Lagos - More British than Britain!

We had an excellent sail down from Lisbon to Lagos, the wind was with us - quite a lot of it - and we took the opportunity to get to grips with the Hydrovane self steering.  Harry, as he has become known, did a very good job.

Happy Days - letting the Vane take the strain

The big excitement of the trip was seeing whales - a new experience for us - lots of water spouts, and the occasional glimpses of dorsal fins accompanied us for about 20 minutes - no photos, as it was blowing a good Force 6, the sea was quite rough and the whales very fast moving. We think they might have been Minke whales.

Lagos is beautiful.  We arrived at 0600, and the wind was taking a short break - it was very peaceful.

The Marina is lovely, but there really are no Portuguese in Lagos - it is a little piece of Britain, complete with Indian restaurants, with a smattering of German visitors amongst the  hundreds of Brits.  There is a very quaint old town, full of winding streets - guess what - cobbled and hilly - but we've come to expect that.

Plenty of choices of places to seek refreshment

And of course a statue of Henry the Navigator!

So apart from the various light refreshment opportunities, there are an almost endless choice of trips to see dolphins, whales or grottoes plus fishing, and kayaking along the spectacularly beautiful coastline.

One of the Grottoes - it all goes on here.

So - time marches on, and we want to get to the Mediterranean!  Next stop, Gibraltar

Lisbon - a city older than Paris, London or Rome

Our plan to arrive in Lisbon in daylight was not to be, and we arrived in at 0400 to the sounds of the local nightspots in full swing - we decided against mooring in front of the local nightclub and moved slightly further up river to a marina behind the container port where we are surrounded by Maersk containers.

25th April Bridge

 We are a stones throw from this bridge - and it sounds like a hurricane is blowing 24 hours of the day!  It's an open grid construction and the noise of the tyres on it is deafening when you are underneath it.  Built in 1966, it's 2277m long with a unsupported span of 1013m, it's 70m high but still scary to sail underneath!  (Apparently one of our followers knew the man who built / designed it - next time, tell him to make it a solid surface!!)

The sights of Lisbon - you really need to see it for yourself, but here are a few of the many reasons to visit:

Belem Tower

The Belem Tower is a Unesco World Heritage Site because of the significance it played in the Portuguese Maritime Discoveries of the Era of the 'Age of Discoveries', built in the 16th Century.

Monument to the Discoveries

Continuing the theme of Discoveries, this huge sculpture built in 1960 was one of several projects to mark the anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator, an important figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire - each figure is a renowned navigator or mathematician.

Jeronimos Monastery

Another Unesco World Heritage Site - building originally started in 1459 and was completed over 100 years later.

And this is why it took so long to build!

Then we followed the cycle path

Extreme Cycling - and no, we didn't cycle down the other side either!

Past the Urban Gardening Scheme

Along the Promenade

Past the Boat Yard!

Up and down the cobbled streets - the tram tracks really are a cyclists' nightmare!

 Along to Estrela Basilica

A quick pee stop - men only!

The View from the Top

Back down past the Sao Bento Palace, the Parliament Building

And finally past the Lisbon Cathedral, Lisbon's oldest building, built in 1150 for the Cities' first Bishop - the English Crusader GILBERT OF HASTINGS!!!

Enough Culture for now, we're heading back out to sea - on to Lagos.

1,000 Miles

One Thousand Nautical Miles, and we're in Figuera da Foz - we managed to tear ourselves away from the lovely Porto, where they even deliver freshly baked rolls to the boat in the morning - and had a fantastic down wind run to Figuera. Fantastic, that is till the harbour entrance where the tide was running at about 3.5kts and the wind gusting 42kts!  

It was always going to be hard to compete with Porto, but the best we can really come up with for Figuera was the shower block: It was state of the art.   As for the other attractions:

The Market was fun, very traditional even though it was in a giant tin shed.

Possibly the umbrella market?

There was literally miles of white sandy beaches - in fact, the beach seems to extend from Porto to Figuera - more sand than people.

Little bits of old Portugal

Things we've found most useful so far:

The iPad:  For very easy route planning

The 'Gybe easy' boom brake:  For all those miles of down wind sailing, keeping the boom under control

The Folding Bikes:  For all the places you can get to

The Solar panels and battery charge monitor: we have hardly turned the fridge off yet and the beers are still cold!

The cockpit table mug holders: You drink on deck is safe in all sea states.

The wifi bat: so we can do the blog from the comfort of the boat (mostly)

The Snorkel and flippers:  For Ian to use when he dropped a bike pedal in the marina in Figuera and had to dive in and get it - the water is NOT a pretty sight! (3m deep and he did actually find it!)

The Deck Shower:  For decontaminating him when he got out of this water!

And now, on to Lisbon ...

