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.
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