Susie sets sail

Up the Guadiana....

That’s with a paddle, actually two.

Our first obstacle was to clear the bridge at the entrance to the river, hearts in mouth we crawled along and were we glad when we passed underneath with what looked like to be less than a meter to spare.

                         

The Guadiana river winds its way along for about 500 miles,only 40 miles of that is navigable. It divides Spain and Portugal and where we're anchored at the moment it's about 12 miles up the river and about 300 yards wide.

                                  

On one side we have Portugal and the town of  Alcoutim, and on the Spanish side it's Sanluca de Guadian.
Of course there is not only a difference in language but also time. Spain is an hour ahead so when the church bells chime on the hour you get one extra dong from Spain.

They seem to have worked it out that Portugal’s bells toll about 30 seconds after Spain if not they didn't have this delay it could be a bit of a campanology massacre.

Sounds of goats and there bells, sheep and the odd turkey gobbling help make this a tranquil spot.The river has some very strong tidal flows and bamboo washes past at a rate of knots.

The wildlife here is amazing, Storks, Bee eaters, Kingfishers, Herons and Egrets, yesterday we went on a Turtle hunt and just as we were about to give up there they were basking on a tree trunk.

We had been told they were in this little inlet that branched off the main river and it was best to paddle so not to scare them off.

Pat, Nick Red and Fynn

It was amazing paddling gently up the river, the only sounds were those of the wildlife and the gentle disturbance of the water from our rowing.

Pomegranate and Quince trees line the shore as do Willow trees and bamboo. 

Further up stream there’s a dam holding back the waters from the Lagunas de Ruidera which is a natural park in Spain containing 15 lagoons that are located above the La Mancha plain. Its area is more than 930 acres. The lagoons are connected by falls, small rivers as well as subterranean flow and the area is considered as the source of the Guaiana River. As soon as we arrived here you were reminded of Don Quixote  because of two windmills that sai perched on the top of a hill on the Spanish side.

The two towns have had a lot of money thrown at them from the EU and on the Portuguese side a beach has been built and a dam to hold in the water at it is said a cost of ...... wait for it ....120 million Euros......’sacrilege’.

Tonight is the night of witches so it’s supposed to be a party with September song ( Alan, Sabina Matis and Alexia) Vagabond (John and Linda) Meteor (Nick, Pat, Red and Fyn). Oh how I wish I had all my dressing up stuff from home, still we’ll make do with what we can find.Wow what a party, everyone dressed up in home made costumes made out of cardboard, bin liners and old clothed adapted to make you quiver.

We  had a pot luck supper 15 adults and 5 kids all stuffed in the cockpit. Carol and i had decorated the boat in lights, cat's and bat's.Josh played one of his many whistes and he was accompanied by a new friend, a boat designer who played a funny instrument that originated from Cornwall that sounded like a Ukulele.

          Group shots                                                 
                                                                                    


 
This morning Sunday, we started the jobs we've been putting off, replacing the anchor chain and replacing the Duogen.

It turned into another party with everyone rallying around to help.

We have made some really good friends and it always amazes me how everyone rallies around when things need to be done.

A bit of a Shirley...

Valentine that is, only instead of watching the sun go down in Greece I was lounging on the biggest and most comfortable sun bed ever, in a wonderful sandy beach bar close to the shoreline in Portugal.

There I sat soaking up the sun, listening to the palm trees rustling in the breeze and supping a mug of tea. Ok, Ok not as romantic as ole Shirley I suppose I could have made it sound more interesting and lied and said I was sipping from a long glass a tequila sunrise but I just felt like a nice cuppa. And Instead of a rock I had a wooden carving of a turtle.

The last time I was here in Portomao was about five years ago when I spent Christmas and New Year with Sue and Jeff aboard their motorboat. Returning here has been an emotional journey as Sue died of cancer last year and the time spent here with her was the last time I enjoyed her company before her illness.

Sue and Jeff bought a plot of land and built themselves their dream home before the sad news. Hopefully Jeff and I will meet up when he gets back from visiting the UK at the end of October.

