Villa Real Do Santa Antonio & Tullochs!! 4th - 14th October

Sun 4th Villa Real do Santa Antonio


The morning before our visitors arrived was spent doing house work for the Tulloch onslaught, buying Veggie ingredients for tea after they arrived and some beer wine and port for refreshments after tea! We went for another walk around town and had a beer and ice cream to kill time whilst we waited. The girls were getting very impatient and I don’t know how many times we were asked “are they here yet.” which was a little annoying but not half as much when Alisha started asking that question 20 miles into the 350 mile trip across Biscay! We were asking them what/who they were most excited about and of course cousin Alannah came out 1st then the next was the newly christened Granny Marmite as they love the stinky black stuff almost as much as they love their Granny and they knew she was taking some out for them!

Ali decided he was going to make the tea for everyone as they were only getting into town at around eight o’clock and spent the evening cooking away. The girls had me convinced that we would need to wait at the top of the pier. We proceeded up the visitor pontoon which is fairly poorly lit and a little dangerous as the current in the river is so strong that if you fell in in the dark it would not be very good. It was low tide and like all marinas there is a sliding gangway from the pier to the pontoon. Unlike most pontoons this one has a 6 inch wide hole that is uncovered more as the tide goes out. Of course clumsy clot here managed to get one foot stuck down it and scrape most of the skin off one ankle. It was quite sore but not too bad and I was glad it was me and I could warn our visitors about it instead of one of them coming a cropper. Finally after about an hour of every time a car stopped the girls getting excited then disappointed we saw four familiar figures walking along the promenade. The girls took off at high speed and threw themselves at their cousin and there were hugs all round.

We had the dinner Ali had been slaving over all night then got down to the serious business of catching up over a few glasses of Vino Verde. Pop and Granny went up to the apartment which was only one street back from the marina and John Robert came back down with sleep over stuff for Alannah as the girls didn’t want to let her out of their sight so soon and he managed to sneak another glass or two of wine before bed.

Mon 5th Oct

The lasses got up earlier than usual as they were excited about their sleep over guest. We did our usual ‘school’ session in the morning and Alannah helped to encourage Alisha to try a little harder. Then they all went ‘fishing’ from the pontoon for a while before they got trouble from the extremely uptight marina guy..... During our stay we witnessed him shout unreasonably at three different boats and threaten to get the police onto sailors twice all because they couldn't get to the berths he wanted them to due to the current, he was seriously over the top so be warned if you ever come in here, come in at slack water and do what he tells you!

We walked up to the apartment to plan the rest of the day. We had a cuppa and decided we would got to the beach. We also collected all the bits and pieces that Peter and Rhoda had very kindly taken out to us including reading materials for the girls, a few dvds and the bomb. It wasn’t actually a bomb but a water filter system although it did look a little like one and we realised why Peter had been worrying about taking it through airport security.

When we got to the beach the day had got a little greyer and cooler but that makes it less difficult getting into the cool sea. I was surprised with the amount of swell there was as it it literally knocked you off your feet and you emerged frop the surf with sand and bits of shell all through your hair. Needless to say Kaylee thought this was absolutely hilarious and couldn’t get enough sitting up to ther knees in the water waiting for a big wave to throw her up onto the beach, I think she should have been a boy or a fish or something but definitely not a girl! After a spot of swimming there was sandcastle construction then when that got boring there were uncles to bury! It was all great fun until we decided to go and had to have cold beach showers but all was forgiven on the purchase of an ice cream to make up for it. As we were sitting at the beach café the sun came out - typical!

Peter took us all out for a meal at night time and we ate at an Italian as most Portuguese restaurants don’t have a veggie option on the menu in fact there is a serious lack of veg at all in restaurants usually you get meat, rice and chips which is a little high in the carb content even for me! We had a nice meal and all came back to the boat for a cuppa and night cap - granny and pop drained the bottle of port dry whilst we youngsters just had a bottle of beer!! Only joking there wasn’t that much in it to drain. The girls all got set to watch one of their new DVDs from home and the DVD player in the tv chose that moment to pack in, only five months after we got it and typically when we had just got a few new DVDs to watch after having watched the same five ‘ Barbie’ movies countless times. If you do not know the Barbie genre of films I do not recommend you ever get to know them unless you like a generous portion of sickly cheese in movies! If you do know these movies you will know why we were desperate to get a few new ones to watch. We had a relatively early night as we were planning to catch the rising tide to go 20 miles up the river the next morning.

Tues 6th October Villa Real do Santo Antonio - Alcoutim
As soon as we managed to round everyone up, get supplies and get onboard we realised the tide had already turned and it was time to get going. So without further ado (or checking any charts) we slipped the ropes headed upstream and promptly grounded the boat about half a mile from the marina! Unfortunately this was just across from the Spanish town of Ayamonte’s fishing and ferry pier. It took about half an hour of Ali revving the boat and rocking her back and forth to free the boat from the mud - thank goodness it was a rising tide……… By now we had confirmed what the older Tullochs had feared, we really aren’t to be trusted with a boat!

The rest of the trip went smoothly even though any meaningful chart we had ended 3 miles upstream at the suspension bridge. We just went at a steady pace and followed advice to stay in the middle unless going round a bend when we stayed to the outside. Thankfully there were no more sudden jolts! I stayed below deck as I always worry too much where as Ali was his usual calm self about it all.

We got to Alcoutim (Portuguese side) and Sanlucar de Guadiano (Spainish side) in the late afternoon and the current was really running fast - still upstream, we couldn’t believe it. We tried to find a place at the pontoons on either the Portuguese or Spanish sides but there were none and a couple of boats declined to let us raft up to them so we prepared to anchor off in the river. An Irish man who had been in the marina in Villa Real came speeding up in his dinghy saying that where we were just about to anchor was not good at all and to change position. We took his advice to go to the upstream side of town and were very glad we did after witnessing a Catamaran on its fourth attempt to anchor after dragging three times - and that guy didn’t have an electric anchor winch, very hard work!

