Portuguese term for a special type of elongated boat used to transport the base wines for port wine from the Douro Valley to the Porto suburb of Vila Nova de Gaia. Mostly these boats drifted downstream only with the river current, sailing was rather seldom. Upstream the boats were mostly towed. Today, they have almost no meaning anymore and serve mainly for touristic purposes. They lie in front of the lodges (warehouses) of the port wine cellars or take part in historical regattas.
Picture: by Nuno Lopes on Pixabay