After spending some time in la Coruna and having the engines serviced we headed West to Muxia on August 1st. We had a great sail most of the way and Sephina was cruising at 8 knots on a broad reach with the 20k breeze. We arrived in Muxia hoping to tie up at the free marina we stayed at 2 years ago. Unfortunately since then the marina has now opened so we had to pay. Although it was pretty cheap at 30EU/day.
We stopped there a couple of days while waiting for a good wind to take us around Cape Finisterre. (finis- - end terre – earth ) !
We sailed directly to Ria Vigo where we anchored off the beach at Punta Subrido. A great spot. long sandy beaches and totally protected from the predominant Northerlies. We met up with Brian and Lorraine in ‘KI’ who we had met earlier in la Rochelle and had them over for a BBQ. They are headed South as well so we will sail with them along the way.
After Vigo we stopped in Porto on August 6th for 10 days and had a great time exploring the old city. The locals near the marina cook fresh fish outside the restaurants on BBQ’s so its a good place to stop for dinner. The old town was great and we had a lot of time to wander around. Mami and Jack had their flight home from Porto so after a big night we all taxied to the airport to say our goodbyes. Jack has never flown so was a bit nervous, but Mami took good care of him and they arrived home later that day. It was a great effort by Mami and Jack to spend 3 weeks aboard Sephina, considering that they have rarely travelled outside the North of France in their lives, never sailed or spent nights at sea or at anchor, caught a train or flown, yet they sailed some 600 miles with us, some early morning sails and overnights, crossed Biscay and never had a complaint or any seasickness. Well done!!
Francesina, the local dish translates to ‘little french girl’ Its basically a soggy sandwich, filled with fat, pork, ham, beef, cheese, sauce, more ham, more pork, more beef and cheese and more fat. Very filling but not so healthy!
The crazy puppet museum to escape the heat and the fantastic guitar shop concert..
First day in Porto we went for a longggg walk to town, had some lunch at the local food festival where they were serving a local delicacy known as ‘Franchesina’ whish translates to ‘little french girl’. I have no idea what it has in common with a little French girl, but picture some thick toast, topped with steak, cheese, pork, cheese, lamb, more cheese, topped with another piece of toast then something like spaghetti tomato sauce poured over the top and you have a picture of this healthy little treat. Of course it comes with a side of chips..
After sorting out a Portuguese internet SIM we stopped in to a little guitar shop that had concerts featuring traditional Portuguese instruments, similar to guitars, along with a great female singer who performed an assortment of traditional songs. Some Port was served at intermission. A really cool show.
After some Pasta for dinner and with still a couple of miles to the marina, we decided to catch a taxi as we were all pretty tired from the long day. Luckily a bus came as we got to the road and after quickly checking its destination, we jumped aboard. As we were heading away from the river I suggested Jen confirm with the driver that it did actually go to the Marina…’ Marina? no…Merino…Merino??? Turned out it was headed inland so after he ejected us and we tried to get our bearings we found we were further from home than when we got on the bus. Feet were aching, blisters were hurting, but after a few miles and after dark we finally arrived back to Sephina. Great job by everyone and no complaints!
From Porto Jen and I headed to Cascais on August 18th along with KI. We sailed through the night to arrive the next day around mid day. Cascais is another well protected anchorage and we spent a few days soaking up the sun. The weather has finally warmed up to high 20’s although the water is still pretty cool for anything except a quick cool down swim.
From Cascais we sailed to Alvor on the Portugal Southern coast, The Algarve, with overnight anchorages along the way at Sines and Baleera. Alvor is a couple of miles up the river, dodging sandbanks before anchoring in the lagoon just off the small town. A great place to spend a week or so with occasional trips to town to sample the local restaurants.
