We have a policy now of making the most of the opportunities presented to us by every place we visit so we eventually go out to have a look at Vilamoura. Considering this is a place built for the purpose of attracting tourists around the twin ideas of golf and sailing they haven't done a bad job of making it look reasonably attractive. Rather than the brash Las Vegas effect of Albufeira's 'strip' Vilamoura goes for the not too subtle expensive look.
But it has absolutely no soul - why should it - it was built solely for the purpose of making money. It was never a living place and there is no real life here. There is nothing of Portugal or the Algarve here. For stink pot drivers it is a place to park, show off and visit expensive bars; for the golfer it's a - golf course; for the general holiday maker it is a place to lean over the rail of the marina looking at the expensive motor yachts and dream.
For the cruising sailor it is a convenient overnight stop but apart from checking the weather and filling up with water and fuel it has little to offer.
We wander along the marina enjoying a refreshing ice cream and follow it up with an hour or two watching the world go by over a glass of wine or two.
We decide that we may as well eat out and where we are now is as good a place as any. However, just as we are about to order, they turn off the music, which we had been enjoying, and turn up the telly. Football of course. We pay and leave. A little further along we park ourselves at another place at a table right by the rail along the edge of the marina.
As we eat we listen to our neighbour, eating with his wife and two young children, wondering what it would be like to own one of the huge motor cruisers parked on the nearby pontoons. Me too - in much the same way as when I look up at a starry night sky and wonder if there is life up there somewhere.
We are now in Vilamoura just a few miles along the coast from Albufeira. We were heading for the Guadiana but with the proviso that we could divert into here if the swell proved too uncomfortable. It did. The wind and swell (from the SE) were both more than we had expected from the forcast and Reveller sent large plumes of spray flying as we motored into them towards Faro. We anticipated that once we rounded the headland at Faro the change of direction would put the wind almost on the beam and we would be rolling badly so we cut our losses and came into Vilamoura.
First impressions are quite favourable although we haven't had a wander yet. The silly little wedge shaped finger berths, with the outer end about the width of a shoe, didn't impress Alison very much!
Personally - I don't know what the fuss is about - she didn't have that far to jump. In the strong wind blowing us off I skillfully manoeuvred Reveller to within a metre of it!
We arrived in Albufeira Marina on the Tuesday 8th after a short hop from Ferragudo where we spent a very rolly night at anchor. The cause of the rolling was the wash from fishing boats zooming up and down the river at all hours of the night - larger boats heading into their harbour further upriver and smaller faster boats passing on the other side of us into Ferragudo.
Anchoring in Ferragudo took a while. The first attempt didn't hold and we dragged the anchor several meters as we boosted the revs in reverse to check that it had dug in. It was difficult to tell that it was dragging because the soft mud allowed the anchor to drag smoothly without causing the telltale vibrations up the chain that is the usual indicator that the anchor is dragging.
The second time it held perfectly but a little later I decided that we were too far out in the channel and we lifted it again to reposition ourselves.
The small inlet of Ferragudo is filled with mooring buoys and we were forced, along with the two other anchored yachts, to lay our anchor outside these in 6 metres - which with 3 metre tides meant 30 metres of chain - I put out an extra 5 for luck. The anchor held overnight without any problems and when we left the following morning it came up with a thick layer of very sticky mud attached to it.
The river is full of debris and floating weed which streams past us at what looks like 3-4 knots on the outgoing tide. Fortunately most of it was fairly small stuff - with only the occasional longer length of timber or tree branch.
On Wednesday evening we went out for a meal with long time friends Paul and Sandra who live a few miles inland of Albufeira. I was allowed to choose and went for 'all you can eat' Chinese - because I haven't had a Chinese meal since we left the UK and really fancied it.
Yesterday afternoon we had a late lunch in the Beach Basket restaurant . This is one of our favourite places to have a leisurely meal - sitting on the terrace overlooking Albufeira beach. Later we wandered down into Albufeira town.
It is really sad to see how this once beautiful little fishing village has been swamped with concrete and marble in the name of tourism. The beach front at fisherman's beach is now an unbelievably ugly expanse of grey marble - totally bare. I just can't imagine what on earth the local council were thinking about when they did this.
The town square has been relaid yet again - it is an improvement over the earlier incarnation but still an ugly travesty compared with the small garden and fountain of the original. At least it now has some trees back. I used to enjoy sitting outside the Oasis cafe with a coffee watching the world go by but this is now such a horribly ugly and tacky place that I don't think I'll ever come back again after this visit.
The marina is not quite as bad as I had feared but I wouldn't want to spend much time here. There is only one small grocery store here which caters for the tourist apartments with prices to match. A 1.5 litre bottle of water costs €1.10 compared to 16 cents in Lagos! The WiFi provided by the Marina also costs €2 for 30 mins - free in Lagos.
