Another Welder, More Dashed Hopes

 Two frustrating weeks after he had originally promised Rodriguez, the Brazilian welder turned up. He seemed competent and was happy to do the job. He said he was going to consult with the engineer at the boatyard in Peniche about the best way to do some of the work and would then get back to us with a quote, He estimated that the work would take around a week. This seemed a bit long since the original welders had taken 2 days to do one side but then they didn't do a good job and he was going to have to redo quite a few of their welds.

A few days later he messaged us with a quote of 45 euros an hour plus gas and materials. This seemed a bit steep but we were anxious to get the job done so we agreed.

The next morning we got another message. The 45 euros was for 1 person. This was multiplied by 3 since it would take 3 men. Clearly he was taking us for a ride, an additional and cheaper, labourer, yes, but 3 qualified welders. Obviously foreigners were rich and he wanted to fleece us. All the Portuguese people we talked to were gobsmacked at the prices. The previous welders, albeit not good, had wanted 29 euros per hour. We then asked him for a price for the whole job as this is what the Portuguese generally do. He came back with another crazy price and said that it would be more if the work went on for more than one week. (We suspect it would have.) Needless to say we were once again welderless.

We searched. Joao and Andre from the marine workshop searched. No luck. We explored the possibility of transporting Erica home by road. This is not how we wanted to come home. We miss sailing and it was also extremely expensive but it was looking increasing like the only option for an unseaworthy boat. We talked about all options such as filling the holes with epoxy and sailing (a no go since it would have led to more work in the end putting on then taking off fittings and removing epoxy from hundreds of holes etc,) Bringing out an English welder was not an option thanks to Brexit and the problems of equipment and work permits.

To say we were getting a tad frustrated and deflated was an understatement. To cheer ourselves up we went back to the north east of Nazare to see if I would make the climb up to the top of Sao Bras the hill with the fire lookout on the top on this the second attempt.

 Despite my determination, I copped out yet again, a few metres from the top. It is the drop to one side of the worn, stone steps. My heart starts beating fast and I get clammy.

Ah well, at least we had a plan for life after our return to the UK.

Waiting for a Brazilian Welder

 With several weeks to kill before the return of Rodriguez, the Brazilian welder, Scruffbag decided to paint the mast, main boom and the crosstrees, which had been looking very much the worse for wear for sometime.We would intersperse this with some walking through the verdant early summer countryside and try to remain patient as our date for returning to the UK moved further away. (We had sold our bungalow in Chelmondiston and were buying a cottage on the property our daughter and her family were in the process of buying in south west Wales, a property we had never seen in a country we had each only visited once).

The mast was duly removed by our friend, Alex, and Scruffbag set to work.

Sanding, sanding, sanding, nine coats of paint. I helped but not a lot in the long scheme of mast painting.

Meanwhile we walked a lot and we admired the views and the flowers. Our favourite walk was through the woods and up to Sera de Pescaria and then down into the next valley, then up the hill back to the far end of Sera de Pescaria and down to the coastal path home, We came across an entire field of early purple orchids.

A few weeks later and there were lots of clumps of bee orchids along the paths and verges.

Every walk brought new flowers.

We were pleased to see that what is reputedly the oldest church in Portugal had now opened after being closed for repairs.

There are worse places to wait I guess.

Back on Erica, Welders from Hell

 At the beginning of April, with the weather feeling warmer, we returned to Erica. Covid was still causing problems and there was little yacht movement and many closed borders. We had known since sailing from Bermuda to Flores that there were leaks in the deck and we had already decided to remove the teak and engage someone to weld up any holes so, since we appeared to be grounded here, we decided to ask for recommendations for local welding firms. The marine workshop brought a local reputable firm down to talk to us and they said they would have no problems doing the job. We agreed to remove the decks ourselves. We would remove the port side teak, They would weld the holes, then we would repeat the process with the starboard side.

First we  (Scruffbag) had to remove the deck fittings and all the ariels, wiring etc. He worked tirelessly.  Removal of the teak was the easiest part. It had been bolted through the aluminium with no insulation around the bolts. A recipe for the corrosion that had ensued. The decks were in far worse condition than we had anticipated.

                          

                          

                       

                             

 

The easiest way was to remove the teak, remove the insulation then knock the bolts through. It sounds easy.No. Hundreds of screws, each one to be caught as it came through to prevent it becoming lost in the hull and starting to corrode. Some of them were hard to access to say the least. 

                              

 Next step was to sand the decks. Scruffbag suffers with carpel tunnel so using an electric sander was not an option for him. At 66 years old, I had thought my days of sanding aluminium decks were over. Ha!

