The MEET team (Red Cross Youth from Braga) has reasons to be happy, after the success of one of its most ambitious projects - the trip along the Douro River, Mystic River, that took place on April 9th, 2011.
The trip gathered, in a spontaneous interaction, a diverse group of national as well as international students and researchers from countries like Poland, Russia, Brazil, Senegal, China, Holland, Romania and Peru.
The group enjoyed an intense discovery of the Portuguese culture, from the Ribeira, next to the River Douro, one of the oldest and most typical areas of Porto, which is also a part of the Historic Centre of this city, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Here, our participants could witness the importance that the trade of Porto wine (one of the oldest and most appreciated wines in the world) had and still has, such as the rabelos, the boats that did the transport of this wine by the river, and the wine storage cellars along the margin of Vila Nova de Gaia.
Our cruise up the river towards Régua city, an important area of production and trade of the Porto wine, was exciting for many reasons - the beautiful landscape of the vineyards and terraces shaped by human activity, also a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the experience of passing through the Crestuma and Carrapatelo dams.
During the cruise, which led us through Douro, our participants also had the opportunity to enjoy the Portuguese cuisine as well as the regional wine.
Upon reaching Régua, we were greeted with the cries of typical sellers of the traditional sweets of the region.
After visiting this little city, we came back to Porto by a tourist train, enjoying the green landscape blending with the golden sunset.
In the end, we were left with the certainty that not only the Portuguese culture was presented, but all the cultures of the participants in this journey. This trip served not only to integrate the international participants in our culture, but also to promote respect for multiculturalism and unite all!
Ivone Coelho
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