Cale do Oiro
— since 2014 —

The experience of getting to know a city in its entirety transcends the sum of the parts that compose it. Fernando Catarino acknowledged this fact and perhaps that is why his brand, Cale Do Oiro, unites all the aspects that come from revealing a city, under the common motto of the discovery of the history and tradition of Aveiro.

This comprehensive project began almost accidentally. Catarino, has always been linked to the salt industry, and in a conversation with a long-time client, Ricardo Moreira das Neves, he learned that Ricardo wanted to sell a salt boat, Moreira. Perhaps by nostalgia or on a whim, he wanted to aquire the old salineiro (salt boat), who joined another boat, "S.Gonçalinho" that had been offered him by the sculptor Paulo Neves.

The deal was done, with the condition that the "Moreira" continued to ensure the transport of the Firemen from Aveiro, to their annual meeting in S.jacinto, a commitment that continues to be honored.

Catarino created the brand Cale Do Oiro in 2012. Still experimenting with the concept a little with the launch of some product lines allusive to the region he ended up discussing the possibility of competing for the award of Aveiro's maritime-tourist CAEs (commercial licenses) with his friend Mário Santos. And so it was that they formed a society. But this wasn’t the only venue explored. The next phase of the project included land. They bought the first tourist train in the city and planned routes of circulation, with a hop-on hop-off method, giving passengers the possibility to get to know and feel the whole city of Aveiro, at their leisure.

The success of both initiatives notwithstanding, there was something fundamental that had always defined the city, something that Catarino knew very well, the salt pond. Salinário / Cale do Oiro, contemplates two marines, the Grã Caravela and Peijota, the latter belonging to a friend, Pedro Sardo, who joined the project.

Shortly afterwards Cale do Oiro’s Hotel was created in Rua Engenheiro Silvério Pereira da Silva, with its rooms decorated with the tradition that Aveiro imposes and which seems like the perfect stop for those who visit the city.

Finally, a boat, with capacity for fifty people, with the intention of promoting various parties with DJs, tastings and longer trips, outside the central channels of Aveiro, to S.Jacinto, beaches of Barra and Costa Nova.

Cale do Oiro offers, in this way, a unique and complete experience, products, points of interest, storytelling, accomodation and other activities. From the train that departs from the Railroad Station, circulating through the University, Salt ponds, Municipal Park, Santa Joana’s Museum and Congress Center, to the Moliceiros and mercantéis boats that sail through the estuary with their enthusiastic guides, polyglots who they recreate memories of a former Aveiro, from its people and activities, to the salt marines, where visitors can learn about the ancestral process of salt production and salt flower of excellent quality, to enjoy the Salt Spa, with therapeutic sludge, beneficial to the skin, blood circulation, psoriasis treatment, etc ...

Cale do Oiro, once the noblest part of the Ria, rich in salt, fishing, saweed and algae, which for decades represented the pulsating blood of Aveiro, today represents the wealth of the cultural heritage of the city.
Do not miss the opportunity to meet it.
Cale do Oiro