September

Somewhat reluctantly we abandoned the comforts of Cascais to travel down to Lagos on the Algarve. We anchored out in the bay at Cascais the night before leaving and were treated to a very colourful sunset and a quiet night. It was particularly sad to leave Dan and Rie behind with no promised date for their engine to be returned to the boat.

Beatutiful sunset over town of Cascais

A definite feeling of Autumn (Fall) is settling in despite being so far south now. The nights are colder and when the weather is cloudy there is a need for more clothing in the wind. Many of those headed for the Mediterranean are talking about where to spend the winter or lay up the boat this side of Gibraltar. Others, like us, are seeking to hang on to the warmer weather and make passage southwest to Madeira or the Canary Islands.

Praying Mantis on sail cover deciding whether to stay

The boat always has stowaways on board, usually spiders, flies or the dreaded mosquitoes. We gained a new crew member this week who threatens to devour the rest of the arthropod crew, a beautiful praying mantis. Didn’t stay though. Another stowaway is our eldest daughter Jo and she will sail out to Madeira with us this weekend, then fly back from Funchal later in the month. She starts as a Newly Qualified solicitor on her return and she and Eleanor are planning to buy a house together.

Angie and Jo on the boat in Lagos marina

Lagos has proved a delightful place to stay. The marina is well run and a number of ARC boats have been through. The old part of the town has a wall remaining all round it and the inevitable fort at the mouth of the inlet up to the harbour. Around this there are new apartments and hotels but more tastefully designed than in many places we have seen. Some areas of the town are very English but you can find the restaurants used by the local Portuguese if you look up the back streets.

The small fort at the mouth of the harbour inlet at Lagos

There was a tremendous Flamenco concert in the town square this week with a guitarist who must have been playing since just after he was born! Somehow it seemed a little strange to be listening to flamenco in Portugal not Spain.
The cape just south of Lagos is made of yellow and orange limestone which has weathered with the wind and waves. In places it is full of fossilised shellfish and some of the features look like people or animals

Lagos town wall with main gate near the fort
Another boat load of tourists entering our grotto
Named elephant rock for obvious reasons
Looking up from a grotto to the wide chimney above
Offlying rocks near grottos

- very reminiscent of Bryce Canyon and Arches National Parks. We made the tourist trip out through the grottos in a converted fishing boat from which we decanted into a small wooden launch to tour the shallow waters. The helmsmen for these launches were great showmen and vied with each other to make the fastest and most dangerous manoeuvres amongst the rocks.

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Tomorrow we set out for Porto Santo, just NE of Madeira - 450 NM SW of Lagos. We should arrive by the middle of next week and will post an update soon after that if we can.