It rains a lot here

Spoilt by two years in sunny climes, we were unprepared for the late autumn weather in northern Portugal,

Although Pete says that it is not really typical, it has certainly rained a lot since we got back, often drizzle and low cloud, and the heater has come out of storage. A small boat is not the best environment for wet weather but we have been trying to get out and about when the sun returns.

We  caught the metro to Porto and then walked down the side of the Douro river and along the coast back to the marina.

We passed a good charity shop on the way and I elicited a promise from Scruffbag to return to it when we had more time. We also managed to have lunch in the sun at a beachside cafe, a rare treat.

Our next trip out was to the end (penultimate stop) in the metro line to a town further north, Vila de Conde. We did get hit by the odd shower but the old town centre was pretty with an amazing aqueduct.

We also climbed to the convent above the town from whence the views along the river were fantastic. It was all souls night so flower sellers were everywhere and the cemetery was full of people laying flowers on their family graves, the local custom on this day.

After the purchase of two umbrellas and a cheap but good lunch and a walk along the river we headed back to the metro station for our return home.

In the following damp days we enjoyed sheltering from the rain in the form of a couple of leisurely lunches with Pete and Maria and our friends Richard and Renata, who are also wintering their boat here.At the local cafe, a three course lunch with carafe of wine and coffee costs around 25 euros for two and can last for hours in good company.


Another rain free day and another trip out, this time by train further north to Viana de Castelo. This is a really beautiful old town  and we took the furnicular railway up to the old cathedral

The view was truly amazing and Scruffbag climbed the narrow staircase to the top of the tower, while I sat  in the sun on the cathedral steps.

Another lovely lunch:was enjoyed: dish of the day with wine for me and beer for Scruffbag. then a wander around town before walking up to the station.

We also visited the town of Povoa de Vazim, the last stop north on the metro line. We had a look at the marina and noted the awful swell before walking along the coast to Vila de Conde again, avoiding heavy rain showers along the way.

It was so wet so often that I even managed to get Scruffbag to visit a huge shopping centre one day, no mean feat I assure you.
After another visit to Porto to visit the charity shop ( an unused leather bag and a denim skirt 5 euros) and an old mansion, which was closed (at least it was warm enough to sit in the park and watch the peacocks), it was time to get ready to move down to the Algarve to avoid the worst of the northern Portuguese winter,

We are travelling to Praia de Luz by train and leaving the boat in Peter's care for 3 months whilst we enjoy the luxury of an entire apartment.

Family and Friends

We had been looking forward to seeing Pete, in Leixoes but unfortunately he was working in the UK on the gravel boat and we were leaving for three weeks with family soon so it will be November before we meet.

In the meantime the boat has had a good clean up and canvas bags, dodgers and ropes have been washed and put away for winter.



Scruffbag and I enjoyed a long walk along part of the boardwalk which runs for miles up the north coast and we went out for a pizza ( something we have not eaten for over a year). Richard and Renata on the neighbouring boat are also here for six months and, like us they plan to spend December,  January and February somewhere warmer, in their case Renata's home country, Brazil.





A week after we arrived we caught the early morning (6am) flight to Stansted to stay with our daughter and to enable Mark to meet baby granddaughter Millie for the first time.

We went with Heather to collect Freya, aged two,from nursery in the afternoon and it was a delight to see that she knew us instantly from all the skyping and held my hand and chartered incessantly. We were to learn that chattering incessantly was routine, as was smiling. She is at the age of delightful comments such as, "you're very kind, Grandma"  " This is a bit tricky" "You help me" Scruffbag and Heather reckon things skip a generation as she is also very bossy and clearly knows what she wants.




We visited lots of amazing parks run by the outstanding Essex Wildlife Trust, including one with a Stickman theme and one with a Gruffalo hunt.

Near Gravesend a new wharf has been built and in recompense for lost salt marshes, a whole new area has been reclaimed and Essex Wildlife trust have developed nature trails, bird hides and children's play areas.

It was also great to see the less photo - willing members of the family, Jo and Andrew as well as a rare glimpse of Jack. Our eldest granddaughter Lauren is now buying a flat in Chelmsford with her partner, Jake so a visit and a bacon sandwich were enjoyed by all.

Our visit to Hornchurch was interspersed with a trip to the north east to see Scruffbag's mother, who is looking very well for her 91 years. We also caught up with long- standing friends in Saltburn and enjoyed a family lunch with the Shallows.

The time passed all too quickly and soon it was time to return to Erica and Leixoes to see what the weather would hold in late autumn in northern Portugal.

To mainland Europe

The weather forecast for Sunday 15th September was ok when we checked on the Saturday evening so we were all ready to go. We checked again on Sunday morning and noticed a change. A trough had appeared about half way across and this could well indicate strong winds. However, they would be aft of the beam and our crew member was anxious to leave so we decided to set off. Had we been alone we would have waited for a more favourable forecast. Had we been alone, we would have been right and we would have picked up the westerlies that arrived a few days later. In future we will follow our own experience and judgement.

