We cruised the Douro. Deepest Locks, Lowest Bridges, Creepiest Cathedrals. River cruises are boring?

[@visitwithus]

Thank you for watching our Douro adventures. We hope you enjoyed coming along with us and if you did, please SUBSCRIBE and hit that LIKE button. Thank you. ❤

[@mercyrodriguez5780]

After watching this video, are changing our minds about river cruises! Thank you, great video, beautiful scenery!

[@visitwithus]

Glad you enjoyed it Mercy! You should try a river cruise! :D

[@happytraveller2122]

Enjoyed this trip very much. We were surprised at how good it was

[@visitwithus]

Yes it was! Thank you for watching. :)

[@drlamentasweetieconway-iam4281]

What a fun video and such a fantastic, distinct “radio” voice ! The video is really well done and even reminds me of a PBS special. can’t wait to take this voyage

[@visitwithus]

Thanks for watching and for your kind words 😊

[@OVTraveller]

A very correct representation of this river cruise experienced in 2019, along with Spain and Portugal's main towns, including the students' concert in Salamanca. Great first river cruise experience as all water levels are totally controlled ( unlike the Rhine) to be best enjoyed by the young at heart, rather than the young. High light, from an archeological perspective was the museum on one of the tributaries detailing the prehistorical human settlement thousands of centuries BC.

[@visitwithus]

Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment Otto. We try and make things as authentic as possible. I'm glad sometimes we succeed. :D

[@firstfreonwarrior]

I couldn't see a frog but did spot a spaceman! Wonderful as usual Richard.

[@visitwithus]

Many thanks Paul! The frog is a bit tricky... ;)

[@gary_travels]

I’ve visited Porto on a cruise and the Douro has long been on my list - but this has really sold it! Those locks look amazing!!

[@visitwithus]

It’s our favourite European river cruise to date, it’s just so scenic. Thanks for watching Gary.

[@suzy5166]

Like your video...and your voice is the best! 👏👏👏

[@visitwithus]

Thank you 😊

[@loumello8813]

Very nice video, we really enjoy river cruising and have done the Grand European and Waterways of the Tsars with Viking. I love how relaxing it is and the fact that you get off the boat right in the middle of whatever little town you are visiting. The Douro is on my list for the future and I love doing the locks, I simply find them fascinating. We had 68 locks on our GE cruise. I looked for the frog, but, unfortunately, did not see it. I did enjoy the wasp dance, though. 😂😂 Thanks so much for sharing your adventures.

[@visitwithus]

Thanks Lou. Yes, the wasp dance did make us giggle a bit. :D

[@davidtavakoli5858]

Stunning! Great job, as usual! Never really fancied going on a river cruise, but the scenery on this river is absolutely incredible - not to mention the locks and bridges!!!

[@visitwithus]

Glad you enjoyed it David! Yes a river cruise is different but no less enjoyable than an ocean cruise. :)

[@jimroberts7942]

Thanks for the great video, Jim

[@visitwithus]

You are very welcome Jim. Thanks for watching.

[@nigelgreer9954]

Wow 😮 what an amazing video.

[@visitwithus]

Thank you Nigel. ☺️

[@RobinH8869]

Really enjoying this series - one of our bucket list trips - Portugal is such a fascinating country and they keep a lot of their best wines to themselves!

[@visitwithus]

Cheers Robin. :)

[@jenniferalbert910]

Looks so relaxing and lovely!

[@visitwithus]

Probably the most relaxing cruise you can do. 😍

[@norfolkboy6935]

Looked a real “chilled out” trip, ideal for some recuperation. If the culinary offering on Emerald tasted as good as it looked you were on to a winner. A very tasteful vlog, thank you 🙏. OTBC 😲

[@visitwithus]

Cheers NB! Sad to see Farke go, but hopeful... :D OTBC!

[@norfolkboy6935]

@@visitwithus Much respect to Farke but the time was right……✊ OTBC!

[@visitwithus]

@@norfolkboy6935 Yeah, but makes me sad. A true club legend and one of the good guys.

[@SuiteNatured]

Great Video. We loved the dramatic Lock. And after much pausing we found the frog at 15.34 on top of the skull. Is this what our Sunday afternoon has come to? Frog spotting! We need another cruise soon. By pure coincidence see if you can spot the frog in our video this afternoon (Epicurian). Clue. it is much more obvious. And may not contain the whole frog.

