Portugal 

We were ok with our decision to head to Portugal it was our original destination before we realised there was another option, the one where we could sail to Scotland. 

We had taken our time enjoying The Azores so we had used up a fair bit of our Schengen time.

The Schengen visa allows non EU visitors 90 days in 180 days, basically 3 months in every 6 months but you have to leave the Schengen area for at least 3 months to reset the clock, Oops

Once we sat down and really thought it through we realised we had stayed 45 days in the Azores and by the time we realised this we had used up another 5 day’s oops our time is running out if we want to see Portugal, Spain, Italy or Greece. 

We had spoken to friends on the yacht Dunracing, they had spent 5 years in the Med and the way they managed it was to fly home every European winter, but for us at the moment with Covid that’s not possible. 

Or they would cross to Tangier or Turkey for winter but at the moment those countries have closed their borders. 

We are feeling a bit panicky at this stage. One thing in our favour is that the lady in the customs office in Horta didn’t stamp our passport when we checked in, we have boat papers and we are listed as crew, this is normal acceptable paperwork used while travelling between Horta and Praia Victoria and we were given a departure form when we left the Azores so we had proof of our last port. 

That’s needed these days with Covid so we are right to enter Portugal. 

When we checked into Cascais/Portugal we had to ask that they stamp our passports, so hopefully when we fly out, the stamp on our passport will be the only thing airport customs look at.

But first we had to play a bizarre game of frogger, crossing the very busy shipping lanes that were full of  huge container ships pouring in and out if the Mediterranean.

On our approach to Portugal we were greeted by high rise buildings and suburbs, something we hadn’t encountefor a very long time.

Cascais was such a shock to our senses, it’s the middle of Summer, the middle of school holidays “peak season” and the place is hootching, turns out it’s a favourite holiday destination for Portuguese locals, as well as international tourists. So for the first time in years we were amongst crowds of people. To minimize our risk we kept to ourselves while out walking donning our masks even when outside in the more crowded laneways. Masks are compulsory in shops and on public transport. 

The anchorage is huge with a nice sand bottom, so good holding, our view is very pretty we are sitting in front of a very beautiful white sand beach and there is a huge long concrete promenade littered with cafes and restaurants , stretching  all the way along the coast to the next town. Everyday there are numerous games of soccer and volleyball on the beach.

High rise flats dot the horizon behind the shops and main town. 

The water is a chilly 17c and we are bemused by the crowds that pile onto the beaches everyday sunbrellas and windshields in hand. The water is chilly but it doesn’t stop the holiday makers paddling, swimming, snorkeling, jet skiing, water skiing, windsurfing you name it, it’s a very busy place. The paved streets are crowded, the extended outdoor dining spaces don’t help its bedlam. 

We hear a few English and Irish accents but it’s mostly Portuguese families on vacation. 

The town is very pretty just like the Azores the streets and even some of the roads are all paved with square cream blocks interceded with grey or black patterns some of them quite intricate. Where the paths have been heavily treaded  over the years the stones are shiny and very slippery, along with the unevenness , It makes for treacherous  sightseeing.

Cascais is only a 20 minute train ride into Lisbon so we take the opportunity to visit the capital city, there is no social distancing on the train but everyone is masked up.

 

We loved Lisbon wandering through the narrow cobbled, paved streets, then finding ourselves in big open squares lined with cafes and restaurants overshadowed with huge statues, archways and churches. We walked through the old part of the city, climbing stairs and up steep pathways until we reached the São Jorge Castle up on top of the capital city.  Enjoying the view looking over the terracotta tiles roofs and whitewashed buildings, we walked back down through the narrow streets of the old city.

We did a second excursion by train to Cinta Palace, taking the public bus halfway  up and walking the rest. Cinta Palace is like something out of a fairytale but it was hard for us to trapsing through the narrow hallways and rooms surrounded by so many people, we really aren't used to the crowds.

It’s time to get moving, we had met Steve and Helen New Zealanders sailing on Cerulean, and following their social media posts we decided to head towards Portamao and maybe haul out and fly to Scotland. We don’t have any charts or books on Portugal to give us information, we have the maps and what we need for navigation on the chart plotter and an app called Navionics or Active Captain gives us an indication and sometimes a small description on where to anchor but word of mouth is the best way to find out where to stop on our way down the coast. .  

We visuted so many different anchorages, all different towns some had easier shore acces and some were harder, most were only a day sail in between. We took our time discovering old churches, more cobbled streets, local cafes selling " Portuguese tarts, and we stumbled upon a fresh produce market and bought the most beautiful olives marinated in olive oil, lemon oregano and just a hint of garlic, a bag of homegrown oregano to sprinkle on some homegrown tomatoes, I just love oregano and I have discovered it’s delicious sprinkled on top of toasted ham and cheese sandwiches. ...

We also stumbled across numerous butchers with pork still being the cheapest,  but reasonable prices for chicken and beef, lamb is still expensive but more affordable than anywhere we have been so far. 

I did get very upset walking through the fish markets, so so many dead fish how does the sea sustain all this fishing 

On our sail from to Horta we had problems winding in the furling main and it got caught inside and doubled over on its self but this time we didn’t have Adam and Khiara there to help us, luckily we were in a very quiet protected, very still anchorage so Craig had to spend half the day winched up the mast undoing the mess. Without the extra hands it was me who had to run between the electric winch and the manual winder on the mast pulling the sail in and out, then changing the ropes and engaging the winch to hoist Craig up bit by bit as he freed the folded sail. My part was easy, I wasn’t sitting up there hanging on with my legs wrapped around a mast. 

There are always afternoon trade winds and we just managed to unfurl the whole thing as the wind picked up, there were a few scary moments as we started to sail while on anchor but the breeze made the furling in of the sail that much easier, by keeping it billowed out as we reeled it in. 

Even on a cloudy day we can see Morocco.

Do you know how exciting that is, unfortunately Morocco’s borders are still closed, which is unfortunate as that is where we would have headed to, to reset the Schengen clock, a quick sail over to a secure marina to live for a few months then when the time is right head into the Mediterranean. 

So on we sailed down the Portuguese coast, taking in the rugged coastline, lined with stunning caves and sometimes quite isolated beaches, turning the corner into the Algarve we were hit by a sudden gust that almost knocked us over with kabatic winds blowing from the mountains to the sea.

Once we righted ourselves and trimmed the sails in a bit we sped along, in wonder at the incredible smells coming off the land, it smelt like warm dry earth, thick and musty it smelt like what I imagine Africa would smell like and Africa is not far away across the water but the wind was coming off Portugal in totally the opposite direction.

Into the Algarve, we anchored in Portama and caught up with Jackson a friend of a friend who had moved to Portamao from Ireland to live.  Craig had a hankering for fish and chips, and being quite an English holiday destination Jackson took us to his favourite English restaurant, the meal was served with mushy peas and was really good. 

After a few days exploring the area with our Aussie friends Scott and Deb who we had spent time with in the Azores, we upped anchor and headed for Culatra. 

Culatra is a beautiful part of Portugal, and very quiet, hardly any international tourists, mostly Portuguese.

Our destination was Bruce's Yard a haul outyard in Faro.  The yard is located right up inland on the  Faro River.  We had to navigate our way up this windy river and a motor boat met us and guided us into the warf where we would be hauled out.