So a summery of our time here.....

We arrived here on Saturday and moored in the bay, and still having no windless meant we had to lower the anchor by hand; it went better than I’d expected.

It was a trip ashore on Sunday evening to listen to a jazz band on the beach with Dries, Yvonne, Olie, Maria, John and Linda and Allan, Sabina, little Alexia and Matis, Uncle Tom couldn't make it.

            

Alexia, Isn't she just the cutest?                        

 

 Matis, who's 4 speaks two languages fluently and working on his third.            

The evening was lovely and  the sun start to go down over Praia Da Rocha and when we returned to the boat the evening sunlight made the castle that overlooks Portomao look more like a sand castle rising from the cliffs. 

  This is the view we have from the cockpit.

Portomao has spectacular beaches, some sheltered by a break water, but the main beach is open to the sea where the surf whips up a white froth as it hits the shore.

  This beach runs for miles along Praia Da Rocha , all the way to Alvaro about five miles away.

The weather at present reminds me of home but this is the first time for ages we’ve had rain. By Friday it should be back to normal, sun, sun sun. But till then we’ll be staying in the marina until it improves as there's forecast to be a 4.5 meter swell coming in.

Thursday I had little Alexi who's all of eight months to myself while everyone went into Portomao. I'd forgotten what it's like entertaining babies.

We played drums on some saucepans, danced in the cockpit, and she painted me with a banana. A short nap ( by Alexi) gave me a chance to refuel before we played with the anchor ball I'd forgotten to take down, followed by a walk up and down the pontoon where we admired some of the boats and met up with John and Linda who came for a cuppa and chat. 

John being a grandfather took over the walk up and down the pontoon giving Alexi a lesson on different anchors.

Bike ride today into Portomao where i bought a shopping trolley to hopefully adapt to fit the bike. If it works there will be pics to follow, if it doesn't there wont.

Finally a nice afternoon with Sabina and Alan (pronounced AL- Lan.). Sabina made scones, (not bad for an American) with jam and cream cheese followed by a tasting session of Port.

Tomorrow it's back to Lagos to pick up 80 meters of anchor chain, god knows how were going to get it on the boat, it weights 2.2 kilos a meter. Then mack to Portomao to anchor for the night before making our way to Faro on Sunday.

 

 

Meet my new Fanni........

Well i had to give her a name, Fanni Di Blasi to be exact and she's my new bike. Carol bought two bikes yesterday so we could get around the town more easily and fetch shopping. Here she is..

She folds away as you can see in the little picky.

We watched a demo on line of how it's done and it took about 3 seconds, i have a feeling it's going to take me much longer. Still we went out with John and Linda for what Carol called a short bike ride, she lied.

We rode about twelve miles and having only ridden a bike a couple of times in the last 40 years certain parts of my anaotomy took a bashing hence why she's been called fanny. We stopped in a roadside bar halfway back for refreshments and our little bikes caused a ripple in the clientel.

Still it was nice to get out on the road and see some of the sights. I'm sure as time goes by i'll improve and the exersice will do me good.

Lagos is a lovely town and the marina well placed with just a short walk to thetown  center. Bars and resturants surround the marina giving it a buzz at night however it's not too  noisy. Those pesky secadas, i can never remember what they're called so i call them enchiladas.    Anyway the're at it all night. We also have storks nesting here on some chimney stacks, they also like to chatter at night.

There are a lot of people overwintering in the Marina so they have lots of clubs and get togethers. Lagos is possibly where we'll be spending Christmas

                           

The town like all those i've visited in Portugal has these lovely patterend walkways with bars and resturants spilling out onto the streets. There's also an old quarter i've yet to visit.

The weather here at the moment is great and over the past few days has been in the late 80's and we recorded 90 in the shade. You can see why things quieten down mid day here. We're leaving Saturday and sailing to Portamoa and anchoring for a few days, we want to see what it's like for a winter stop and compare it to Lagos.

Tonight is a get together in one of the bars so we'll pop along and see what the people are like here.

