What a lovely trip home to see all the children and to attend Alice's and Mike's graduations.
Very proud parents and that's two more through uni! Only Kate and Wills to go. The house and garden were also fine and it was great to catch up with everyones' news. Had an excellent therapeutic shop with Kate and spent some nice girl time together. We travelled back via Emily's new flat in Chiswick where Will's was providing removal services. Very straight forward journey back to Panties apart from the lunatic taxi driver who also charged us too much from the airport. We should have agreed the price first but to be honest we were grateful to have survived the 140 km/hr trip round the ring road!
Saturday 25 th July
Alex sprang into action replacing the Y diversion valve from the heads which went swimmingly. Just as well as those pipes transmit some pretty noxious substances! Meanwhile I had a mega sleep and woke much refreshed ready for a trip to the supermarket. Back to Panties for some cleaning and more plumbing activities. Bought a mega sea bass for 14€ which we had for supper with some left over despite us eating more than we should have. Again another day pottering on Sunday and Panties now gleaming inside and out. Roast chicken as it's Sunday and old habits die hard and we do love our Sunday roast!
Monday 27th July
Alex's Birthday.
Lots of lovely messages on Facebook, many thanks to you all and texts and phone calls from the children. No working on the boat today to celebrate. We have a walking tour of Lisbon organised for this afternoon but we are going to try and find a good chandlery to stock up on some bits and pieces. We take advantage of the free shuttle service to the station and get off the train at the docks. Unfortunately we couldn't see any chandlers so Alex asked a chap who said we needed to go back a couple of stops to Belem. Fortunately we came across a handy taxi who took us to the excellent shop at Belem marina where we got all that we needed except for a gang plank and all will be delivered free of charge back to Oeiras marina. Excellent service and very helpful staff. Then back on the train into Lisbon and a very refreshing fresh orange juice at a cafe in Rossio square. We found a very nice hat shop there where Alex found a hat but unfortunately none which fitted my miniscule head!
We met lovely Sofia who was our guide for the afternoon during which we explored the older narrow streets with Sofia giving us an informative history lesson with lots of interesting facts about Lisbon and Portugal. Very worthwhile, especially the custard tarts with cinnamon and then wine and cheese in a beautiful Moorish taverna as a finale. It really brings a city alive to hear about the major events that shape the city, from the Moorish occupation and the founding of Portugal as a nation to the the earthquake in the 1750s and the peaceful revolution of 1974 when the revolutionaries put carnations into the barrel of the soldiers' guns.
After a reviving white wine we followed Sofia's advice and returned to the Resturant ..... for dinner. Absolutely splendid Moorish surroundings with the dining room tiled beautifully and charming staff making it a dinner to remember especially the traditional pork and clams and the trio of Portuguese desserts. We actually then had a sensible and good value taxi ride home.
Tuesday 28th July
Lovely hot and sunny today. We decided to have a good walk up into the old town of Oeiras to find some gas hose so we can run the barbecue from our big gas bottles. Lovely cobbled streets and a brilliant ironmongers where you could probably get anything and everything! We got our gas hose and then walked to the supermarket to top up with fresh produce plus some bits to fill the freezer which we have started to use. Frozen prawns, crab, quail, peas, coconut and chocolate ice cream, ice cubes and bread. We can now probably survive a couple of weeks with gourmet food on Panties we are so well stocked.Back for lunch and a rest as we're off to see Mark Knoppfler tonight. I bought the tickets when we popped home so a nice birthday pressie for Alex who is rather keen on Dire Straits - brings back memories of a mispent youth. We used the marina transport for a lift up to the concert which was held outdoors, of course, in a small football stadium. We were just behind the VIP seats in an excellent central position. Fortified with some red wine at 2€ for a large glass we were soon rocking along with Mark and his band who played a mixture of old and new. Great fiddler and saxophonist and as we'd bought his new album we were able to sing along to all the songs. Brilliant night and picked up by the marina so easy trip back. We must make the effort to do more live music and concerts.
Weds 29th July
Decided to have some fun this morning before setting off tomorrow. As Panties was moored stern to wind and the wrong way for her prop walk with limited space for error we decided to warp her round. Alex had expended much thought over the intricacies of this manoeuvre so after much discussion we put the plan into action. It worked like a dream, the only problem was fighting off the Portuguese helpers who couldn't quite work out what we were up to! A bit of a tidy in preparation for tomorrow's departure then time for a bit of social with Cliff and Val who are sailing an Élan 44 called AWOL all the way from Troon. They came aboard for drinks and a good chin wag and plenty of chat about the ARC plus sailing yarns! We were going for dinner up in the village but decided to follow Cliff and Vals advice and go to the marina tapas bar. We had a scrumptious meal of prawns, beef cheeks with ginger and cherry, patas bravas and spicy chicken wings washed down with a very palatable red Douro.
