Woke to snow on the mountain tops this morning and freezing cold which soon progressed to steady rain. So we made the executive decision to have a lie in, a late breakfast and to head straight to Pinhao rather than explore side towns in the rain. Good decision!

It was a bit of a long road to Pinhao but divided roads the whole way. Because we are using the toll roads there is very little traffic- but rest assured we will pay the price later, with tolls ranging from 45 cents to 6 Euros!

The trip involved lots of long uphills (up to about 1000 meters elevation) and long steep down hills with lots of signs warning to check brakes, beware of black ice etc. The down hills all had side ramps, no doubt for trucks whose breaks get a bit hot- we were glad that being a Saturday we didn’t find ourselves in front of a truck on a long downhill.

Arrived in Pinhao early afternoon. Pinhao is a small wine making village right on the banks of the Douro River- the main wine growing region in Portugal. Our hotel is set right on the banks of the river- a bit gloomy today but still beautiful.

We had lunch at a local winery, followed by a walk (or should I say waddle)through town. Food , wine and scenery were sensational.