Isla da Culetra

It was a brisk sail down the coast, westerly winds increasing throughout the day sped us eastward. We had to chart our course carefully so as to avoid nearly a square mile of intricate tunny net, these used to extend miles out to sea at right angles to the coast but now are in an intricate maze like fish trap configuration thankfully charted ,buoyed,and lit


The wind became fitful for a while but soon increased to a healthy force 5. We were on the point of reefing as we approched the entrance to Isla de Culetra/Faro. I decided it would be prudent to drop the mainsail and after a mildly frantic 10 mins we were happily doing 6 knots under just the genoa.



Its a real pity because our fully battened main is a real powerhouse its just a wee bit hard to actually de-power it. My friend John at Saturn Sails in Largs did a great job ( last Trumpism ever , promise)



The afternoon wind increased as we negotiated the "washing machine" overfalls and boils in the entrance channel. We anchored opposte the small village of Ponte Cais in 25 knots of wind gusting 30.



Needless to say we didnt venture ashore, until the following day. The wind had moderated to something sensible but not actually pleasant in sn inflatable dinghy. We landed at the small beach adjacent to the fishermans marina not wishing to offend the locals by abusing their hospitality. We tend to keep a low profile!



The flags near the ferry terminal tended to suggest that windy wasnt unusual on Culatra.



A bit of background, Culatra is a sandy barrier island sheltering a lagoon, the famous anchorage which can apparently have 200 boats in it during the summer. There are no roads and no cars on Culatra.



It really is unique, to walk around feels like you are in a spagetti Western set just recently taken over by real people.



Lynne was keen to check out the beach. There is a boardwalk to get to it. This may suggest an ecological precedent but the numerous tractor tracks ( tractors are allowed) would deny this
.


And what a beach it is, although the day was a bit overcast apart from some local fellas building a raised platform for sunbeds and shade it was deserted. It was also amazingly clean, having none of the usual detritus and plastic one would expect. I can offer no explanation for this phenomenon, but welcome it certainly is.



The hinterland is really a botanists and twitchers dream, apart from the tractor tracks. Although the authorities have lately had a big clean up and removed some unsightly shacks ( and long term residential boaters) there is still a lot  of scrap and scruffiness to be found amidst the natural beauty. Just like the west coast of Scotland, if you are familiar with the islands there.



The colourful flowers that were everywhere were a joy.



As was the fact that the young people of the island could now learn to sail on the small salt water lagoon that had recently been cleared of multihull and bilge keel squatters. We sat and watched the little Optomist dinghys while little terns dived in the water 20 feet from where we sat. Only on an island.......



The main income stream I am guessing is providing for tourism, fishing being the main one as suppliers to local restaurants.



The western end of the island is home to the entrance breakwaters and the local lighthouse.Also  a thriving local community, seemingly having a slightly less fishing oriented outlook on making money. Of course having no roads makes getting there slightly problamatic, top tip ( take the beach )



Farol or Cabo de Santa Maria is the settlement at the western end of Culatra, it has the same sandy streets and paved walkways but is more like a retirement village or collection of holiday homes. Also the beach is a lot handier! Its a defining characteristic of big sand dunes that like dinosaurs they are fat in the middle and get thinner at either end. You can walk straight onto the beach from the town , no walkway required.



This one had a rather nice beach cafe/bar



A pleasant break after a sandy walk, walking in sand is very tiring. There is an intriguing lighthouse thar seemed to call to me even as I eat my packed lunch on the breakwater.



The skies were still full of threat, but the sea was a lovely colour.



We walked towards the lighthouse through the sandy streets. It is really a most pleasant place to be. Some of the residents are obviously keen gardeners. Its amazing what you can get to grow in sand!



The lighthouse was not obviously open to visitors, however I had spotted some French people coming out so we presented ourselves at the door. In halting Portuguese we asked to be allowed up to the top and after handing over our rucksack were allowed to proceed up the many steps of the spiral staircase.



Not Lynnes favourite thing by a long chalk and she had balked well before the spindly ladder to access the balcony.



My, but what a view, you could see our house from here...…



Looking back along the beach towards the eastern end of the island.



Isla Culatra. Windy, sandy, possibly best avoided in July August.
The anchorage is quite choppy and uncomfortable in the "afternoon winds"

Portimao to Albufeira

Of course before leaving Portimao there was the unfinished business of the Powerboat Grand Prix. After a thunderstorm of biblical proportions that had us huddling in the cabin of Dark Tarn it cleared just in time for a 6 o'clock start to the final race.

I freely admit it was difficult to tell just who exactly was in the lead having missed the start but it was obvious that the Abu Dhabi boats were very good and China was harrying them both like some demented terrier.

the photo below shows one of the China boats overtaking Sweden.

We were allowed into the Prize giving ceremony which was a nice gesture from the organisers and obviously made for better footage for the televised event. All cynicism aside it was great to feel the atmosphere of this event, next to be staged in London, if you get the chance go see it.

Abbu Dhabi won first and second place, however only the second placed guy was actually a native, first placed driver was American and the Chinese driver was French. Non of which seemed to matter to anyone.

