We really liked Povoa de Varzim –
and not just because it was cheap (15 euros a night for a huge berth, great
showers and security, free internet etc).
However, time and tide…so we decided to move south on Monday
(29th Sept). We thought
we’d get some miles under our belts and decided to make a 24 hour passage to
Nazare, so getting halfway down Portugal and giving us time to loiter near
Lisbon and
(hopefully) sunny southern spots.
It all started well, with a reasonable N/NW breeze for the first few
hours. Then the wind lightened
during my midnight watch and Tony decided that the motion was getting too
uncomfortable and we needed to turn on the engine, whatever the risk of picking
up one of the omnipresent pot-floats.
I then retired to my bunk to nurse the cold Tony had passed to me from a
sniffly Spanish checkout girl. When
I woke up we were in thick fog and all electronic aids were glowing. Tony had been cheered up by a
phosphorescent bottle-nosed dolphin which briefly visited the boat, but had a
very tiring watch otherwise. The arrival in Nazare demonstrated the value of all
those pilotage exercises in practical RYA courses: Nazare is an all-weather port due to an
underwater ‘canyon’ which leads straight to the harbour mouth – find the point
where the depth crashes to ‘deep’, turn east and pray! It worked brilliantly; the fog thinned
just as Tony spotted the pierhead and I saw the white beach hotels and surf,
alarmingly close. In a moment we
were in and safe, being signed in by ‘Captain Mike’, the English harbourmaster.
We’ve decided to stay here a day or
two as we seem to be getting a trailing front from the depression that Rosie
tells me is afflicting England today and the sea is pretty rough. We have begun tourism well with a good
fish stew lunch and a trip on the funicular to Sitio, the hilltop settlement
with which the town began (defence against pirates), which provides spectacular
views of the town and harbour below. Amoret is visible on the photo (just). The harbour is a long walk from town, so
we should keep fit!
   
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