World's Most Scenic River Journeys
“Guadalquivir, Spain”
Episode 106 | 8m 10sVideo has Closed Captions
Follow in the footsteps of explorers down Spain’s Guadalquivir River.
Journey down the mighty Guadalquivir, Spain's only major navigable river, from the ice-cold waters of the high Sierras de Cazorlas down to the great plains of Andalusia. Passing through the great Muslim cities of Cordoba and Seville the boat follows in the footsteps of explorers such as Columbus and Magellan, who opened up the modern world.
World's Most Scenic River Journeys
“Guadalquivir, Spain”
Episode 106 | 8m 10sVideo has Closed Captions
Journey down the mighty Guadalquivir, Spain's only major navigable river, from the ice-cold waters of the high Sierras de Cazorlas down to the great plains of Andalusia. Passing through the great Muslim cities of Cordoba and Seville the boat follows in the footsteps of explorers such as Columbus and Magellan, who opened up the modern world.
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Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship-Join with us on an incredible journey down the river that shaped not just Spain, but the modern world -- the Guadalquivir.
-The history is it cannot be contained in its cities and has to be told through this river.
Whoo!
-For almost 650 kilometers, we will travel from high mountain gorges... down through rich olive groves.
-I can say that the Guadalquivir river is the reason of our life.
-While floating on this river of discovery... -I think people think we're nuts.
-...we'll fish in deep pools... and canoe into cities flowing with history.
-Next stop -- Córdoba.
-Boarding tiny ships that discovered the world.
-Five ships left Seville, and Nao Victoria is the only one who returned.
-And watching those who sail the world today.
And along the way, we'll be meeting with the people who live and work and play on her banks.
-And now, look.
What do you think?
Is it amazing?
-On a journey laden with history down one of the world's most scenic rivers... ...Spain's Guadalquivir.
♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ We begin our journey down the river that discovered the world, in the high mountains of the Sierra de Cazorla.
As the headwaters of what will become the mighty Guadalquivir trickle from the rocks, we enter a true wilderness with Casar Cuadros, a local guide, and his dog Tia.
-When I was a kid, I was coming here to swim.
I fell in love with these mountains since I was two years old.
When I come back to the city, I'm counting the days to come back here again.
It's like a paradise for me.
-This is one of Europe's largest national parks.
A place where nature rules in tooth and claw.
-These birds are looking for food like dead animals.
They are lion vultures.
Because they have white hair around the neck like a lion.
Over there you can find these white patches, and vultures, lion vultures, can sit down there and make their posts so the rocks get white.
I feel free with the nature, with the animals, and I feel like I'm alive.
So this is my escape from my work or from my problems.
And this is, uh -- this is very, very healthy to be here.
So, it's -- it's win-win for all sides.
-All around the waters that will form the mighty Guadalquivir trickle from tiny springs.
-Yeah, it comes from the spring and it's going underground.
So it's always clean water If you want to drink, drink this water.
-And with the forests famed for wild boar, ham is on the menu.
-This is the way we used to lunch here.
Our knife, our solid ham from these mountains, bread... ...some cheese... ...and of course, a little bit wine, red wine.
♪♪ ♪♪ -From the high headwaters of the river, some 300 kilometers south of Madrid, We'll be traveling almost 640 kilometers through the great plains of Andalusia.
Here we fish in her deep pools and harvest olives from 400-year-old trees.
Before canoeing into the historic town of Córdoba and onto Seville, once the center of world trade.
From here, we'll travel with great oceangoing ships, past lagoons that welcome us to the Atlantic Ocean and the horizons that men like Christopher Columbus sailed across over half a millennia ago.
The first hint of the part that Guadalquivir would play in the building of Spain comes at a small bridge about 16 kilometers from its source.
-Okay, so I think this might be the bridge, the Puente de las Herrerias.
