The legend of the 3 rivers

Where the story of the formation of the three largest Iberian rivers is told: the Douro, the Tagus and the Guadiana were just three small streams. Until one day they had an idea.

We don’t know exactly when it happened, but it was certainly after the fourth day of creation, the waters and the land made and populated with cetaceans and birds.

The Tagus, the Douro and the Guadiana were no more than three small friendly streams content with the life they led. One day a seagull visited them and told them stories of a world that was already big. And he told them of the vastness of the blues that could be seen when the land ended in the west.

The three little streams stared in amazement. “So much blue! “‘ An astonishment that is understood.They only knew the blue of the sky, which in those early days had not yet turned grey, the brown of the earth and the green of the plants that had not yet flowered.

The vastness of the blues, the tones of the sea merging with those of the sky, stimulated their imagination. We know that geological time is very different from human time, and everything is counted by millions of years. But in those times it was different, and three streams already two days old in the early days of creation can be considered adolescents.And we know how willful young people can be.

As night fell, the Tagus, the Douro and the Guadiana talked about the world they didn’t know and the great adventure that would be the journey to the sea. They gave each other strength. Their imagination kept them from sleeping and, pulling on this one, giving strength to that one, they agreed that in the morning they would set off to discover the sea and that they would see who would be the first to arrive.

God had that day created the lights in the sky, the sun and the moon, day and night. And when dawn came, the Guadiana was the first to wake.He tried unsuccessfully to get the other two rivers to wake up, and when he couldn’t, he set off alone.

He looked at the terrain and turned south, running indolently across the plains of the Alentejo and the valleys of the Algarve.  At some point, he saw the path narrowing and even had to take a leap.Later, humans would call it Pulo do Lobo, near what would become Mértola, but it would have been more accurate to call it Pulo do Rio, because we know that it was the first to make the leap, which was much more difficult than the one that became famous. Because the wolf only had to swing to cross the river, and the Guadiana dared to launch itself downstream.

After this little incident, the journey went smoothly until for the first time the Guadiana saw the sea and made one last effort to embrace it.

The second to wake up was the Tagus.  He saw that the Guadiana had already departed and casting one last farewell glance at the Douro he set off. He ran swiftly through the valleys until he found the doors that opened a quieter path. He asked permission and opened them wide. An eternity later, they would be called Portas de Ródão. From here on he took it easy, looking at everything around him and greeting the griffon vultures and birds of prey that could already be seen there.

The Tagus then spread through the Ribatejo marshes and when it saw the sea it was so pleased that it almost became sea itself, stretching as far as it could and becoming almost adult.

The Douro had been the most excited by the prospect of the great adventure.  He fell asleep late and late woke up. And when he did, and saw that he was already alone, he ran straight ahead without looking a thing on the way. He walked swiftly along the path that led to the sea, choosing each step to take with the sole concern of arriving.If he had woken up early, he would have had time to appreciate the beautiful landscape of the hills that his water would bring to life. But he didn’t wake up, and so it was always in a rush, always surrounded by hills and hills, until finally he found the sea.

Some say that despite waking up late, the Douro was the first to see the sea. Others say no.But the truth is that the only witness would be the seagull, which could not keep pace with the three streams made rivers.

And if someone tells you that they know for sure which of the three rivers arrived first, you should be suspicious, because man was only created one day after this great adventure towards the sea.