Usually, and in terms of human memory function, it is not the destination that is remembered as much as what happens within the destination, and often the journey toward the destination.
In this Memoryscapes feature it was Casas do Coro, another time where we traveled to a place we knew nothing about.
It was one of the exceptional offbeat, off boat days as we traveled on a Viking River cruise, exploring the Douro River in Portugal.
The Viking River cruises often have tours to unique places near the river, and this was one of them.
We were going to Marialva, to the Casas do Coro, in the hills of northeast Portugal.
Driving past signs of civalisation
After the last hour, going up a somewhat dusty hill, we drove past signs of civilization: a graveyard, a beautiful old Catholic Church, a few colorful houses, then finally to the Casas do Coro resort.
It was so worth the trip as had never seen anything like it.It was a resort where large gardens grew -- they grew their own food for their restaurant.
Their grapes, ripe, and plentiful, hung from the sides of entrances, exits, everywhere grapes could grow.
The Marialva Fortress
But above the Casas do Coro were ruins, a tall fortress, with battlements. What were they? Who was there, and defending against whom?
We discovered that the Marialva Fortress stands on a hill, a little over 2000 feet above Casas Do Coro, overlooking the westernmost edge of an Iberian Peninsula plateau.
Its history is sketchy, but it is known that a Roman city, Civitas Aravorum was here in 179 AD.
Not much else is known, but walking on the ancient stones, and seeing ruins that included an actual pillory, we saw how serious this ancient fortress was.
Even though much of its history is lost, the partial structures remain, and at the pinnacle of the fortress, we still observed the land, village, vineyards, and plateaus.And directly below us was the Casas do Coro.
A place where our memory boggles
We have been to many resorts, but never one that lies in the shadow of substantial ruins, a place where our memory boggles, trying to combine mysteries of the past with pleasures of the present.
In the shadows of late afternoon, we drank the rosé made from the grapes grown on and near the property.
Though not completely well-aged, the taste was wonderful, the color was glorious as it reflected the late summer sky, yet through the glass we could also see the dusky shadows of the fortress.
The colors of past and present seemed to balance here, such a memorable, rose-colored experience.
https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions
Other Memoryscape features
Other features in Susan Kime's Memorscape series :
- Boen Gaard, Tveit, Norway : https://www.allwaystraveller.com/continents/europe/boen-gaard-tveit-norway
- Mashpi Lodge, Ecuador : https://www.allwaystraveller.com/allways-features-home/mashpi-lodge-in-ecuador-s-cloud-forest