PORTUGAL'S DOURO VALLEY- vineyards and winding roads

While Dan and I were in the Picos de Europa, we met a Spanish couple looking for a cooler place than where they live, on the coast, for a summer home.  We were unsure if we would travel into Portugal at the time.  They encouraged us to visit the Douro River Valley area.  We're glad we did as the riding was interesting and twisty.  Here is a bit of information from Wikipedia.

The Douro vinhateiro (=winegrowing), an area of the Douro Valley in Portugal, has been classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Traditionally, the wine was taken down river in flat-bottom boats called rabelos to be stored in barrels in cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia, just across the river from Porto. In the 1950s and 1960s, dams were built along the river ending this river traffic on Spanish and border sections. Now Port wine is transported in tanker trucks

The Douro has a microclimate^] allowing for cultivation of olives, almonds, and especially grapes that are important for making the famous Port wine. The region around Pinhão and São João da Pesqueira is considered to be the center of Port wine, with its quintas (or farms/estates) that extend the almost vertical slopes along the river valleys. Many of these quintas are owned by multinational wine companies.

Recently, a prosperous tourist industry has developed based on river excursions from Porto to points along the Upper Douro valley.

There are five dams on the Portuguese Douro which make the flow of water uniform, generate hydroelectric power, and allow navigation. Ships with a maximum length of 272 ft and width of 37 ft can pass through five locks. The highest one on Carrapatelo dam has a maximum lift of 115 ft.

The Douro railway line (in Portuguese: Linha do Douro) was completed in 1887; it connects Porto, Rio Tinto, Ermesinde, Valongo, Paredes, Penafiel, Livração, Marco de Canaveses, Régua, Tua and Pocinho. A Heritage archeological site exists in the valley.  Côa Valley Paleolithic Art site.

Enjoy these pictures of our extensive day riding in the Douro Valley, along the river and high above to where the vineyards are, then back into Spain before heading on to the mountains of the Tour du France.

Fields of sunflowers- magnificent!

A great fresh meal with workers of the town of San Blas.  One of the only days Dan had wine at lunch.

Just one of many horse and person troughs we used to wet our clothing in the 100 degree heat of riding.

Excellence in stone walls.

Stone buildings  are very old.

Vines growing gracefully on this hillside

Steep and terraced vines everywhere.

Dan just had a bee sting while driving.  Temperature more than 95 degrees all afternoon.

Now the highway and backtrack at bit as we a heading to Germany now