We have been to Oporto and done the port warehouse tour and
port tasting where we started to learn a bit about port and I managed to stop
David spending a whole month's budget on port. Food and drink in this part of
Portugal is really cheap – we can get
extremely drinkable red and white wine for €1 a litre. Everyone (locals and
yotties) are really friendly and we are so impressed with Portugal
(language is a bit strange, but we are managing). I have to say that I find
reading phrase books fascinating and compulsive. In a couple of years, my aim is
to be able to:
·
order
beer
·
ask
where the toilets are
·
ask
for the bill
·
ask
for the nearest internet café
– in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Greek
and Turkish! Two down (Spanish and Portuguese), four to go! I guess these
phrases demonstrate where our priorities lie.
Rooftops in Oporto.
The cultural bit – Bethany and me marvelling at
the azulejos (painted tiles) in São Bento Station.
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Ponte de Dom Luis I – bridge over the River
Douro. |
A traditional Barcos rabelos used to transport
barrels of port from the vineyards to the wine warehouses in Oporto. |
Port heaven.
More piccies from Póvoa de
Varzim
Ben Hur on
trikes.
Dastardly and Mutley ride again…
Uptown Póvoa de Varzim, with the bright lights of
its Casino.
Figueira da Foz
This coast of Portugal is just one long beach with no shelter
and nowhere to anchor, so it is marinas or bust. Overnight passages are out due
to the hundreds of unlit pot and net buoys along the coast and quite a way
offshore. Our next stop at Figueira de Foz was short – just 2 nights, mainly
because this was the most expensive marina so far at €40 a night.
Acres of sand and sports facilities at Figueira de
Foz.
The children, however, had a whale of a time with
an accumulation of about 10 boat kids of at least five nationalities. The lack
of a common language didn’t stop play for a second. One inspired yottie parent
had found a large lump of rock on the beach and handed it over to the children,
who set to with lump hammers, screwdrivers and various other tools pinched from
yacht tool boxes (while dads weren't looking) and cutlery drawers (while mums
weren't looking) to break it up to get at the 'crystals' inside (a voluntary
form of hard labour for kids). This kept the kids occupied for the whole of the
2 days that we were there – remarkably without loss of any digits or eyes poked
out (although some of the tools and cutlery didn't fare as well).
As a follow up to this, we then did a school
mini-project on the rock cycle, the three types of rocks (which I had forgotten
from the days of ‘O’ level geology are igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary),
and tried to identify the 'crystals'. We have since met up with John and Frannie
(BARBARY DUCK) who are on their way to the Caribbean for a year. John, who is a professional
geologist, confirmed that we were right in thinking that we have a piece of
metamorphic rock that is, in fact, rose quartz! It's amazing what you can pick
up on the beach!
Nazaré
We are now in Nazaré, still in Portugal, and
still having technical hitches. The windlass died in Baiona, which means that we
can anchor, but we have to (more accurately, David has to) pull up a 25 kg
anchor, plus oodles of 10 mm chain by hand. This is a serious threat to David’s
back, temper and our mental well-being, so we have a new one on order (to be
picked up in Lisbon on Monday). We have also had a problem
with the oil return pipes on the engine injectors, but managed to get the parts
sent out from the UK and David fitted them today. We
are reaping the benefits of an old engine that has not been very well
maintained! Never mind, at least the sun is shining on us when we are doing
repairs!
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The quiet end… |
and the busy end of the beach in
Nazaré. |
Traditional drying of fish on the
beach.
We have been cruising in company with another
couple (Mike and Mandy on TENGY) who are the same age as us, are great fun and
are cruising for 6 months. Mike and Mandy met John and Frannie a few years ago
after crossing the Atlantic to the Caribbean
with the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers). They don't have kids themselves, but
were delighted to have the added excuse of the kids to go to the water park. It
is the first time the kids have a) been to a water park and b) were tired enough
to go to bed before 9 pm! The adults weren’t too far behind for a
change.
The water park – which we had to ourselves all
morning!
The water babies ride again, and again, and
again...
Mike, John, David and Bryn discussing the serious
business of synchronized splashing (all hitting the water at the same time with
me trying to catch the moment on camera).
We are hoping to head further downhill in the next
couple of days towards Cascais (pronounced Cashcaish) and Oeiras (pronunciation
update to follow in next blog) as a jumping off point from which to explore
Lisbon with
Mick, Mandy, John and Frannie. However, John and Frannie have been trying to
leave for the last three days and keep getting distracted by water parks, boozy
evenings and the promise of beach cricket, so we might all end up staying just
one more day…
