PRESA DE MIRANDA - VALLE DEL ÁGUILA (
A dream trip on a 120-seater glazed boat)
Deep terraces are cut into this gorge along the Duero, which from a boat increases the wonder felt by travellers who gaze in awe at the steep canyons and ravines.
It is wonderful to sail on calm waters squeezed between cliffs over 200 metres tall, watched over by local fauna in a protected nature reserve.
To sail down the river Duero as it flows through the Espacio Natural de los Arribes is to enjoy some of the most beautiful countryside in the region along the Zamora stretch.
This boat trip along the winding, sinuous canyons of the Duero starts at the jetty of Miranda Do Douro on the Portuguese bank.
The boat is boarded on the right bank of the Duero, just a few metres from the area's dam.
Before we mention the crossing through international waters, it is worth knowing about the features of this boat.
The comfort of the trip
It is large, with room for 120 people, is glazed and is air-conditioned and heated for the summer and winter months. The boat's engine room has been fitted out in line with the environmental needs of the route with an anti-breakdown system with independent double propulsion, is soundproofed, has environmentally-friendly motors and the latest regulatory life-saving and navigation equipment.
The modern Navío-Aula also has two outdoor seating areas, one at the prow and the other on the upper stern, two bathrooms, self-inflating life-rafts for all passengers and collapsible tables for the on-board restaurant.
Of all the trips on offer, this one is the most aimed at providing environmental information, hence the boat's name Navío Aula Ecológico (Environmental Seminar Boat).
The instructor provides varied comments about the fauna that can be spotted along the route. Birds such as griffon vultures can be seen and, if you are very lucky, golden eagles, Bonelli's eagles or Egyptian vultures and even black storks, which the crew are always hoping to see. These birds live alongside waterfowl and cormorants. All in scenery in which holm oaks, junipers, large clumps of ash trees, alders and strawberry trees predominate.
The trip meets every expectation. One can comfortably enjoy the views along the route and the unbeatable opportunity to see the cliffs, which are sometimes almost vertical for more than 200 metres.
Spectacle from the boat
The trip leads to Valle del Águila and ends with explanations and viewing of various theme areas that can easily be accessed by means of the small purpose-built jetties.
They are areas that recreate the architecture and ethnography of the area such as goat pens and bancales, (traditional agricultural terraces on the mountain sides) the smuggler's way named after those that arrived from Portugal, the Calzada Mirandesa or the old boat route.
This boat donates part of its profits to research projects and conservation of the nature reserve's resources. The boat itself is a laboratory used to check the environmental quality of the water and has various systems for monitoring the wild fauna.