Ali and John Robert went off to search out some fuel for the dinghy which was by now almost empty and they were hoping they wouldn’t have to row back to the boat. They went to both countries and had a beer in each on their expedition, typical! They also got talking to an English boat on the Portuguese side who said we could come alongside them meaning that Peter and Rhoda would be able to go ashore after all.

We ‘hauled’ the anchor up and berthed inside of their boat as our boat was bigger and might have squashed them. We had a very interesting chat with the crew and then a Canadian man whom we met on the pontoon. He is away travelling on the yacht with his three kids whilst the wife stays at home and works to fund it all! (and that’s not the first arrangement like that that we have heard about.

We had another very eager visitor to the boat ‘Patty the Pato’ as Alisha christened the strange duck that came to visit and scrounge scraps. Pato being the word for duck in Spanish which is funny as the duck in Pocoyo (kids programme) is called Pato and now I know why. This led me to look up Pocoyo it translates as Little me and I thought those programmes taught you nothing now at least I know two Spanish words to go a long with ‘Uno cerveja por favor’ Not entirely sure where I will insert little me and duck into that sentence though….. The meeting and feeding of Pato caused great hilarity it was tame enough to eat out of John Robert’s hand and try to jump Kaylee for the bread she was holding! The greedy bird was waiting for us to get up in the morning too! The other consequence is that Alisha has now announced she will no longer be eating pate in case it is Pato having found out what it is made of.
We all went for a wander around town and for a coffee. It was a nice enough town, a bit run down and a few wild dogs and cats roaming around but we got some nice chocolate cake and a coffee and what more do you want? We had tea on the boat made by John Robert which was great as usual, we always look forward to having tea made by John Robert as he is an excellent cook (even if it is just vegetables - only teasing!)

Wed 7th October Alcoutim - Villa Real do Santo Antonio

We had to leave at eight to catch the falling tide back to Villa Real and it was John and Allanah’s last whole day with us so we got up, fed Pato and left! The other boat was going down stream too so we didn’t feel so bad about getting them up too early. It actually rained a little for the first time in weeks so we left Ali and John on deck to get us back to town whilst we all stayed inside and passed up a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit at regular intervals. We got back to town at lunch time, John and Granny went shopping for souvenirs, Pop went for a sleep, the girls and I stayed at the boat and played and Ali went off to find fittings for the new water tap.

We went out for dinner again as it was John and Alannah’s last night. We had a pleasant enough meal and then back to the boat for a last night cap.


Thursday 8th October Bye John and Alannah

The next morning we got up and went up for a cuppa at the apartment with John and Alannah before they left. The girls were very upset that they were going, it seemed like they had only just got there.

After they left we arranged to meet Pop and Granny for tea again later and let them have a rest whilst Ali worked on his bomb shaped water filter tap. He got it working and we had a taste of pontoon water through it and it tastes just as good as tap water back home, it also filters out 99.9% of bacteria etc so it makes the water safe to drink wherever we are. I am obviously writing this up a few weeks after the tap was installed and I cant tell you what a difference it makes not lugging back litres and litres of water back to the boat no mean feet when there is no car and it is 30 degrees! It is also a bit more eco friendly as we don’t go through all those plastic bottles anymore and now we have some decent teabags a cup of tea is actually enjoyable again!

We made tea on the boat and had a nice night with granny and pop.

Friday 9th Day trip to Ayamonte

We decided to go for a look over to Ayamonte which is the Spanish town on the other side of the river from Villa Real do Santo Antonio, there is a ferry that runs every half an hour and only costs 1.50 Euros each way.

We were amazed what a difference crossing the border made to each town. We were expecting a slightly run down place like Villa Real but it is completely different. The streets were far cleaner and the pavements were all intact (something which Portugal is not particularly good for) and it generally just felt a little more airier and well cared for.

We found a bar for a tapas lunch which Ali and I enjoyed but the others all had sandwiches which were made on quite hard Spanish bread and so not so great which was a shame.
We had a walk down to the marina and it made us wish that we had booked in over there for the week. It is nicer looking, more secure and also the current doesn’t run through it like the Portuguese marina.

The next thing we discovered was a zoo that was free. There were lions, tigers, zebras, deer, turtles and birds but the funniest were the baboons. We were all sitting watching their antics they were jumping at the glass and generally having fun, then one little male got a little frisky. As soon as Granny realised what he was about to do she ushered her Ali and Alisha away but Kaylee just couldn’t move she was laughing so much. He was hanging around one of the older female baboons and then suddenly she noticed his bits and started shouting ‘I can see his willy’ and laughing. I had to drag her away just before he tried to mount the lady one and got beat up. I don’t really like zoos as I feel sorry for the animals being so cooped up especially the big cats. There was a really good play park too it even had exercise equipment for older people which we have seen quite a lot of in Spain and Portugal.

We went to the supermarket before we went back across the river as it was much less of a hike to do it that way. We purchased lots of olives as Kaylee and Alisha love olives but not the Portuguese ones which is really strange but by night time two packets of olives had already been devoured. We had a nice tea but some had a terrible nights sleep as the fair that had been threatening to open for days finally did and the music from the rides boomed into the boat until after midnight thankfully granny and pops apartment was at the opposite end of the main street or it would have been horrendous. Ali and I just stayed up until it finished hoping it wouldn’t wake the girls.

Sat 10th Oct

We had a restful day as Granny and Pop seemed a bit tired from all the ranting around we went for a look at the fair and the girls demanded goes on a few of the rides. We thought they might like some roasted chestnuts which there were loads of stalls selling. What a mistake they spent the next ten minutes spitting them out, it was very embarrassing. Should have stuck to candyfloss no chance of them ever spitting that out!

