33 of us traveled the beautiful Douro River in Portugal. Some very unfortunate travel delays stranded half the group in Boston, but they were able to join us at the river. 

We all had an interesting time:

• Passing through five locks, the tallest of which was 115 feet. These locks were built in the 60’s and 70’s to make the river more navigable for the wine trade to the coast and beyond.
• Drifting along past quaint villas surrounded by rolling hills, vineyards and olive trees. The scenes were reminiscent of a movie.
• Shore excursions were included to many fascinating villages that included wineries, churches and vineyards. We even learned of the large CORK trade zone. Fascinating things such as hats, belts, purses and even shoes are made of cork. Of course, wine corks are also.
• Some of us also took a kayak excursion, others a bike tour when we reached the coast at the end of the cruise in PORTO Portugal.

On board entertainment included DJ disco night, cooking classes, tile making, Porto wine tasting and recipes, a movie night on the top deck, flamenco dancers and more.

The food was excellent and the staff was very attentive. 

A special thanks to Chris Witt for helping us procure Little Debbie snacks that we distributed to the helpful crew. They said NO ONE had ever done anything like that for them before. We caught crew throughout the week munching on various Little Debbie items.

I think it is safe to say that another river cruise may be of interest to the club.