{"id":78181,"date":"2018-09-25T10:23:12","date_gmt":"2018-09-25T08:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/?p=78181"},"modified":"2018-09-25T10:23:12","modified_gmt":"2018-09-25T08:23:12","slug":"incentive-portugal-douro-right-bank-left-bank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/incentive-portugal-douro-right-bank-left-bank","title":{"rendered":"Portugal: the Douro, right bank, left bank"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reported by Serge Barret. Photos Alain Parinet.<\/em><\/p>\n

The afternoon is drawing to a close, and the torpor that bathes the Upper Douro Valley in north-east Portugal is fading a little. So, without rushing too much, life resumes in the large village of Pinhao, slumbering on the right bank of the river. Including for this group of business tourists who, at the aperitif hour, take part in a wine tasting - not just of Porto, but also of the red and white wines of the region - under the pergola of the Vintage House Hotel overlooking the green waters of the great river.<\/p>\n

This is the first, but there will be many more to come<\/strong>and tastings. Pinhao is the starting point for countless excursions by land and river, and tomorrow they'll be boarding the Douro Serenity, a cruise boat that will sail up the river to the Spanish border. With plenty of uncorked bottles, entertainment, Portuguese gastronomy, fado evenings and cultural excursions... Exactly the same as on traditional sea cruises. The difference is that, in this case, you can almost touch the landscape from the boat.<\/p>\n

But before that, the programme included a short visit to Pinhao to make first contact with the world of Portugal, more or less frozen in time<\/strong>. Cobbled pavements, low white houses, sash windows and small panes, and above all, the ubiquitous azulejos, the earthenware tiles painted mostly in shades of blue that are one of the country's signatures. In Pinhao, it's these tiles that draw the crowds. They are superb, covering the outside walls of the little station right down to the platform, and tell the story of the ancient tribulations of Port wine in 24 paintings. From the cultivation of the vines on the hillsides to the arrival of the barrels in the capital of northern Portugal, 200 km below.<\/p>\n

\"Between<\/a>
Between vine-covered hills and sharp rocks, the cruises cruise the Douro at a gentle pace.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cute, charming, deliciously old-fashioned<\/strong>These are the words that best describe the tiny building, which probably wouldn't have looked out of place in a comic strip. There are three decorative barrels, an old pendulum clock and a couple of weathered wooden benches in an immaculately white hall. It's a vintage jewel run by a perfectly relaxed stationmaster, who blows his whistle. This station and a few wine houses make up most of the town's heritage treasures.<\/p>\n

For the rest, it's the light-hearted atmosphere of a Portuguese village<\/strong> the atmosphere and the landscape; all those hillsides climbed by vines on the other side of the river; the cruise boats and some very freely reinterpreted reproductions of barcos rabelos, flat-bottomed boats with square sails that used to transport wine to the Port wine cellars. Now used exclusively for cruising tourists for an hour or two, they can be hired out for private parties of up to fifty people.<\/p>\n

Early in the morning, board the Douro Serenity, an 80-metre ice-brown vessel launched in 2017. Purpose of the cruise: up the river<\/strong> the time for a day's sailing to Barca de Alva, a village straddling the Portuguese-Spanish border. On board, picture windows replace the sides of the ship, while the sun deck covering the entire top deck houses - and there's plenty of room - a swimming pool and cafeteria, as well as an armada of deckchairs. The other three decks are reserved for the lounge and bar, the restaurant, a tiny fitness room and, above all, 63 very comfortable cabins open to the outside world. A five-star floating hotel that cruises up and down one of the most beautiful valleys in the world, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001.<\/p>\n

\"Terraced<\/a>
Terraced vineyards, grape harvests, wine transport on the river, typical landscapes and costumes: Pinhao station is covered with 24 azulejo panels that tell the story of everyday life in the Douro Valley, like postcards from yesteryear. The hard work that goes into making this world-renowned wine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Carried<\/a>
Carried by the current of the Douro, the barcos rabelos were used for centuries to transport barrels of wine to Porto. In the 1960s, new roads and the use of the river's power to generate electricity meant that these traditional flat-bottomed boats were gradually converted to tourism.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Royal calm<\/h2>\n

The engine zooms along gently, the ship glides along the green waters of the river without the slightest roll, and the fish eagles watch from their nests woven low in the water as the fish unconsciously frolic and circle. The calm is royal.<\/strong> The valley, with its tiered terraces carved into the schist, is simply sublime. It's as if, year after year, century after century, mankind has had fun carving out contours to emphasise the gradient. The vines are everywhere, punctuated only by white quintas, noble houses housing the wineries where the grapes will be pressed at the end of the summer. In the meantime, work continues apace. Never quite finished, never quite perfect, task after task as the seasons go by. So we tend, we pick, we prune, we tie up and we strip off the leaves until the harvest, the reward for so much effort, which we don't fail to celebrate in song. As it should be.<\/p>\n

The vine and its cycles are the subject of lectures on board. There's never a dull moment on this river cruise. Firstly, as you contemplate an ever-changing landscape<\/strong>Sometimes it's skirting the crumbling rocks on the banks of the river, sometimes it's skirting wide fields of poppies and almond trees, and sometimes it's passing a sleepy village. Then there are the wine tastings... those organised in the cellars of the quintas scattered across the hills, but also those offered on board and remarkably conducted by an oenologist. Then there are the nostalgic fado evenings, as well as a number of cultural excursions organised to sites not too far away.<\/p>\n

In this respect, you'll be well served, the region is rich in history and heritage<\/strong>. And that's what you'll discover if you choose to continue the journey to Porto by bus, along a schoolchildren's route of around 200 km. Deep inland, vineyard follows vineyard, hill follows hill, the road twists and turns through tiny villages before plunging decisively into Portugal's history. Marialva, for example. Home to just thirty or so inhabitants, Casa do C\u00f4ro is an atypical luxury hotel built in a hippie-chic style - very chic, in fact - in a dozen old houses overlooking the grey roofs of the old village.<\/p>\n

These are the remains of a fortified village, the first stones of which were laid in the 4th century AD.e<\/sup> and Ve<\/sup> centuries, then rebuilt at the time of the Christian reconquest of the Arab world in the 12th century.e<\/sup> and XIIIe<\/sup> centuries. A fascinating guided tour of the site tells the story of the lives lived there. From the great fairs of the Middle Ages to the sinister pillory of the XVIth century, the site is the setting for a fascinating guided tour.e<\/sup>the cross of the XVe<\/sup> to the court and prison of the XIXe<\/sup>from the ancient cistern to the school of the 20th centurye<\/sup>, it's all there, written in stone<\/strong>It's not exactly unspoilt, but that's precisely what makes it so charming. The backdrop is a 360\u00b0 view of the shimmering plain, its vineyards, olive groves and almond fields, which can be explored in all-terrain vehicles provided by the hotel, or even by bicycle for the more courageous.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The walls of Marialva tell the story of Portugal. Populated by the first Lusitanians, this medieval village was conquered by the Romans, then by the Moors, before the Reconquest brought it back into the Portuguese fold.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
  • \"The<\/li>\n
  • \"Another<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n