1. 16 | Marco | NOVEMBER
Cruising Portugal’s
Douro
RiverValley

2. NOVEMBER | Marco | 17
Portugal’sDouroRiverisawaterygreen
ribbonweavingamonghistory,grapesand
traditions.
A
sEuropeanrivercruisesgrewrapidlyinpopularity
VikingRiverCruisessawtheneedtobuildlongships
designedspecificallytonavigatetheDouro’ssharp
turnsandnarrowlocks.Eachshiphasthecapacityfor
106travelerstospend8dayscruisingandtouringthis
UNESCOdesignatedregion.
Lisbon,theclosestEuropeancapitaltotheUnitedStates,isthemeeting
pointpriortoaDouroRiverValleycruise.Thecity’sarchitecturalbeauty,
intimatesize,distinctiveFadomusicandhistoricalroleinnavigatingthe
worldfascinatestravelersacrossavariedrangeofinterests.
Understandably,spendingafewdaysinLisbonpriortothecruiseisan
optionmanychoose.
YouboardtheshipinLisbon’ssecondlargestcity,Porto.Aftersettling
intoyourstateroomandunpackingforthedurationofyourtrip(that
alwaysfeelslikesuchaluxury)thenenjoyingadinnerofregionalcuisine
andfinePortuguesewines,youareinforatreatthatfewrivercruises
provide.Thecaptaintakestheshipoutforanhour-longnighttimeround-
tripjourneysoguestscanenjoythebeautyofPortoasitilluminatesits
historicalbuildingsandbridges.Sigh;thisisthelife.
ThenextmorningisspentwithalocalguideshowingyoutheUNESCO
designatedoldtownareaofRibeira,thebookstorethatinspiredJ.K.
Rowlings’librarysettingfortheHarryPotterbooks,theBaroque
cathedralscoveredinPortugal’sworld-recognizedtilesandsamplingthe
“pasteldenata”pastriesthatsendmanyvisitorshomewithafewextra
pounds.
By Kay Dougherty

3. 18 | Marco | NOVEMBER
AsyoujourneyalongtheDouroyoucanlearnasmuchoraslittleasyou
choose.Youcantakeexcursionsorstayontheship.Youcanusethefree
Wi-Fi,readabookorenjoyadipinthepoolwhilerevelinginthewarmth
ofcustomerservicethatistheenvyofothercruisecompanies.
IfyouchoosetotaketheexcursionsyouwillvisitCoimbra,thebirthplace
of6PortuguesekingsandhometotheUniversityofCoimbra,founded
in1290.Iftouringanancientuniversitysoundssnoozeinducingyouwill
bepleasantlysurprised(butwillnotgetyoursnooze).
Thestudentswearcapesthatareasheavyinweightasinsymbolism.You
willlearnfromastudentaboutthetraditionsthataresolemnly(exceptfor
araucouslynotableweekinMay)followedtothepresentday.Youwill
havetheprivilegeofvisitingthelibrary,anotherUNESCOsite,which
housesover250,000ancientbooks.Andyoumaybesurprisedbythe
solutiontheuniversityhasfoundtokeepinsectsfromdevouringallof

4. NOVEMBER | Marco | 19
thatoldpaperandleather.Theyhaveaspecialvarietyof
one-inchlongbatsthatsleepinthebookstacksduring
thedayandemergeatnighttomunchoninsects.
(UNESCOforbidspesticidessonecessityspurred
creativityandbatemployment.)
AlongtheDouroyouwillhaveseveralopportunitiesto
visitwineriesandportmanufacturers.Portugalhasbeen
famedforcenturiesforitsport.Perhapslessknownis
thatinrecentyearsthewinesofPortugalhave
dominatedinternationalwinecompetitions(nodoubt
producingafewsniffsofFrenchdismay).TheDouro
RiverValleywastheworld’sfirstdemarcatedwine
region.
Thisbecomesevenmoresurprisingwhenyoulearnthat
thereisvirtuallynofertilesoilintheregion;grapesare
grownin“anthroposoil”whichwascreatedbymanually
breakingrocks.Determinationisacharacteristicofthe
Portuguese!
VikingRiverCruisesisdeservedlywellknownforits
abilitytocreatemeaningfullocalexperiences.That’show
youfindyourselfhavinganelegant(butnotstuffy)
dinnerinan11thcenturymonasteryoverlookingthe
Douro.It’swhyyougetpersonalizedattentionfromthe
staffatSandman’sastheyexplaintheport-making

5. 20 | Marco | NOVEMBER
process. Anditprovidesyou
welcomingaccesstoproperties
(MateusPalaceanyone?) andpeople
noteasilyavailabletoindependent
travelers. Whoamongusissonoblewe
don’tenjoytheoccasionalbrag-worthy
experience?(Behonest.)
Asthecruisenearsitsendyouhavethe
opportunitytovisitLamego,homeof
theBaroqueSanctuaryofOurLadyof
Remedies.Thesanctuaryisashrineis
ontherouteoftheSaintJamesWay
pilgrimagetoSantiagodeCompostela.
Youmaythinkthissoundslikethe
perfectopportunitytofinallystayon
theshipforthatelusivenap.Trytoresist
thelureoftheloungechairandvisitthis
exquisitelytiledMoorishstaircasethat
descendsahillinthecenteroftown.
(Don’tworry;VikingRiverknowsthat
youwanttowalkdown,notup,the
stairs.)
Whenyourealizethatthecruiseis
endingyouwillprobablyfeelcertain
thatsomeonetookacoupledaysoutof
yourlifewithouttellingyou.Eightdays
cannothavegonebysoquickly.
Thebadnewsisthattheydid.
Thegoodnewsisthatyouwillreflect
withsomewonderonhowmuchyou
saw,experienced,learnedandenjoyed
(andate)insuchashortperiodoftime.
Youwillalmostcertainlyhaveadesire
toreturnandexperienceotherregions
ofPortugal.Andyouwillprobably
spendtheflighthomepouringthrough
thecatalogtopickyournextViking
RiverCruise. n