 

Careful what you pray for...

A man was sick and tired of going to work every day

while his wife stayed home.
He wanted her to see what he went through so he prayed:
'Dear Lord:
I go to work every day and put
in 8 hours while my wife
merely stays at home.
I want her to know what
I go through.
So, please allow her body to
switch with mine for a day.
'

God, in his infinite wisdom,
granted the man's wish.
The next morning, sure enough,
the man awoke as a woman...
He arose, cooked breakfast
for his mate,
Awakened the kids,

Set out their school clothes,
Fed them breakfast,
Packed their lunches,
Drove them to school,
Came home and picked
up the dry cleaning,
Took it to the cleaners
And stopped at the bank
to make a deposit,

Went grocery shopping,
Then drove home to put
away the groceries,

Paid the bills and balanced
the check book.
He cleaned the cat's litter box
and bathed the dog..
Then, it was already 1 P.M.
And he hurried to make the beds,
Do the laundry, vacuum,
Dust, And sweep and mop
the kitchen floor.
Ran to the school to pick up
the kids and got into an argument
with them on the way home.
Set out milk and cookies and
got the kids organised to do
their homework.
Then, set up the ironing board
and watched TV while he
did the ironing.
At 4:30 he began peeling
potatoes and washing
vegetables for salad,
breaded the pork chops
and snapped
fresh beans for supper.

After supper,
He cleaned the kitchen,
Ran the dishwasher,
Folded laundry,
Bathed the kids, And put
them to bed.
At 9 P.M. He was exhausted
and, though his daily chores
weren't finished, he went to
bed where he was expected to
make love, which he managed
to get through without complaint.

The next morning, he awoke
and immediately knelt by the
bed and said: -
Lord, I don't know what
I was thinking.
I was so wrong to envy my
wife's being able to stay
home all day.
Please, Oh! Please,
let us trade back.. Amen!'

The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, replied:

'My son, I feel you have
learned your lesson and
I will be happy to change
things back to the way
they were.
You'll just have to wait
nine months, though.

You got pregnant last night.'

Night sail to Lagos..

Cracking along.

Well at last we could sail, the wind finally came up and was a steady 25knts albeit up the duff. We goosewinged for a while then a starboard tack.

The seas were a bit lumpy with short waves surfing us forwards and rolling us at the same time. My watch was 2400 hrs to 0400 and as I came up the wind was starting to shift. Moving over to a port tack seemed the best idea but we had the preventer on so I hauled the mainsheet over and we were at a steady 6 knts and the ride was smooth.

At times night watches can be boring but there was enough traffic out there to keep me on my toes and the four hours went fairly fast. I hadn't slept well before my watch what with the boat rolling around but as soon as i hit the sack i was gone.

Carol woke me at 0800 to come on deck, Dolphins she shouted and as I emerged I could see around 20 to 30 of them darting under our keel and whizzing to and fro in front of our bow. Sometimes a group would turn and head straight for us leaping out as they did. Gannets dove into the water just ahead and we realised it was probably a shoal of herring that caused the arrival of both.

The dolphins circle below the water blowing bubbles to bring the herrings to the surface and they herd them into tight groups and dine away Gannets picking them off from above. They moved so fast through the water causing white horses in their wake. It gives us a real buzz to see them.

We arrived at Lagos at 1140 to be met by Dries and Yvonne who were just leaving for Alvor just around the corner. The marina wanted to charge them 56 Euros a night  they can anchor in Alvor for free.

With the boat on the pontoon we sat back and had a well earned cuppa for me, and beer for Carol.

John and Linda came in at about 1500 and found us. Tomorrow it’s a look around the town to see if this would be a good winter stop for a month or so.

I must say the marina although very pleasant and situated well feels a bit over crowded.  I guess we are used to anchorages and space, still this is how it will be, we need the facilities and to be in a marina is something we’ll have to get used to.