Our lovely daughter Heather gives us a forecast via satellite phone every day and, after a slow start in the first few days, she advised us to slow down in order to avoid the strong winds associated with the trough. This was extremely frustrating as we were starting to sail at a  decent speed. Nonetheless we followed her advice and when we did pick up the winds on Friday they were slightly less than they could have been at 25 knots true  from the NW. We were travelling just north of east,However, there were a lot of squalls and the gusts were 30 knots and more, which was a bit disconcerting to say the least.

By Sunday the gusts had gone and we settled into a lovely sail right through until after midnight on Monday.
At this point the wind dropped and we decided to turn the engine on as we hoped to be in harbour the next morning. The number of ships showing on the AIS was increasing and by the time Scruffbag came on watch it was clear that this was a popular route for ships heading to and from northern Europe. He had to call up two container ships that seemed to be on collision course. One was very friendly and stated his intention to move to starboard. The second one, however, was extremely rude. Maybe he was asleep and annoyed at being woken up. In any event we had to call him twice as he didn't seem to be moving and he finally moved to pass us by about a mile.
The shipping abated as we closed the coast and a pod of dolphins paid us a brief visit.

By mid morning we were tied up on the visitors' pontoon rafted next to a bigger aluminium yacht. On visiting the office we found that our friend, Pete, who lives locally and has a boat here, had booked our berth and we were able to move to a more comfortable location in the marina. It had been a long time since we had faced 6 months without moving onwards. The boat is due a good clean, some TLC and maybe some new gear.We already miss the sunshine but it will be good to be close to family once more.

Two more weeks in Sao Miguel

There are worse places to be weather bound than an island which abounds with walking trails and has a good swimming beach a 45 minute walk away.

As a change from walking, we decided to visit a fairly big town on the east coast, Ribiera Grande. This was an attractive town with a river running through the centre and a pretty town square.

We also visited a couple of attractions in Porta Delgarda itself, namely the fort, which  housed an interesting military museum in an impressive building and a lava cave on the outskirts of town.

As usual we enjoyed many of the hiking trails on the island. Probably our favourite was the water trail with lots of aqueducts and a spot where water poured out of a cavern high up on a cliff side which was known as Hell's Mouth.

Another walk with a water theme took us past a reservoir and several hydro electric facilities which had been in use up to the 1970's.

Many walks, many beautiful routes; there are surely worse places to be stuck despite almost a full week of rain.

Scruffbag loves natural swimming pools and certainly enjoyed the thermally heated one on the east coast. I found the swell very challenging and only had a quick dip.

At last, after 4 weeks we finally had a weather forecast that was ok - not brilliant as the wind was forecast to be all over the place and possibly very light in parts. Together with several other boats who had been waiting along with us, we could finally set off back to mainland Europe.

Island number 32

Now for our 32nd and, at least for a while, last island. We wanted to fill up with diesel before we left do we tied up on the fuel pontoon to do just that and to pay marina fees at the same time.

We were able to sail all the way with the wind starting out at 10 knots and getting to 13/14 overnight. It was a quiet night with one cargo ship and a couple of fishing boats passing. The dawn watch brought a pod of dolphins and several yachts heading for the same place and we were tied up in Ponta Delgarda, Sao Miguel, by ten past eight in the morning.

Ralph and I had been here 8 years ago with a group of friends waiting for Erica to arrive in the AZAB fleet. Unfortunately, they retired from the race and went to Spain instead but We recognised many landmarks, including our apartment block overlooking the harbour.

Ponta Delgarda is a large town by Azores standards and it has a good bus service across the island and a very helpful tourist information office with lots of walking trail maps.

I was keen to show Mark a couple of things I had enjoyed on my earlier visit; the folders at Sete Cidades, with its twin lakes and the hot sulphur pool at Furnas.

We caught the bus to Sete Cidades from where we planned to take a short taxi ride to the top of the folders and walk around it and then down into the town. Unfortunately nobody had told us that we had to change buses at a small village near Sete Cidades and we didn't understand the driver's Portuguese instructions so we ended up going too far, which meant a taxi ride from further down the road.

Last time we did this walk I remembered that the climb was very steep. Hence the decision to reverse the route this time and walk down -a wise decision without doubt. The views  looking down on the lakes were stunning though. We have seen a lot of beautiful sights on our travels but this
still took our breath away and photographs do not do it justice.

We did lots of walking through a landscape full of stunning flowers.

 We were lucky to have Scruffbag with us when we visited the island's only pottery, a family run affair going back 4 generations where the blue and white pottery is all hand made. Scruffbag was able to use his years working as a technician in college with ceramicist Kate Reynolds to give us a very informative tour.

Another first was our visit to a tea plantation. Tea has been grown here for several hundred years and there are two working plantations left. We walked around the plantation on a 3.5 km trail before sampling a free cup of tea in the factory. the orange pekoe was so delicious that I had to buy some. Scruffbag of course insisted on a coffee, which he had to pay for.

 We had planned to stay in Sao Miguel for a week or two before setting off for the sail to Portugal. Unfortunately the weather had other ides with strong winds on the nose forcing us to remain here. Another two weeks of exploration and another blog entry from Sao Miguel to follow.