A visit to the doctor
Niord's Big Adventure
Tony Gratton
Sat 22 Jul 2023 13:31
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Friday 21/07/2023 Povoa de Varzim
Karen's ear is no better this morning, so we pay a visit
to the marina office to book an appointment with the doctor. Things go better
than yesterday, and she's booked in for late morning. We have breakfast at the
local cafe. While there we get a couple of surprises. The engineer can visit us
today, and our first parcel of hen's teeth has been released from customs! Our
second one has arrived in Portugal too and is due for delivery today. The first
parcel arrives quickly, so back to the marina office to collect it. Next we're
off to the doctors. His English is not so good, so we end up conversing
in a mixture of French, Portuguese, and English. Karen has an ear
infection, so has an antibiotic injection, plus a course of antibiotics and
anti-inflammatories. If she is no better in 48-hours then its off to
hospital.
Karen has a trip to the pharmacy, while Tony returns to
the boat to wait for the engineer. We receive notification that the second
parcel of hen's teeth is now in customs awaiting clearance. Sounds familiar! We
get a message from Nautica Vaga. The engineer will be with us after 5:30. He
never comes. We do, however, get a message saying he has been delayed but will
now be with us early tomorrow morning. Now we repeat the daily routine of
putting all the kit back in the aft cabin, so that it can come out again in the
morning!
On our daily march to the facilities we pass by the
local yard where fishing boats are lined up on an old-fashioned slip. They are
all wooden, and it's interesting to see the workmen working on them. In the shed
we can see the frame of a wooden launch emerging. The old skills are not
completely lost!
We have been a bit disconcerted to see "cachorros"
(dogs) on some of the street food menus. Luckily it means hot-dogs!
It's Friday night so we smarten ourselves up and head
off to get a nice glass of wine somewhere. We try the castle. The restaurants
are only serving food. We try the old town. Same story. Karen finds a wine bar.
It's on the other side of town, so we decide to go for it. A long walk later we
arrive. It is closed. We walk back by the seashore. Most bars are either dodgy
or empty. The ice-cream parlours are full, but Karen can't have any dairy with
her tablets. We try a couple of bars down a side street. No go, so we turn back
towards the marina. We come across exactly what we have been looking for almost
at our starting point! A wine shop with some wines sold by the glass, with light
bites to match. We order a couple of glasses of red, some Iberico ham,
olives, and bread. This is the best wine we've had on the trip! We order
another. Do they have port by the glass? Of course, and a 10-year old tawny is
served. Some very nice Portuguese people at the next table give us some sweet
biscuits to go with it. They are very friendly. We turn in happy for a
change.
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