At last it was complete and the welders came. They welded the port side holes then they left and we repeated the removal process with the starboard side. Then it rained. We had been watching the forecast so we covered up the starboard side, Then the welded port side holes leaked. Lots of them leaked. We used plastic containers.We were not happy. We were wet.

           

The next day the guys from the marine workshop called the welders. The welders said no problem.They said they would test all the welds at the end of the job and correct any leaks. We were somewhat happier and we asked them to return to complete the starboard side. They promised to come. We waited.They didn't come. We waited. The marine workshop guys phoned them.  They promised to come. We waited.They didn't come. We waited. The marine workshop guys phoned them.  

 They promised to come. We waited.They didn't come. We waited. The marine workshop guys phoned them.  When they actually answered the phone,hey promised to come. We waited.They didn't come. We waited.They stopped answering the phone, The marine workshop guys drove up and sat outside their office on several occasions. They promised to come. They didn't arrive. Ever. We gave up. We bought lots of gaffer tape and lived in a leaky boat whilst exploring every avenue to find another welder. Aluminium welders in Portugal are,it would appear, thin on the ground. 

We phoned an aluminium boat builder who put us in touch with the welder to whom his firm sub contracted all his aluminium welding. He was Brazilian and was working in France. With the help of google translate we managed to communicate with him and he agreed to come and see us when he returned to Peniche at the end of June. We stocked up on gaffer tape, watched the weather forecast and settled down to wait. At least no money had changed hands,

Walking, baking and enjoying the comfort

 We decided to explore further afield so we walked up through the woods as far as we could until a valley blocked our way with no evident tracks down. We then headed for the cycle track which tuns along the main road and d it until we came to the beachside village of Praia de Falca. I had explored here earlier whilst out for a cycle ride so I knew there was a track in front of one of the houses which led down through the valley and onto the beach. This was a delightful walk past a pond down to a ruined stone building on the shore. From here we walked back along the beach. 

After this we ventured even further, passing Praia de Falco to reach the next village, Legua. This time we had brought home made cheese and onion pasties for lunch as well as home made shortbread flavoured with lemon and ginger. Pasties and biscuits were to become walking staples as Scruffbag revelled in having a fully equipped kitchen to utilise his culinary skills.

The beach at Legua is reached via a steep road at the bottom of which lies a handy bench for eating lunch. It is best not to arrive at high tide to avoid a stretch where you would have to paddle. The waves here come in quickly and unexpectedly and can result in a drenching for the unwary. 

                                      

                                 

After our exploration of the northern beaches, something we repeated often, we decided to venture inland. I had again explored some of the area on a lone cycling trip and had ridden a short way down a marked route to the town of Fatima. In non covid times we would have visited this town, a place of Catholic pilgrimage where 3 young girls saw a vision of the virgin Mary. However, at 30 miles distant we only walked a short way along the route. This was an enjoyable walk but some of the track proved hard going in deep sand. 

Later we repeated part of this walk to visit the green lake, Lagoa de Saloio.

 

A further walk in this area took us to the the village of Falhais, a farming community which still had a functioning outdoor laundry. We walked through the village to the Lagoa de Falhais but perhaps we didn't go far enough for we only found a very reedy pond with very restricted access. 

One of the things we noticed in this area was what we thought wete insect traps hanging in the trees. We wondered if they were designed to trap the pine processionary moth. This is an invasive moth whose caterpillars can decimate pine trees and it is now a problem in the Algarve and could be devastating for the resin collection in this area. However, we have  since been told that they are more likely to be traps for the asian hornet Vespa Asiatica, which is proving a problem locally. 

Soon March drew to a close and , with the woods bursting with spring flowers, it was time to leave Sitio and return to Erica

Even the washing lines put out a last burst of colour for us, displaying the traditional Nazare aprons in all their glory.

Exploring the lungs of Europe

 Having hundreds of miles of forest on the doorstep provides us with great walking opportunities, especially since it is a national park and has lots of tracks to enable access by vehicles to collect the  pine resin for use in making traditional paints,

Portugal has been in lockdown since 15th January but we are allowed to go for walks (though the town beach and esplanade and all the parks are out of bounds) The only disadvantage of the vast forest is that pine forests do lack variety in terms of scenery,

Still, it is good to get out and about and at the moment there is a ;ot of yellow flowering with bermudan buttercups, gorse  and mimosa in full bloom.

The dunes and woodland fringes  add orange to the landscape with aloe vera and montbretia

We have also been looking at the wealth of fungi that abound at the moment.