We next met local primary school teacher Felamina to discuss a possible project with her school. We were taken to the other side of the river Douro and offered our first sample of Port. Sandra and I discussed the practicalities at length with Felamina and we agreed that an art exchange with Christ the King primary school in Knowle, may be possible.

Our final working morning in Porto was spent with Dr Fernando Gomes of the Porto-Gondomar Urban 1 programme. He works for the 'Commissão de Coordenação de Regão Norte" which oversees and co-ordinates the Urban 1 programme in the Porto area. We explained to him our connection with Urban in Bristol and in regeneration in Knowle West and Sandra's work for Urban. He explained the ways in which his organisation works and that the action plan for the programme is carried out locally by the city councils. He also explained the nature of the "social problems" such as poor housing and lack of employment in the areas covered by the second Urban programme. He suggested that a future visit to these areas and a meeting with the local councils would be valuable. In the afternoon we were collected by Cristina Lourenço who took us to Rio Tinto to visit the Frie Manuel de Santa lnes school. Again we worked with a small group of 12-13 year olds who were more than happy to snap away on the camera and write two short articles for our newsletter, Mouth of the South. Their English, once again, was impressive, and their enthusiasm shone through. This really made our work so enjoyable.

After a hectic and thoroughly enjoyable week we spent our final day visiting and photographing some local sights--the Ribeira, the bridges over the Douro and the beautifully tiled railway station--and of course managed to fit in a visit to one of the local port centres. We all felt sad to leave Cora and look forward very much to her visit to the UK later this year.

The Great Alqueva Dam Project

Guy Bellairs writes from Madeira with some positive facts to balance our report on the great Alqueva Dam, that we wrote about in Diario 50.
The region is currently very arid; it provides a meagre living for its farmers in good years, and destitution when the rains fail, which is not unusual. The dam will irrigate an area about the size of Devon and Cornwall combined, an enormous market garden will be created, furnishing fruit and vegetables which are often lacking in the present Portuguese diet.
The waterways will total more than 4,002 Km! The barrage, which is 60 feet higher than the great tower of the Bristol's Wills Memorial Building, used the latest  cool-pour techniques, and embodies 500 electric sensors, to warn of any possible impending weakness in the structure.  A small power station will furnish electricity without producing smoke or greenhouse gases. To minimise environmental damage, eleven teams of botanical specialists are working to ensure the survival, and if possible, the proliferation of endangered species of wildlife.  9000 trees are being transplanted and all other organic material removed to prevent the water being polluted by rotting vegetation.  An archaeological team is also taking steps to preserve some ancient artefacts.
The inhabitants of the scruffy hamlet of Luz are being rehoused in a model village, carefully planned to provide civic amenities ranging from a crèche (for the recently arrived)  to a cemetery (for the recently departed).  No doubt some of the old folk will resent the loss of their ancestral homes, but their children certainly will not.  Cable TV is being provided, so Guy predicts that, within the next ten years, their grandchildren will be skilfully enjoying broadband Internet access!.
This undertaking is a credit to Portugal, Spain and the European Union. If the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain of Extremadura, the dam should be nearly full by the late summer of 2003.