Fog! and Figuera de Foz.

This part of the Portugese coast is renowned for two things, surf (surfing championships are held in October, Biggest wave ever surfed in Europe, 100 feet was just down the coast at Navare) , and fog.
We had planned to leave Aveiro  early to take the first of the ebb tide down river, we couldn't see the opposite bank but as we live in hope we got ready to leave. We were gambling  that the fog would lift at some stage and were quite happy to motor the 6-7 kilometres to the entrance in bad visibility. We knew big ships would show up on AIS which only left the small fishing boats that were a common sight in the river entrance to worry about. We buoy hopped from red can ( port hand buoy) to red can,( we stay on the starboard side of narrow channels, which is port side going out), our speed over the ground increasing as the ebb developed. We didn't take any pictures at all as it was universally grey and we were both very busy watching the blankness for shadows which would indicate something solid.
we reached the entrance and began to feel the swell which was briefly a bit unpleasant as we left through the overfalls, I plotted a course that would keep us outside the 25 metre contour (depth) as I didn't want to get caught out with a large swell suddenly breaking. There were a couple of fishing boats circling a few miles from the harbour mouth but other than them we seemed to be alone.

The fog never did lift, we sailed and motored then motorsailed in the large swells seeing two lobster pots all day, unbeknown to us three other yachts had followed us out of Aveiro and were seeing us on AIS, we however could not see them as they had receive only sets. I categorically fail to see the sense in this approach, by logical extension if everyone adopted the same short sighted attitude the system would be completely useless.DONT BE A CHEAPSKATE, Be seen get a transponder!
After 7 hours or so the fog lifted just as we approached the breakwater at Figuera de Foz and we motored up the river to find the marina entrance.

After checking in we began to explore the town a little. It was pleasant to be in the sunshine however the town did seem to be surrounded by a perpetual wall of fog.

This would sit offshore all day occasionally coming inland to blanket the beach and marina and for no apparent reason drift offshore again. We were joined in the marina by some old friends. the socialising caused us to postpone our departure and we were not in the least bothered by missing another day groping around in 50 metre visibility. Besides we could explore the town a bit more.
Our first night ashore we had enjoyed a Chinese meal in the town adjacent to the marina but to be honest it wasn't very preposseing. along the harbour was the old fort of Santa Catarina where the signal mast was located. On the day before our arrival the port was closed which is indicated by two balls being raised along with vertical green red green lights.

The balls are on Lynnes right, the port was closed a few days before due to the swell making the entrance dangerous.
The fort incidentally dates from before the peninsular war. Figuera de foz was where The Duke of Wellington landed in August 1808,The fort was built to defend the river Mondego and was recovered from the French in July of that year by the local population, undoubtedly helping the allied forces under Wellington to land.  I wonder if it was foggy then?

we discovered the tourist information office and were given free tickets to a couple of museums, one of which was maritime history and marine biology. It was located along the absolutely vast beach. which conveniently has a cycle path and footpath that winds its way from one end to the other.

The ever present fogbank can be seen lurking just offshore.
The museum was a delight, a very helpful lady showed us around and described the exibits in good English. It mainly concentrated on the history of Portugese fishermen fishing for cod in dorys off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. an industry which is now no more, the Banks having been fished out of cod years ago. We watched an interesting film of the local exodus to the Grand banks which showed the emotional cost to local populations, some villages having no adult males for the summer months,

Figuera de Foz is the most expensive marina we have stayed in for a while charging us 31euros a night however this came down to 22 euros if we stayed a week so we decided to do that as after October the 1st we would be in low season again for any marinas further south. This decision was reinforced by the total failure of the fog to shift as day after day it made its presence felt. We had no qualms about our ability to navigate, it was purely the tedious and tiring nature of keeping watch looking at nothing all day that put us off. However come Monday we would leave no matter what. In the meantime we enjoyed exploring the local sights. Brlow is an example of the local buildings with their distinctive tiled exterior, if you look closely you may notice a religious statue in a glazed corner niche.

Our other museum ticket was to the local museum in a very impressive building that also held an auditorium and library.

We really didn't know what to expect but yet again were pleasantly surprised.

The first floor held an exhibition of Freemasonry. There were lots of apparel and impedimenta including a poor mannequin who was obviously destined for the craft with his shirt undone to expose a breast and one trouser leg rolled up, he's the blindfolded fellow in front of Lynne.
We then decende the stairs to the religious art section which was refreshing for having no glass between you and the pieces so it was possible to get a good close view.

