From Portugal to Galicia, and minor setbacks on route

In the past three weeks, we have come all the way up the west coast of the Iberian peninsula, from Cabo San Vicente at the bottom to la Coruna, at the top.  

Dolphins near Cabo San Vicente

We had a few technical issues on this leg of the trip. On the very first day, the autopilot stopped working. Dave went to investigate and found that the motor driving the system had stopped. He diagnosed worn brushes, and kicked himself for not bringing spares along. He had asked about getting some when purchasing the unit, but the owner of the shop seemed convinced that, “You’ll never need to replace those!” Famous last words! A quote for new ones was £180 plus delivery, which would mean waiting somewhere for them to arrive.

We decided to pull into Sines and see what we could find in the fishing harbour. After a long search for the correct store, then an even longer search through the store’s ‘spares’ boxes, Dave came up trumps. The brushes weren’t quite the right size, but after a little filing, and re-welding the springs, Dave had the whole thing back up and running the same afternoon, and for a fraction of the cost!

Keeping amused at sea

The next morning, as we set out to sea there was a strong smell in the boat, a strange sort of antiseptic TCP smell. We stopped at the threshold of the harbour while Dave checked everything out. He couldn’t find anything wrong but still this smell lingered. We continued on cautiously while trying to sniff out the problem. Was there a problem with the new brushes or had some chemical or paint tin leaked? We were completely baffled. It wasn’t until mid-morning that Dave found the culprit – an LED light in the kitchen had burnt out! No major damage and a relief to identify the cause.

We continued north in light winds – stopping overnight at Cascais, Nazaré, and São Jacinto. By the time we reached this last harbour, the wind was not so light and the entrance was rather hairy with sizeable waves rolling in and clashing with a strong outgoing tide. I was glad Dave was at the helm and not me as we surfed our way in. I didn’t want to put him off by going to get the camera but the fact that there were waves inside the entrance gives a good idea of what it was like outside! Suffice to say we were happy to drop anchor and stop for a few days while the north winds picked up.

walking out to the beach, Sao Jacinto

Reuben mastering rowing at Sao Jacinto

Here we met up with our friend Rafe, who was heading south in his aluminium yacht ‘Silver Lining’. We spent an evening ashore together, and ate in a local restaurant. The seabass was delicious, but the ‘chips’ took us by surprise again when presented with half a plate of crisps! We never will understand that one. But the meal was rounded off nicely with a Magnum ice cream in honour of Rafe’s dad, ex-Topsham artist David Eddington.

Magnums with Rafe

We visited the tallest lighthouse in Portugal, across the entrance at Barra, and also an old cod-fishing boat, the ‘San Andres’, which has been turned into a museum. It was an impressive sized ship, with enormous holds for all the fish. One half of the catch was refrigerated, and the other half salted – salt cod is still a big part of Portuguese cuisine, and is available in every supermarket (even Lidl have a salt-cod section!)

I particularly liked to see the huge wheelhouse, with its many radars and fish-finders, and drawers full of charts ranging as far as the Grand Banks and Greenland. The kitchen was also impressive, with an enormous electric mixer, huge bun-tin tray and a vast pantry. The wooden dividers on the table to keep each seaman’s plate and drink in place give an idea of the conditions they would have been cooking (and working) in!

271 steps to the top of the Barra lighthouse

bit breezy at the top!

San Andres - ex-codfishing boat, with its prop off

Reuben at the helm

A short day-trip took us to Leixões, near Porto, where we again got stopped by strong northerlies. We weren’t too worried as the sun was shining and we had both Father’s Day and Reuben’s birthday to celebrate. Reuben was missing his friends but he had a lovely day, with a trip to the local playpark to try out his new roller-blades, a picnic lunch and an afternoon on the beach jumping over the waves and splashing in a warm inshore pool. There was certainly a lot of cake eaten that weekend!

