The first few days in Vilamoura pass by in a flash. We hire a car, go shopping, go golfing. My cousin Arne is organising a golf tournament in the Algarve and invites us to play a round. So we pull the bags out of the backpack and drive to the Amendoeira Golf Resort in Alcantarilha on a bright and sunny Sunday. After a few holes and a few tips, the balls are fortunately flying again after months away from golf, even if the result is nowhere near our handicaps.
After a few all-nighters with our noisy, song-loving pub neighbours, we can also change our berth and hopefully spend the next few months a little more quietly. It will probably never be completely quiet in lively Vilamoura, but that also has its advantages. We could probably try out a new restaurant every day until March. However, we prefer to cook for ourselves and the Algarve offers us every opportunity to do so. From the Apolónia delicatessen supermarket to Pingo Doce, Lidl and Aldi, there is a huge selection that would make any German supermarket pale in comparison. Unfortunately, the prices are also significantly higher than in Germany. At the Apolónia supermarket in particular, some products take our breath away and fortunately we don’t have the reflex to load completely overpriced products into the shopping trolley. A few specialities, such as fresh salmon burger patties and liquorice, are allowed.
We are also planning the work on La Ola that we want to carry out (or have carried out) this winter. In addition to painting the underwater hull, we are also planning to install an air conditioning system in the owner’s hull. In order to be able to operate the air conditioning system self-sufficiently at anchor, we also want to extend our solar surface. To do this, we need to extend or reinforce our existing stainless steel frame to which the solar panels are attached. Appropriate offers will be obtained and the work planned for the coming weeks and months.
And of course there’s also plenty of fun to be had. We go on excursions in the hire car and visit the surrounding towns. We don’t like Faro that much. To put it positively, the old town has an authentic character. In Axel’s words, it looks completely dilapidated and neglected. We liked Olhão better, where we almost ended up with our berth. The berth directly at the harbour entrance didn’t really seem suitable to us on paper at the time and even when we looked at it now, it looked too small. Of course, we would still have liked to have the great market hall and the beautiful old town of Ohlão just round the corner. Walks from the marina take us along the beach to Quarteira, where the market hall is unfortunately closed. Instead, the beach bar on the way back offers refreshments and live music, which we really enjoy at 20°C and with a view of the beach.
Of course, socialising is not neglected either. My cousin Arne and his son Philipp come on board for a barbecue. Joe from Bremen comes on board for an afternoon with his mate Paul and Jan and Lassi from the Laralina are moored on the jetty opposite. We also make new friends. We meet Mansoor at the gate to the jetty and hit it off straight away. He lives in Portugal and Dubai, has a sailing boat here in the marina and dreams of a Lagoon 450, so of course we show him La Ola and invite him for a beer in the cockpit. In return, we are invited to dinner at his home and have a really nice evening with him and his wife Clarissa. It’s a shame that the two of them are now returning to Dubai to spend the winter there. We very much hope that we will be able to organise a few more meetings in the spring when they are back in Portugal!
At the beginning of November, our friend Teresa from the sailing yacht Yohela from Seattle comes to visit us on board. We spend a few lovely days together on a sailing trip to Ferragudo. Hopefully it won’t be another 15 years before the next meeting! Fortunately, the temporary liquorice shortage has improved drastically. We also received a care parcel from our friend Tom in Bremen, which was filled to the brim with a rich selection of liquorice and a few cans of Christmas beer from Denmark. Many thanks for that!!!
We then meet Christoph and his wife Silke, who are currently on holiday in the Algarve. Christoph used to be a sales manager in Axel’s company and is also a passionate sailor. It’s a nice evening with pizza and lots of nice anecdotes. Our friend Jens from the Marieke also arrives in the Algarve at some point and visits us on board a few times. He brings us some delicious smoked sausages from the German butcher’s shop in Porches, which spread a delicious smell throughout the ship for days before they have to surrender to their fate.
In addition to boat projects, we always take time to explore the surrounding area. For example, we drive to the historic town of Tavira, where there is a Roman bridge and pretty alleyways to see. However, after a look at the estuary, we probably won’t be able to anchor in the river at La Ola. We then land in Cacela Velha, a pretty and romantic place on a cliff overlooking the lagoon. There’s not much going on in the village, but at least one restaurant is still open. We enjoy rice with seafood and tuna steak, freshly cooked on a hot stone. Delicious! We continue to the border river Guadiana, which separates Portugal from Spain. Here, too, there is not a single anchor to be seen, although the area is supposed to be very popular with long-distance sailors for wintering.
Vilamoura Marina celebrates its 50th birthday in November and we get to enjoy a fantastic light spectacle. In addition, the Christmas lights are switched on and numerous sailing boats have even been fitted with fairy lights. Several maritime Christmas trees adorn the harbour. Very beautiful! However, we’re not really getting into the Christmas spirit. Anyone who knows me knows that’s not a bad thing. I don’t really like Christmas for various reasons and can do without it very well. But I still like lights and Christmas biscuits. Fortunately, thanks to Lidl and Aldi, the Algarve is also well supplied with speculoos and marzipan bread. While it’s cold, grey and wet in Germany – even the first snowflakes are spotted – we have a very nice 20° Celsius and mostly sunshine. Just as we imagined it would be!
At the end of November, Andrea and Pit come on board for a visit. They have travelled across Europe by car to see a bit of Spain and Portugal. Thankfully, they have loaded up their car with parcels for us so that we can tackle the next projects. In addition to technology and components, there is also a fine order of champagne and another delivery of liquorice in the car. So we still don’t have to go hungry! Andrea and Pit take us on another trip to Tavira and Olhao and visit the Monterosa oil mill. Unfortunately, Andrea and Pit have to leave us again after just three days. But we will certainly be seeing them again soon!
Our various boat projects are progressing faster this way. We replace the old microwave with a new oven-microwave combination. Axel simply prints the attachment for this himself in his new 3D printer. He also prints little feet for the cover of our barbecue gas bottle so that it no longer stands in water and can rust. Axel installs an external socket in the cockpit so that I can now work on my laptop outside. And the small Weber-Q grill is replaced by a larger Magma grill so that I can finally have a „proper“ barbecue again.
For our leisure activities, we treat ourselves to an upgrade and replace the small on-board folding bikes with normal-sized eBikes. This will hopefully allow us to cycle the hilly terrain of the Algarve a little better and we will also be well equipped for the routes on Madeira and the Canary Islands next year. I’m not sure if we’ve already mentioned that we’re not planning to head for the Mediterranean next year, but want to stay in the Atlantic. From the Portuguese coast we will probably go to Madeira in June/July and from there to the Canary Islands in August/September. We then want to go to Cape Verde in November and from there across the Atlantic in December/January. Let’s see if that works out! Plans are always all well and good, but they are always subject to change.
