Comments on: Portugal- Europe’s unknown whitewater

by: Emanuel Jordão

Thu, 10 May 2007 03:24:53 +0000

Very nice your discretion from our rivers in Portugal. Thank´s four your visit.

Do you remember me? I was whit you in sex-up (Castro d´Aire). You can see a little movie with us. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7870858406495027036

My blog is: http://emanuel-best-of-life.blogspot.com/

Bye bye

by: Pedro Ramada

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 17:23:12 +0000

more from Louredo - Portugal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTVlapWKNvY

by: Pedro Ramada

Thu, 22 Mar 2007 18:21:11 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTVlapWKNvY

by: Pedro Ramada

Thu, 22 Mar 2007 18:20:32 +0000

Hi there.
This is a video we made from upper Louredo, just a few miles up the part you made in this river.

by: Rob Coffey

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 22:01:49 +0000

Hi Roisin, have a chat with Jorge Jorge at Pagayak. Super cool guy

by: roisin o shea

Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:52:57 +0000

There are a group of 9 of us travelling to porto in may, can you recommend any local contacts that hire out kayaks?

by: jay

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 11:53:00 +0000

Hi Rob, We’ll be there either in Feb (10 days time) or, failing that, in March. We’re driving down from France. Thanks for the notes. Say hi to Rosie.

by: James Farquharson

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 09:11:43 +0000

Thanks, Rob. We’ve got a small team interested in going for Christmas & New Year 2007/2008. We normally go to N Wales - this looks like a great alternative.

by: Rob Coffey

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 11:36:36 +0000

Hi Pete,
Thanks for the feedback. I hadn’t realised you have been there, I would have called you for info otherwise.

My biggest mistake before I left was thinking that Galicia and Portugal were the same paddling area. As you point out, Galicia, in northernwestern Spain is quite a seperate region from Portugal, and while you could combine both missions in one trip, we found that there was more than enough white water in Portugal to keep us from heading north to Galicia.

Yes, I agree that this has been a good winter for rain, but I think that rivers like the Paiva, Tua and Tamega are very likely to have water, as opposed to the the creeks, which could frequently be dry.

When you coming over to visit Rosie?

Rob

by: Pete C.

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 10:11:30 +0000

Hi Rob,

Good to see you’re still exploring. Just a few points from a couple of trips out to Galicia (just a bit further north) about five years ago. While it’s very, very rare to find that rivers aren’t paddleable through low water, it does happen. On our second trip, after a blocking low pressure had been sat over the area for over a month, there was nothing (except for the grade II playrun Minho) to paddle. That said, the year before we had plenty of rain and found whitewater paradise…

Also, if you’re up north in the Melgaco area, you’re not far from the main boating areas of Galicia, with rivers like the Lerex, the Tamuxe, the Ulla (no, not that one) and the Tea. Some of these, again, are world class, and there’s a guidebook (in French and Spanish) by Andres Sio Gonzales that’s very useful.

And finally, there’s no shortage of hospitality from the locals. One night we were camping on a concrete pilgrimage stage (like a bandstand) next to the local policeman’s house. Instead of storming out and blasting us with a shotgun (as you’d expect), he invited us in to his family’s Christmas Eve feast! There was some wonderful home-brew, some sweet and nutty Turron and a whole host of seafood.

The only reason I haven’t been back is that second trip where there wasn’t any water. That said, it was a very, very unusual barometric situation for that time of year. Maybe next winter…