Cruising the Duoro

June 2, 2024

Today we actually started the river cruise leaving Porto at 0530 and arrived at our night docking location Pinhão. Unlike the other major rivers in Europe these ships are not allowed to cruise at night, the river is very narrow and twisty. We have several locks to navigate today so the departure time is set by the ships lock times. I have a lovely cabin that is quite spacious since it is only me. So far the food has been very good. We started the day with a stretch class and after breakfast there was short talk about cork and how they harvest it and the importance it plays in the Portuguese economy. Later I took advantage of having a massage therapist on board and followed that with a Portuguese cooking lesson in the afternoon. The day started out very windy but it settled down later in the day and we had lovely sunny weather. Today was really about cruising with no organized tours however there will be some to come in the days ahead.

A map of the Douro River that does pass into Spain but we don’t say there. There is a day trip to Salamanca planned later in the week but I think we are going to pass because it involves 2 hours on a bus each way.

This ship was coming out of the big lock for today. It had a 32m/100’ change in water level.

We had a cork talk. Cork is the national tree of Portugal and has been protected since 1209. It takes 29 years of growth before you can strip the bark and then another 9 years for it to regrow.

Looking back at a narrow section of the river. It is also very windy.

A view of the river at the top of the third lock.

These boats were traditionally used to transport wine barrels on the river. Now they used to tour tourists around.

The Douro ahead where will sail tomorrow

Our kayaks for a little adventure tomorrow on a side tributary.

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Beth KavanaghBeautiful photos. Sounds like you are turning into a chef!
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