Reuben getting brave on his new roller-blades

Yum!

braving the waves at Leixoes

Another long day trip and we crossed the border back into Spain. The third casualty of this leg was the Ipod for our music, which has given up the ghost after 13 years. We are now reduced to old-fashioned radio or having to swap the CD's!

Changing the courtesy flag as we enter Spanish waters

We spent two nights in the lovely town of Bayona. Here, Reuben picked up a late birthday parcel and searched for tiny cowrie shells on the beach. Katie and I clambered out over the rocks and braved seaweed to swim in the deep patches of sea.

Reuben getting lowered over the side

Katie, after a sea swim at Bayona

sunset, Bayona

Suddenly, the weather turned balmy and hot with little to no wind – perfect for swimming. Katie has proved to be a patient teacher and got me (who is scared of heights) and Reuben jumping in off the bowsprit!
Unfortunately, it was also perfect weather for mosquitoes, and after one hot night, where Reuben slept without covers or a pyjama top, he woke up covered in mosquito bites. Katie circled them all in pen as they counted them – 33 in all. 

Jump!

We set off to visit our favourite places in the Spanish rias. First stop were the beautiful Islas de Cies, a nature reserve opposite the Ria de Vigo. We remembered how cold the water was from our last visit so we went ashore armed with wetsuits and were able to spend a long time in the water without freezing! Dave had bought an underwater camera since our last trip so we had fun snapping each other while up to our necks in water – it’s a weird feeling to wade into the sea with your camera!

Dave thru the underwater camera

Pristine beach at Isla de Cies

The next day we took a walk up to the Pedra da Campa, a huge rock with a hole eroded in it. Reuben was delighted to spot lots of lizards on the way – 36 in total, including 5 of the big green ones he loves. We also spotted a couple of robins, and several baby seagull chicks, which I had never seen before.

seagull chicks

big, green lizard

Katie at the Pedra da Campa

Next stop was Pobra do Caramiñal, in the Ria de Arousa, for our third trip to the stunning natural waterfalls. With temperature warnings of 85 degrees from 2 until 8pm, we set off early, but it was still a hot and sweaty cycle to the base of the hill, followed by a twenty-minute walk up through the woods to get there. By the time we arrived at the top, we were desperate to strip off and jump in.

Reuben, with no rucksack, was the first to arrive.

“There’s people there!” he shouted back, disappointed. He had been praying that we would have the place to ourselves.

There was one couple, sunbathing on the rocks. The kids jumped in the water immediately, while Dave and I chatted to the Spanish couple. Despite living in the Ria de Arousa, they had only just discovered these waterfalls.  

pool with a view

waterslide!

They left not long after, and we had the whole glorious place to ourselves. We all swam, splashed and hunted for the frogs we could hear croaking. On our first visit two years ago, Reuben had been in armbands; now he and Katie were diving to the bottom to collect handfuls of sand! We clambered down to the next pools below, where we slid down the mossy rocks into the pool – a natural waterslide. Normally the water is quite chilly, but the sun was so hot it had warmed the rocks which in turn warmed the water running over them. It was heavenly!

At 3pm, it was just too hot to stay out in the sun and we packed up and headed home. We passed two groups climbing up to the pools – a hard slog in the afternoon heat - and were doubly thankful for our early start.

natural swimming pools

That evening was the Fiesta de San Juan, the Spanish celebration of Midsummers Day. We went ashore in the evening to grab a beer and watch proceedings. The shore road was cordoned off and people lined the sea wall, where a barbeque was set up, offering grilled sardines, pork and mussels. At midnight, the big fire was lit and further along various groups of people made smaller bonfires for themselves. Apparently the tradition is to jump over the fire four times for luck for the coming year. We left at half past twelve and by the time we woke, there was no evidence of a fire on the beach at all!

Fiesta de San Juan

the big bonfire

Our next stop was Finisterre. This is a final, ‘extra’ destination for pilgrims walking the Camino de Santiago, and I had always wanted to walk out to the end of the headland. It was getting late by the time we dropped anchor, so we cheated and caught a taxi out to the lighthouse. The view was underwhelming, to say the least, as the mist was rolling in, but at least we had been there! The taxi driver also recommended a decent local restaurant, where we had a lovely meal out, with proper chips!

stunning view at Finisterre!