We have decided to mix and match, marina some of the time and anchor the rest. The Algarve will defiantly be our wintering hole. The tax laws in Spain mean we can only spend 6 months in any one year so we won’t return to Spain until the New Year we may even hit Morocco before Spain.

Movie evening last night, John and Linda came over and we watched the Blues Brothers and Shirley Valentine and downed rather a lot of wine.

I spent this morning in the laundry, I tell you this cause I don’t want you all to get the idea this is all fun.

Sailing has it’s draw back and not having the normal domestic facilities means when you find a laundry at a reasonable price you wash everything you own.

The boat is looking like a Chinese laundry at the moment with lines rigged up to the stays and rigging.

The day after tomorrow and although we’ll have to lower and raise the anchor by hand we are off to Alvor, it looks beautiful there.

It's hot in the Marina hot but it'll be cooler on an anchorage plus we can swim in the sea and I can fish too.

Which reminds me a caught a beauty the other day, we think it was a Wahoo, a bit like tuna. I also caught several mackerel and even had to throw on back as we had enough.

So it looks like the fish famine is over.    

Winter rates...

We've been anchored in the bay opposite the town of Cascais

while waiting for October 1st when the rates will be reduced in the Marina itself.

This will give us the opportunity to install the new windlass with the help of another John who kindly offered his services.

This is the beach at the beginning of the town and close to where we are anchored , so as you can see the view from our cockpit is stunning.

We finally went into the marina on Friday morning and birthed next to Dream or Two, Chris and Barbara who are on their way to Brazil.

I spent a lot of time with them over the next few days, both teachers in a past life they have come away from that ordeal with a great sense of humour and are great company.

Of course Chris made it into the inner sanctum of my Boudoir contributing to another conquest in cabin boy material.

As you can see in my enthusiasm I wasn't in focus.

Actually it was rather a busy day, prior to Chris I'd had John in my chamber so no wonder I'm a bit shaky in the focusing department.

 

Life can be real tough on the high seas, there i was thinking it would be a relaxing ride with the occasional ups and downs, I just wasn't expecting so many of them.

Still what can a girl do but take opportunities when they arise.

The windless took two days to fit but when we switched it on to pull up the chain it failed so now we have a battle with the supplier. Who is responsible for the failure? that's the question being deliberated. So until it's sorted we will be pulling the anchor up by hand all 25 kilos of it plus around 50 meters of 10 ml chain. Christ, I'm going to resemble Popey by the time we get it sorted.

What can I say about Sintra?

Two words come to mind, ‘UP HILL’. I now know how the great mountain climber Sir Edmond Hillary felt. With so much to see we had to make a decision of where to go and as Carol wanted to see the mystical gardens of Quinta da Regaleria we chose that as our starting point, if we had any time left we would walk the narrow mosaic streets of the ancient town.

The house was very ornate and the mystical gardens were probably the turn of the century’s equivalent to a grotto. Statues, caves, ponds and towered viewpoints gave it a sort of early theme park feel albeit beautifully laid out in tremendous gardens.

Built at the turn of the 20th century in the romantic ideal, this fascinating house was built in the middle of a dense forest and shows the mythical magical dreams of its owner, Antonio Augusto Carvalho Monteiro. He built it in conjunction with the talent of the architect Luigi Manini.

The imagination of these two figures succeeded in achieving the revivalist sum of the most varied artistic trends - with particular reference to the Gothic, and Renaissance and the glorification of all things held sacred by humankind and particularly reflecting on Portuguese mythological and esoteric traditions. Inside the house the floors were adorned with small mosaic tiles with an Art Deco feel about them. This shows the planned drawings to the tiled main entrance.

The gardens wound their way upwards and as we followed the paths we came across highly carved chapels, circular seating areas that almost looked like church alters.

Of course the labyrinth of caves was one thing we had to see and on entering the temperature dropped drastically. We walked along gingerly following a string of lights however these were soon to end and darkness fell. We made our way towards the spiral well, as I looked up I could see a canopy of flowers over the entrance or was it exit.