The girls went for a sleep over up at the apartment which was great, we dropped them off with a pizza and then were free for the evening! We went for a meal at the boating club which was really nice and not the kind of place we would have ever gone with children. We thought we would try the seafood rice dish that we have seen on many menus but have never tried. We both had to have it as it only comes for two people or more. We thought it was going to be like Paella but it is served in a big pot with a candle underneath to keep the sauce warm. It was very good definitely a dish I would recommend. We decided against going on the skyte as the town was really crowded with the fair and it was nice just to be able to have a conversation without screeching kids, although we did have to speak loudly over the noise of the fair! How times have changed.......

Sun 11th Oct

We got up surprisingly early and gave the boat a really good clean up again as we were getting visitors, Norman and Joanne Irvine who live in Olhao just back down the coast. Our visitors arrived about midday and we had a good old chat about boats and sailing as Norman and Joanne have been living and sailing in the med/Portugal for years. They were a fountain of knowledge and it was great to get a Shetland perspective on the med. Peter and Norman served a apart of their apprenticeships together and were in the Westside Fiddle and Accordion club to so there was also plenty of reminiscing to be done. We had lunch onboard the boat as the town was packed. Alistair got to show off his new water tap making everyone have a drink so he was happy. I asked Joanne about the dreaded mosquito war and she gave me a little device I had never heard of before a 'zapper'. It is a little like an electric gas fire lighter but much smaller and you shock the bite once you have noticed it and it takes away the itching. I was a little dubious but I have had a few bites since and would say it definitely works, they go away so much faster if you don’t scratch. So thanks for that Joanne if you are reading. We stayed up on deck and had some beer and wine whilst Ali took Norman around the boat to get some advice about various projects he is thinking of. We bid goodbye to our guests as they got the last bus home to Olhao about teatime with an arrangement fixed to come over to Olhao for the day on Tuesday. We had another nice evening and thankfully being Sunday the fair only lasted until about 11pm!

Monday 12th Octber

We had another day around Villa Real and it was hot hot hot, a bit much for the older and younger members of the family so a lot of the day was spent inside for them. We moved the boat over to a finger pontoon as Ali was now ready to fit the stub bow sprit he had made for him in Lisbon for the new Gennaker sail which had arrived a few days before (boys and their toys!) It was a hard days work for him in the baking sun and I was beginning to feel sorry for him until I had to hoist him up the mast twice after tea, it nearly killed me! Usually Ali can help a little at certain points by pulling himself up a bit but he had too much stuff in his hands to help so it was all down to me to get him up. I had a few spectators on the harbour wall too which doesn’t help! Even worse was the second time he came down I knew I would have to pull him up again as we hadn’t managed to rig the sails properly and needed to do some more work but thankfully it had to wait for the next day.

Tuesday 13th October

We got up early (for us) as we were catching the 9.40am train to Olhao. The train ride over was very good we saw lots of different birds on the salt pans and got a look at some of the inland scenery which is rare for us. We got to Olhao about 11 and Norman and Joanne were waiting at the station. We went for a walk down the main street and stopped for coffee then carried on to the seafront. The girls loved running around the fish market then the grocery market hall. They were very interested in the pigs head! We stopped for some cooling cervejas at the seafront café and enjoyed the views. We meandered around the seafront and the girls found a play park and a bird pond so that was them happy for the day. Norman and Jaonne took us for a new lunch experience which was you pay 5 Euros (3 for kids) then eat as much as you want, not including drinks and puddings. It was very good and we could pick out bits the girls liked too so they were happy, there was even lots of veg and salad to choose from which is very unusual. They said there is another place along the road where you choose what you like again but pay for the weight of you plate regardless of what is on it which also sounds like a good idea.

The men all headed over to the boatyard after lunch where Norman and Jaonne are working on their boat and us ladies went back to the plapark then meandered back up to the train station intime for the 3.45 train which I had said we would get..... then as we were just about to get on we realised it didn’t go the whole way to Villa Real, oops. How many times have I done that now on this trip! Luckily it wasn’t the last train like other times and we just had to wait an hour for the next one. We all retreated back down the road to a café for another cooling beer.

We would like to thank Norman and Joanne for taking time out to show us around Olhao it was a lovely day and nice to be shown around by people who actually know where they are going, where all the nice places are and are good company.

When we got back to Villa Real we went our separate ways so Granny and Pop could pack and I could haul Ali back up the mast again - groan……. We finally figured out what was going wrong with the ropes it was just a case of releasing the topping lift then we pulled the gennaker ropes through and hey presto. I would only have had to pull him up once if we had thought about it abit more carefully the first time! We had pizza for at as we were all knackered and had a wee glass of wine for a farewell drink.

Wed 14th Oct Bye Granny and Pop and off to sea again

We got up and went to collect the washing granny had been doing in the apartment for us so we could get it dried before lunch time. Granny and Pop had decided to get the train to the airport as it has been OK the day before. We went to the apartment for a final cuppa, it was hard to believe the ten days we had been looking forward to for so long had already passed. We had a hug and saw them and Ali off in a taxi to the station. The girls were really upset and a bit grumpy as they realised it would be a long time before they saw any family again. There wasn’t much time to sit around though as we only had an hour to leave at slack water as getting off the finger pontoon in amangst all the boats would have been pretty difficult at any other time!

We set off roughly an hour after Granny and Pop left. It was a bit bumpy coming out of the river entrance, we just followed our path back out again and it was OK, although a little worrying as it was low tide rather than high! When we got out to sea it was a very unfamiliar motion, swell coming straight at us in the direction we wanted to go, we had been used to a following swell (and wind for that matter) the whole way down from the North of Spain. As we had been stationary for 11 days and the rolling motion it wasn’t long before Kaylee succumbed to the inevitable mal de mer. Ali went to bed just out of the harbour as we were heading for Cadiz and would only get in at about 2am or so we thought! The wind died then rose again at enough of an angle for Ali to get the gennaker up - do you think he will be able to pee straight now?!?! It was great the wind was hardly blowing at all and not too far off being ‘on the nose’ but we were getting 7 knots which was a vast improvement on motoring along at 3.5 to 4! Unfortunatel the wind went right back on our nose then died so that was th endo of any meaningful sailing that trip.

