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!