Tavira - Olhao
Seaduced
John & Jane Craven
Fri 20 Aug 2010 18:35
On the way up the Ria Formosa to Olhao we passed a large anchorage which would be our second choice if the marina was unavailable, as well as a few islands with gorgeous but very busy beaches.
The marina was not quite what we expected when we arrived. We had to take a very narrow channel alongside the pontoons as the water was very shallow nearby. A few attempts to radio ahead had been hopeless so we decided to tie up on the outside of the pontoon and go ashore to find out if we could stay. The first problem was that I was unable to get off the pontoon as the gates were locked and a key was needed to access the harbour. I found an English speaking boat crew who said they were very strict about anyone landing a boat and being let out by key-holders so he couldn't help with that. However, he said that no-one worked in the marina at weekends and that people moored up on the pontoons on the other side of a small anchorage near the market and it was basically free as no-one would check over the weekend. We moored there and decided to take our chances, although we had no electric or water on the pontoon. Water was getting quite necessary as 3 of us had been on anchor the last 2 nights so we bought 10 x 5l bottles of water from the local supermarket, 'borrowed' the trolley to take them back to the boat and shuttled water back and forth in the dinghy from a nearby tap - problem solved!
The town itself was quite small and not at all touristy, despite the amount of people who queued up daily for the boats to go to the island to sunbathe. That evening we decided to go out in the dinghy for a sundowner and see what all the fuss was about. We headed out and came to Isla do Amourna, about 20 minutes away by dinghy, which was a holiday village full of small chalet type buildings and lots of people. It has a very nice holiday atmosphere with a couple of very casual beach bars.