At least the weather is now much warmer and we are able to sit in the cockpit until late in the evening - which is exactly what we did last night with Bjarne and Elsa who came up behind us on the reception pontoon shortly after we arrived. Alison had spotted Pusan's fluorescent orange mast-head in the marina at Portimao as we sailed downriver from Ferragudo but we were suprised when they sailed in here. We spent a really enjoyable evening together over a few glasses of wine in Reveller's cockpit. They refused, however, to sit on our new cushions because Bjarne was worried about spilling wine on them.
We have finally escaped from Lagos. We spent Saturday and Sunday getting Reveller ready for sea - no small task when we have been using her as a houseboat for the last six months. Everything we need for sea is in the bottom of lockers and has to be found, dug out and put in its place. Everything we don't need at sea - has to be found a home and more to the point everything has to be stowed properly so it doesn't fly off its resting place as soon as the boat heels - like the books piled on the shelves or the printer precariously balanced on top of its packet of paper on another shelf.
All the miscellaneous bits and pieces that have found their way onto the convenient dumping ground otherwise know as the chart table have to be found a proper home so that it can once more be used for navigating. The collection of bits and pieces that have so far been kept because they 'may be useful' have to be ruthelessly weeded out and dumped - or (more likely) stuffed in the bottom of a storage bin somewhere.
Anyway - that has all been done.
On Monday morning we do a final shopping expedition and wander around town including a stop for coffee and cakes. On the way back into the marina we call at the office, and pay our bill and, finally, hand in our gate key-cards - that's it, it's definite, we're leaving. On the pontoon we say our last goodbyes and then climb aboard, start up the engine, and call the marina office to request a bridge opening.
Request granted - we cast off and slide backwards out of our berth with many helping hands guiding us out. We motor out along our 'lane' waving madly and then round the end of the pontoon and lose sight of everyone. The bridge had just finished lifting and we cruise sedately out through the gap under the curious gaze of several pedestrians waiting to cross.
Curiously we don't feel the sense of loss that we had expected to as we cruise down the river past the promenade heading for the open sea. People walking along the promenade look at us - just another yacht passing by - and for them just another ordinary day in Lagos.
For us it is the start of our new adventure - we are heading out once again into the unknown. Today though it isn't exactly a huge leap into the dark - we are just going a few miles down the coast intending to anchor in the river Arade off Ferragudo.
It over a month since Bob and Martha left and we are still in Lagos. We had expected to leave some time before last week but several things have conspired to keep us here - and it is possible that even if this had not been the case we may have stayed put because the weather has not been all that good.
While in Lagos we have had a new holding tank and associated new hoses installed in place of the old smelly one - it is good to have a fragrant head (and boat). We have also had our upholstery replaced and new cockpit cushions. The existing bimini and spray hood are currently being incorporated into a full cockpit tent. This is a project that has given Laura (Lori Interiors) considerable headaches because of the unusual design and layout of the bimini but the whole thing is coming together nicely and Alison and I look forward to enjoying the shade (and at night the warm, windproof qualities) of our new tent.
It has been a busy six months here socially initially centred on the excellent Lagos Navigators. The hub of this 'club' is a website run by Terry, an extremely experienced yachtsman and a long time berth holder. It is a tremendous source of information for visiting yachtsmen and also provides a forum for bertholders and visitors to contact each other - if you come to Lagos check it out.
These are a few pics of our time in Lagos and visits from Hannah and then Alex and Charlotte
We have cycled down the river to the breakwater to wave goodbye to our good friends Bob and Martha as they set off aboard DW Crow their Cabot 36 heading for Tangier.
It is way too early in the morning - they want to catch a favourable tide for their overnighter to Morocco. Over the last six months of taking it easy in Lagos we have got out of the way of getting up at unearthly hours in the morning to catch tides. It is still cold despite the glorious sunshine and we soon begin to wish we'd put an extra layer on.
Eventually we see the top of DW Crow's mast move away from the reception building and soon she appears round the slight bend in the river - Martha is on the foredeck taking in the fenders and coiling the mooring lines. We wait until they are a bit closer and then jump up and wave and shout out our goodbyes and best wishes as they sweep past us sending a bow wave along the banks. Bob leans out from behind the sides of the cockpit and waves as they go past. We watch them go out between the ends of the breakwaters and then climb down from the rocky wall and wander out along the beach and down to the shoreline.
DW Crow does several circles to calibrate the autopilot which has been in-active for six months - and then they straighten up and head off on course. They grew smaller in the distance and then disappear over the horizon. As their mast sinks out of sight we feel a little sad. We are heading in different directions and it will be a long time before we see them again.
Our time here is also running out. Soon we and the many other friends we have made here will be leaving. Bob and Martha are only the first .
We are quiet as we cycle back to the Marina.