This is a guest post, coming from a reader who wanted to share their experience of a river cruise:
One of the real pleasures to be had on any river cruise is to be able just to sit back in comfort and watch the world go by. For this you need fine weather, a river that has enough water-borne activity to make it interesting but not too much and a comfortable ship with a friendly and attentive crew. Unless you are very unlucky, a cruise on the Douro will give you all of that.
The Douro, or Duero in Spanish, is approximately 900 km. long from its source in Northern Spain to its mouth at Porto. Only 210 km. of the river is in Portuguese territory but the building of five dams on the Douro as it runs through Portugal has made that whole section, and only that section, of the river navigable. The locks that enable ships to pass the dams limit the size of the ships that can cruise the navigable length.
We chose May for our cruise, which lasted for six days. We expected fine weather and we got it. As it was still springtime, the maximum daytime temperature was a comfortable 24-28 degrees C with lows of 10-14 C. The river was flowing strongly and the hillsides of the Douro Valley with their terraces of vines were fresh and green. On many river cruises the ship travels at night; on the Douro movements at night are not permitted so the traveller is able to take in the changing face of the river and countryside for the whole length of the trip – something of a bonus.
Our ship for the cruise was the Douro Prince, one of the fleet of Douro river vessels run by the Douroazul Group. It was a relatively small ship and certainly an older ship. That certainly is not to be taken as a criticism. Every member of the crew with whom we came into contact was very friendly at the same time as being very professional; the on-board facilities were simple compared with some of the more modern ships but wholly acceptable for this length of cruise; and, importantly, the catering was excellent. Douroazul sets a high standard and we were not disappointed.
We joined the ship at Vila de Gaia on the South bank of the river opposite Porto. Here we had our first opportunity to get close to the Port Wine for which the Douro Valley is famous, when we were taken on a tour of one of the many cellars in the town. It is from Gaia that much of the port wine starts its journey to markets around the world. We were also taken for a brief city tour of Porto itself; the whole city centre is a Unesco World Heritage site and full of interest. We then set out on the first 45 km. of our voyage to the Spanish border.
It was not long before we reached our first dam and therefore our first lock. These locks are an entertainment in themselves. They are narrow enough that, to the uninitiated, the ship’s captain must apply all his driving skills to enter them without seriously damaging the ship. In fact our captain made it look all too simple. The locks are all quite deep and quite scary when the ship is at the lower level with the walls towering above you. As the water rises, you re-enter the real world! The deepest lock, Barragem de Carrapatelo, has a maximum lift of 35 metres.
There are very few major towns along the river in Portugal once the ship has left Porto. In fact the only towns of any size are Peso da Regua and Pinhao. The opportunities for sightseeing off the ship are therefore somewhat limited but that in no way detracts from the total experience of a Douro cruise as the countryside through which the river passes is so beautiful and steeped in the history of the port wine trade.
Our cruise included a number of shore excursions. We moored for the first night at Bitetos, from which a short bus ride took us to the former monastery of Alpendurada e Matos, situated high above the river, where we had our evening meal. From Regua we were bussed to the Mateus Palace, near the regional administrative centre of Vila Real. The palace can be found on the labels of the well-known Mateus Rose wine; the buildings are typical of a Portuguese style baroque with many interesting exhibits and lovely formal gardens.
Pinhao is the heart of the Port Wine country as it has been for many years. The railway station is renowned for the series of traditional blue and white Portuguese tiles, which depict the Port Wine heritage. We were taken from Pinhao to the Quinta do Seixo, a Sandeman vineyard, where we saw at first hand the process of port production and had the opportunity to sample some of the different ports. On our return journey we stopped again in Pinhao where we had a marvellous evening meal at the delightful Vintage House Hotel. At the end of day three we reached the end of the navigable river at Vega de Terron, just into Spain.
On the return journey, we first visited Castelo Rodrigo, a small peaceful walled village, dating from the 12th century, perched on a hilltop overlooking the Douro valley, with a very interesting history. We were also taken to Lamego, a small town some 13 km. from the river, well known for its popular sparkling wines. The town has a fine cathedral and a good museum. Tales of miraculous cures made Lamego a place of pilgrimage and an elaborate flight of steps highly decorated with blue and white tiles leads up to the pilgrimage church of Nossa Senhora dos Remedios.
Every Douro cruise offers an optional day excursion from Vega de Terron to the Spanish university city of Salamanca. This simply cannot be missed! The city goes back to Roman times and the Roman-built bridge across the Tormes river still exists. The huge cathedral dominates the skyline; it is in fact two cathedrals, the Romanesque Old Cathedral and the Gothic New Cathedral. The Plaza Mayor is generally agreed to be the most magnificent main square in Spain and there are many attractive buildings belonging to the University, which is the oldest in Spain. Even the journey from the ship to Salamanca is full of interest.
To summarise, your Douro cruise will be leisurely. You will sail by day and you will be moored over night. There are more than enough entertaining off-ship excursions to ensure that you will not be bored. I can think of few better ways of passing a week away from it all.
By Ian Lewis
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