We had tea late and I went to bed about 10pm ready for my next watch later. I can never sleep very well when it is just us two sailing at night as I always worry incase Ali has fallen off the boat and have to keep getting up to look, or I worry that he isn’t keeping a good enough look out as he is usually found reading at the chart table. This time I was seriously glad I didn’t have the midnight watch as one of the times I got up Ali was actually sitting on deck watching and told me to come and have a look. It looked like we were sailing into a city but it was just lots and lots of fishing boats, crazy. When I got up again later I asked if Ali had gone out around them all and he said for a while he had then he got bored so he just went straight through the rest. It was definitely good he was on watch!

My watch was OK a little rolly as there was no wind and a head sea but nothing too exciting until a vessel circled us then came quite close it was dark so I couldn't tell what it was but Ali had the same experience a few hours later in Cadiz bay with a navy boat so I presumed that is what it must have been.

We finally got to Cadiz at about 7am and tied up in the visitors berths at about 8am. Well that’s enough for just now but I DO intend to catch up with the blog, we are currently in Almeria in the South of Spain and are setting of for Cartagena overnight tonight they have internet there so standby for another instalment with Cadiz, Barbate and Gibraltar!

The Algarve

Monday 28th Baleera - Lagos

We set off as soon as we got up to motor around to Lagos as we got a text saying George and Linda Simpson were meeting us there at 12.30. It was a beautiful morning without a breath of air and no hint of swell at all. It was so flat I managed to clean out the whole boat on the way and even write out the postcards I had bought way back in Porto!

We got into Lagos marina and Ali got a real shock when he went to the office, 50 (yes 50) Euros per night! And this was the ’mid’ season. That definitely guaranteed we would be only spending one night in Lagos marina. We got tied up just in time for George and Linda getting off the train and they came along the boat for a cup of tea. Alisha and Kaylee gave them get well cards for their granddaughter Maisie who has broken her foot and is stuck with a pink leg cast for a few weeks - peerie wife. We went for a walk around town with Geordie and Linda showing us around as they have been there a few times before. We had lunch in a fine pub then went to the centre of town for some more refreshments. It was fine to hear all their news and speak away without knapping!

After Geordie and Linda got the train back we went to the supermarket and the girls found some marmite - something we have been missing having on our toast since France. It was 4.80 Euros for a small tub so we said no even over the ensuing wailing but it was just too much of a rip off!

When we got back to the boat we met Penny and Charles again and they had got even more of a shock at the marina office as they are just a bit longer and a bit wider than us and they were charged 56 Euros! We all agreed to head to Portimao the next day and anchor until the 1st of October!

We had a quiet night with a pizza for tea.

Tuesday 29th Lagos - Portimao

Lagos marina has a policy that you have to check out by 12pm (first time we have come across that!) but we asked and they said we could stay until about 2pm as they weren’t busy. We made the most of it washing the boat etc (making the most of our money!) then went to a café and spoke briefly to some of the other crews we had sailed down with who were all having ‘the full English’ some were staying in Lagos for the winter so we said goodbye and maybe see you next ear somewhere.

We set off at lunch time expecting to have to motor the whole way but we had a very pleasant sail , not very quick mind you but we were only going 6 miles! (Took about 2 ½ hours!!) Rosetta was sailing alongside so of course Ali was tweaking the sails every few minutes to get just a tenth of a knot more!

When we got to Portimao we decided to go up the river to see if there was anywhere more central to anchor/berth. There were already two boats anchored at Ferraguido which is a bit of a nook up the river just off the old town and we decided we wouldn’t go there as there wasn’t much room to swing in. We did try to sneak to a pontoon in town but were told in no uncertain terms that we weren’t allowed, oops! So we retreated back to the big anchorage which was very busy, about twenty odd yachts.

We took the dingy up to Ferraguido to find something to eat and go for a little walk. We found a play park and a very nice restaurant. We got back to the dingy in darkness and realised that we had no light with us so we stayed as close to shore as possible to avoid the fishing boats come speeding up the river leaving a huge wash behind them. We had left on Ali’s new LED cockpit lights so at least we could see our boat easily! During the night we realised that we were once again at the mercy of the local fishing fleet as the wash that they produced every time the went past our boat started banging up and down and there was absolutely no chance of sleep!

Wednesday 30th Portimao

We got up to a lovely sunny day and decided to go to the beach. The beach alongside the anchorage is lovely, lots of rocks and little cave to run around and it is sheltered from the swell too so Alisha felt brave enough to try a little swimming. The only problem was the current of the river and we had to keep catching Kaylee before she floated off up stream (the tide was coming in) Kaylee of course thought it was all a big game and tried to get into the position that she would need rescuing!

When we got back to the boat a Norwegian yacht was just anchoring nearby and we realised it was the SS Unique who are friends with Grethe our pal in Bergen, she had told us to look them up if we came across them. Ali went over with the dinghy once he was de-sanded for a chat and they invited us over at night to gets some tips on cruising the med as they have been doing so for 10 years!

We decided to go and look for a super market which turned out to be a very long dinghy run into town being thrown about b the wash from yet more fishing boats. To give them their due some actually did slow a little as they passed us (probably once they had spotted the kids.) We were a bit worried on the way back from the shop as we had very little fuel left in the outboard and it would have been a very long row back to the boat!

We went back along SS Unique after tea and had a chat about all the places they thought were the best to stay/visit over a glass of wine, it was very interesting and once again we got a different view of some places so now we are really confused!! The girls were playing up so we left saying we hoped that we would meet up in Greece next winter, it seems a really long way off although it will likely come round soon enough.

