Friday 14th August
This morning we went to the local market to buy fruit and veg but had to
go in two separate taxis since there are five of us so I went ahead with Gabriel
and Isaac and Paul followed later with Yaz. The market wasn’t as big or impressive
as the one at Cascais but we bought a fine array of produce, including some fish
for Paul and Gabriel. In the
afternoon we went to the beach – a 30 minute walk in the midday heat.
It was very crowded but we managed to find a couple of sunbeds with
umbrellas – a bargain at fifteen euros!
Everyone but wimpy me ran straight for the water – I stayed under the
umbrella reading and relaxing. A
short walk to a stall selling water burned the soles of my bare feet because the
sand and the wood were so hot from the sun’s heat. At five we left the beach to have a walk
around the town before returning to the boat. Once the sun had gone down I cooked new
potatoes, carrots, courgettes and a home made tomato sauce to accompany a dinner
of fish and pizza. After this we spent a pleasant evening in the cockpit
offering solutions to riddles that Yaz was asking from Isaac’s iphone. At midnight we watched the fireworks that were set off as
part of the town’s festival celebrations.
Saturday 15th August
After breakfast we motored to a nearby beach and anchored so that we
could reach it by dinghy. Poor
Gabriel and Yasmin felt seasick due to the motion of the waves rocking us from
side to side on the way. While Paul
ferried the children to the beach I prepared a picnic lunch. The beach was lovely – less crowded than
the one from the previous day, and much smaller. I went in the water this time and had a
short swim to cool off, which was lovely despite the powerful waves and the
rocky seabed which could so easily bruise your shins or cut your feet if you
weren’t careful. After lunch we
were ferried back to the boat and Isaac steered us back to the marina. The children went off for showers and
for drinks in the cafes and bars while we chose to have a hose down and chilled
wine on the boat. At 8 o’clock I
prepared a dinner of fried potatoes, sausages, fish and salad so that we all had
something we liked – this takes slightly longer when the boat only has two gas
rings but the oven keeps things warm.
The festival weekend has turned out to be a bit of a low key affair –
apart from last night’s fireworks there are a few boats ‘dressed’ in flags for
the occasion but nothing much else going on. We learned, however, that Supertramp,
the hippy band from the 70s would be playing that evening as part of the
festivities but at 30 euros a ticket we decided we weren’t really big fans of
theirs. Later, Paul and I attempted
to see them by getting into the dinghy – me holding an LED torch aloft as a
beacon – and going round the back of the stage but this proved to be futile, we
couldn’t see a thing (quite an exhilarating ride though). Back on the boat we
could hear the concert clearly but felt cheated that they didn’t plat their
classic hit ‘Breakfast in America’, especially as we had all their other hits
going round in our heads for days afterwards.
Sunday 16th August
Early this morning Yaz, Isaac and Gabriel got up and got
ready to catch the bus that would take them to a huge water park called Slide
and Splash. This left Paul and I
with most of the day to relax and to catch up on jobs. It was hot today – 35 degrees when we
checked at midday so we did the jobs
slowly and surely – the slightest exertion had us sweating and exhausted. During one of the ‘relaxation in the
cockpit’ periods a man from one of the neighbouring boats came to chat to
us. Originally from
Essex, he now lives here and was able to recommend some
good restaurants, places to visit further along the coast and some tips for
wintering the boat here. We had a
lovely lunch in the cabin and in the afternoon I washed clothes and swept sand
off the floor while Paul fixed faults on the engine and the water pump – very
gender biased we are about jobs on this boat J.
Poor Isaac was very sunburnt when they got back late in the afternoon so
we had to treat that before setting off to the supermarket to get some higher
factor suncream along with yet more provisions. It was so hot walking there and back
that Paul and I had to stop for refreshments on the return journey. Since we intended going into town for
crepes and ice creams later in the evening for Yaz’s last night here Paul
prepared light snacks for the children and we set off at 9 30. We eventually found a place that
advertised the required chocolate pancakes, ices etc and afterwards walked along
the beach where lots of teenagers were sitting drinking, having barbecues,
swimming and partying. It was still
quite warm and Gabriel won our admiration by jumping into the water and swimming
for ages.
