CUWHC + 3 brave CUMHC boarded an incredibly early flight from sunny Stansted to weather warnings in Porto. We arrived in style (comfort Bolts) to our gorgeous apartments and immediately ventured out to sample some of the local delicacies, before coming back for a well deserved nap. Our first day was rounded off by far too many renditions of White Flag in the local karaoke bar.
It was a late start to day 2, with a relaxed beach trip to Praia do homen do Lemme, featuring sunbathing, paddling, pier jumping and some very sandy sandwiches. Had to rush back for a scenic boat trip down the River Douro where we were treated to stunning views and in true Cambridge style, an in depth explanation of the structural mechanics of the many bridges we passed (cheers Prof Julian Allwood and IA Structural Design). To carry on the wholesome vibes of the day, our night ended with a pub crawl organised by our brand new social sec for the 26-27 season.
Day 3, after waking up suitably early, we explored the old town, had a relaxed team brunch and some brave individuals dared to dip in the Douro. A highlight of the trip was watching the sunset at the Jardim do morro, with a beautiful panoramic view of the river and city. In the evening, we donned our best outfits of the trip (hand selected by our peers) to make our way to an informal, late team dinner at one of Porto’s finest establishments.
Our first sporting activity of the trip was a competitive padel outing on day 4, where we reinforced the CUHC multidisciplinary sporting excellence. Some of the more intrepid adventurers among us braved the Jardins do Palacio de Cristal in our sweaty kit, where we meandered round a Portuguese book market and stopped to see another gorgeous view over the main porto bridge. To refuel, we had a team dinner at Time Out market where we integrated into the culture by trying all the local food.
On our final day, we eventually picked up our sticks, making the effort/expense of the oversized sticks carry-on worth it. We played a great friendly against GD Viso and the scoreline reflected how well matched the teams were, with the first game of the CUHC season ending in a 3-2 win for the light blues (we start how we mean to go on). Thank you GD Viso for hosting us and our amazing tour secs for organising the trip!
We will do our best to get back to you as soon as possible.
