May 21st – June 5th (Spain, then Portual)
We finally left Moaña and headed down the Ria to Baiona, where we anchored in the bay. It was still very windy, but at least the sun was now shining. One day, just as we were returning to the boat from a trip ashore, we had our first boarding by Customs officers. Their cutter was tied up to the marina breakwater and when they saw us they launched their inflatable and sped across to us. Two very nice officers boarded the boat, filled out all the necessary forms, asked us a few questions and then left. We had read some horror stories of these boardings, so were quite pleasantly surprised at how easy it had all been.
During our stay we visited a replica of the Caravel Pinta, which is moored in Baiona and was one of three ships under Christopher Columbus to sail to America. We were given audio sets and had a running commentary in English with a vaguely Spanish/Scottish accent! It was quite small and open and I don’t think I would have enjoyed the trip across the Atlantic in it – not that I would particularly enjoy it in any type of boat!
Our intention had been to sail down to Porto in Portugal and leave the boat in the marina, while we took the train down to Lisbon and had a couple of nights in a hotel. However, when we looked into it we discovered the distances were much greater than we had anticipated. So we had a rethink and decided to go as far as Póvoa de Varzim, stay for a week or so and take the Metro into Porto. We headed off down the coast and spent one night at Viana do Costelo, (we were there last year) and then on to Póvoa de Varzim. Our allotted berth was all of 8 metres long (we are just under 13), very narrow and very bouncy. Our mid-ship’s cleat was level with the end of the pontoon. However, we managed to get ourselves safely tied up like a cat’s cradle using the pontoon opposite and remained there for a week.
We bought a three day ticket, which included unlimited travel on the metro, buses and the funicular in and around Porto. It’s a lovely city, built on a hill with spectacular views. We walked down the hills and jumped on to a bus or the funicular to get back up again. Even so, by the end of the third day, the backs of our legs certainly knew they’d seen a few hills!
We did all the normal touristy things, visiting the cathedral and various interesting buildings and monuments and the obligatory walk along the passeo, with the colourful buildings and street traders etc. The train station is well worth a visit, as the entrance hall is covered with ceramic tiles depicting historic events. We also visited the wine museum which gave the history of port wine and then had a tour around one of the many wine lodges, ending with a wine tasting. Neither of us is particularly keen on port, but I had been hoping that tasting different types might help find one I liked. However they are all much too sweet for my liking. On our last trip in we visited the city park, which is the largest in Portugal, and although the centre of it was fenced off for some upcoming fiesta, we really enjoyed our walk around it.
<<< Link to video showing many of the places we visited >>>
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Portugal, but decided to head back up to Spain, as the sailing on this coast is not particularly inviting – there are no bays for anchoring, so it’s a marina every night. On the way back to Viana do Costelo we tried to unfurl the genoa, but it was stuck. Once we arrived at Viana we took the sail down and have discovered that the upper bearing is seized. At present Mike is trying to source spare parts and ascertain whether we can just buy the bit we need or if we have to get a complete unit and whether or not we can replace it without taking the mast down. The joys of sailing!
