Saturday -18 August 2018

♫ Sea Breams are made of this,

 who am I to disagree…♫

It is to be our last day in Portugal, and I still haven't bought a towel with a picture of Cristiano Ronaldo on it, they are for sale everywhere in the tourist shops. Well, maybe I will pass on the opportunity, the pictures don’t look exactly like him.  We have also seen Juventus shirts for sale in the same places, he is a superstar here.

Portugal on the left, Spain on the right

We ran this morning, as ever on a day where we will be in port, and I think it was the hottest conditions I have ever run in.  Even though we deliberately ran in the morning, the sun was beating down and there was no wind at all.  We went along the sea front promenade, then through an industrial area, and then out along the sea wall.  There were wetlands on the landward side and then a beautiful beach, while the other side was lined with guys fishing. 

We found the municipal market and bought sea bream and locally caught tuna. The fishmonger had an evil looking knife and was carving enormous steaks from a tuna.  We bought one of these, easily enough for the 2 of us, for a little under a fiver.  It will be magnificent.  However, we ate the bream for dinner and even simply prepared, it was as good as any fish I have had in a restaurant.  Delicious!

We walked through Vila Real de Santo Antonio, and it was a delightful town. Apparently, it has been destroyed in the 18^th century by the same earthquake and tidal wave that also wiped out most of Lisbon. When it was rebuilt, a different style was chosen, with wide avenues arranged in a grid pattern.  The guide book says that it is as yet undiscovered by the tourist industry, and probably all the better for that.

We were treated to various bits of “Port theatre”. While we were having lunch, a large fleet of dinghies set out from the nearby sailing club.  The boats had been prepared all morning, but they were obviously waiting for something, so while we ate, large numbers of Optimists (dinghy for children up to about 14), Lasers (single handed racing dinghy) and others came out and pulled themselves along the outside of the pontoon that we were on.  They were shepherded by various safety boats, which was just as well.  The tide was flooding out at a rate, and although the wind was in the opposite direction, it wasn’t enough for them to be able to progress.  We now understood why they were working themselves along the pontoon.  A couple were unable to get to the pontoon, and the safety boats went and towed them back.  Eventually they got to a point where they could cross to the Spanish side of the river, presumably to race. At about the same time a fleet of larger yachts came into view, also obviously racing.  They were working hard to make any progress against the tide, and one or two just seemed to sit in the same place for about an hour.  I know how they must have felt, I have been in that situation.  You are sailing forward just enough to counteract the current against you, but no more. Very frustrating.

Distance covered today	0	nautical miles
Trip distance covered	1293	nautical miles
Distance covered 2018	2013	nautical miles
Steve (and Tricia)