Of course I should mention that the winner of the formula 4 race was actually Portuguese so the crowd was a lot more vocal than when I took the above selfie!

Here is a bit of video of the event which I hope will give a flavour of the day.

A top tip we had acquired from our friend Hermionie was the location and indeed existence of the Overseas supermarket, basically a marriage of convenience for Iceland and Waitrose. We walked seemingly miles (actually about 4 kilometres) to find it,

 But when we did we were in a time and space conundrum for sure, Hollands pies, Bury black pudding, real sausage and proper bacon and those all important little things that had been unobtainable for nearly three years. Things like sage and onion stuffing, cold roast beef for sandwiches. I'm telling you hardened travellers we may be, fully tuned in to local cuisine but I found myself drooling over scotch eggs......

Lynne being the supreme supply officer soon abandoned the nicely packaged back bacon and sausage in the chillers and headed for the cheaper mother load at the butchers counter, buying sausage and bacon by the kilo.
It took us a while to transport all our goodies back to the boat but were rewarded in the evening with a proper fry up

Our last day in Portimao we revisited one of our favourite restaurants, The Ponderosa, a non descript little shack just off a roundabout, seen above. The food as ever was excellent and the hostess Amelia was superb. However the evening for us was ruined by some loud and foul-mouthed brits from Manchester, who obviously the worse for drink were a constant and loud irritation. We retired to the quieter bar we had discovered earlier, not very far away, Bernie's Inn, if you get that play on words you are definitely a child of the seventies! We can recommend this place if you don't want to pay the inflated prices of Praia de Rocha.
The following day we motored and sailed the 20 miles or so to Albufeira. Utterly uneventful apart from the great views of the Algarve coastline. The weather was slightly overcast and consequently not too hot, which was nice. We negotiated the straightforward entrance and moored against the reception pontoon. In the photo below its below where the tuk tuks are parked bottom left.

The marina is probably the best protected marina on the Algarve, that statement is a bit at odds with the marina at Portimao which advertises itself as the last secure port before the Mediterranean. Given the damage to pontoons and boats we had seen first hand in Portimao I know where I would rather be (Albufeira is cheaper too )

It is however a bit Fisher-Price, the surrounding buildings are in a multitude of pastel colours and if your taste is so inclined is quite attractive.
We had dire warnings about "The Strip" from the proprietors of Bernie's Inn in Portimao, however the marina is well to the west of this den of iniquity and is handy for Albufeiras old town. A much more civilised proposition.

I was beginning to sense that we were at a meeting of worlds, this was not just because the lingua franca had suddenly changed to English, it was a distinct conjunction of land and water worlds, here were people from our home, on holiday. People familiar yet alien, we had taken three years to get here and our neighbours had flown here in three hours, and as quick as they had arrived they would be gone

Its a great beach when you get here though! After visiting the tourist information we were directed to "the tunnel" which leads directly to the beach from the old town.

 All existentialism aside we are still happy, after this brief encounter with package holiday land we shall adjourn to a quiet anchorage to contemplate the things hidden behind the fascade or maybe in full view if you chose to voyage there.....

The old town is quite pretty but undeniably suffering in my opinion from an over concentration of tourism, there are hundreds of shops selling almost the same things (mostly useless ) restaurants and eateries which are great value for money but tell you very little about the country you are in.

 We did stumble upon one establishment that purely for being different we took to. Its the
"Palace of Shells" a fantastic little bar cafe that is decorated almost completely in seashells.

If you look closely you can spot Lynne in the corner, It really is a fabulous and quirky masterpiece.

 The shell theme continues inside , all the work of the owners brother apparently and truly a work of dedication and genius.

Later we wandered into the main town square and watched as a performer enclosed some children on a soap bubble, later looking at the photo I couldn't explain how the guy with the rucksack was sitting on an invisible stool, must be magic.....

There are some parts of Albufeira that are undeniably charming, they are mainly towards the western end.

We discovered an art gallery dedicated to works by Manuella Santos, every picture has a reference to a chameleon. Its in the Galeria de Artes , Pintor Samora Barros, just off the main square.

There was other art too, strangely far away from the beach were sand sculptures .

Lynne was keen to see inside a chapel that was just outside the marina development and seemed to be a throwback to an earlier age, it was only open in the mornings so we had to get up a little earlier than we are used to!

Its the Capela de Nosa Senora da Orada, it seems that miraculous cures are attributed, but we cant quite be sure. There are explanatory plaques around the main altar which seem to tell a story of a miraculous cure.

One day I will attempt to translate the words, I am particularly intrigued by the fleet of ships.

Here is the lady herself in the altar niche.
 As we have come to expect she will be paraded and borne aboard a boat to bless the local fishermen, this event is illustrated in a small exhibition within an anteroom of the chapel. There is even a little model of her being taken aboard a small fishing  boat.

Lastly Lynne came across this fascinating photo of the chapel and surroundings before any development let alone marina had taken place. The marina presently occupies most of the land to the left of the chapel which is slightly to the right of centre, The surrounding hills are now full of holiday homes and villas.

History, don't you just love it.........