International Douro Natural Park

Following our visit to Miranda we headed down to the Douro river - which is not Portugal or Spain but is considered to be international waters - to take a cruise. The Europarques-EBI International Biological Station was established in 2002 with the support of the ICNF of Portugal together with three European universities. In 2006, the Foreign Ministers of Spain and Portugal officially ratified it. All ships are equipped with the latest hybrid-electric navigation technologies, heated panoramic deck, on-board laboratory and large viewing terraces.

We traveled about 3 to 4 kilometres along the Douro river. We saw the Lichen Cliffs, passed the River Otters’ habitat (but didn’t see any), passed the Royal Eagle area which has some of the most spectacular vertical cliffs of the Arribes del Duero region, passed the habitat of the black stork, and saw some Griffin Vultures, including a family on a ledge and several soaring above us. We also saw some kestrels and eagles.

The landscape we passed through was quite spectacular. There were towering cliffs and interesting rock formations. The cruise lasted about an hour. The first half was an information session given in Portuguese and Spanish, and we just had a map with numbers indicating where we were up to on the cruise. Nobody was allowed outside. Gabriele had forewarned us about this. For the return journey, people were allowed to leave their seats and go onto the decks for selfie opportunities and more photos. It was a lovely experience and quite peaceful.Read more