Two weeks in July

 

We are now back home for a few days, returning to Ione in Ayamonte on 25 July, so a quick update on the last couple of weeks since the last blog of 30 June which saw us in Oeiras, just outside Lisbon.

 

Andrew and Sally joined us on 30^th and we spent a couple of nights in Oeiras before anchoring off Cascais to time our departure south.

 

Leaving after lunch on 2^nd we made a fast overnight passage in a stiff NNW breeze with quite a swell running to pass Cape St Vincent just after dawn.

 

Once round the cape it was noticeable how much calmer it was away from the Atlantic swell. We anchored for the night in the bay at Sagres, where Henry the Navigator supposedly had a school of navigation.

 

 

 

 

Thence to Lagos, initially anchoring a couple of miles before the entrance, off Punta da Piedade. Absolutely beautiful with amazing rock stacks, and wonderful swimming – the water now getting warmer.

 

Lagos itself was pretty uninspiring. Full of Brits, with more English spoken than Portuguese.

 

Punta da Piedade was so beautiful that we had to return!

 

The entrance to Alvor was interesting, with shifting sandbanks, however with the sun behind us we were able to find the channel up to an anchorage near the town. Swinging room was tight and at low water we could stand only half a dozen metres from the stern of Ione.

 

The further east we sailed along the Algarve coast, the more expensive the marinas! Portimao was no exception, but made worthwhile by a dinghy trip across the river to Ferragudo, a delightfully unspoilt village where we had a delicious lunch of fresh grilled sardines.

 

Vilamoura marina was even more expensive, not to mention bureaucratic. A concrete jungle of motor boats, bars and tourist tat shops – no picture! The one redeeming feature was an excellent cataplana in a quiet square away from the front.

 

Ihla Culatra was a complete contrast. We anchored in the lagoon to the north of the island, swimming from the boat two or three times a day, water now about 24°!

 

The island has two small villages, the bigger with a couple of bars and provision stores. One drying inlet from the lagoon is home to a couple of dozen liveaboards.

 

There were a number of Spanish and Portuguese holiday makers, however the huge expanse of sandy beach made it easy to get away from the world. We ended up spending three nights at anchor here.

 

Tavira was another interesting anchorage. Initially we tried to stop above the town, but after three attempts at finding swinging room had to move to just inside the entrance. Even here we dragged once before finding solid holding.

 

From Tavira it was a three hour passage to Ayamonte on the Guardiana river, just over the border into Spain. Here David and Gill Leaming joined us from their house in Portugal for lunch on 13^th.

 

Then finally time to return home on 14^th, flying from Faro to Southampton. Our plan is to return on 25^th for 4 weeks or so and explore the coast down to Cadiz. After that we may look to heading to the Canaries via Morocco in September to winter there.

 

Best wishes to all

Tony & Sarah