Whilst in Portugal I took a cruise from Oporto,
upriver through the vineyards as far as Regua where a coach met us to take us
to Lamego for the rest of the week.
We boarded the boat at Vila
Nova de Gaia which is the side of the river where the
Port Wine Lodges are located (yes, we did visit one of them and got to sample
some port). Having sailed beneath the D.
Luis I and Dona Maria bridges - the latter designed by Gustave Eiffel - we soon
left Oporto and
were out into the peaceful countryside.
Historically the River Douro was a vital link between the wine valleys
and Oporto from
where the wine is exported all over the world.
In days gone by when the grapes were picked by hand and then trodden the
barrels of wine were transported down river on Rabello boats. Throughout September - harvest time - the
river would have been crowded with these sail boats. Very picturesque.
Now that road and rail links have been improved the river is no longer
used to transport the wine but the boats, which are often anchored in Oporto, are used during
Fiesta times.
The Douro River Valley
is a Unesco World Heritage Site so it is very unspoiled and delightful. During the cruise we passed by woodlands,
some coming down to the river’s edge, others with great granite boulders. Dotted about the landscape are farms, houses,
villages and towns. We saw plenty of
birds including herons and, by looking carefully in the wooded areas, saw a few
mountain goats.
The landscapes are an artist’s (or photographers) dream, with the clean
and pure air adding a luminescence to the scenery. Add to that the sparklingly clear river water
and you can understand why this cruise is so popular.
The vineyards seem to be on every available space - flatland and
hills. Most of the rows of grapes go in
one direction but sometimes due to the shape of the hill there will be one or
two with the rows in different directions.
As the picking of grapes is now mechanised, rather than the rows being
close together giving a lush aspect there is more space between them so the
fields look like an ochre fabric with narrow bands of green.
Those passengers not going to
Lamego or further along the river, disembark at Regua and take a train back to Oporto.
