Santiago is the capital of Galicia, the northwestern part of Spain. It is the culmination of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, and the alleged burial site of the biblical apostle St. James. His remains reportedly lie within the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela, consecrated in 1211. The city has a well preserved historic center lined with narrow, medieval streets, and has a rich Galician culture and cuisine.

The cathedral, constructed mainly between 19075-1122, has a Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque design. Each facade with its square constitute a large urban square.

The city is alive with trekkers, dressed in casual clothes and normally with backpacks and walking poles. We stayed in an old convent converted to a luxury hotel, the Palacio del Carmen. Dining was enjoyable at this hotel, for both dinner and breakfast, and the rooms were modern and comfortable.

Our next stop was the little town of Pinhao right in the wine country of the Duoro Valley. The whole area is spectacular. Below is a view of the Pinhao River where it meets the Duoro River. Interestingly the Duoro has its beginnings in Spain – where there is a well known wine area called Ribera del Duoro that we visited later in the trip – and continues on the Portugal, eventually meeting the Atlantic at Porto.

The vineyards are located on the steep banks of the river, and are by necessity all managed by hand – prepping, planting, growing and cultivating and harvesting. Typically they are built in horizontal steps, often with slate stairs between levels.

We spent two nights at the Vintage House in Pinhao, a lovely hotel right on the river; every room was on the water side, and there were two bars right on the river. Many day cruise were based in front of the hotel. Our first day started with a private two hour cruise on the Feel Duoro downstream to Folgosa. Our hostess was Carlotta and the captain was Paolo. Carlotta was very informative about the whole region, so the trip was educational as well as scenic.

We debarked at Folgosa and walked about 150 feet to the restaurant D.O.C., owned by the renowned chef Rua Paula. We enjoyed a cheese board with honey and marmalade, grilled prawns, a crisp white wine and a lovely creme brule.

Our next stop, with Nuno our driver/guide, was the winery Pacheco. Here we sampled a white, a red and two ports. We left with two bottles of vintage port.

After a rest, Nuno took us across the street and rail tracks from the hotel to a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant, where we huddled around a small table and dined. The fare was a flaming chorizo, cheese and meat tray and sliced onions in olive oil. What fun!

The next day we began with a nearby visit to Quinta do Bomfin, one of the Duoro Valley’s greatest vineyard and winery. This winery is part of Symington Family Estates. The family is a combination of British and Portugese origins, and the 4th and 5th h=generations are still active in the business. The firm owns several of the big names in port, including Graham’s, Dow’s, Warre’s and Cockburn’s. They also produce Douro wines in 26 different quintas in the valley.

We spent some time in the visitor entrance at this quinta, which has a large display of family and business history. We then stepped out onto a lovely terrace overlooking the Douro River, and tasted a variety of wines and ports.

After a delightful tasting – and a port purchase – we headed off in the van downstream to Peso de Regua and a stop at the old train station. An old storage building has been converted to a charming restaurant, where we enjoyed another lovely meal.

We then headed on a drive into Spain and our next stop at Santiago.

Crazy Horse Memorial

On our last day in Rapid City, we headed off to see the Crazy Horse Memorial, a mountain monument under construction in the Black Hills. It will depict the Oglala Lakota warrior Crazy Horse riding a horse and pointing to his tribal land. The memorial was commissioned by Henry Standing Bear, a Lakota elder, to be sculpted by Korczak Ziolkowski. It is operated by the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit organization.

The master plan includes the mountain carving monument, a Native American Museum and a cultural center. The monument is being carved out of Thunderhead Mountain, on land considered sacred by some Lakota, on land roughly 17 miles from Mount Rushmore. The sculpture’s final dimensions are planned to be 641 feet long and 563 feet high. The face of Crazy Horse, completed in 1998, is 87 feet high; the Presidents at Mount Rushmore are 60 feet high.

Needles Highway

The Needles Highway is a 14 mile scenic drive within Custer State Park, featuring dramatic granite spires, narrow tunnels, and hairpin turns. Completed in 1922, thee highway is part of the peter Norbeck Scenic Byway and is known for its winding course and the stunning beauty of the Black Hills. Key features include granite formations, tunnels, curves and bridges, wildlife and Sylvan Lake.

On our way from Porto to Pinhao on the Duoro River, we stopped at Casa de Juste for a tour and a cooking class. This estate is located about 60 km northeast of Porto. The manor house dates from the sixteenth century and has been in the Riba Duoro family for 18 generations. The property has a number of buildings and several acres of gardens. It is today considered a historical site by the Portugese Association of Historical Gardens. It is owned and managed today by Ana and Fernando Guedas and their family.

Fernando gave us a wonderful tour of the gardens, the small chapel and the main house. He is currently about to become head of the garden association. Ana helped us prepare a wonderful lunch of tomato soup with a poached egg (very Portugese), baked chicken, rice and tarte tatin for dessert. Cooking and eating was accompanied by a Casa de Juste vineyard green (young) wines – a rose and a white.

After a long visit and a great lunch, we headed over the mountains to Pinhao.