There was a small corner of the gallery I for one always find fascinating and its the collection of votive art. This occasionally crude artwork invariably has a written explanation of the event ( sometimes miraculous but some might say just lucky) that inspired someone to create the small offering. This is history in the raw for me

there were a couple of pictures which caught my eye,

The one above told a story of enormous seas sweeping a schooners deck and the miraculous survival of the sailors aboard, it helpfully gave co-ordinates so I was able to get a rough idea of the location of the boat at the time.

Just off Cabo Raso about 50 miles south west of us.

This was followed by a thankfully small gallery of modern art.
There was an interesting exhibition of furniture the like of which I don't think I have ever seen before, best described as Indo-Portugese.

Also arms and armour, and dinosaurs!

All in all a thoroughly likeable and lovely museum and surprising to me as I was astonished by the amount of archeology of all eras in the local vicinity, itemised and displayed in the final gallery and all down to a local archeologist who also happened to be a notable freemason. Antonio dos Santos Rocha, active in the 19th century.

The staff were  very helpful, if occasionally it felt like we were being watched a little too closely!
The building next door is the rather grand home of Arts and spectacle! It has a rather wonderful mural although I am at a loss to interpret it.....Lynne assures me "its just stories Phil"

when we returned to the boat the fog was still lurking, hanging outside the marina entrance.

We felt sorry for our friend Pascal who had left that morning hoping to avoid it and had disappeared into it within 50 Metres of leaving the pontoon..............

Our last weekend in Figuera started with a distinct change in the weather, finally the fog had lifted and a stiff northerly breeze set in. Lynne and I full of good intentions failed to get up early but none the less managed to get to the local market before noon.

This is a great place to purchase local produce, vegetables and fruit of every variety and of course fish. We had come across Percebies (gooseneck barnacles) in spain but had always avoided them as to be honest they are not what most people on first acquaintance would classify as food. They seemed to be half the price we had seen them before (usually expensive as they are difficult to collect) and we were offerd free samples by some lovely Portuguese women who demonstrated the art of the twist, to separate the tough outer skin and how to eat the succulent inner parts discarding the slightly alien looking claw. we bought a pound or so, so along with some fresh bread rolls, lunch was sorted.

I am afraid you will need to take my word for it but they are very tasty, however we have still not mastered the art of eating them.

After lunch we still had a reasonable quantity left and knowing that Bruce was partial to percebies, we popped across to Osprey to offer him the remainder, as it turned out we were invited to Osprey for sundowners and polished them off  between us ( Pam abstaining!) with a good deal of chatting as the sun set. Bruce and Pam are fellow O.C.C. members and a great sailing couple who to be honest put us to shame with the stories of their sailing adventures. They also gave us some great tips on places to visit from Lisbon. We hope to see them again soon, maybe in the Azores? Below is a photo of their lovely Rival 36 Osprey in typical long term cruiser livery (wash day).

Bruce and Pam had plans to leave on Sunday and we would follow the day after.....

Coimbra continued

After the new Cathedral Lynne agreed to some science at the various museums scattered around the University.

First was Physics and chemistry, a lot of the exibits were interactive and were great fun even though we were getting a little tired by this point!

the next museum was a no brainer, Natural history, Lynne loves creatures, I was a little concerned that dead ones might not hold the same appeal but I had forgotten the pull that lynne feels for the bizarre and she was soon drawn to the two headed animal section.

I however was drawn to the large cetacean skeletons of a Baleen whale and Orca.

I loved the way the skeletons reflected on the ceiling.....

The exhibits go on for gallery after gallery and are fascinating but by this time we were flagging a little and were feeling the need for coffee and food.

We descended from the lofty heights and returned to the town, we were lucky enough to finish up at a square with probably the most famous cafe in Coimbra. The cafe Santa Cruz.

This was built right next to the church of Santa Cruz and has been in its present form since 1923 however has been in various forms on site since 1530.

This is the view from a table as you chill and enjoy a snack or beverage (as we did)
we later eat in a resteraunt tucked away in the far corner. This is the church of Santa cruz.

And this is the inside of the cafe.........

We wandered around a little of the town and realised we would have to return as there was literally too much to see in a day.

We discovered the "Fado " district where it is possible to listen to this traditional Portuguese music, slightly melancholic but very beautiful non the less.

We wandered back towards the Largo na Praca and enjoyed a lovely meal before catching the train home.

The reason my steak is raw is I have yet to cook it n a hot rock!

Here is a video of the day..........

Coimbra

We planned to get the train to Coimbra, briefly Portugal's capital in the 12th century. it is home to many medieval buildings most notable of which is probably the University and Cathedral. The journey by train takes a little over an hour. This was our first experience of Portugese trains and it was a pleasant experience, the trains are promptly on time ( usually to the minute ) and certainly not overcrowded. We left in the by now common sea fret or fog which was becoming a regular feature of this coast but as the train pulled into Coimbra we emerged into bright sunshine. After our usual visit to Tourist information to acquire a map we began the climb to the University buildings perched atop a hill in the centre of the city.