Pilgrim's bread for walkers

The next Ria was Camariñas, where we had planned to have a bonfire. For some reason, the water in the ria was a strange red/brown colour, not the clear blue we remembered. We weren’t sure if there had been a pollution spill, or if it was the ‘red tide’ that plagues American shores. In any case, it didn’t look tempting, and the skies were cloudy, so we postponed the bonfire.

It was here that we realised our phones had stopped working. We had thought maybe the signal was poor in Finisterre as it was such a remote headland, but when we reached Camariñas and still had ‘emergency calls only’ on both phones, we realised there was a problem. It was exactly a year since we signed up with EE and we thought maybe our contract had run out.

The following morning, I hooked up to wifi in a café and spent a frustrating couple of hours going round in circles just to try and make an online call. Finally, I got through to EE and established that we hadn’t been cut off. I just managed to note down technical suggestions before the battery ran out. Thankfully, the suggestions worked and we were soon reconnected. Surprising how we have got so used to ready access to the internet on board. We didn’t have such luxury on our first Atlantic trip!

In the next ria Corme, we bumped into a French boat we’d met two years previously, and finally had our bonfire, just outside a cave on our own little stretch of beach.

beach bonfire, Corme

saving a baby starfish

Our final stop on the west coast were the Islas Sisargas, an uninhabited group of islands off the coast. We had never been able to stop here before due to swell, so it was lovely to visit the island and swim off the tiny sandy beach, despite the nesting seagulls that tried to bombard us as we followed the path to the top. 

looking for a sandy spot to anchor

anchored at the Islas Sisargas

Islas Sisargas,looking to the mainland

We have done a lot of motoring on this leg, and have all enjoyed travelling slowly in flat, calm seas this last week. It makes me wonder if we are really 'true sailors', especially after hearing that out friend Martijn was knocked to 80 degrees of heel on his way back across the Atlantic. That doesn't appeal to me in the slightest!
We are now planning to follow the north coast of Spain a little way along while keeping an eye open for a good weather window to cross the Biscay. We aim to join the maritime festival at Douarnenez at the end of July.

Along the Algarve

After our detour to Gibraltar, we have spent the last three weeks slowly making our way along the south coasts of Spain and Portugal (the Algarve). We have moved on days when the wind dropped, and enjoyed wherever we were in between times.

We spent several days at Sancti Petri. We had anchored overnight there before but never set foot ashore. It turned out to be a lovely remote beach paradise, with enough swell for bodyboarding, and huge areas of sand dunes to explore. All shared with just a handful of people! 

pristine beach at Sancti Petri

towing Katie and Reuben on bodyboards

Boat windows all covered to protect from sun damage

A little venture around the ‘town’ opposite revealed very little going on – there were some fantastic sea murals painted on the walls but nothing else apart from an ice cream stand and a couple of quiet bars. No hotels, or even a little shop. Strange, considering the marina and river were full of boats and there was a thriving kayak centre right on the beach. Maybe the place comes alive in the height of summer? 

shell murals at Sancti Petri

Whale mural at Sancti Petri

In any case, we enjoyed a few days there, playing on the beach, and exploring upstream in our dinghy – where we got bombarded by small jumping fish, which left slime all over us! Our friends Miki and Karl from ‘Fai Tira’ caught up with us here, and we all enjoyed a beach bonfire together, before parting ways. They are bound for the Mediterranean.

Karl and Reuben collecting firewood

trying to light the fire with a magnifying glass!

Beach BBQ!

Next stop was Cadiz. It was calm enough to nose into a tiny bay off one of the town beaches, where we anchored among a frightening array of drying rocks, flanked by parts of the impressive Castillo,

‘We’re fine here,’ was the Captain’s verdict, and sure enough, the boat sat pretty as a picture while we rowed ashore for a late-afternoon visit to the packed beach. Back on board later, a tourist boat crammed with people edged past us and gave us a thumbs up. Obviously not many visiting yachts stop in this spot! However, we enjoyed a peaceful night among the rocks and headed out before dawn to a dazzling display of phosphorescence in the water (according to Dave, who was the only one awake!)