Portugal - I'm loving it!

The strong wind finally abated, and the sun came out in La Coruna, but we had to keep heading South as we needed to get to Porto in time for Abbie to fly back to the UK.  After 6 hours under engine we had decided that if the wind didn't build by the time we got to Finisterre we'd anchor over night and continue the next day.

Right on queue, as dusk started to fall, the wind picked up.  We hoisted the spinnaker (aka 'The Wasp') and set off for Portugal.  

Finisterre - the end of the Ancient World

The Wasp at Dusk

Early morning Portugal - looking good

A fantastic night sail, starry and moonlight, turned into a great day - spinnaker stayed up till we reached our destination!

We selected the brand new Douro Marina, situated in the heart of Porto - the harbour master escorted us in!

Douro Marina Company Car?!?

We sampled the local delights in the evening - squid swords cooked in the street washed down with beer in tin mugs!

The face of a happy boy!

We were in Porto - it would be rude not to find the Port - not difficult, it has to be said, although Cockburn's was up a particularly steep hill!

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A few of the 6,000 small barrels - there were also 20,000 litre vats!

Pre Tour Tipple

There was LOTS of sampling on the Tour!!!

Other Places of Interest:  The Old Fishing Village

Mending the Nets

The Communal Washing Lines

Tile Hung Houses, and close up of the wall tiles

Pitstop refreshments in the Town Square

Skyline View - and there are lots of hills

Port Transport!

Boat Building, Porto Style

The final cultural shock was the supermarket!  It is not like this in Waitrose!!!

Salted Cod and Vacuum packed suckling pig - available in your local corner shop!

We have waved goodbye to Abbie, who has left us for greater things - Asia, I believe!

So we are heading further south tomorrow, only a short trip further down the Portugese coast.

Biscay Crossing - on to Sunny Spain

We left L'Aber Wrack, and after much consultation of Almanacs and of the Old Sea Dogs themselves (you know who you are!) we decided to go round Ouessant instead of waiting for the tidal gate through the Chenal du Four / Raz de Sein.



Going round Ouessant was an experience:  It is a very inhospitable coast, with huge and confused seas - none of those on board had ever been in a sea like it.  Abbie rose to the occasion, helming rather than succumbing to sea sickness.  Testament to the power of Stugeron.

Ouessant

This in no way does justice to the size of the waves off Ouessant!

The crossing took 65 hours, during which time we had all sorts of weather - from 40kts breeze down to 4kts - we motored for 23 hours, and it rained every time Abbie was on watch!

Rain clouds clearing

All alone

The real highlight of the trip was the dolphins - they stayed with us for most of a day.

The water was crystal clear, and the dolphins really did seem to play to the audience, turning to look up at us as they swum past.  Amazing.

When we finally reached the Spanish coast, we thought the instruments were lying and we were actually in Scotland, on a bad day!!

Welcome to Sunny Spain - We were expecting sunshine and sand!

We reached Rio de La Coruna at about midnight - a vast confusion of lights, 30kts and a big swell.  No problem so far.  Then the Marina:  We found our way in past the wave breaks, and debated where to go - we picked an apparently easy berth on a slightly more sheltered pontoon - all went well until the very last minute when it went horribly wrong!  We seemed to be catapulted back out quicker than we went in - in the cold light of dawn we went to investigate:  there seems to be a local habit of protecting your parking spot with additional lines, not at all visible in the dark, after 65 hours of sailing!

 

The Yacht Catapult

Following a well deserved rest, we went to check out the local attractions:

Beer and Tapas:  Meal and drinks for three for €35

Town Hall - at night

Nautilus, far right, in La Coruna Marina

The Very Long harbour arm, Port Control Tower visible in the distance

The next morning we set off on foot to check out the local sights - an essential was a visit to the Tower of Hercules - initially built by the Romans in the 1st Century AD, it was re-clad in 1788 in keeping with the neo classical taste of the times by Giannini.  Now a World Heritage Site,  it is the only lighthouse of antiquity that is still in operation today.

The Tower of Hercules

The view from the top of the tower

The Compass Rose

The size of a Helipad, this mosaic disc at the base of the Tower marks the spot where the Celts divided themselves and went to 8 different regions:  Scotland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Wales, Turkey, Spain, Cornwall and Brittany.

The walk to the Tower was filled with its own attractions:

Local artwork

And some more

And some more ...

Not at all sure about this one!!!

A Menhir

Resting in front of La Coruna's answer to Stonehenge

The Coastal Path

After our long walk to the Tower we headed back into town for a light ale and ice cream - it is a town of MANY windows:  Known as the Glass City, it must be a window cleaner's nightmare!  

The Windows - technically known as Galerias

One final image of La Coruna

How to clear a beach!

The Plan - Next Stop:  Portugal 

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