Vilamoura – Ilha da Culatra 18,5 nm
Hard to believe, but true! We left Vilamoura and turned left at the harbor exit. Not towards the west coast of Portugal, but towards the east. With a light wind from the north-northeast, we motor-sail towards Faro with genoa support. Because of the orcas, we keep to water depths of less than 20 m as usual and sail close to the coast. We not only have to avoid numerous fishing buoys, but also numerous fishermen. Before Cabo de Santa Maria, we take the sail away and turn into the entrance to the Ría Formosa. Here we can watch a group of bottlenose dolphins hunting. Between Cabo de Santa Maria with the imposing building of the Restaurante Estaminé and the Ihla do Farol, things are really boiling. We sail with the current as planned and reach our destination quickly, finding a nice anchorage off the Ilha da Culatra. As we have some packages on board for the crew of the Troll, which is anchored a little further north of us, Hildebrand comes over to us in the afternoon with Maja and the kids to pick up the cargo. We then enjoy a nice sundowner in the front cockpit and watch a fisherman in front of our bow trying to drive fish into his nets with an interesting tapping technique. In the evening we have prawns from the barbecue and enjoy the peace and quiet at anchor for the rest of the evening. Wonderful! For the showdown – i.e. sunset – La Ola positions itself perfectly so that we are presented with the perfect experience sitting in the front cockpit. If every evening on board were this perfect, no one would probably want to live ashore and the anchorages would be completely overcrowded. And we would have real problems arguing how hard life on a boat is! So perhaps we’d rather keep to ourselves how wonderful life on board is and not tell anyone…. In this context, we would like to point out – especially at the insistence of Captain Bluebear – that all the photos posted here were either heavily photoshopped or created by an AI. Um, well… Oh yes, and I shouldn’t forget to mention that the aircraft noise from Faro Airport is almost unbearable here. Honestly!Hard to believe, but true! We left Vilamoura and turned left at the harbor exit. Not towards the west coast of Portugal, but towards the east. With a light wind from the north-northeast, we motor-sail towards Faro with genoa support. Because of the orcas, we keep to water depths of less than 20 m as usual and sail close to the coast. We not only have to avoid numerous fishing buoys, but also numerous fishermen. Before Cabo de Santa Maria, we take the sail away and turn into the entrance to the Ría Formosa. Here we can watch a group of bottlenose dolphins hunting. Between Cabo de Santa Maria with the imposing building of the Restaurante Estaminé and the Ihla do Farol, things are really boiling. We sail with the current as planned and reach our destination quickly, finding a nice anchorage off the Ilha da Culatra. As we have some packages on board for the crew of the Troll, which is anchored a little further north of us, Hildebrand comes over to us in the afternoon with Maja and the kids to pick up the cargo. We then enjoy a nice sundowner in the front cockpit and watch a fisherman in front of our bow trying to drive fish into his nets with an interesting tapping technique. In the evening we have prawns from the barbecue and enjoy the peace and quiet at anchor for the rest of the evening. Wonderful! For the showdown – i.e. sunset – La Ola positions itself perfectly so that we are presented with the perfect experience sitting in the front cockpit. If every evening on board were this perfect, no one would probably want to live ashore and the anchorages would be completely overcrowded. And we would have real problems arguing how hard life on a boat is! So perhaps we’d rather keep to ourselves how wonderful life on board is and not tell anyone…. In this context, we would like to point out – especially at the insistence of Captain Bluebear – that all the photos posted here were either heavily photoshopped or created by an AI. Um, well… Oh yes, and I shouldn’t forget to mention that the aircraft noise from Faro Airport is almost unbearable here. Honestly!