Cadiz waterfront

Ros Ailither anchored off Cadiz beach

We stopped off at the entrance to the Guadiana to stock up on groceries. It took all our willpower not to head upriver and see the folks in Sanlucar, but we thought we might never leave, so we reisted and carried on to Culatra. In spite of light, almost non-existent winds, this was the rolliest trip by far, and I felt thoroughly seasick by the time we entered the breakwater. The swell, although small, had a short 6-second period, which was obviously perfect for setting our boat on a horrible side-to-side roll. We were pleased to see it wasn’t just us – our friend Roy passed on ‘Sea Warrior’ and we could see that his boat had a similar motion. I was very pleased to drop anchor in the calm waters of the lagoon inside.

choppy waters at the entrance to Culatra

sunset at Culatra

Culatra is a lovely open anchorage, where you are usually rewarded with a stunning sunset every night. This visit, we also experienced a terrific lightning storm. There was very little rain but the sky was full of ominous, black clouds, and one boom of thunder was so loud, we were convinced something in Olhau (the town opposite) had got struck.

boardwalk over the dunes, Culatra

braving the waves 

not sure about braving the waves!

We spent a couple of days off the island of Culatra, and walked across the boardwalk to the splendid beach there. We had only visited in off-season before, and wondered how the residents survived with just one tiny shop and a couple of bars. This time, in May, everything was in full operation, and the quiet streets had turned into a tourist venue. There were several ice cream stalls, souvenir shops and a juice bar; a bakery and a whole host of eating places - one even with a display of fresh fish on ice. All this on a tiny island made of sand! On our way back to the dinghy, we were greeted by the sight of a stork pacing the sand right in front of us.

stork among the fishing boats, Culatra

We nipped across to Olhau for a night, where we had a couple of beers with Will from Turf basin. Before leaving the next morning, we bought ourselves some clams for tea in the wonderful old fish market.

Olhau church

Stork's nests on church roof, Olhau

Dave and Will sip beer on our own treasure island

 Thankfully, the trip to Portimao was much stiller, and we crept close to the coast to look at the spectacular caves under the cliffs. There is a roaring trade all along the Algarve for small boats taking holiday-makers out to see the caves – and in some cases go inside them. We waited for a calm day and took a little trip along the coast in our dinghy. It was quite nerve-racking, as the swell looks bigger and the water looks shallower the closer you get to the caves. Dave kept a calm head and managed to steer us safely inside some of the bigger caves, and even through a couple of low ‘arches’ through the rock. The power of the sea is pretty awesome to carve such sculptures out of rock!

caves reaching almost to the top of the 200' cliffs

collapsed hole in the roof of a cave

through an archway to an open cave

We spent over a week at Portimao and, although school continued in the mornings, we had the afternoons to go ashore and explore. The anchorage was surrounded by several different beaches, with more to choose from outside the harbour. The main long beach was perfect for swimming and, one night, a beach barbecue with another couple on a yacht.

lovely skies in Portimao

beach aerobics

The ‘middle’ beach was full of round pebbles and stones to collect, most of them embedded with sea shells. Reuben found a small tunnel right through the cliff. The rest of us couldn’t fit through but he managed to squirm his way through, with his tummy dragging in the damp sand! At the other end of the beach, the sea had eroded lots of holes in the stones. Somebody had hung a few of these up with strands of washed-up rope. We added a couple to the collection for luck.

shells embedded in rocks

beach caves

surf beach

The little beach outside the breakwater had surf so was good for bodyboarding and wave-jumping. After a little coaching from Katie, Reuben was soon joining her diving under the incoming waves.

