August

We have now been in Portugal for nearly two weeks and it has been great fun. Viana do Castelo was our first port of call and we coincided with an international music festival. Highlight of the visit was a Californian Youth Chamber Orchestra performing a free open air concert in the main square. A double bass player performed duets with violin and cello and he was just incredible! The town is being tastefully restored and acting as a cultural centre is bringing in the tourists and their Euros. Eating out in local family restaurants gave excellent value and quality. We have earmarked the whole area for a later visit by air.

Some very gentle sailing brought us down the coast to Povoa de Varzim. This very like Ostend in many ways and the facilities are somewhat primitive (see left). Its biggest advantages have been the low tariffs in the marina (half price for ARC participants) and the ease of visiting Oporto. We had planned to use Leixoes for this but it is partly closed at present. The trip to Oporto took 90 minutes by bus and metro and was unbelievably cheap! We picked a cloudless day and the temperatures in the city were close to 40°C but it was worth it. We walked miles and miles and this city also goes on our list of places to visit later on by air. The cathedral was a

fascinating mixture of granite and blue tiled panels as well as the usual ornate gilt woodwork and stone carving. It was also a strange mixture of the devout and secular with many of the tiled walls and paintings being devoted to such scenes as hunting or portraits of prominent individuals. The best parts were the cloisters and the rooms and chapels built around them. Very few visitors paid the 2 Euro fee to visit them and we felt very pleased that we did. One of the views from the cathedral was across to the

Port Lodges on the southern shores of the Douro. Inevitably these beckoned to us and we went to Taylor’s Lodge for lunch and some sampling. Lunch was a gourmet affair and in a cool setting with views of the city on the northern bank. Feeling a little hazy we followed lunch by a Lodge tour and more samples, not improving the haze in any way!
Tomorrow we plan to drift further south but the final destination will probably depend on how much wind or fog the day brings.