Debi and Jack sailing on SV Iroquois

We're at the Douro Marina which is just a mile or so up the Douro River toward Porto. It's actually in a small fishing village named Gaia, that we were told was a "very traditional " fishing village. And yes, it appears to be so. There are older women dressed in black and some with headscarves. You also see many handmade dresses, shirts and especially aprons. It's clearly become a tourist attraction based on the number of restaurants, bars and cafes. Also, there's a community laundry building on the waterfront at the mouth of the river where the fishermen's wives wash clothes and hang them to dry on lines supported by tree branches that are held in place with rocks. It's something tourists come to see. Interesting. I'm happy that we got lost in the uphill neighborhoods and came across a smaller version, without tourists. They have diverted river water into concrete tanks. It looks like one for washing and one for rinsing. Much more civilized than washing on rocks in the river like in Nicaragua but not the high tech machines they had in Baiona either.  I would feel strange gawking at people washing their clothes somehow. Maybe because I have had people gawk at me with my bucket washing on pontoons and docks. We tried to go to the local market, but nothing was open so we just walked around the village. In Germany, England,  France, and even Spain we could sometimes blend in--not a chance of that here, people stare like we are martians or something.  Also our Portuguese vocabulary is virtually nil so we can't even begin to communicate. Everyone speaks English though. There is a massive Meier type supermarket in the uphill neighborhood, and they supposedly deliver to the marina so we may end up just shopping there.
For lunch we tried one of the many grilled fish restaurants in the village. They served a very interesting cornbread. It seemed to be yeasted and with a very crispy crust on top and bottom. I'm not sure how they did it, but I plan to experiment until I master it. We also had a brochette of grilled squid and prawns and a plate of grilled sardines. Jack says he may have finally had enough grilled sardines and can start branching out to other fishes! We walked along the river about 4 km to the port wine cellars. There is a nice pedestrian walkway all along the river. Periodically in the concrete they have placed metal holders for fishing poles and there are many people fishing. We visited a couple of tasting rooms where we tried white, ruby and tawny ports and went on a tour of the Ferreira house. There was a lot to learn, but I don't know how much I will remember.  Ruby ports are aged in big barrels and stay red because they have less contact with the oak whereas tawny ones are aged in small barrels so they get more of the wood flavor and color. That's about what I remember. We definitely noticed that some were better than others, maybe it was just the later ones were better than the first though because we were less discerning. On the way back we stopped to look at the Santa Maria Manuela, which is a massive sailing vessel we had seen on the horizon before we entered the river yesterday. We saw on the AIS that its destination was Porto and we heard them talking on the radio. Anyway, on our walk back to the marina today she was tied up along the river and Jack started talking to the crew who were hanging over the rail. The next I knew we were invited aboard and given a private tour. It was built in the 30s for long line cod fishing in the Grand Banks, but has been converted to a "training " and charter boat. It's been completely redone below and above decks. Although the cabins for the trainees didnt look so different from the bunks we have seen for  fishermen in other boats, maybe there were just fewer bunks in one cabin. All in all it was a day of surprises.  Wonder what tomorrow will bring.