The furthest beach inshore was a beachcomber’s paradise – we found a scarf and a set of new flip-flops on one walk, not to mention a collection of sand beetles to study, and a strange pink creature folded (almost but not quite) into a shell. Later identified as a ‘Cymbium-olla’, a type of (big) sea snail.

Reuben holding the 'Cymbium-olla'

underneath a chimney with a stork's nest on top

We had spent time in Portimao before so knew our way around. The fountains and stork’s nests in the town centre, Lidl at the end of the fish harbour, and Praia da Rocha for its lovely beach and bucket and spade shops.

The only drawback was the rolling! The entrance was quite open to the sea so a bit of sea swell snuck into the harbour, and this, coupled with the fishing boats roaring out at daybreak, led to a perpetual roll at anchor. This is where Dave’s ‘rocker stopper’ came into its own, and we sat smugly on our relatively still boat, watching all the other yachts wobbling around!

Five miles to the west was Alvor. This is a smaller resort on the edge of a large, shallow lagoon, and with not much room to anchor. We initially anchored just inside the entrance, where we knew there was enough water. From here, we could swim and kayak ashore to the sand banks at low tide, and take the dinghy across to the town if we wanted. But after two days, the wind had picked up so much we were struggling to leave the boat. The waves splashed right over the front of the dinghy and got us all swamped.

Alvor, a kitesurfer's paradise

Reuben in the kayak

traditional trip boats sailing in, Alvor

  

On the beach at Praia Meia

Eventually, we decided to risk taking the big boat up to the town, and were surprised to find there was more water there than where we had been anchored! Now sheltered from the wind, we managed to get out every day, and explored all the walks around Alvor – a lovely boardwalk loop takes you across the sand dunes to the main beach, giving great views of all the kite-surfers. 

prepared for an expedition!

farmer at work

wild poppies

rural fields ashore

Further from the town, an inland trail takes you through quiet farmland; and a trail around the saltwater marshes gave us great views of wading birds, where we finally sighted some flamingos! There were about eighteen of them, but strangely only three of them looked pink. The rest were almost black and white, and looked like over-sized avocets, with their heads tucked into their bodies.

one pink flamingo, among black 'n' white ones

birdwatcher's paradise in Alvor

black-winged stilt

egret on the sandbank

Having watched the local fishermen catch razor clams by pouring salt down their holes in the sand, Dave and Reuben dug up some worms on the beach and managed to catch us a fish! Maybe not the biggest catch, but he tasted delicious.

digging for worms

a successful catch! 

For the last two weeks, we have been avidly watching the weather, waiting for a lull in the northerly winds. The ‘Portuguese trades’ apparently blow regularly down the Atlantic coast in summer, starting light in the mornings and increasing all afternoon, often reaching Force 6 by evening. Of course, we hadn’t had these winds to help us when we came down the coast, but were faced with them now, blowing dead against us!

Anchored in Baleeira

Sagres, a surfer's town

drinking Sagres beer in Sagres!

Finally, a weather window looked promising, and we motored to Baleeira, our last stop on the Algarve coast, and a popular spot for dolphin- and whale-watching trips. We had a day to rest and wander around the headland at Sagres.

This is the last headland before Cabo San Vicente, the SW ‘tip of Portugal’, and has stunning views out over clear blue water. We walked around the old fort, and out to the lighthouse, where blow-holes send spray up through the rocks in rough weather. The whole headland is full of wild flowers and sea grasses, all very reminiscent of Cornwall. 

Sagres headland

clear blue seas

lizard in the sun

salt blown flowers, Sagres

Cabo San Vicente in the distance

Henry the Navigator set up a School of Navigation here in the 14^th century, which conglomerated all knowledge of navigation and map-making to date. He was an important influence in keeping Portugal at the forefront of the Great Age of Exploration, encouraging sailors to explore further afield. Portuguese sailors were the first to sail down the west coast of Africa, around the Cape of Good Hope and to India, opening up new trade routes for precious spices.

A fitting place from which to start our journey up the Atlantic coast.

Henry the Navigator looking out at Sagres

budding seafarers