After a great morning at Quinta da Pacheca, Igor took us to lunch at a local spot before heading to Pinhao to take a boat ride down the Douro River. The one hour boat tour headed upstream towards Romaneira before turning around and returning to Pinhao.
The tour was on a rabelo boat, which is a traditional Portuguese wooden boat that was used for centuries to deliver barrels of port wine from the Douro Valley to Porto. The boats have a flat bottom, which allows them to pass through shallow sections of the river. Rabelo means “little tail”, referring to the long wooden oar used to steer the boat.
The boats were docked one next to the other and we climbed over the bow of one boat to get to the one that we were going to ride on. Last in line, we were disappointed to see that the second boat was smaller than the first. We watched sadly as they slid the door closed to the already full interior room, leaving us to sit in the not-very-well covered outside section. The benches along the sides were all wet so the eight of us who were closed out of the warm, dry inside room had to share the six chairs set up in the center.
But we didn’t let the conditions dampen our spirits! Eventually it stopped raining and someone from the boat brought out some towels to wipe down the benches.
I have to say that this was not the most thrilling of boat tours. We didn’t go very far, only getting out of sight from Pinhao because of the curve of the river. We passed terraced vineyards, old winery buildings, and bridges, but obviously the views weren’t at their most impressive because of the weather. And we never had any idea where we were or what we were looking at. Apparently there was an audio guide that you could access on your mobile phone, but nobody came outside to tell the banished few about it. We just felt like we were cruising down the river on our own.
After less than half an hour, we turned around and headed back to Pinhao. I enjoyed the scenery as we approached the town. Beyond the bridge, the town’s white buildings with red roofs climbed the slopes, popping against the green and brown hillsides.
We finally got some hints of blue sky towards the end of the boat ride and Igor had one more stop planned for us on the way home. He took us high into the hills to see the views from Quinta do Seixo, where Sandeman’s Port is made. The winery’s iconic image of a dark figure in a hat and cape can be seen towering above the hills and on signs throughout the valley.
We had one more unplanned but really interesting stop on the drive home. Historically, the Douro River was very rough and difficult to navigate. In order to make it easier for boats to travel the river, several dams were installed in the late 1960s. Since water levels vary on either side of a dam, locks are used to raise and lower boats to the different levels of the river. We got to see a river cruise ship in a lock being raised up to the higher side of the river. It was incredible! The boat navigated into a very narrow chamber, where it was closed in so that water could be pumped in to raise it to the level above the dam. I could not get over how narrow it was in the chamber. It was so cool to watch the process from above, and it must have been an amazing experience to be on board the boat when it went through the locks.
Taking a boat ride on the Douro River had been high on my list of things to do in Portugal. While I am really glad that we did it, I was underwhelmed by the experience. Better weather definitely would have helped but for me it just didn’t live up to my expectations. I think a different boat company might have made a difference. We literally never heard a word from anyone working on the boat and only saw one crew member for a brief moment when he finally came out to wipe down the seats. We felt like we were outsiders – and quite literally were since they closed the door on us to keep us from coming in. In the absence of live commentary, I think the audio guide would have made the trip better and am disappointed that we were never told about this option. Without it, we were basically sitting in the cold and rain looking at some hills going by. While the area is undoubtedly magnificent, Magnifico Douro definitely did not live up to its name.
