ROLLING ON THE RIVER
Paul and Nadine Adriaansens take a sojourn from their passage to the Med to explore Porto’s Douro River
Having already covered 1500nm in our new Princess 49, 4 Sea Sons, from Heusden, Holland to Baiona, Spain we were now heading to Porto in Portugal. The weather looked good for the next two days so we shouldn’t have had any trouble reaching our destination, but it was a difficult trip with no wind or swell but thick fog from ten minutes after our departure to the moment we arrived. The radar and AIS were invaluable but my eyeball navigation was more important than ever to detect poorly marked pots and small fishing boats.
There are a few marina options near Porto but we settled on Freixo even though it is five miles up river as the views are said to be magnificent.
We arrived – we thought – in good time to prepare for navigating the river but how wrong we were. If you want to go up the Douro you need to register not only your boat but also yourself as the captain. Once this is approved, which takes 12 hours, you must reserve lock times using the Portuguese-only APDL website. Thankfully, our Portuguese neighbour, Paolo, offered to help and we managed to make the booking in time to leave the next day. My advice would be to plan weeks in advance and employ the services of someone who knows the language to make the process easier.
The Douro River (Golden River) is one of the major rivers of the Iberian peninsula, flowing from its source in the Spanish Sierra de la Demanda. It is 897km long, of which 210km are navigable.
At an average speed of 6 knots it would take a little over an hour to reach the first lock of Crestuma. It had rained a bit that night and the sky still looked threatening but with our jackets on we sat on the flybridge enjoying the stunning views. At 8:25am we approached Crestuma and via VHF channel 12 received clearance to enter the lock. We were all alone. It felt a bit scary, even though it ‘only’ went up a mere 15 meters, nothing compared with what was to come!
We pootled along at 5 knots to make the most of the views, enjoying a leisurely four- hour cruise to the next lock. A happy by-product of our glacial pace was that fuel consumption dipped to just 5.5lph.
Paolo recommended we stop at Cais de Pedorido in Foz do Arda, which we duly did, arriving in time to clean our dirty fenders in the fresh water of the Douro. We enjoyed a typical Portuguese lunch with wine and coffee for a grand total of €18.30 – wonderful!
After lunch we continued our trip towards the locks at Carrapatelo. Another tip from Paolo was to stop on a small island, which we did, staying for the night to enjoy our own private paradise for a little longer. There was no water or electricity but we had everything with us.
Having negotiated our first 35-metre lock the day before and another this morning, we were due an afternoon of relaxation. I booked lunch at DOC restaurant, owned by Michelin-star chef Rui Paula. The setting was stunning, the staff fantastic and the chef wonderful.
The plan was to cruise for another hour and find a berth in Pinhão, the heart of the famous port region. Unfortunately there were no spare berths so we went further up river looking for a spot, but still had no luck. I called Valeira lock to see if we could pass through it today instead of waiting for our slot tomorrow but the locks have no authority to let somebody through without approval from head office. It was very frustrating as I had to start composing emails and waiting for replies while steaming upstream against a 3-knot flow. To make matters worse there wasn’t enough distance between the red and green buoys to let two boats pass. Luckily there was no downstream traffic.
Three minutes before arriving at the lock we finally got a green light to enter it, thanks to the help of a friendly lockmaster. We tied up in the middle of nowhere and luxuriated in the solitude – the beauty of this area is fantastic!
We awoke to clear skies, no wind and just the sound of birds and distant church bells – bliss! After breakfast we make our last trip up river, during which I checked in with APDL to ensure our down river lock times were in place. Half an hour later we got confirmation that we could go down the same day at 16:00. Downstream is a lot faster and this time we were lucky to find a safe spot in Pinhão to stay for the night.
The next day was Nadine’s birthday, when we planned to catch the Régua lock at 17:00 for a celebratory dinner at Six Senses. In the meantime, APDL confirmed our schedule downstream meaning that by 1 August we would be back in Freixo, giving us time to go to Rui Paula’s other restaurant, Casa de Chá, and clean the boat in readiness for a return to salt water.
Our evening slot at Regua lock gave us time to explore the Pinhão but apart from the classy Vintage House Hotel there wasn’t much to see.
By 14:00 we were getting a bit restless and decided to leave as the weather was so good. At a modest speed of 5.5 knots we made good progress and by 20:00 we were being collected by a driver, who took us to Six Senses for one of the finest dining experiences we’ve ever had.
By 10:15 the following morning we had arrived at the first lock of the day en route back to Freixo, where the adventure began five days ago. Going down the locks is much more comfortable as the turbulent water exits on the other side of the gates, but this being the seventh time we had negotiated one of these huge river locks we were now old hands!
At 1:35pm we left our last lock and half an hour later were back at the marina, topped up with diesel and ready for the next leg. If ever you cruise your own boat to the Med, don’t forget to plan a trip up a the Douro. It takes some forethought but it’s well worth the effort and the fact that UNESCO has designated it as a world heritage site says it all!
We awaken to c l ea r s k i e s , no wind, a n d just the sound of b i rds and distant church bells – bliss!