The girls decided to climb to the top and I decided to walk back through the tunnels. Of course you don’t think about being left on your own in almost darkness when you make these rash decisions. About 40 yards on I remembered I wasn’t keen on the dark in fact I was terrified. I remember years ago parking my car in the garage at the back of the house and being too scared to get out of the car so I parked on the street instead.

Anyway back to the story, there was almost total silence except for my heart beating and this strange clicking noise behind me. I was too scared to look behind just in case I saw something nasty. I knew if I did I would run, scream and wet myself but not necessarily in that order.

Finally I saw light, and walked towards it. I came out onto a small pond with stepping stoned leading to a highish wall but no way of actually getting out.

I sat for a while watching a duck and contemplating jumping in to make my getaway.

Walking around for the rest of the day wet and covered in green pond weed didn’t seem like a good idea so I turned, looked down the dark tunnel and forged ahead.

As I continued I noticed another tunnel however is was as dark as hell down there and I couldn’t bring myself to look for long let alone go down it. I could still hear this clicking behind me and as I hurried along I could hear voices, it was then I saw the light, I turned into the tunnel with the rope lights and saw two people walking towards me. Oh how I wanted to run towards them and give them a big hug. As they drew near I told them I’d been lost and how pleased I was to see them, they looked amused. Not far to go the guy said...phew.

The clicking was still following me and now in the light I felt confident enough to turn and look behind me, ‘nothing’ so what was making the noise? I finally realised it was the catch on my rucksack....daahhhh.

 
Castelo dos Mouros constructed by the Moors in the 8th or 9th Century A.D., this castle is situated on two peaks of the Serra de Sintra, and from its walls there are magnificent views. Surrounded by walls and several towers. It underwent various repairs, particularly in the Romantic period (about 1860), when King Consort Fernando of Saxe Coburg-Gotha restored it, and gave the ancient ruins new dignity. It was good to finally get back on the bus and head for home and on the way take in the scenery.

This wasn't as relaxing as I'd hoped, all drivers over here are potential Stirling Moss's however i did see the fantastic Palácio da Pena, or "Castelo da Pena" as it is more commonly known.

 
It’s the most complete and notable example of Portuguese architecture in the Romantic period and stands on one of the rocky peaks of the Serra de Sintra.

The Palace dates back to 1839, when the King Consort Dom Fernando II of Saxe Coburg-Gotha  bought the ruins of the Hieronymite Monastery of Nossa Senhora da Pena and started to adapt it for use as a residence, according to his Romantic taste. You would need weeks of hardened sightseeing to get to see all of what Portugal offers. I guess we’ll have this where ever we go and will have to be selective in what see and where we visit.

After getting back Linda, John Carol and I decided to eat out at our first sighting of an Indian restaurant and it was great.

Again i'm having a go at capturing that one great piccy, this is todays attempts. I call this first one                        

'Gold fish in pond'

 

This one i call 'Leaves in pond'

 

And finally..........flower above pond.

:)

Lisbon

What a City, pavements paved with intricate patterns that are woven in small blocks of stone forming geometric patterns like this one.

John, Linda and myself took a train, tram and bus ride to explore the city of Lisbon.

Again the architecture was overwhelming and as we walked the streets i was beginning to feel we were finally abroad.

I know I've been 'abroad' for the last five months but Lisbon has a diversity of cultures and a real Moorish influence , so different from where we have been before.

We walked our socks off, visited the Gulbenkian  Gallery  where i came face to face with Monet, Turner, Manet, and Gainsborough.

My all knicker wetting experience was when i walked into the Rene Lalique  room.

His work is just amazing, René  Lalique was born in Ay, a small village in the Mame region of  France on April 6, 1860, and died May 5, 1945.

He was a glass designer, renowned for his stunning creations of perfume bottles, vases, jewellery, chandeliers, clocks and in the latter part of his life, automobile hood ornaments.

The firm he founded is still active today and I'm a great fan of Art Deco so i was memorised when i saw his work with my own eyes .

The detail is exquisite, the different materials used complimenting each other.

