Lisbon and Marrakech

 

After my week on the Douro River Boat I jumped a high speed train to Lisbon where I explored some areas I had visited last year at the same time.  The weather was cold but sunny and it didn't stop me from taking a electric bike tour of the hills of lower Lisbon.  I was accompanied by a guide who was a university professor and learn an enormous amount about the history of Portugal and particularly how the country managed to create itself in the Iberian Peninsula.

I also flew from Lisbon to Marrakech for a short 2 day re visit.  This time I stayed in one of the nicest hotels in the city.  I had pre-arraigned  a guide from my previous visit and we spend about 4 1/2 hours walking and talking through the area and souks( market)

Cruising the Douro River

 

I flew from Houston to Porto Portugal on AirFrance to traverse the Duoro River on the AMA Vida.   This is a medium size river boat built especially for the Duoro.  It is shorter than many of the boats on the European Rivers in order to fit through the locks on the river. There were 5 locks that we engaged on our 7 day cruise.  The tallest being 130 feet.  It takes about 20 min to enter, adjust the water level and then depart the other side.  As we go inland toward the Spanish border we are climbing each level.  

Speaking of the 7 days, we sailed for 3 days usually in the morning as there is no cruising at night on the Douro.  So the mornings were relaxing with lots of food and coffee and using the free internet which was spotty at best.  When it worked I could upload photos. And logon to my trading platform

Meals were served in the dining room on the mid level with tables ranging from 2- 8.  The wait staff was quite good and the food quality was the best I have experienced on a cruise.  Now I'm not going to pretend that I enjoyed all the Portuguese cuisine but there were usually alternatives available.  Several dinners were part of the off ship excursions and they were private dinners at wineries or in the case of the day trip to Salmanac, at a 4 star hotel with Flamingo Dancers.

Speaking of wine,  there was plenty of white and red at each meal with a different Portuguese vintage at each meal.  Then there were the wineries, so I probably sampled a dozen different vintages on my trip.  Each evening for an hour before dinner, the cocktail hour was complimentary.

There was an upper deck with plenty of lounges and a decent size pool.  But we never used it because of the weather.  I would probably be really nice in the summer.  The capacity of this ship was right at 100 guests but we only had 80.   They were all english speaking as our Cruise Director was from the UK.  Slightly more than half were from the US traveling in pairs or foursomes.   I found two couples from Texas and we hung out the entire trip.  Many retirees and not that old.

Day 2 of the trip found us traveling to the Mateus Palace and grounds.  This is a 16th century structure that is half museum and half a private residence of the descendents of the family.  Also a working vineyard with production of the first wines I bought in college.  We had dinner at another winery on the way back to the ship.This was the region where Muscotel grapes are grown.  These grapes, if from a certain area, are used in the production of Port. 

Day 3 We drove about an hour and half up the top of the hills to a historic village of Castelo Rodrigo.  Famous but pretty deserted,  now just open for tourists.  Interesting structures.  This area is home to almonds and olive groves.  We had plenty of tasing in the village and then back to the ship.

So each day the same three buses were waiting for us at our port.  Having been divided on the first evening, we had the same bus and group each day.  They put all the Texans together with the New Yorkers.  That was like oil and water.  Anyway we had a lovely young Portuguese gall who our specific guide and we used theses radio boxes with different channels so we were kept separate from the other 2 groups  It was very organized and efficient

On the fourth day , we took a 2 hour each way bus ride across the Spanish border to the major city of Salamanca.  Claim to fame here is the historic university, one of the largest in Spain.

A one hour walking tour through the old city and fabulous lunch of Paella and Flamenco Dancers in a lovely hotel.

I returned the ship after that long and cold day, had a steak and went to bed

The next morning was the longest segment of cruising and fortunately the sun shone through for the first time and it was a pretty cruise.  That afternoon we bussed to the Pacheca estates where the owner who met us had just returned from receiving the Presidents award for the best Port for 2024.  We sampled it and it was fantastic.

The following morning it was off to the beautiful village of Lamego and the infamous 686 steps from the city center to the opening of the Cathedral.  I did the steps; of course in 17 minutes…,

Lamego is the mountain village that is the most popular for international retirees.

..

And finally the last full day of our cruise was at our departure port of Gaia. This area is directly across the Douro River from Porto and its claim to fame is the storage and aging area for the port wines that are produced and shipped from the Douro Valley.  We were bused to the city center of Porto and a walking tour of the market and the train station. The train station is adorned with multiple ceramics which depict the ancient story of Porto.

After lunch on the ship, a few of us ventured across the street for another port wine tasting.  

I can honestly say that this AMA WATERWAYS CREW of  25 really took care of the 80 of us.  I have been on many cruises but the personal attention that we all received from this crew was really special.  This won’t be my last AMA river cruise.