As usual, we began to wonder, not for the first time, why the Iberian peninsular ancients chose such steep places to build their cities!

After reaching what we imagined to be the summit only to be told it was the tourist exit we were directed to a last set of steps to emerge on the square of the Paco das Escolas. This was a royal court since 1131 and home to all the kings of Portugal's first dynasty. In 1537 during the reign of Joao 111 the University was finally established here, after moving finally from Lisbon.

My eye was immediately drawn to the tower, and after wandering fruitlessly around looking for information we realised we had arrived as it were through the back door (the navigators fatal flaw, the direct route ) we left the entrance and found the correct place to purchase tickets to visit some of the maginificent buildings.

There were a great many coach parties congregating outside and it became a point of honour to avoid them for the rest of the day, not always successfully!
The tower was calling and Lynne decided to seek out a shady spot while I climbed to admire the view.

I was forced to wait until the people above had descended, and as usual with these things it was not advised if you were claustrophobic or bothered by heights.

As I passed the clock mechanism and bells they chimed the hour, it was incredibly loud! Ears still ringing I emerged onto the very top of the clock tower.
Once out in the fresh air the views were stunning.

The whole city was laid out below and I quickly realised that one day was just not going to be nearly enough to see everything that Coimbra had to offer, this left the appealing prospect of a return, maybe for my birthday?

A quick selfie and a lovely chat with a couple of Irish ladies and I felt I should return to earth and find Lynne, luckily I had spotted her from on high sheltering in the shade below. She is under the small steps just above the centre of the picture below, to the left of the crowd of people.

Once reunited we made our way to the chapel of St Michael. This isn't easy to ascertain the entrance to, you need to knock and await for the door to be opened. However the awkward access is well rewarded by the glories within.

The tiled walls date from 1663 and the altarpiece is from 1605, the painted frescos on the ceilings are simply stunning. As we are becoming accustomed to in Portugal every surface is decorated. A crowning glory is the organ a quite magnificent instrument built in 1773 in Iberian baroque style.

The sense of history almost overwhelms you as the antiquity and continuity of a place seep from every carved decoration or painted scene. It is really quite humbling.

I'm afraid my pictures do not do it justice however I will upload some video which may give a better flavour of the richness of decoration.
After that we wandered over to look at the other University rooms open to the public, these include the Arms room the Sala dos Capelos (Ceremonial Hall ) and the yellow room.

Beyond the Arms room is the yellow room.

The Arms room again has a magnificent painted ceiling. But this pales into insignificance once you see the  Ceremonial Hall (Sala dos Capelos ) this is where most official ceremonies are held including oral exams......

The ceiling alone is a work of art.

further on there is a room full of portraits of previous rectors of the University.

Of course you had to pass the spooky statues to get there, anyone with an interest in Dr Who will understand why Lynne is not blinking or looking away!

 The oil portraits are fabulous , all following a formula, portrait  (usually holding book ) dates of incumbency coat of arms, etc.

Most in remarkable state of preservation.
We soon needed some fresh air and luckily it was possible to step out onto a balcony to enjoy the breeze.

Lynne is holding one of the many information sheets thoughtfully provided, in several languages for visitors (and you thought I was really clever!)
We returned to the University and wandered towards the private examination room , which is surrounded by lecture theatres.

These branch off from a beautiful shady cloistered courtyard decorated with the ubiquitous blue tiles.

As long as we avoided the coach parties it was possible to enjoy the atmosphere of an ancient centre of culture and learning without distractions. I cannot recommend a visit here highly enough. Truly superb. We later visited what some regard as the crowning glory, namely the library, this is absolutely magnificent but unfortunately photography of any kind is not allowed.

So I cheated and downloaded a picture from the internet, again pictures do it little justice, its magnificent, dating from the 1700s. Interestingly it also has its own resident bat colony which is tolerated as they eat insects.

By now we were looking for refreshment and shade and as we walked towards the Science museum we were distracted by the........

 New Cathedral, not many towns have two......

Its a beautiful building, the guilded alterpieces are without question stunning in their detail, the two side alters however held niches of we could only imagine were remains of saints behind glass.

Indeed as we went further into quiet rooms behind the side alters it became apparent the this Cathedral held a great many body parts of saints held in reliquaries.

I think they are rather strange and not a little disturbing.....

The paintings around the alter deserve a mention.

In beautiful and vivid colours.....

Of course slightly overshadowed by the golden Altarpiece and silver tabernacle?
I will continue this post in another as I am conscious its getting rather long!