Viana do Castelo
Minka of Southampton - Cruising Log
Edmund Wigan
Wed 24 Mar 2010 19:25
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Firstly an apology to the castelo. It wasn't the
building on the skyline but a building which I think must have been a
fortification to guard the harbour entrance.
  There is a partial moat around it but it has
obviously been much modified at different times. Looking through the gatehouse
there is a courtyard with municipal buildings around the perimeter. The building
on the hill looks more like a chapel of some sort. If it is a decent day
tomorrow I will climb up there to have a look. The expected gale which was
forecast to be short lived may be around for a couple of days. The harbourmaster
will apparently close the harbour until the swell dies down after the storm.
Apparently this is not unusual on this coast. It looks like a good place to be
stuck.
I had a brief walk around town this morning
whilst the marina washing machine did its stuff.
  As you can see the older buildings are very
attractive. In both of these pictures my back is to the river. Then there are
some interesting more modern buildings.
  The last picture is the office and facilities for
the marina. I am not sure how you would classify the light pink
building.
There is a bridge by the marina which is a double
decker with a rail line underneath and a road above. It was built/designed by a
Mr Eiffel (sp?) who you may have heard of. It is the same design as he used in
Paris but it was just never stood up.
  The final picture shows Minka next to a large
tupperware salad box. This photo was taken from a cafe which has given me the
code for their wireless connection hence all the photos. The marina chap said to
just go and ask them for it. I suggested it would be more polite to at least buy
a coffee...........no, no need. So I went and had a very good lunch and half a
bottle of wine. The waiter had very good English with a slight accent.
Fortunately I didn't patronise him by saying how good his English was as he was
Welsh.
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