This trip isn't just a voyage to visit new places and meet new people but it's an opportunity to experience at first hand things i've only seen in books.

   A pin representing Medusa.

The brooch above of the Dragonfly was just out of this world, and represented everything i love about art and design, form, colour and mixed media. It was well worth the visit. Rene Lalique spanned two or the most interesting periods of arts and crafts. Art Nouveau with its romantic curves from the late 18th century and Art Deco with its geometric lines of the twentys and thirties.

We also visited the maritime museum, when entering it was pure sunshine, when we came out it was thick fog.

John was desperate to photograph a monument in the evening sun but was really disappointed when we could hardly see it.

I'm afraid Linda and i gave him a hard time, it was great fun.

We walked along the shore, well i think it was the shore it was so foggy we couldn't see.

Anyway we finally found what John was looking for, the Belem tower. Originally, the tower stood on a little island near the right bank of the Tagus, opposite Restelo beach but with  the progressive southward creep of the shoreline over the years, the tower is now practically 'moored' to the bank itself.

While we were trying to see our hands in front or our faces a film crew were filming some guy walking along the sea front and i took the opportunity to get some atmospheric pics of my own.

What do you think?

 

Well it can only get better...

They actually did about 20 takes of this guy walking towards the camera, i mean how hard is that.

Detour

After our lifesaving escapade with Vagabond we made our way to the Isla de Belenga to explore it's caves by dinghy. We had the island in view when we received a radio call from Meteor saying the anchorage was full so it was about turn and head for Peniche.

Peniche is an ancient fishing village and renowned for it's fortress once used as a prison, It's also recognized as the best and most consistent surf spot in Portugal, the peninsula  offers a north and south-facing coastline. The result is the finest surfing conditions everyday regardless of the swell and wind direction.

Berlangas Fort

 

                                                                                            View from the prison wall.

                                                                                They let me go after a vigorus interigation. 

I tried my hand at some artistic photography and failed miserably, still i'll post it and hopefully this will be my bench mark for improvement.

Sao Matinho De Porto

has to have the biggest dune i've ever seen and the most hermit crabs.

This cove is like entering a scene from Jason And The Argonauts.

A small opening in the cliffs with waves crashing against the rocks however when you've negotiated the narrow opening your met by a lovely beach in a semi circle  with a town to one side and sand dunes to the other. They almost looked like they'd tumble down  into the warm blue sea that glistened in the sun.

We spent two nights here and met yet another live aboard a Norwegian,  Peer, as in Peer Gynt.

Of course the dune had to be explored and we had an afternoon ashore on the beach. Actually while everyone climbed it i made friends with several hermit crabs.

We had an evening on board playing Pictionary,  doing this with nine of us in a small space gave a whole new meaning to cosy.

The next morning our trip out  to our next destination started later than anticipated due to a heavy mist hiding the entrance however by 10.30 it lifted revealing yet another blue sky and sunshine.

Meteor was the first to go, then Vagabond and we followed, as we drew closer to Vagabond we could see they were in trouble and drifting close to the rocks grey smoke billowing from their exhaust. We managed to move out of danger and in the large swell caused by the rocks we lowered the outboard using the hoist onto the dinghy and i went back to help.

The trip backto Vagabond was a tad hairy, the swell was big enough that at times i couldn't see our boat or Vagabond, i felt a bit lonely for a few seconds.

When i finally came alongside John was in his wetsuit, he climbed aboard and hung over the dinghy to inspect his prop and discovered a net was caught around it.

The only solution was to try and get back through the narrow gap. No engine and little wind made this an almost possible task and it looked like i might have to tow him in with the dinghy.

Suddenly the cops/customs arrived in a launch and asked if we needed help, thank goodness. They offered to tow John and Linda back  and i made my way back to our boat and safety.

                                                           The Rescue...............

The launch arrived so quickly it was a bit eairy, we know that we are under surveillance at all times, watched via helicopter and police launches. In Nazir we were told that our friends were 45 mins behind us when we arrived by the customs , talk about big brother.

Still we live to tell another tale....