Thursday 1st Oct Portimao - Albufeira

We weren’t sure whether to go to Albufeira or Villamoura but we plumped for Albufiera as that is where Geordie and Linda were staying. It was about 18 miles so we just set off after breakfast. It was a lovely sunny day with no wind so we didn’t even bother to put the sails up. We saw dolphins along the way, quite big ones and loads of sandy beaches and high rise developments - well it is the Algarve after all. The cliffs are all made of sedimentary rocks and are full of caves, some of the properties at the top of the cliffs looked great until you looked at the chasm below them, a bit too close for comfort is how I would describe it! They are actually undertaking a programme of blowing up some of the cliffs as five people have died on the Algarve this year whilst sunbathing under over hanging cliffs that have collapsed.

We got to Albufiera marina at lunch time, it is a totally manmade harbour, blasted out of the rock. Quite impressive. It is a bit gaudy to say the least all the apartments at the side of the marina are pink blue and yellow. I think they would make you feel quite queasy if you had a hangover. The marina felt quite desolate because of this now being the ‘winter season’ - tell that to the weather, if this was winter we would melt in summer. We sheltered form the sun onboard all afternoon and finally ventured out into town to meet Geordie and Linda later on.

Albufiera town was a lot busier than the marina which was nice. The main square where we waited to meet the Simpsons is very lively and would be a great place to spend a Saturday night, preferably without kids! They took us up to the area near their apartment which is called ‘the strip’ if I had landed there first I would have thought that it was the town centre as it was again very busy with loads of pubs, cafes, and restaurants. Lots of people on the streets trying to entice you to their tables to eat. We plumped for a Chinese restaurant for tea so the kids would eat I was very good, cheers for that Geordie. After dinner we went for a stroll to a café for a nightcap and to walk off some of the dinner. We met the ‘pop corn man’ along the way! The lasses were very good (for them) and Ali and Geordie even managed to try some Portuguese brandy, apparently very smooth. We said wir goodbyes and got a taxi back to the marina after a very enjoyable night.

Friday 2nd October

Albufiera - Olhao

We realised we had got up too late to make the tide going into Rio Guadiana in one day and we thought we better not try it in the dark so we set off at about lunchtime for Olhao to anchor for the night. It was a good sailing day with the wind hitting us on the side instead of coming from behind for the first time in ages. We saw lots of dolphins again and did a lot of buoy dodging. When we got to the entrance to Olhao there was a lot of jumbly water because of the tide but we sailed in past it and managed to sail the whole way to the anchorage off Culatra island.

Once we were sure all was well with the anchor we went ashore for a look around. There is a new pier which Ali was very interested in as it was sheltered by two single rows of sheet piles driven into the sand. The whole island is only a few miles long and at the most 4 or 5 metres above sea level. It is inhabited by a fishing community (hence new pier) and there are lots of small boats fishing for shellfish the traditional way - no multi million pound trawlers round here. We were surprised to find a few shops and cafes etc as it was about the same size as Skerries. We thought it only right to spend a few euros on a beer or two as they have to transport all the goods by boat themselves to the shops/cafes because the ferry only takes foot passengers.

We went for a walk around the island and came across the lagoon - a drying pool into the sea where a few bilge keelers and catamarans full of hippies had obviously washed up a long time ago and stayed!
We went back to the boat for tea wishing we had a couple more days to spend in this area but time was pressing on and there was an impending Tulloch invasion in two days another 20 miles along the coast and we had to get there before them or there would be trouble!!

Sat 3rd October Olhao - Villa Real do Santo Antonio (VRSA)

We had a much more peaceful night at anchor as the boats that fish from Olhao don’t pass as closely and are much smaller than the ones we had previously encountered. We did stir hearing a small boat circling ours but he was just laying nets and thankfully had lifted them by the time we got up in the morning.

We set off after breakfast to be able to get to the Rio Guadiano just before high tide as it is very shallow at the entrance. It was a flat calm so we motored the whole way being entertained by dolphins again and dodging buoys and fishing boats. We were watching some haul up there nets with very little in them and wondered how the make a living but maybe it was just a bad day. When it is a hot calm day I always clean out all the nooks and crannies of the cockpit for want of something to do. You would be amazed how dirty it all gets even with Ali’s ‘no shoes on board’ rule. Ali spent the time sunning himself (all of) up on deck until I alerted him to an approaching fishing boat and he scrambled to get decent!

When we got near the river entrance it became apparent that the buoys on our laptop did not correspond at all with the port and starboard buoys we were seeing. We just stuck close to the red buoys and all went OK but it was a bit disconcerting as the computer charts had been brilliant up until then.

The marina in VRSA has a lot of current running through it which can be quite tricky as some other boats found out during our stay but thankfully not us! We went exploring and to find out where everything was so we were ready for the Tulloch’s the next day. The girls were getting seriously excited that their big cousin Alannah was coming the next day and they only had one more day to stroke off on their ‘Countdown’ to Alannah chart. The only thing left to do after tea was have some vino branco and sit on deck enjoying the ambience with the anti mossie lamp burning, don’t know if it works but I feel better having it on.

Lisbon - Sines - Baleera

Thurs 24th Sept

Lisbon to Sines

We left Lisbon at about 10am after going in and out of a few marinas looking for a fuel berth. This is no mean feat as the current of the river was flowing very quickly and each marina entrance is quite narrow so you have to go through quite quickly to avoid ending up sideways. We took a lot more notice of all the landmarks along the river as we left Lisbon (always less stressful than coming into port.) It really is an impressive place to sail it makes you feel quite small to be surrounded by all the history.





We saw this motto painted on the side of one building and thought it was a rather apt message for Shetland at this moment…….




Then there is this statue ‘Christo Rei’ who looks down over the city from the opposite bank of the river.




We zoomed down the river as we caught the tide going out averaging about 8 knots which was great. There were lots of little boats out fishing and gathering in their catch from the unbelievably poorly marked creels.

We had a good sail at first and were getting about 5 or 6 knots then the wind died away about lunch time and the girls and I started pressing to get the engine on as we were only going about half a knot. Ali was in one of his puritanical sailing moods however so we drifted along until the wind picked up again just south of Cabo Espichiel. The cape has a lot of caves and the waves, even in the flat calm, were going in at the bottom and spurting out of holes higher up the cliff.

