When my wife and I decided to take a 10-day cruise on river Douro last month, we had no idea as to what we were going to encounter during the 800 km long cruise. We landed in Lisbon flying from Mumbai via Paris and spent two days exploring Lisbon, which, I must say, is a vibrant and beautiful city, where modern buildings and ancient structures dating to medieval age, co-exist without competing for visitors’ attention. The highlight in Lisbon for us was to see the burial tomb of Vasco da Gama, the most famous explorer to sail to India to start direct trade route in the 15th century. Our next stop was Porto, one of Portugal’s most enchanting cities. Before the cruise began, we had enough time to see the countryside with beautiful landscapes and vibrant villages. Porto lends its name to the famous port wine production and it has some nice restaurants and lively markets. There we also got to see the riverside bracos rabelos — the traditional cargo boat used to transport people and goods along the Douro River. Then we visited Guimares, Portugal’s first capital in the 12th century, where we visited a monastery dating back to 10th century and a magnificent castle.
Mateus Palace
We boarded our cruise ship in Porto and started our journey up the river Douro. While the traveller in me was happy, the photographer in me was ecstatic. I was so thrilled to pass through numerous beautiful landscapes that included valleys with stepped terraces of plantations rich in grapes, olives and many other fruits like figs, walnuts and oranges. As the ship docked, we visited many small towns along the way like Lamego, Regua, Pinhao, and Barca D’ Alva. Portugal’s most famous export — the port wine produced from grapes in the Douro Valley — has provided unprecedented economic boom to the region. But along the cruise, it was not its great contribution to economy but grandeur of viniculture that attracted us more. We saw both big companies consisting of hundreds of growers and also small independent growers with tiny vineyards, working with the same aim — providing the world with lip-smacking wine. Our understanding of it grew when we toured a port wine making facility, strolling through vineyards and bottling facility at Quinta do Vallado. I am not much of a drinker, but it was difficult to resist the temptation of sampling those wines.
In the last leg of the trip, we also went to Castelo Rodrigo, a tiny medieval fortress town that time seems to have forgotten but actually has breathtaking sceneries. Its backdrop of terraced mountains with grape vines and plantations will remain etched in my mind and in my photos. A visit to Quinta do Sexio Estate on the southern bank of Douro between Regua and Pinhao is something to remember for its beautiful neighbourhood. While April, when the temperature is moderate, is a good time to take the cruise, fellow travellers told me that September is an equally good month for a visit. A luxury cruise can cost someone around Rs 4,00,000 per person. Our cruise ended just 120 km from the Spanish border where a grand lunch was hosted for us while a comedian left us all in splits. Visiting Salamanca (in Spain), the famous University town on the other side of the border, was definitely overwhelming in terms of witnessing its history, architecture and the enormity of the university where 30,000 students study. But, let the Spain story be reserved for some other time. Right now, it feels like it was a dream come true on Douro.
Bijoy Mishra is a businessman and passionate photographer
