Porto
Persephone... Cruiser/Racer
Nigel & Karen Goodhew...
Sat 9 Jul 2016 15:53
We are of course, in the middle of a congested calendar of superb sporting events...Wimbledon, the Tour de France, the Grand Prix season and especially the Euro 2016 tournament. Well, Karen and I decided to step out and enjoy a quiet evening in a carefully selected restaurant in Viana on Wednesday. As we left the marina and started the short walk to the town centre, it became immediately clear that we were not alone. Thousands were gathering by the riverside for an event of some kind. The crowds were good humoured, mainly young, and carrying football regalia, scarves et al, despite the 29 degree temperatures.......then it dawned on us.....The Euros. Seemingly, the whole town was turning out to watch the game, between Wales and Portugal, on a large TV screen set up by the river!
The excitement in the town was electric....everywhere was adorned in red and green, and when Portugal won 2-0, the place erupted, fireworks went off in a pre planned display, and the home going crowds were all jubilant....for hours....their team had reached the final.
Our sail on Thursday was another lovely day. We started with a gentle west south westerly breeze and sailed a sedate close hauled course in clear blue skies and little or no chop from the sea. Slowly, the wind clocked right until, around midday, the kite was called for again, and Persephone picked up her skirts and hurried towards Porto, followed by a gently building breeze which carried us almost to the entrance of the Douro river, 40 miles down the coast. Then, at high tide, the wind disappeared and we gingerly crept up the river under engine to find the Douro Marina....all good.
Then the marinero met us in a rib and showed us the safe way in to the Marina, avoiding the numerous shoals in the river. Still all good. Then he positioned us in a short finger pontoon, and trying to assist us, pulled too hard on a stern line, forcing Persephones bow onto the pontoon, damaging our paintwork on the pointy end in the process....not so good! There were literally no words to describe the mix up...he had no English and my Portugese has all been learned from transcripts of Jose Marinho in his dealings with the Chelsea fc medical staff.....hardly diplomatic or relevant.....
Porto is on the up. We travelled the short distance to the city centre by ferry and tram. It's busy, tourists are everywhere, and buildings which seemed to us, 4 years ago, to be in terminal decline, are being restored and refurbished. There is a sense of rebirth, renewal and of course, huge national pride as the football team is lifting the whole country's mood. National flags adorn the streets, and today we learned that Portugals adversaries in the final on Sunday, will be France....
Last night, we enjoyed a Portuguese dish of beef and potatoes, a lovely red wine from the Douro region. Beef is popular in Portugal....and served in gargantuan proportions, which we attempted to match before a late night stroll back to the Marina along the southern bank of the river, having crossed the iconic Ponta de Luis l.
Today, we are going for the barbecued sardines so widely available in the street restaurants in the nearby village of Afurada de Baixo.
Our next main stop is going to be Cascais...perhaps with a short stop at Peniche...
Our current coordinates;
41 08.536N. 008 39.075W
N
Sent from my iPad