Thurs 30th July
Left lovely lovely Oeiras at 10.00. It really has been one of my favourite spots ever and we have nothing but praise for a very well run marina with fantastically helpful staff and the free bread rolls weren't bad either! As we left the river Tagus fog started to roll in. I think if we'd left much later we might have changed our minds about setting out. Never mind, radar on and fog horn identified and we were both keeping our eyes and ears peeled. Very patchy fog and at times very dense and spooky.
The trip was greatly enhanced when a WHALE came to play. I think it took a fancy to Panties and we were a bit worried about the possibility of a courting ritual!
Definitely a moral boosting sighting and very exciting. We carried on deep into the fog and had a little chit chat with a Portuguese sailor who could see us on his AIS but as he wasn't transmitting we couldn't see him, not even on radar until he was really quite close. We saw him loom out of the fog and gave each other a wave. Not long after that we turned into the bay towards our anchorage and the fog lifted which was quite a relief as our pilotage took us pretty close to the cliffs to our pretty anchorage - meant to be one of the most beautiful in Portugal, Portinho Arrabida, just before Setabul.
A very pleasant night and we also spent the following day bobbing and pottering about and I satisfyingly polished all the deck fittings! Alex very pleased with himself as got the water maker going. 25 litres of water into the tanks and it tastes amazing. We are truly self sufficient now. Bring on the Zombie Apocalypse as we'll be ok. The wind got up overnight, a katabatic wind whooshing down the cliff at us so a bit disturbed with lots of noise not helped by my dream of anchor dragging into the path of a ginormous tanker. Only a dream though and we were still safely anchored in the morning without the anchor alarm going off.
Saturday 1st August
Set sail for Sines this morning. We needed an early start as there was a certain lack of water a couple of hours after high water so we left with the sun rising and the moon setting at 06.30. A disappointing motor today although the sun is back so I could have a nice sunbathe on the foredeck. Wind picked up just before noon so at least we could sail into the anchorage at Sines - pronounced ' Cinch ' - that's Portuguese for you! A really lovely anchorage just off the pristine beach ( Vasco de Gama ) and you just have to forget the entrance past the gas terminal! Once in the inner harbour it's very pretty and tranquil and just off the marina. Plenty to keep us entertained with boats coming and going plus a long distance swimming race right around Panties with the lifeguard having a great pose on his jet ski.
Sunday 2nd August
Dinghy inflated then a trip ashore to find a supermarket and a little explore. Nice little town with well stocked mini market. Lots more fresh fruit and veg plus 4 quail for barbecuing and some stewing steak for less than 8€. We stopped at a very little but extremely busy cafe and had mini chicken pies and custard tarts with our coffee. Absolutely heaving and celebrating 45 years as a family run pastelleria. An afternoon of R&R plus some revision for me in preparation for my Yachtmaster. I am going to do 1-2 hrs reading a day as I don't want to sound like I don't know what I'm doing! BBQ of quail, sausages and peppers in a BBQ sauce. Brilliant! Why does food taste so much better cooked outside on the back of the boat?
Monday 3rd August
Time for a run although not our most scenic as we ended up running past the gas and oil terminal! Never mind it was prettier running back with the view of the village and beach. Very nice cycle/ foot path which seem to be pretty common along the coast. Met Simon and Jenny on their Nauticat who are crossing the Atlantic in January on the Jim Cornell organised event. I'm sure we'll catch up with them in the Canaries and spent a nice hour with a cup of tea on their yacht in the afternoon. Beef curry tonight prior to an 8 o'clock departure and we should be in the Algarve for breakfast!
Sun rise in the Atlantic ocean just before Cabo St Vincente
Tuesday 4th August
Cabo Sao Vincente
Breakfast in the Algarve safely in Lagos Marina after a variable trip. Wind ranged from 3 knots to 30 knots and weather from brilliant hot sunshine to fog! Didn't fancy the anchorages after rounding Cabo Sao Vincente as really windy then.
Whooshed past Simon Courtman's house in Sagres - very pretty bay Simon- but wind then dropped and very hot as we entered Lagos marina. Another big step in our journey!
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