No trip to Portugal would be complete without a few days in the Douro. As we live in Hawkes Bay and love our wine, the Douro was a definite on the itinerary from the very beginning.  Many friends, and indeed customers at the Green Door had told us how beautiful this part of Portugal is. They were certainly right and we were glad we had given ourselves three nights to enjoy the upper end of the Douro – the Alto Douro. We chose Tabuaco as our base as it is not far from Pinhao but set above the river with great views across to the other side.   How many pictures of the terraces does a person need I thought after the second day.  The terraces of grapes are a bit like the sea.  People who live by the sea often say that no two days are the same.  Well, the same could easily be said about the terraced hillsides of the Douro.  Every hour the scene changes as the sun moves over them placing  shadows at different angles throughout the day. Both sides of the upper Douro are smothered in vines with pockets of olives to help with land stabilisation.  However, as it appears that the vines grow practically in rock! – the land is very stable.  So much more than in NZ.  There’s no way we could terrace hillsides like they have here for hundreds and hundreds of years.  It is indeed quite a sight and a taste or two of 25yr old Porto certainly helps it along.