The night at anchor is quiet. As usual, Lucky the cat wakes us up at first light and demands breakfast. I grant him his wish and am rewarded not only with a happy hangover, but also with a fantastic sunrise. The fishermen from Culatra are also already awake and go out in their boats to catch fish or harvest mussels. I enjoy the otherwise quiet morning time with my first coffee in the cockpit and take pleasure in the beauty of nature. The smell of smoke floats over from land, somewhere near Fuseta there is apparently a fire and the smoke settles over the water like wafts of mist. As many farmers in Portugal burn their green waste, the smell of burning is somehow part of Portugal. Anyway, I hope it’s not an unintentional forest or wildfire and it’s over quickly. Axel gets up at some point and we have breakfast together in the cockpit. Afterwards we do a bit of work and around midday we get the dinghy ready and head for Culatra. Unfortunately, it’s not quite so easy to land at Culatra. The dinghy jetty in the small harbor has been storm-damaged for several months and cannot be used. We are told in a friendly but firm manner that we are not allowed to moor at the other jetties. So we land on the beach and pull up the dinghy. Actually a good idea, as that’s exactly what we’ve attached our dinghy wheels for. However, we have high tide at the moment and the sand on the chosen beach is very soft. If we sink in there with our bikes, we’ll have to wait a few hours until we’re able to swim again. So we return to La Ola and work through the other items on the program first. First of all, the hairdressing salon opens and Axel gets a haircut. Then it’s straight into the water to rinse off. According to our thermometer, it’s already 20° C. I write a bit on the blog and upload photos and then we set off again in the late afternoon. We drive to the beach at the ferry terminal and pull the dinghy up the beach a little on its wheels. This works quite well and gives us 1-2 hours to stay until the high tide makes the dinghy float again. As a precaution, we also put out an anchor in case we need longer than planned to explore the island. We set off along the beach to the small village. We walk through the main street, see numerous restaurants and cafés, browse through the local mini-markets and enjoy an ice cream at the only ice cream stand. Axel has Snickers ice cream and I get Dubai chocolate ice cream. I wouldn’t have expected to get such an exclusive ice cream here. We continue towards the Atlantic side of the island. We cross the barren dune landscape on a boardwalk and finally reach a super long and quite lonely beach. Only a handful of people are still hanging around here, enjoying the beach bar and the waves. We turn back and reach the small village again after 20 minutes. By now, most of the stores are closed and the last ferry at the harbor is honking its horn for departure. We push our dinghy back into the water on its wheels and head back to La Ola. Just in time for the evening sunset spectacle. Soooo beautiful! A little baguette and cheese for dinner and the beautiful day is already over.
For the next morning, I have asked Lucky to wake me up between 5 and 5:30 am. At 5:15 a.m. on the dot, he meows and I get up. Much to Lucky’s chagrin, however, not to feed him. No, today there’s a special constellation in the sky that I’d like to take a look at. The so-called smiley moon appears in the eastern sky shortly before sunrise. However, I’m too early, the moon isn’t there yet. So I go back to bed for half an hour and then look again. And lo and behold, the smiley is there. However, it takes a lot of imagination to make a smiley out of Venus (left eye), Saturn (right eye) and the moon (mouth). Saturn is not quite as bright as Venus, so it is perhaps more of a winking smiley. In addition, the face „hangs“ to the right. But if you tilt your head to the left, it just about works. Unfortunately, the smiley cannot be photographed well from on board, as there is too much movement in the boat for the necessary long exposure. After the photo session, Lucky gets his well-deserved breakfast and I go back to bed. A little later, Axel and I have breakfast in the cockpit in glorious sunshine and flat seas. We spend the rest of the day relaxing on board. It’s also nice to do nothing. Although the term „nothing“ is also a matter of definition. I work a bit on my laptop, Axel continues his training in 3D design. Incidentally, the latest product from the 3D printer is a holder for our champagne bucket for the front cockpit. The world is coming to an end… The sun is shining all day today and a gentle breeze provides the perfect cooling. Almost like a vacation! In the evening we have another delicious couscous salad with grilled chicken. Then a bit of chilling out in the cockpit and the day is