.Cape St. Vincent Lighthouse - rounded at sunset


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Chinook was "on the hard" in Portimao on the Algarve Coast for the winter of 2005 while we flew off to Canada and New Zealand for four months.There was work to do on her hull when we returned (see The Cruising Life). We had decided to wait another year before going into the Mediterranean and sail north to see some more of the Atlantic coastline of Portugal and Spain intending to spend the summer in northern Spain – the province of Galicia. We had heard that this area was quite beautiful, much cooler than the Med., and certainly less crowded and less expensive. Not being in a hurry, so why not...

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To get there meant sailing the 250 nautical miles north along the west coast of Portugal and Spain against the prevailing northerly wind and current. As it turned out, it proved not all as difficult as the cruising guides make it out to be, except that we motored long hours as winds were either light or on the nose. In the spring that coast is notorious for fog and we were caught in the stuff a couple of times as well as being fog-bound in marinas waiting for it to clear.

We were caught in fog twice along that coast, but using a combination of the radar and GPS we were comfortable in those experiences. Just once we were unnerved with the radar screen showing a large freighter which was actually anchored. The smaller fishing boats were slow-moving pussy cats, but when the freighter’s tender flew off the radar screen towards us at a high rate of knots we were quite disconcerted - we would hope they were too!)

Now it is time to get the atlases out. Leaving Portimao on June 15th we “coast hopped”, anchoring at Alvor, Sagres and Sines, did a one-night (marina) stand at Sesimbra, then back into the anchorage at Cascais where we had made the European landfall after crossing the Atlantic nine months earlier. Being the "high season", marina costs were now double or more, so it was in the interests of our budget to limit stays in marinas. We had enjoyed Cascais the first time we stayed, so it was fun to revisit old haunts as well as Lisbon for a few days.

Anchorage at Cascais
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Further north along the Portugese coast anchorages are not as frequent, but neither are the marinas outrageously expensive. Typically we would travel for several days – day hops of 30 to 40 nautical miles - and then stop for a couple of days at a nicer place. The towns we did visit were less touristy than the Algarve and unspoiled by highrise apartment buildings. North from Cascais we stopped at Nazare, Figueira do Foz, Aveiro, and finally Viana de Castelo in Portugal before the last day-sail to Bayona, Spain. Dolphins commonly accompanied us and Debby loved talking to them from the bow. We also perfected the “dodging of the fishing pot markers” trick – hitting only one that we know of out of the thousands placed all along that coas. Besides fog, the winds were often light and variable, so we found we were motoring and motor-sailing more than actually sailing.

Photo: Traditional Galician Musicians - yes, bagpipes...
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The province of Galicia (say "Gah-leeth-ee-ah" - c's are "th", v's are "b" , x's are "jih" – understandably we got quite confused with this dialect) is quite beautiful, hilly, mostly pine and eucalyptus forests, foggy mornings, sunny warm days, the driest summer for years (Galician summers can be damp). We explored three large river systems in Galicia (the “Rias” as they are known as): from north to south – Ria de Arosa, Ria de Pontevedra and Ria de Vigo. Anchorages and marinas were pleasant, never overcrowded, and there was easy access to local towns.

Photo: hundreds of roasting labs on spits, thousands of drooling Spaniards - and us (photo thanks to Aryatara)

Numerous forest fires entertained us with water bombers and helicopters dropping scooped-up tons of seawater on the fires - quite the operation. Music festivals and varied seafood fare whetted our other appetites. Many mussel farms are in full production in the area, and local supermarkets have very reasonable prices on all seafood. The Spaniards love firework displays. We have seen and heard them at midnight, 3 a.m., 8 a.m., 10 a.m. – in fact any conceivable time of the day and night – and almost every day of the summer season. Little wonder the forest fires...
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Bayona, where we spent several weeks is an attractive and thriving tourist town – its claim to fame being Christopher Columbus’ first landfall on his return from the Americas in 1493. And they play that up. Good train services run to Santiago de Compostela which has an ancient cathedral to which hundreds of pilgrims flock (on long summer treks). It was worth two visits. On arrival the first time we met up with Phil and Joyce on Aryatara whom we had met in Portimao. We spent many pleasant hours with them including a memorable bike ride to a roast lamb festival in a nearby town. As it turned out just too many festivals and too little time. The octopus festival, sardine festival, pepper festival, several wine festivals – overload!