[@visitwithus]

Haha! Our frog is also definitely NOT breadcrumbed! 😂

[@eminiarvii]

OMG..Helen and Rich this is just another vlog that has me coming back to you over and over again. I just loved the ‘drama’ music when go through the locks..Your vlog is so exhilarating and informative as usual. This reinforces my want to travel by river boat. The Spanish guitar had me thinking ..where did I put those castanets😊 Until next time

[@visitwithus]

Thanks so much, we're so pleased when we get comments like yours when we've put so much effort in. :) THANK YOU!

[@cruiseforever1281]

This was one river I’d always wanted to go on. Thank you for taking me on a fabulous cruise. As always, you produced a wonderful vlog.

[@visitwithus]

Thank you for watching and your kind feedback. :)

[@MathewLauren]

We have always wanted to try a river cruise. Thanks for taking us along!

[@visitwithus]

You should try one! We're new to river but we're enjoying it so much we've got a couple more coming up! Thanks for watching. :)

[@nicolaj3294]

Great video Rich and Helen. Love the drama, I expected James Bond to come swinging in on a rope lol

[@visitwithus]

Haha! Thanks Nicola. :D

[@skqq3250]

Swinging? 007 or Tarzan? Lol

[@tristanjustin4335]

Found the frog… it’s on the top of the skull on the pillar… had fun trying to find that and Josh was the first to find it

[@visitwithus]

Haha! Brilliant. Thanks guys. Hope Josh wasn't too unnerved by all the other spooky stuff on that wall! :D

[@tristanjustin4335]

@@visitwithus Worryingly he wasn’t phased…

[@kd0r]

As always we enjoyed the video. You really do need to go narrowboating for contrast. You've done a series on the NC 500, so doing one on a narrowboat trip would still fit. Need a guide? I'd think it'd be a bit embarrassing to have a Yank couple from Kansas take up that roll, but we'd enjoy it. Now dealing with COVID restrictions, and us living on and cruising on our own boat here could complicate that. [We've been narrowboating five times for a total of six weeks.] For contrasts: The meals would depend on what the various "chefs" onboard could come up with. Or, what the canalside pubs have on offer. The locks are self tended. The locks average about a 7 ft. lift. We've been through one with a 6 inch lift. The tours depend on how far you're willing to walk and what guidebooks you read. The cabins are SMALL and have a passage right beside the bed. The heads are also small, but function nicely. The interaction with the shoreside folks is much closer. As slow as a river boat is, narrowboats are limited to 4 mph to prevent bank damage. If a bridge needs to be raised, the crew on the boat will take care of it. There are tunnels!! It's fun to have a group of friends on one boat, but it's also fun to have several boats going and working together. If you'd like to chat about our experiences and enjoyment of narrowboating, esp. in contrast to cruise ship cruising up to and including six star cruising we love talking the entire spectrum. David

[@visitwithus]

Cheers David. We've never done narrowboating but have friends who love it, so it would seem that it SHOULD be something we try... :)

[@jenniferalbert910]

American rest stop: Cold cement buildings with drippy faucets and stale Snickers. Descanso en España: jamón ibérico y vino riojano

[@visitwithus]

Ewww. 😂🤢

[@travelhighness6256]

If you were sailing from Spain back to Portugal, would you recommend a port or starboard cabin?

[@visitwithus]

Most of the time you would be docking on the starboard side of the river going in this direction. But the scenery is amazing all around.

[@travelhighness6256]

@@visitwithus Thank you! I wanted to be on the side where most of the Villas and Vineyards were.

[@YouChwb]

And here is me in thinking a river boat cruise would have been a bore. BTW, that 35 high metre lock is perfect for a Half Life movie scene...that is, when they eventually start shooting it.

[@visitwithus]

Haha! I LOVE Half Life. One of my all time favourite games and one of the very few I could actually be bothered to complete. We desperately need more! :D

[@YouChwb]

@@visitwithus Got the original 1998 tee shirt which came with the HL double pack.

[@visitwithus]

@@YouChwb So cool! You're right, those locks could be straight out of a Black Mesa base.

[@YouChwb]

@@visitwithus Complete with a ladder for G Freeman. :)

[@russellgray1426]

Before I start looking for the frog, can you be more specific? Do you mean the amphibian or am I looking for a Frenchman 🤣

[@visitwithus]

I'm going to banish you to the naughty step for that Russell! 😬😆

[@russellgray1426]

@@visitwithus 🤣🤣

[@jmw0368]

08:40…..Don’t worry, nobody was bothered about you anyway! 🙄

[@visitwithus]

It was in case my mum was watching. Apart from that, you’re right. Reminds me of the old saying ‘Don’t worry about what people think about you. They don’t think about you.’