We were sailing along nicely with the spinnaker up but the wind changed direction and started coming too much on the side so we got the jib out instead. We were still making good progress until the wind started coming right on the nose so Ali reluctantly stuck the engine on as it was beginning to get dark.
We got into port at about 8pm as it was just getting fairly dark. We got tied up, had dinner and then Ali and I decided that we would have a glass or two of vino. At about 11.30 pm the maritime police came along to look at our documents and Ali told them to come back the next day., I think he was feeling a little cocky, must have been the vino talking!! The Welsh bloke who helped us tie up said that they have a huge problem along the coast between Sines and the Algarve with drugs and people being smuggled into the country and that is why the police are so vigilant. Still at 11.30 at night when you are tired from sailing and not to mention a little tipsy then they are the last people you want to see.

Fri 25th Sept Sines

We decided to stay a couple of days as the wind was southerly until Sunday and also we didn’t want to get to the Algarve until the ,magical date of the 1st of October when all the marina prices drop to under half price. There were a few other boats doing likewise hanging around at Sines. We met Charles and Penny on their yacht Rossetta whom we had seen in Viana Do Castelo in the North of Portugal. They came along for a couple of cuppas and we swapped stories, they seem to be very experienced sailors who have recently decided to go and live aboard too, so it was good to hear all their plans.

Sines (pronounced Cinch!) is a small fishing town about half way between the Algarve and Lisbon. The harbour is very sheltered, even the anchorage off the beach although there wasn’t much wind when we were there at all.
There is an old castle that is said to be the birthplace of navigator Vasco de Gama. We went for a look around and had lunch which was really nice in a café with a play area so the kids were delighted too until a little boy came up and tried to lock them out of the café. We found a really good play park too which the girls loved as we hadn’t found one in Lisbon. I think their dad had as much fun as they did!

Sat 26th Sept

We woke to a really misty morning and so Ali decided to take the bike and cycle to the LIDL on the outskirts of town to stock up for sailing on the Sunday (fog permitting!) it turned out to be quite a trek, he was gone for hours! The mist cleared at around lunch time so we all went to the beach, Kaylee and Ali swam from the pontoon and Alisha and I walked - somebody had to carry the towels! We had a play and Ali swam out to Charles and Penny’s boat then tpically it clouded over and so we went for showers at the marina office, probably the cleanest, biggest, well kept showers I have encountered so far on this trip! We went for another walk around town later and for an obligatory coffee and cake. The girls were playing on some of the exercise equipment for the elderly that is installed around the seafront when an old drunk fisherman appeared out from behind a tree and started rambling at us about boats and where we were from, I think he was trying to find a boat to take him South but thankfully the language barrier prevented us from having to say no!

We went out and anchored for the night as we were leaving in the morning to get around Cabo do Sao Vincente to Lagos. Charles and Penny came along in the dinghy for a chat as they were also leaving the next day at around 8 am we said we would see how we got on….

Sun 27th Sines - Baleera

We woke to the sound of thre of the other anchored boats leaving at around 7.30am so Ali ordered us all to get up and go just in case there was a race he was going to lose! Whilst we were getting ready to go another Scottish boat circled around for a chat. They were all air pilots who had flown to Sumburgh before and know a few people we do too, small world once again!

It was a fairly murky morning and the non existent wind didn’t clear the mist so we didn’t see any of the other boats until we caught up with Rosetta a few miles North of the Cape! It was engine on all the way as the forecast veering and strengthening didn’t happen. As soon as we got out of the harbour past all the anchored oil tankers Ali decided it was time for a nap and the girls followed suit after a while. This left me on watch in the murky morning. At one point I was just gazing down into the sea at the stern when a shark glided under the boat, what a shock. I was so excited and there was no one awake to tell it to! I turned out to be a great day for sea life, we were visited by pods of dolphins quite a few times until the girls weren’t too bothered about them! Imagine that, being bored of seeing dolphins, only a four year old could manage that. We also saw a minky whale, our first proper whale sighting of the whole trip, and then to top it all off a mass of fins thrashing around, it was too far away to see but we thought it must have been sharks. It turned out that all the other boats had seen them all too.

When we caught up with Rosetta Charles radioed over for a chat then without me noticing they came close alongside, another shock as we had all been sailing in our underwear as it was so hot! I quickly grabbed for my shorts and Ali went below to get dressed! We motored along with them and they said they had dedicded to anchor at Baleera as coincidentally had all the other boats from Sines It actually got a bit windier coming around Cabo Sao Vincente so we managed to sail (well we put the jib out but couldn’t be bothered with the main by that time of night!) The coast line gets much more dramatic than the whole of Northern Portugal at this point as there are caves and cliffs interspersed with beaches, very pretty. We spotted this guy fishing from the top of the cliff which we thought rather strange as he would have needed a fairly long line!

We got to the slightly windy, crowded anchorage at Baleera and managed to get anchored first time but we were quite close to the shore on one side and other boats on the other so needless to say I was up and down like a yo yo all night checking! Ali thinks I’m crazy but I like to be sure we are definitely not moving!

Leixoes to Peniche & Lisbon 14th to 24th Sept

Mon 14th Sept Leaving Leixioes -Twice!

I had expressed a wish to leave before the sun came up so we could sail and enter the next port in daylight. This turned out to be a very bad idea indeed.
We set our alarm for 5.30 am and got up and ready. It looked a little misty in the marina but we decided to go for it anyway. As we left the harbour we realised it was far, far foggier than we had thought. We progressed very slowly out of the harbour and it was going not too badly until we were in the outer harbour and we couldn’t identify these really high up lights above us until we realised that they were the lights of a huge ship coming in. Thankfully we were half of our boats length out of its path. We both swore ,realising how close to being run over we were, and promptly turned around and progressed extremely slowly back to port and getting a shock when another big boat came flying out. It was very scary and I was told in no uncertain terms that we leave port only when the ‘skipper’ says so in future. We sneaked back to our berth and went to bed for a couple of hours.

