Well, what I said was a joke, isn't really a joke, at least for those not living in Portugal, because, as you know, there are certain "jokes" which are understood only by a few... I guess it's more a "saying" or a kind of explanation for the word Oporto. Well, it's said that, some time ago, when English people came to Porto because of the Porto wine cellars (which, as you may know, are on the other bank of Douro river, so they are not really in Porto but in V.Nova de Gaia city- did you know that!?) they heard the workers say: "Bou ó Porto", meaning "I'm going to Porto", when they should say, in correct Portuguese:" Vou ao Porto". But what the English heard actually was "...ó Porto", and then the word got into their vocabulary as Oporto. Of course this "saying", or joke must have been invented by someone living in the South of Portugal.... they are always making fun of Porto citizens' way of pronouncing words... they think(and I think it's true) we have a peculiar accent. Anyway, this is the furthest (can I say this??!) I know about the origin of the English word Oporto. I hope none of you gets too frustrated with "the joke".
By the way, I was given this explanation by a student of mine! Weird, isn't it? We learn all our lives, isn't it?
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Manuela R. (now Seagull)