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The Boys of Summer__Thank you Don Henley

 As the summer comes to an end, I sit here on Labor Day reflecting on the last 3months.  I put my car on a truck in May, packed 1 suitcase and left home for 3-4 months...I've been in this Summit valley with its beautiful lake and mountains, all within reach of my summer apartment.

I've hiked, climbed, been on the water, driven to the casinos for poker tournaments. Been on electric bikes, sat out at the Dillon Amphitheater under the stars listening to fantastic and some not so good music.

I been entrained by friends, eg. Cindy and Brian Atlas, Sherri Atlas, Susan Meyer, Cathy and Will Wiener,

Alan Zieben, Stephen Friedman, Eddie Gertner and sons, Gina and Bruce Taffet, Sandra and John Lopez, Mike Stein.  Wow, I'm not this active in Houston!  But then that's why one comes to the mountains of Colorado in the summer.

I still have another 4 weeks to go.  Who knows what that will bring?

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Hiking Lower Cataract Lake

 

About 45 min. N of Silverthorne on the way to Kremmling and Steamboat are several mountain lakes and reservoirs.  One such lake is called Lower Cataract.  This is fed by the Upper Cataract Lake which is several thousand feet higher up Mt. Powel.  One can drive along a hard packed somewhat rocky road (shouldn't have taken the Tesla) to a trail head which is about 1/2 mile from the lake.  There is a beautiful trail around the circumference of the lake which is less than 4 miles and end up back at the trail head with picnic tables to enjoy a lunch.  That's exactly what I did yesterday with several of my friends here in Summit County.  Cindy and Brian Atlas, Susan Meyer,  Brent and Eileen Ladd , Susan's friend Laurie from Austin as well and the Atlas kids and grandkids....

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4th of July in the mountains

 The favorite holiday wherever you may be in the US is the 4th of  July. Picnics, parades, concerts, bands, and fireworks...This is how they do it in 2 different Colorado mountain towns:  Vail/Avon gathered on their park and Melissa Etheridge entertained for and hour and a half.  The following night in the Dillon Amphitheatre we were treated to Air Force Band and a beautiful sunset over  Lake Dillon.

Hope you enjoyed your 4th.

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The Lake Dillon Bowl

 If you are not familiar with the area around Lake Dillon, this large reservoir was created by damning an area where 3 rivers joined in the 1950's and 1960's to create a water supply for the city of Denver.  The water is tunneled through the continental divide into a reservoir next t  o Denver. There are 4 residential areas clockwise around the lake;  Breckinridge, Frisco, Silverthorne and Dillon.

I'm in a condo about 100 yards from the Lake.  There are plenty of mixed use trails in the area.  I have walked in many directions.  I've walked across the damn and I can walk from my area to the Blue River area in Silverthorne.  There are several parks and restaurants along the river.  On Friday mornings there is a "market" about a 5 min walk from me where about 50 vendors were selling their products.  I bought a "half plank" of  smoked salmon which I ate for the weekend. Friday evening was jam of about 300 people drinking and listening to a local band.  This is the "Frist Friday" social which will be held monthly for the summer.  Saturday am I took a boat ride on the Lake with a member of the Historical Society who gave  me a 1 1/2 hour tour of the lake and the history of area around.  Our boat driver showed me several good fishing areas for my friends that will be visiting this summer.

I'm 30 minutes from Vail and an hour from the Blackhawk Reservation which is loaded with casinos.  I plan to visit them both.  When I start hiking the mountains, I'll have more reports.

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Summer 2024 or Out of the Houston Heat

 
So this summer I'm going to avoid the airports and crowds and cool off in the mountains of Colorado(Texas-North).  I decided on the Dillon / Silverthorne area from my previous visits to the area. I started looking for suitable rental early in the year and with the help of Zillow I found this 2 1/2 Br condo overlooking Lake Dillon. Having  done the 16 hour drive before, I'm a big fan of putting the car on the truck and meeting it in Denver on the plane.  After several days of of no response from the truckers, I got a call on  Memorial Day from a heavy accented driver who said he would pick up my car in 2 hours.   Lucky for me, I had been briefed that this interaction was not only possible but probable.  The car was packed and off the Tesla went late Monday afternoon.  I spent Tuesday closing my Condo and early Wednesday caught a flight to Denver where I was met my cousin Bruce and his significant other Gina.   We spent 3 days around Parker, Co including a drive to the the Castle Pines golf course where the BMW invitational will be held in August. This is also the course that for years was a televised gold tournament called the International which had a unusual scoring mechanism but was a very popular spectator tournament.

After drooping Bruce and Gina at the airport for their trip back East, it was an easy 90 min. drive.  Essentially no traffic, but I'm sure as the summer progresses this will change.

The first morning I took a small walk in the neighborhood to check out the Dillon Amphitheater home of many summer concerts and the Lake.  My complex is directly across the street from the amphitheater 

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