We are used to travel on the weekend or while our (never enough) holidays and thus we try to make the most of our trips with lots of planning and less room for improvisation. But last summer, in Portugal, we had the three things that any traveler needs to decide the destinations along the way: a car, a camping tent and a travel guide.
We had travelled through central Portugal from Lisboa to the medieval jewel of Guimarães and our next stop in our way back home was fixed at Burgos (Spain), a city dominated by its amazing Word Heritage cathedral. But we still had one night and some hours driving to reach Burgos, so we decided to open the guide and look for hotspots in the way back to Barcelona. We had heard about Miranda do Douro, a Portuguese town, belonging to the Braganza district, located in the border with Spain and next to which environmental cruises depart to sail through the international natural park of the Douro river. Moreover, the town has a municipal camping site, so we couldn’t ask for more!
After less than 3 hours driving, we reached Miranda do Douro and settled in the camping site, as we had been doing some other nights in that roadtrip. The location of the city is wonderful: in the left bank of the Douro river, its typical landscape is made of high granite cliffs. Its closeness to Spain has even created an own language for Miranda’s inhabitants, named “Mirandés”.
The staff at the camping’s reception made us feel so lucky to be in the town that night: a traditional dance was scheduled in the evening. So undoubtedly we moved to the city center to have dinner and attend to the performance of the Miranda’s Pauliteiros.
We had dinner in a nice terrace in the Joao III square (which is the main square of the city). There you will find the Monument to the Mirandese, two bronze statues depicting a man and a woman who are dressed in the regional costumes. We just relaxed and had a beer, talking about the things we had experienced in our “Portuguese roadtrip” and waiting for the Pauliteiros’ dance, previously called “dance of swords”. That night we had the chance to merge into Miranda’s culture and to enjoy the dance full of warrior and religious elements.
The following day we participated in the environmental cruise that the International Biological Station organizes in the natural park called Arribes del Duero and thus we had the opportunity to sail through that spectacular tranche of one of the finest canyons in Europe. Tickets and timetables can be found on their website. We decided to hire this activity the day before but it seemed that the cruise is quite booked (at least in summer), so buying the tickets in advance is highly recommended.
During the trip, the staff of the Biological Station explained interesting facts about the flora, the fauna and the geology of the cliffs, while sailing through the international waters that serve as the natural border between Portugal and Spain. Silence is quite important to fully appreciate the beauty of the area but don’t worry, at some point you will be allowed to walk towards the deck and take some photos. After the trip, visitors can enjoy a little wine tasting and a show with birds of prey. The dock also has a shop with typical products of the region. In the end, we couldn’t have said goodbye to Portugal in a better manner!
I didn’t have time to visit the Duoro Valley area when I was in Portugal but I think I really need to go back and see it. I want to visit the wineries there. Thanks for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard.
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Yes, you should! And of course if you go back to Portugal just cross the border to Spain and visit the region 🙂 Thanks for your comment!
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Looks and sounds fantastic. We’ve explored some of Portugal and I’m really keen to visit more, it’s a fabulous country. The Duoro Valley sounds really interesting. #theweeklypostcard
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Yes, the Douro Valley is a really nice region. We would have loved to stay longer but work was waiting for us! 🙂
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Love how sporadic your trip was! Don’t know if I could do that! Sailing between Spain and Portugal sounds like fun! Didn’t know you could do that! Thanks for linking up with #TheWeeklyPostcard!
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Yes, this part of the trip was totally unplanned. Portugal was the first time in which we mixed hotels with camping and we were really happy to have the freedom to sleep anywhere. Thanks for your comment!
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I haven’t been in Portugal yet, but if I were to go I would rather go on land. Sailing is not exactly my cup of tea, but I’m sure you had a great time doing it if you like being on the water. #TheWeeklyPostcard
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Hahaha yes, we love sailing! The views from the boat were amazing but of course you can also enjoy the Douro Valley on land specially if you like enoturism. Thanks for your comment!
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Love that beer shot, well done! I was in the region back in April and agree Guimaraes is awesome, but didnt visit or hear of Miranda do Douro. The Douro is quite a beautiful river though and I think a highly underrated part of Portugal. Cool that you got to watch the traditional dance, great timing! #Wanderfulwednesday
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We agree, Portugal has certain regions certainly underrated. Beer was the perfect solution for those hot summer days! Thanks for your comment!
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This is cool! I have heard about this town and its language. Isn’t it amazing that places like these exist? Hope to sail the Douro one day (I am into river cruising now that I have see the Danube and the Rhine). #wanderfulwednesday
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Oh! We would love to sail the Danube and the Rhine! Hope we can do it soon. 🙂
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I never ever travel without making any plans but your trip sounds so wonderful, maybe I should try it 🙂
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We never ever travel without planning neither 🙂 But in this case we visited Guimaraes faster than we thought. This is why we could spend one extra day in the Douro. We usually plan in a way we can have also some improvization at some point.
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Ah yes, the Douro is magical indeed. Though I didn’t see quite the stretch that you did!
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Hi Esther! We just saw that stretch and it was beautiful. I think we need to discover other parts of Douro river. Thanks for your comment 🙂
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