1880 Facts about Port and Madeira by Henry Vizetelly

64

In the Port Wine Country.

■we proceed onward to tlie Ponte do Passadoura, a mstic bridge spanning tbe Pinbao, bere little more tban a tortuous torrent. Tbe Pinbao crossed, we wind up a precipitous road skirting some extenswe -vineyards, wbicb bne either side of tbe way, till tbe summit of tbe bill is reached, when tbe eye looks over avast stretch of -undulating country, -with -vines and olives climbing tbe nearer mountain slopes, and pine-trees fringing tbe distant crests. We pass an occasional casa or two, and overtake some bullock-carts -with four struggling o-sen straining -with their utmost strength to drag a pipe of brandy up tbe steep acclivity, while their drivers encourage them by shouts or taunt them with remonstrances such as "One would think you hadn't eaten anything since yesterday—why are you so lazy?" Several parties of -vintagers are encountered going home for tbe night, and just as dusk has fallen around a bend in the road brings us to the outskirts of the picturesque but by no means cleanly village of Celleiros. The villages of the Alto Douro, when seen a little way off, girt round about -with -vines and groves of orange, oak, chestnut, cork, and olive trees, -with a distant panorama of undulating mountains rising up behind them, have usually a pleasing air of rustic repose. A cloudlet of blue smoke curls above the bright- roofed cottages ; cask-laden bullock-carts wind slowly andinhar- moniously between the vineyards, -where carolling -vintage girls are plucking the grapes; pedlars with their mules jog leisurely along, and women pass to and fro balancing stone jars of water or far heavier burdens on their heads; a tolling church bell re-echoes do-wn the valley, whence the shouts of gambolling children from time to time ascend. The scene is full of light and colour; the village is nestled so cosily under the mormtain- side, its casas gleam so brightly in the sun, the embowering trees are barely touched by the tints of autumn, and everything looks pleasant, lightsome, and clean. Should you, however, venture upon a closer acquaintance its pretensions either to beauty or cleanliness speedily vanish. The squalid houses, rudely built, are too frequently grimy on the outside and foul