Sunday 4th October (Lini’s Journal)

Brindabella's Web Diary
Simon Williams
Fri 9 Oct 2009 07:18


�� Oh the joy of no schedule! We rolled over and went back to sleep then had a very leisurely breakfast reading tourist information: There�s so much to see! There was a steady stream of boats arriving in the marina when we�d surfaced so it seemed sensible to take up the offer of moving to a more sheltered berth now while there was still space. The fog was so thick we couldn�t see the end of the marina but we crept round slowly to our allocated berth and got ourselves settled again. Yes, this berth was much more sheltered but OMG was it noisy. We are a stone�s throw away from the lighthouse and the fog horn blasted every couple of seconds for most of the day. Can I just add that this is not one of those nice deep gentle horns, but a high pitched shreaky sort of horn that makes your ears ring. Si set up his laptop at the chart table with the wifi antenna doodah for boosting the signal. This meant that to be able to get the wifi I had to sit on deck which left my ears ringing for hours!

�� By late afternoon the fog had lifted and YEEHAH the foghorn had a break for a while. We wandered into town for a mosey. Cascais is all rather twee. Narrow cobbled streets, a dinking town hall, a tiny church, a pretty little square, a miniature sandy beach leading to a small sheltered anchorage and the biggest lump of concrete paving ever leading up to the citadel walls! The whole town was heaving with motorbikes with the Portuguese Grand Prix being held in neighbouring Estroril, the numerous cafes and bars overflowing with thirsty people bearing bike helmets. The tourist information centre was now closed for the day so we knew nothing of events planned for tomorrows Republic Day holiday.

Our return to the bustling town for dinner after hot showers was a disappointment after our afternoon stroll. By this time rowdy Englishmen were staggering out of the Irish bars and a couple who arrived on a table next to us were nothing short of rude when told they didn�t serve Irish coffee. My choice of restaurant was as usual bad. A last minute change of mind resulted in my plate of flabby ravioli with a mystery stuffing coated in a gelatinous goo. Si had rubbery meat also in goo, both served with grated carrot. Yum! Si�s choosing restaurants all the time from now on.

�� Back on Brindabella the fog horn was back in operation. We inserted ear plugs and attempted sleep.