gentle warm breeze ruffled the uncontained hairs of the vessels occupants whilst they absorbed the vista's of the surrounds as the commentary from the guide highlighted items of interest. Those items were all relating to mankind's achievements (and thus dominance of the landscape ) in the area.

The alligator lurking in the river was almost as funny as the naivity of those who believed its existence. Floating sticks aside it was a very pleasant time with the sensory overload levels still being tested. Also got a taste of non official port on the trip. Not sure if they are eagles or Egyptian Vultures circling above the eucalyptus on the banks and we'll probably never know. They were spotted later on riding the thermals to significant heights above the hills.
Back on shore we managed to scavenge some take away rolls from the one open establishment in town and drove back to the luxurious pad to consume them. Diverging on the way to ditch non-blogger whilst sorting out dinner bookings. Collecting her again it was simply a case of acceptance of the stand alone middle finger and heading home.
After a well earned siesta the four of us walked back down to the main river, making sure as many different photos could be taken of the roman bridge on the way - to a restaurant with views, food, drinks all of very good quality and competitive (to home) prices.
We all agreed it was the best meal of the adventure so far given all the above aspects and rating criteria.

Strolling back to the accommodation the town was totally quiet exceptfor the barking of one line dog and a taxi ferrying folks around. When there, the girls went to bed and the boys enjoyed a nightcap whilst being verbally overun by an enthusiastic Aussie. Unfortunately we did not travel to the otherside of the world to have a bubbling compatriate invading personal spaces. Luckily he drifted off - as did we. After all - there is a blog to maintain here.