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TRAVEL
In Setúbal, the River Sado
flows between vineyards and
dolphins, tracing a landsca-
pe where nature and wine
share the same salty whisper
of the Atlantic.
Phoenicians and Romans once
sailed to the edges of the Me-
diterranean and even ventured
into the Atlantic, rounding Cape
St. Vincent—now part of Portugal—nor-
thward to reach a liquid paradise: the
mouth of the River Sado. This estuary, go-
verned by ocean tides, is sheltered from
the cold northern winds by the Arrábida
mountain range on the Setúbal Peninsu-
la, and protected from Atlantic swells by
the vast sandbar that forms another pe-
ninsula; Tróia.
Everyone wants to live there
The Romans settled here, founded fac-
tories such as the one in Creiro, and
exported salted fish throughout the Em-
pire—along with their most prized sau-
ce, garum. On the south-facing shore,
they founded Cetobriga, today’s Setúbal,
which still makes use of this natural har-
bour. In the calm waters of the estuary
they built their docks, and even today
some small wooden piers for fishing boats
remain—visually striking structures from
the mid-20th century known as the Cais
Palafítico de Carrasqueira, considered
unique in Europe.
Yet this remarkable site had already been
occupied since time immemorial by ear-
ly Palaeolithic settlers who inhabited the
Santa Margarida cave, now at sea le-
vel. This landscape forms such a unique
ecosystem that it is home to a group of
around thirty dolphins, which have lived
in the area for centuries. This is due to
the meeting of salty Atlantic waters with
the fresh waters of the River Sado, which
carries sediment along its 180 km journey
from southern Portugal. In its final stretch,
the river irrigates the rice fields around Al-
cácer do Sal. The mix of salt and fresh
water creates such marine abundance
that the dolphins find everything they
need to thrive—and so they remain.
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