over again. Not without a wonderful sunset, of course!For the next morning, I have asked Lucky to wake me up between 5 and 5:30 am. At 5:15 a.m. on the dot, he meows and I get up. Much to Lucky’s chagrin, however, not to feed him. No, today there’s a special constellation in the sky that I’d like to take a look at. The so-called smiley moon appears in the eastern sky shortly before sunrise. However, I’m too early, the moon isn’t there yet. So I go back to bed for half an hour and then look again. And lo and behold, the smiley is there. However, it takes a lot of imagination to make a smiley out of Venus (left eye), Saturn (right eye) and the moon (mouth). Saturn is not quite as bright as Venus, so it is perhaps more of a winking smiley. In addition, the face „hangs“ to the right. But if you tilt your head to the left, it just about works. Unfortunately, the smiley cannot be photographed well from on board, as there is too much movement in the boat for the necessary long exposure. After the photo session, Lucky gets his well-deserved breakfast and I go back to bed. A little later, Axel and I have breakfast in the cockpit in glorious sunshine and flat seas. We spend the rest of the day relaxing on board. It’s also nice to do nothing. Although the term „nothing“ is also a matter of definition. I work a bit on my laptop, Axel continues his training in 3D design. Incidentally, the latest product from the 3D printer is a holder for our champagne bucket for the front cockpit. The world is coming to an end… The sun is shining all day today and a gentle breeze provides the perfect cooling. Almost like a vacation! In the evening we have another delicious couscous salad with grilled chicken. Then a bit of chilling out in the cockpit and the day is over again. Not without a wonderful sunset, of course!
The weekend starts just as quietly as the week ended. Hangover alarm clock, hangover breakfast, enjoy the dawn, back in the bunk, hangover cuddle and then get up, first coffee for me in the cockpit and then breakfast for Axel and me sometime later. The weather is once again warm, sunny and dry. That’s how we like it! After successfully whiling away the morning, we head back to Culatra in the dinghy at lunchtime. This time we look for another mooring at the north-eastern end of the lagoon. We can easily land there and walk a short distance through the sandy paths into the village. On our last visit, we discovered a seafood restaurant that we want to try out today. At the Aqua Chill Seafood Bar & Restaurant, we find a nice spot in the shade and end up enjoying delicious giant oysters, ceviche and grilled octopus. Afterwards, we buy a few oranges from the island store and head back to the dinghy beach and back on board. In the afternoon, the crew of the Troll drops by for a chat and we enjoy another quiet evening at anchor. With a matching sunset, of course!
Ilha da Culatra – Ayamonte 33,4 nm
After a few days at anchor in the Ría Formosa, the journey continues. We are heading towards Spain and further east. We have decided against a trip back to the north of Portugal and Galicia, preferring instead to explore the Bay of Cadiz and Andalusia over the next few weeks. We get up at 7 a.m. – much earlier, of course, for a hangover breakfast and the daily sunset photo – and set anchor a little later. Unfortunately, the tide demands it. We head back through the lagoon for the first few miles and then out into the Atlantic. Outside, however, it is once again not as calm and windless as forecast, but it is blowing quite hard at 22 knots. The most beautiful sailing wind, if it wasn’t coming right from the front. We also have to maneuver around a few fish farms, so we have to use the diesel genoa again. Once we have passed the fish farms, the wind dies down as predicted and the going is much less rough towards Spain. We finally reach the entrance to the Rio Guadiana, the border river between Portugal and Spain. We change the host country flag accordingly. We finally reach the small port of Ayamonte and are able to moor without any problems a little later at our previously announced berth. While Axel checks in at the marina office, I treat myself to a refreshing shower. In the late afternoon – we are now back in the same time zone as Germany – we set off on our first tour of Ayamonte. Unfortunately, almost everything is closed on Sundays and the numerous tapas restaurants don’t open until 8pm. Too bad, but then we have dinner on board after all. We still have some delicious kielbasa from the German butcher in Porches, which we enjoy as a curry sausage with chips.
Over the next few days, we will now explore Ayamonte and then sail on at some point. Let’s see where we end up next…Over the next few days, we will now explore Ayamonte and then sail on at some point. Let’s see where we end up next…