Baiona, into Portugal and home

Slightly cheating here as I am writing this post from home, a couple of days after returning. Internet connection was very hard to come by down the Atlantic coast of Portugal, even if one had had time to compose a post en route. We hardly stopped until we arrived in Lisbon, excepting of course in Baiona (the Galician spelling (as opposed to Bayona) about which I gather the natives are very sensitive) which is a splendid place with the mediaeval town nestling behind the modern front. This is the most southerly port in NW Atlantic Spain. The entrance is spectacular, passing the wonderful and huge fortress/castle of Fortaleza de Montereal to starboard before you turn in behind the breakwater. Follyfin was berthed in the private marina owned and managed by the venerable Monte Real Club de Yates, nestling under the ramparts of the ancient castle. A walk round and beneath said ramparts of Fortaleza de Montereal was most rewarding. There is a 4 star parador hotel inside the walls which has spectacular views. One to save up for a stay in future years.

The sea is constantly challenging the lower defences.

The wall walk provides spectacular views, back to the islands,

and out to sea. Note the lone conifer on the left ...

Here you see it again, viewed from the sea as we departed Baiona for Portugal.

On 3 July we left lovely Baiona, on a beautiful sunny day but with a southerly force 4 wind blowing. This meant of course that we had to tack our way down the coast into Portugal and inevitably took much longer to cover the ground. If only this huge floating wind generator, located some 3 miles off the coast could have given us a helping hand.

Cutting our losses we decided to go into Viana do Castelo for the night, about 25 miles short of where we had intended to get to that day. This is a place with lots of history and one where we would dearly have loved to stay a day or two. Another year perhaps?

The wind turned North the following day, assisting our passage down to Porto de Leixões (pronounced Layjoish I gather ... spelling in relation to pronunciation in this language is nuts!). From the marina here we caught the bus into Porto the following day. What a city! Not only was there evidence everywhere of the excellent wine to which it has given its name

but it also boasts a bridge designed by Monsieur Eiffel

as well as a church altar piece designed by a wedding cake specialist.

Portuguese houses are often faced with colourful tiles,

these are very attractive but their outdoor wiring leaves a lot to be desired.

We enjoyed lunch at a rooftop restaurant: a tasting menu including a glass of wine. The dishes as they arrived were mostly a complete surprise to us...

but all were delicious! This was followed up by a port tasting session in the cellar below. Suffice to say the afternoon went by in a bit of a blur.

There was lots more to see and do in Porto but again our time was short. For the next three days we sailed on with northerly winds, only stopping at night, twice in nice quiet anchorages (Aveiro and Cascais - or 'Cashcesh' in local speak) and once in a definitely not-so-quiet one at Navaré. Indeed we were 'moved on' - in the nicest possible way - by the Policia Maritima at 23:00 that night! As high winds were forecast they deemed we would not be safe where we were and they helped us onto a berth in the local private yacht club. We had a lovely quiet but short night there and moved off before anyone came to question what we were doing. So 'obregado' to the two nice young policeman who looked out for us!

These three days were memorable, not only for the splendid down-wind sailing but also for the mackerel harvest. Up until then no fish had been caught. But in total we caught nine over these three days, including one monster mackerel.

Cascais is right at the entrance to the river Tagus (Rio Tejo) which leads up into Lisbon. How many capital cities can you sail past? Lisbon is one of the few, and it is well worth it. The passage upstream from Cascais to Parque das Nacoes took about three hours on the end of the flood tide. The spectacular part starts at the ancient fort known as the Torre de Belem 

hot on the heels of a much more modern but equally splendid construction right next door

and continues past the Padrao dos Descombrimentos Monument to the Discoveries – a celebration of Portugal’s important role in naval exploration,

then under the Ponte 25 de Abril suspension bridge (the date of Portugal’s revolution in 1974 which overthrew Salazar, which, tellingly, was, until the day before, the Salazar Bridge) and generally round to port/east and the main riverside sites of Lisbon 

before turning northwards to the Vasco da Gama Bridge (at 17 km, the longest road bridge in Europe and beautiful) and Parque das Nacoes where Follyfin is berthed now until the beginning of September when we return to continue our adventure further south. Arriving at the marina on 9 July, just one and a half days before our flight home, we had no time to explore the old part of the city. This we intend to do on our return. Until then me' hearties, it's adios from me!