Snaking 200 miles through northern Portugal, the Rio Douro or “river of gold” flows from northern Spain through Portugal to its mouth in Porto and then, the Atlantic Ocean. It is the 3rd longest river on the Iberian peninsula. The Portuguese wine growing area, the Alto Douro, an area of over 21,000 acres of terraced hillsides may be one of the most beautiful grape growing areas in the world and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.
Wine has been made in this area for nearly 2,000 years. For the past 300 years, authentic Port has been made only from grapes from the Douro Valley. Beyond Port, Douro Valley table wines have recently won accolades from Wine Spectator, etc. This is the oldest demarcated wine region in the world. It can be visited by car, train, boat and even helicopter.
We set sail for Entre-Os-Rios, our first docking location in mid afternoon and by 5:30 we were up river and docking. We left our fellow passengers on the boat and took a stroll to get some exercise and see the small town we were in. Entre-Os-Rios may be most widely known for the March 2001 Hintze Ribeiro disaster when the Hintze Ribeiro Bridge, made of steel and concrete, collapsed in Entre-os-Rios killing 59 people, including those in a bus and three cars that were crossing the Douro river.
The next day, we left the boat for the lovely Quinta Aveleda, known for their beautiful gardens on 25 acres and many, many more acres of wine grapes. Vineyards in Portugal are called ‘Quintas’. This a private estate owned by the Guedes family who have been producing wine here since 1870 but the main building dates back to 1671. Over 6 generations, the family has collected plants and trees from all over the world. We also got to taste their Vinho Verde with cheese samplings but we thought the green wine they serve on the boat tasted better. Since we were in a group of 90 people, somehow I doubt they put their finest in front of us.
This goat shed in the background was originally part of the house where Prince Henry the Navigator was born!
Once back at the boat, we headed up river and around 3pm arrived at the Carrapatelo Dam. It is 57 meters tall (height above foundation). It has the deepest lock in Europe at 115 ft. Here is a minute video of going into and out of the lock.
After leaving the lock a good bit higher, we made our way to Regua for our next night’s dockage. All cruise ship travel only happens during the daylight hours due the narrow nature of parts of the Douro River and the fact that water levels can vary greatly due to rain. There have been times of heavy rain that cruise ships were stopped at some bridges because the water was too high. Too high even after lowering the roof top shade awning, the captain’s control room, and all antennas. It is amazing how they can nearly flatten the top deck when needed.
Super. Well done. You can easily relive these trips in time to come!
Dan