Albufeira to Olhao 1st October
Lazydawn
Sat 8 Oct 2005 19:08
We left the mooring around 11.30 after an excellent shower and yet another wonderfully late breakfast. The wind was 0!!! So again we motored east. The total run was 27 miles.
Leaving Albufeira
We stayed close to the coast to improve the view. We passed Vilamoura and almost turned in to hire some golf clubs, as it has some of the best courses in Portugal!! However we motored on, as our target is to get to Cadiz and Tarifa for some surfing and kite surfing. We can play golf when we are older!!!!
The navigation in to Olhao was quite interesting, as the tide was running at 3 knots against us and the depth was going down and down!!! As we passed between the moles (man made sea walls) for Faro & Olhao we entered a huge shallow lagoon surrounded and sheltered by large sand dunes. We slowed the boat and edged our way up the sand bars till we found a great anchorage, really quiet and only a short dinghy ride to a tiny little settlement on the dunes.
The dunes are protected and a large information board explained what was and was not allowed. Strictly no leaving the paths! A fantastic wooden path lead us through the settlement and out to the Atlantic Ocean on the other side of the dunes. We had taken our running shoes so did a 20 minute run down the endless sandy beach.
On the way back we found a small shop and purchased some eggs and salad for dinner and an unusual looking local cake for desert. Back on the yacht I set up the rod holder and cast my first line on my new rod!! (thanks to Jiff, mole, Liz & Wynn) Alas, it was not to be, with only 30 minutes of light my tiny shrimp-like lures did not entice any black spotted bream so its egg salad for dinner!
This place is a million miles away from a day in the Solent and it really felt like we had been exploring much further a field than here :o)
Night falls on a perfect day!
