We left the Douro and ventured both north and south up in the mountains. We were met by a very different landscape The first four images are from Vale de Mendez, north of the river at an altitude of between 250 and 450 metres. The vines are still growing at these altitudes and the hillsides were covered in wine plantations.
South of the river Tore and I ventured higher up on a plateau in the mountains reaching an altitude of 1,200 metres. This is far above where any vineyards can exist and we saw a desolate landscape, where not much could grow except lots of wind turbines. It was quite cold and very windy, when we were there and far away from the pleasant temperatures we had near the river Douro.