We thought we had got out and back again without anyone noticing , but Olous had seen us and a Norwegian boat too -they all asked why we hadn’t used our AIS - Automatic Identification System so that we would know when there are big boats moving around, well we don’t have it. I think we will just not leave or enter harbours in the fog EVER AGAIN, well until the next time.

We eventually left in still misty conditions in the late afternoon but we could see at least a mile or two so it was a vast improvement! We travelled through the night to get down to Peniche. It was a good night, not too much swell, we had to motor sail the whole way but it wasn’t too bad. There were loads of fishing boats to dodge all through the night. This was all OK until the fog closed in again and I was left looking at little blips on the radar. There were also lots and lots of creel buoys but we were lucky and seemed to have missed them all. It became apparent that night how different Ali and our styles of night watch are. I tend to be on deck all the time looking around for potential collision situations only going below to check the chart or maybe make a quick cup of tea. Ali tends to spend most of his time below occasionally sticking his head up for a look casually about every twenty minutes or so.

We had dolphin company a lot of the night sometimes it was so dark you could just tell by the noise and the green luminescent trails they left.

It was a nice sunny morning and the wind picked up enough for Ali to try out his new jib booming out pole that he had made in Viana. It worked very nicely. The swell and wind were picking up more and more and it was a relief to come around the harbour wall.

Tuesday 15th Sept to Sunday 20th Sept Peniche

In Peniche there is just one long visitor pontoon on the outside of marina and all the boats have to raft up. We managed to come in at the right time for a space at the pontoon which meant we would be the buffer for any boats that came in after us. The first surprise was the local GNR officer was down taking our details even before we had tied the boat up which over the next few days we observed as standard practise. They must have been bored as they live on a small launch on the pontoon with not much else to do. Peniche harbour is warned about in the guide books as being rather perilous because of the wash from the fishing boats. Usually you take some of the warnings with a pinch of salt but in this case it was very accurate. The boats come in every few minutes, varying in size but not speed. There is a 3knot speed limit emblazoned in big red letters on the harbour wall but it seems like the fishermen play a game of ‘How much can you roll the yachties.’ They come racing past as close as not to be obvious at top speed then slow down as soon as they have passed the pontoon sometimes even slowing down on the way out which rather proves the ‘game’ theory. Add that to the really unfriendly unhelpful lady in the tourist office you would begin to think they don’t like visitors around here. Thankfully the marina guy was lovely and the town it self was nice enough. We did seem to have come just a few days too late as a lot of the things we could have done that the kids would like had just been shut down a few days previous.

We spent the first day looking around the town going for a ‘meid leite’ (milky coffe) or two to keep us awake as although the girls had had a good sleep we were a bit sleepy. The wind got up quite a bit in the afternoon and we saw a yacht circling looking for somewhere to tie up so we shouted them over to us. It turned out to be David and Laura a Spanish couple we had met in Viana so it was nice to see how they were getting along. They have just bought their first boat and are learning how to sail as the go along. I think you could choose slightly calmer seas to do that but they seem very happy and up for the challenge.



The main excitement for the girls the first day was trying to guess when their Canadian friends would arrive as we knew they had left in the morning after us. To say they were disappointed when we went to bed with no Canadians in sight would be an understatement. We woke up with the girls jumping around at seven in the morning- there’s a grey boat anchored out there and lots of screaming and dancing. When a few of the boats left and a space appeared at the pontoon, we called Olous and Vicky up ,and they came to the pontoon and the screaming kids were reunited once again! You would think they hadn’t seen each other for a year or two.

The next few days were spent in a now familiar routine, Vicky the kids and I would go for walks around town and have lunch whilst Ali and Olous would get the bikes out and go looking at hardware shops etc. Or all the kids would congregate on one boat and watch a movie or play. We went out pizza one night and Vicky got a huge pizza - pictured! One night Vicky and Olous baby sat our kids whilst we went for a meal which was very good of them and a lovely experience being able to actually chew food without fear of having to leave when the kids get too high. Nyah came over for a sleep over one night which all the girls were really excited about. It was Nyah’s first ever sleep over, and the first one we had on the boat. It all went great, popcorn, Barbie movies, chocolate milk etc. Needless to say Ali skinned out whilst all this was going on! Ali had gone over to the boat of a Scottish lady and her husband to reminisce as it had turned out that she went to school with Ali’s best friend at college and we had met her brother at his birthday party a few years ago. Small world or what! They had a nice night of wine and beer and talking about all the mutual people they knew. Alistair and Olous took all the girls up to the car park a couple of times to teach them all how to cycle and Alisha and Kaylee can now cycle without their stabilisers! Which is amazing as only a week ago Alisha wouldn’t even get on the bike and told us to throw it away after a fall!

All too soon for the girls Saturday came around and we had decided we would sail to Lisbon on the Sunday. We invited the crew of Atmosphere over for a last supper for our last night together. Vicky made a lovely salad and I made nice and easy spagghetti and meatballs we also bought a big chocolate cake from the supermarket and some squirty cream for pudding. We were all feeling fairly full after that even the kids had no more room for snacks. We had some wine but not too much as for me anyway -sailing and hangovers do not mix too well and there was the forecast for wind the next day……

Sun 20th Peniche to Lisbon

We awoke to find that all the other yachts were already leaving and thought we better get a move on as it was a fifty mile sail to Lisbon. We left around 9.30 being waved off by our friends on the pontoon. I thought there would be tears onboard our boat! The Canadians are heading off to Madeira in a couple of days and we wished them well on their journey and headed out to sea. Vicky left us with one important bit of sailing advice which I promised to follow.

Never take on another member of female crew if you need strangers to do a certain part of the trip, and if you do never ever let them sail topless! I will let you all wonder about why!

We got the sails up quickly and then decided to get the spinnaker up. It was all going great for half an hour or so we were sailing smoothly along I had the camera out to show how great it all was……….

until.........






this happened!!!!

