We were told that the Portuguese are friendlier in the North than in the South, but we can’t imagine how anyone could be any friendlier than here. We arrived in the river Arde  after Sagres. Alvor didn’t look too inviting with the silting sandbars (but wouldn’t that be a good name or a rock band?) so we headed to Portimao and anchored inside the seawall. Apparently this is where all the anchored boats go in the Summer. But there is only a low seawall separating you from the Big Atlantic Ocean and the slot opens to the South. After a few days there we decided to go into Marina Portimao and fill the water tanks, wash the boat and wait for mail to be delivered to our friends Rhonda and Michael who have a canvas shop near by . We met them in the Azores, and they are now living on their boat in Lagos and running the shop here In Portimao.  We quickly discovered this area has basically three towns, Portimao, Praia de Rocha and Ferragudo.  Portimao is a working town, with a cruise ship landing that is not active this time of year, it has the obligatory old town area, flanked a more modern waterfront with a sardine  museum,  small yacht club, car dealerships, a gas station and a Burger Ranch, as well as a very nice, and clean promenade with some cafes along the way.  It’s actually very attractive in spite of a little bit of an industrial look.   The walk from  the Marina Portimao to town is fairly long, and pleasant now but I can see where it would be a scorching hot walk in the Summer. Closer to the marina is the town of Praia de Rocha. Which is like Miami on a cliff. Only with some much older architecture.  It’s actually the prettiest beach city I have seen! And the beach is the biggest we have seen here yet. And it’s spotless clean, with rocky cliffs on the land side. Up the cliffs is the main avenue with slick hotels, lots of shops and restaurants, old and new, palm trees and a great walkway beyond the town along the top of the cliffs.

After a week at this marina, we went up the river to the “city marina” which is the low rent district. But it’s right in the heart of Portimao, and has a locked gate. The trick is to find the guy who takes the money to get a gate card. The stay is limited to three nights. Our second mail to be delivered still hasn’t arrived so we decided to try the anchorage off of the village of Ferragudo, but we told the holding may not be so good. But the protection is better than the seawall anchorage. There is a 58 ft. boat here that is on a mooring.  Turns out the guy on it is Nick who I met in the boatyard near here while I was trying to peddle my boat name business and he is taking care of the boat. Nick suggested we talk to the owner of the closest restaurant to the Ferragudo landing steps, who also owns another 58 ft boat that is normally kept on another good mooring, but the boat hasn’t been there for a while.  Nick thought maybe we might be able to borrow the mooring. So we dinghied into the landing, where we needed to have a very long line to tie up with given the 9 ft tides here. And a nice man took our line and helped us tie up. He asked if we were English, and when we said we were American, he said “ Oh you are on that boat there? Why don’t you tie up to my mooring? I don’t need it! You will be safe there. And if you need anything, come by my restaurant here, I will make sure you have what you need, I can give you fresh bread, or you can have mail sent here,  what ever you need, you name it!!”

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This is way beyond friendly!  His name is Amedaus,  like Mozart, but I probably have the spelling all wrong.  But he is amazing and we are not done with him yet. I see another friendship brewing here.  And Ferragudo is one of the most charming places yet.  Old buildings, steep cobblestone roads, colorful tiles in between white washed walls,  orange tiled roofs, fishermen at the harbor, lots of cats, an old church and a castle surrounded by trees.  Also there is another beach that is natural with cliffs and trees, not at all like Miami.  We can still run over to Portima to go to a bigger grocery store  if we need it,  or Praia de Rocha for a Miami fix if we need it, but for now, while we wait for the mail, I like it here in Ferragudo just fine.