----- Aveiro -----
(Including Costa Nova)
We left Guimarães and headed to the coast, to Aveiro, a few miles south of Porto. Aveiro is sometimes called the "Venice of Portugal" because of the high-prowed boats that ply its many canals.
Our hotel had its own, easy to find, underground parking. It was a nice place but a long walk from the center of town.
The boats, called "moliceiro" were originally used to harvest seaweed which was used as fertilizer.
Nowadays, they haul tourists around the canals. "Venice of Portugal" may be a stretch, but we found Aveiro to be a nice little town.
The prows are adorned with some interesting scenes.
We found a nice little sidewalk cafe. I don't think we ordered off this board but the food was good and the beer was cold.
I think I had pork
The cafe was on a side street that looked like this.
Saw this bottle in the window of a beer/wine store. Interesting that "American IPA" qualifies as Artisanal Beer in Portugal.
Loved the bright colors
A view from the little pedestrian bridge across the canal
Some local produce. Another local product is salt. It has long been harvested here and is used for their salt cod called "Bacalhau". They also sell packets of it for souvenirs. We bought some.
I never got tired of the paver patterns in Portugal. Beats the heck out of poured concrete and plain old cobblestone.
These college kids looked like they were introducing the newbies to their school traditions. Maybe a little hazing was involved but they all seemed to be laughing and having a good time.
Aveiro pavers had a pronounced maritime theme
Sailboats, anchors...
Crabs!
Another great bottle of wine from Douro
Our lunch: pizza, wine, and bottled water
We got a ride to Costa Nova, the beach town across the lagoon from Aveiro. (Notice the fish motif in the pavers.)
There were some tourist shops, for sure, but the town was very nice. I suppose in the summer it gets crowded.
Many of the houses a painted with colorful vertical stripes.
This main street faces the lagoon with open areas, wide walkways, pleasure boat marinas and commercial fishing facilities.
Part of the pedestrian promenade
Little cafes and shops were interspersed amidst the residential buildings.
Black and white photo
The dunes, the beaches and the ocean are out back.
This is the opposite of most places in the US where there are barrier islands like this. We put the main buildings and boardwalk right on the beach, not such a good idea.
The Costa Novans did it right. This is just a bit of the beach.
Another bit of the beach
Jack and Lorri on the beach
They built these walkways for easy access and dune preservation.
We kept walking and finally found a nice place to grab a bite.
This was one of the few places we saw that was built on or near the sand.
So we had lunch, Vinho Verde, of course
and some local clams and fresh crusty bread
It was a little breezy so we ate inside
Speaking of local seafood...
I stepped inside a fish market and here is what I saw!
fish, fish, fish
and more fish! and some octopus!
Looking back across the lagoon toward Aveiro
More fish!
We took the bus back to town for about two Euros each, a great deal and fun little excursion.
After a long day, we found and Irish Pub and had some Guinness for our strength!