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Islas Cies - "Islands of the Gods" the Romans named them - are off the coast between the rias Vigo and Pontevedra. We visited them twice, anchoring in the bay near the ferry dock and hiking the islands several times. Aryatara was also there. The weekends were busy with the ferries delivering and returning campers and hikers. The largest seabird (mostly gulls) colony in Europe (20 000 pairs) survives there.

Brad and Michelle catching rays
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Deborah’s son, Brad and his wife Michelle flew out to visit us for ten days when we were in this area. Swimming was definitely in cooler waters, so they only briefly braved these and just caught some rays on local beaches. It was great to have them aboard; their first time to Europe and their time in Madrid was the introduction we had hoped for them.


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We did try octopus done in the traditional way – boiled whole, the tentacles cut up with shears and served on a wooden platter with olive oil, sea salt, paprika and bread. Once you get past the slimy skin (which has to be eaten), the centre of the tentacles is delicate and delicious.

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Deborah with a cooking octopus - delicious if you get past the slimy skin...
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The Volvo “2005-6 Around the World Race” started this year from Vigo (November 6th) only 15 miles from Bayona. A "shake-down" race was to be held in October at Sanxenxo (follow the rules and pronounce that!), a small town 20 miles north of Vigo and when we visited the preparations were in full swing. Approximately 40 percent of the crews (ground and sail) were Kiwis and Aussies, so the accents were a welcome change from the Spanish.

The passage south (begun September 1st) was almost a reverse replication of the north-bound one. It also was little more relaxed as the fog was not a problem and the winds, although light, were generally from the north. Still not great sailing – motor-sailing a lot. We were also able to spend more time in the places we skimped on in June. Visiting Porto, the old Portugese city famous for its port wine, we just had to sample the products. Much later, in Spain, we visited Jerez (Spanish for Sherry) and sampled their products in a super guided tour.
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Our return into Portugal was not without a story. Our visas for Portugal had expired and it was impossible for us to get a Spanish visa. They said since you are returning to Portugal, it is not worth it, not necessary etc. We had filled out the applications, had photos and supporting documents, but nada. On our return to Portugal, however, the immigration people were stickier; because we were illegal in the European Union we were slapped with a fine of 85 Euros and then had to renew our visas (another 42 Euros).

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David showering on deck Cascais anchorage
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Debby had planned a three-week trip to Ontario to see family, so when back in Cascais Brian's son David was "persuaded" to visit for a week – also his first trip to Europe and first stay on Chinook since we left Ontario four years previously. Sightseeing with him in Lisbon was the primary activity (the amazing maritime Museum was worth a second look). We sailed the 15 miles up the River Tejo to a downtown marina and Dave, always the optimistic fisherman, did have limited luck on the sail back to Cascais.

Then the weather turned “obtuse” – best word to describe the uncharacteristic southerly winds for that time of year with some rain – in fact front after front!. We waited several weeks in the marina (at thankfully low season prices) before continuing south. The upside to being there was the great town, access to Lisbon, the ablity to do some more work on the boat (Brian built a new cabin table) and we did meet other “trapped” cruisers there (Brits, Canadians, Kiwis, Greeks) and partied with them.

All of the places visited on the northern and southern trips are active fishing harbours with small fleets of boats that go out daily (usually early mornings). The coast has very rich fishing grounds and catches are sufficient to keep this hundreds-of-years-old industry viable. Most of the towns have fish cooperatives near the dock area, and they can be boisterous affairs with sirens heralding the return of the fleet and the auctioning of the catch.

It was not until November 4th we were able to continue south from Cascais now in much-cooler Atlantic waters, stopping again at Sines (the birthplace of Vasco de Gama) for a few days before an eighteen hour passage to Lagos back in the Algarve. We came into Lagos at night, but it is a well-lit harbour and posed little problems. A week there socializing far too much with the ex-Cascais gang, then more day hops east along the southern Portugese and Spanish coast. We marina-ed it this time rather than anchoring, stopping at Vilamoura where 25 years previously Debby’s parents had wintered in their Rival 34 sailboat the Barcladeb. From there (still have the atlas out?) to Vilareal on the Portugese-Spanish border, then Mazagon and Chipiona. Then a week in Chipiona (another delightful holiday town) waiting for the tides needed to take us up the Rio Guadalquivir to Sevilla to spend the winter months.
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The Monument to the Explorers - Lisbon
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