Holiday on the Algarve

Thursday 24 October – Saturday 2 November

Actually, our second, as we came to an apartment with a pool, via a flight from the UK and a rented car, for a week in June with two small children, about 20 years ago.  We can’t actually remember exactly where we came, beyond that we flew into Faro, but it all looks different from the sea anyway – the resort development is glaringly obvious, but from out on the water it’s peaceful and appealing.

Refreshed after a couple of lazy days at anchor, we motored a few short miles across the bay (back the way we’d come – weird) to anchor off a not-so-sheltered beach just outside Lagos.  We paddled the dinghy over to the beach, and enjoyed an evening walk, via the marina office to confirm we didn’t need to register our arrival, around this popular tourist town.  Voices in many languages could be heard enjoying the sunshine, and of course it’s half term week in the UK, so there were lots of British kids around.

We found a decent-sized Intermarché for a little provisioning, and Mate indulged in a brief spot of souvenir shopping, in between perusing a selection of menus.  Sadly, little sounded tempting, being very repetitive to cater for the international visitors.

On the Friday morning we took the dinghy to explore the famous caves at Pointe de Piedade.  If you’re familiar with the rock formations at Studland Bay in Dorset, imagine them in golden sandstone and multiplied by a factor of 10, and you’ll have some impression of this amazing piece of coastline.  Constantly pounding seas have created blowholes, or chimneys, and caves amongst the stacks and arches, which are wonderful to explore in a very small boat, as you can get under low ‘ceilings’ to paddle inside the hollows.  In places light shone through underwater, and the ocean forcing its way in blew misty spray up into the cavities.  Up close it’s impossible to take photos (never mind the camera not being waterproof), so this is from the Internet:

We timed our visit well, before many trip boats were out, and the sea was calm, but the return trip was a different matter: a considerable swell had appeared from nowhere, due to a nasty weather system way out in the Atlantic, and we were tossed around with the small 2.5hp outboard struggling to propel us forwards.  We always wear lifejackets for these types of adventures, but they didn’t stop us getting very wet, and landing on the back step of the boat was not the easiest manoeuvre we’ve ever attempted.  Nevertheless, we made it back aboard safely, if in need of a little medicinal chocolate, and it was definitely worth it, to experience such incredible scenery up close and personal.

Once we’d recovered, dried out and warmed up, it was an easy decision to leave this horrible swell and head back all the way across the bay to Portimão.  Unusually, the sea was choppy with a headwind – like being back in the Solent, except the sun was still shining.  It took us nearly five hours to make seven miles upriver of Portimao marina, to a lovely quiet anchorage off Ferragudo.

On Saturday morning we had a much calmer dinghy ride to explore this attractive village, where fish are landed on the quay straight onto the barbecues for lunch.  Skipper changed the gas bottle, which ran out while supper was being prepped, and we gained another hour by changing the clocks back one hour overnight.

Ripening dates

On Sunday we dinghied the other way, across the river to Portimão town, where we found another sparkling clean launderette, and laden date palms along the promenade.  We also found a selection of attractive fish restaurants, obviously where the locals eat, just through the arches under the road behind the waterfront.  In the afternoon we moved onto the temporary pontoon in Portimão marina, to fill up with very expensive water of disappointing quality.  Whilst there we met a chap who is a good friend of the ex-sales manager of Allures, who sold us l’Escale.  We were delighted to hear his change of career is proving successful, and asked to be remembered to him.  As soon as possible, we escaped back to our spot in the anchorage, from where we enjoyed watching the storks fishing, much like herons.

We had another foray into Portimão town, to a large Pingo Doce supermarket, a common name in Portugal, but one we’d not explored before…but we weren’t overly impressed: Waitrose it isn’t.  On the way back, we found ourselves in the midst of a huge canoe/kayak race, and were mistaken for a rescue vessel by a poor lad who’d capsized just away from the start line – he wasn’t the only casualty, and the large, powerful RIBs were in demand.

Mate took the opportunity to make progress on the current sewing project, while Skipper worked through some of the outstanding jobs list.  It was still warm and sunny much of the time, with very little wind in this sheltered spot.

On the last day of October we got back to sailing, departing early in the hope of completing a 40-Mile passage to Faro in daylight.  It was a lovely day, with temperatures in the low 20s ˚C and a light Westerly wind to fill the gennaker.  Well before dark we were anchored, just behind our friends on Yndeleau once again, off the Ilha da Culatra in the large lagoon that shelters Faro and Olhão.  The entrance is interesting, with overfalls, swirls and eddies at any stage of the tide, but a little extra oomph from Trevver got us through without any difficulties into the otherwise calm and shallow waters of the various channels that wend between sandbanks and around islands.

Friday 1 November was a beautiful, sunny day, and we took the dinghy across to the fishing harbour on the Ilha da Culatra to explore this popular island – where locals and tourists escape the crowds of the mainland resorts.  It is part of the Ria Formosa national park, and for landlubbers it’s only accessible by ferry, so we arrived early enough to enjoy its peace and quiet.  There are two distinct village communities totalling around 1000 permanent inhabitants, who make their living from fishing and tourism.  Culatra is where the ferry lands, and has a selection of restaurants, while Farol, Portuguese for lighthouse, is centred around…the lighthouse, that guards the entrance to the lagoon.  Single storey dwellings are built on sand, and slabs of concrete make pathways – there are no paved roads and the only vehicles are a couple of tractors, and bicycles for the brave.

The island is about six kilometres long, between 100 and 900 metres wide and consists entirely of sand and some scrubby ground cover.  Boardwalks offer easy walking through a stunning and surprisingly varied landscape, with views of the hills of the mainland to the North, and to the South the clear blue waters of the ocean.  We saw a number of different butterflies, birds and waterfowl, and had long stretches of beaches and dunes all to ourselves.  We felt it only polite to contribute to local commerce and enjoyed a delicious lunch of local tuna, salad and a Portuguese speciality dessert, a moist cake made of carob, of which Portugal is one of the leading producers worldwide; there is a carob tree on the island.

We rounded off our holiday by going into Olhão marina on Saturday morning [contrary to the advice of the pilot book, it’s perfectly possible to phone ahead and arrange a short stay, although a German skipper we met had not been welcomed].  A member of staff was waiting to help us tie up to the outer pontoon, and we were able to visit the waterside market and fill up with water.  We also had an interesting chat with an Argentinian couple, who shared their extensive experience of over-wintering in Seville; we had thought about doing the same, and may yet on our way back out of the Mediterranean.