AAAAGH!!

It took us about an hour of trying everything we could think of to free the sail. Most of the time Ali was steering the boat around in circles whilst I was hanging off the bow trying to free the sails but we realised that the top of the spinnaker was so tightly wrapped ar

ound the forestay that the only thing we could do was to pout the engine on and crank up the revs to try and out run the sail ,as even though it was twisted around the two balloons had still been propelling us at 5 knots all this time! Thankfully this worked. We sailed along for a while in light winds ,then the wind got up again so we decided to be brave and put the spinnaker back up again. This time paying a lot more attention to what was going on! The wind got up more and more and we were really flying along at some points we were doing over ten knots. It was at those points however I started feeling that the whole thing was slightly out of control and insisted that the spinnaker came down. We still managed 8 knots with only the main sail and we had passed all the other boats that had left Peniche an hour before us so Ali was happy enough.








The approach to Lisbon was ’interesting’ the wind got stronger to the point we were sailing completely reefed and still doing seven knots. There were three big cruise liners on their way out of the channel, countless yachts fishing buoys and boats to contend with and we were going against the flow of the river. We saw one really strange boat that just glided up the river it must be owned by some really rich person. Ali saw it a few days later and it has one of those hatches to drive the launch in and out of. The river is lined with monuments the Torre de Belem is one which is the tower all the famous navigators saw as they came into Lisbon harbour with news of their discoveries hundreds of years ago.






We got up the river and tied up, the wind was still blowing and so there were a few nervous moments but we made it without smashing any other boats - always a bonus. When we settled in for the night we realised that we could hear all the cars and trains going across the bridge and also that we were directly under the flight path into Lisbon airport, even later it became apparent that we were berthed next to a huge night club which played music until oooh about 6 am! Ali thought it sounded atrocious but I thought it sounded like a goods night out.

In the morning we went to check in and met some of the other people we had been sailing along with the day before and Ali said, “that was a good race.” One of the Norwegians replied yes it was- what boat were you, Ali of course replied with the boat with the big green spinnaker that passed you all! He does like to rub it in.

The main reason we went to Lisbon was to get a new sail batten as one of ours had broken and Ali would try to get a piece of stainless steel welded for the bowsprit to take the new gennaker he has ordered. Don’t ask me -I stay well out of it all. We were amazed when Ali phoned the first sail maker and he had the sail batten delivered an hour later for 10 Euros. Very good service indeed. This led him to meet Carlos a self described ‘Mr Fix It.’ He will take you anywhere you want to go and find out how to fix whatever you want - at a price of 17 Euros per hour. He said he could take Ali to a metal worker after dinner so off they went and Ali said it became quickly apparent that Carlos would get every penny squeezed out of the transaction that he could on top of the 17 Euros. He took Ali to one place where it was obvious that the metal workers had no idea, so Ali said he may as well go back to the marina. They went to another guy who actually could do the work but Ali thought Carlos was trying to get in on the cut and when he tried to tell Ali that he would have to buy the full 6m length of stainless steel to get it done I think a few choice words were directed at him. Anyway Ali decided to get the piece made but to cut Carlos out of the equation. The next morning he cycled off 5 miles through the Lisbon rush hour traffic to find Manuel’s workshop himself. Manuel turned out to be a really nice guy who made the piece for the next day for a very reasonable price including delivery.

Lisbon was steaming hot and the first day all we could do was venture out to find and internet café which turned out to be a real hike and we decided to do without until the next port. We went out for dinner as we hadn’t found the supermarket yet. We ate in a really nice place we stumbled across and had a meal that included vegetables for the first time in ages! Usually the food comes with rice and chips but no veg which is OK once in a while but not all the time. We were quite startled to see a sausage dish that was set on fire at other peoples tables and actually burned for quite a while and the flames went about 2 -3 feet high. We got back to the boat all tired and thankfully the night club wasn’t open on a Monday night.

The next day after Ali’s cycle we all got the tram and then a bus to the Lisbon Oceanarium . The public transport was all free as it was ’Pollution’ day in Lisbon. The aquarium is the second largest in the world. It was great. We spent a good few hours in there as it is so big and it was far cooler than being outside! There is a huge central aquarium on two floors with smaller aquariums all around the outside which depict different habitats like the tropics or the arctic. Kaylee had really wanted to see a ray as we hadn’t spotted one in the wild so far! All the info was in English too, which was a relief that I could answer some of the girls questions. There are displays about ecology and fishing and even a display showing you how they quarantine the fish, animals and plants before they are let into the pool. There was an Atlantic section with to sea otters and we took some photos of them although I did feel sorry for them as they didn’t have the same spark about them that the wild ones you see in Shetland do. However we thought our pictures were OK until our tenant Adrian emailed us ones he had taken of wild ones up at Lunna.





We had a walk around near the Aquarium it is in the nice clean new area of Lisbon that is a complete contrast to all the old narrow winding streets of the old town centre. Then we decided to get back to the boat and actually find the supermarket. A Dutch lady happened to be having her groceries delivered to her and Ali managed to bum a lift back in the little three wheeler delivery van back to the shop. He said it was an exhilarating drive, I can well believe that after seeing how some people drive around here!

There is a huge flat smooth bit of tarmac next to the marina so the kids got cycle lessons every night once it was cool enough.

The next day we decided to take the trams up around the old city. On the way we stopped for a drink of water and Ali ordered three banana splits. When we got the bill it looked like the bad handwriting said 6.28 Euros, not bad we thought until Ali gave the waiter the money and he said no it was 28 Euros as the banana splits were 8 + Euros each. I couldn’t help laughing at the “Holy Shit” that came out of Ali. He told the girls to savour every last drop as their ice cream allowance was busted for a month! A lesson learned! The tram ride was good once we found one that wasn’t packed. A bit exciting when the tram driver hit a car that went in front of her. She didn’t care she just got back inside when he had moved and carried on. We got back to the boat and got ready to sail the next day to Sines.