After the sun sets around half past eight, Olhão becomes quieter. Only occasionally does a water taxi roar past. Otherwise, the sounds of the city drift over to us. Children playing, distant conversations, fado singing from one of the cafés by the market halls. Accompanying this is the delicious smell of grilled sardines. At the stern of La Ola, the green harbor entrance light has come on and glows quietly. But you have to like fado – or, if Axel has his way, you don’t. Anyway, on Sundays there’s live jazz music. Today, we’re sitting in the cockpit until late, enjoying the beautiful evening atmosphere.
The night is quiet, with little boat traffic and no party music until early morning. And thanks to the bike trip to Lidl, we finally have a proper breakfast again today. Bread rolls, coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice and – very importantly – a perfect egg! The market halls in front of our bow slowly come to life and we buy fresh ingredients for our dinner there. On the way back to the boat, we have to push our way past crowds of tourists, all wanting to take the ferries or water taxis to the offshore islands. What madness! Queuing for hours for a ticket and then queuing for hours again to get on the ferry. The high season in the Algarve is only for very patient vacationers. Once on board, we start the washing machine and get out the vacuum cleaner. Another nice holiday activity. But, oh no! We’re not holidaymakers! We’re travelers, so we don’t spend all our time lying on the beach and sunbathing. After hanging up the laundry to dry, we devote ourselves to physical exercise and go for a bike ride. We head towards Fuseta, first passing the fishing port and then along the railway line through the salt marshes and marshlands. It’s a beautiful route on solid paths, probably made of shell limestone, and boardwalks over the water. We pass salt pans and numerous seabirds. After ten kilometers, we turn around and cycle back to Olhão. On the way back, we stop briefly at the supermarket and buy some fresh arugula. Back on board, we first have to rinse ourselves and our bikes thoroughly with water. The shell limestone has left a thick layer of dust everywhere and we look a little breaded. Of course, we can’t go into the freshly cleaned ship like this! In the evening, we use the arugula in a Mediterranean tortellini salad and enjoy the evening reading in the cockpit.
The next morning is set aside for cleaning the exterior. The dust from the Sahara—not from our bike tour—needs to be washed off again. Due to the lack of water pressure in the marina, we use our pressure washer today. Everything is sprayed down and wiped clean. It’s time to clean the cockpit again, too. A few hours later, La Ola is shining like new again and we ride our bikes to go shopping. Lidl is the best place to buy bread rolls for the weekend. And then my niece Svea arrives from Bonn. After a quick welcome on board and receiving some delicious Haribo licorice, we head ashore for dinner. We find a place in a small side street at Tasca O Galo and enjoy delicious seafood rice and tuna with a grain crust, accompanied by a glass of Vihno Verde. Back on board, we chat a little and plan the next few days. Then it’s off to our bunks again.
Lucky has activated the early wake-up service again today. The outdoor area at the market halls is already being set up at 5 a.m., and of course, from his point of view, I absolutely must go and see it with him. Oh, and since I’m already awake, I might as well have some food right away. So while I start the day early, the other two lie in their bunks until 9 a.m. Then we have a delicious breakfast and set off on the long journey to the market. In addition to ingredients for the weekend dinner, we also take some freshly baked churros with us and eat them as a late breakfast dessert on board. While Axel stays on board, Svea and I go ashore again and take a short stroll through the town. It’s always nice to stroll through the narrow streets of Olhão. Back on board, we enjoy delicious tomato slices with fresh tuna, salt, and olive oil. Afterwards, Axel gets into cleaning mode again and polishes some stainless steel. I entertain him with the quirky, beautiful sounds of my ukulele, while Svea sunbathes on the roof. Since Svea works as a bartender at the Pantheon in Bonn alongside her studies, we are lucky today and don’t get the usual boring stuff, but a delicious Aperol Sour on the sun deck. It could easily become our new drink of choice on board! After the sun has disappeared behind the horizon, we have grilled chicken breast with a zucchini and chickpea casserole for dinner. Another very successful day in culinary terms!
Whatever the reason, Lucky starts annoying me at 4 a.m. He sits in front of the bed, in the bed, and on top of me, meowing. He changes position every five minutes. At 6:30 a.m., I give in and give him his breakfast. After that, it’s quiet, but now I’m awake. So I sit down with Lucky in the cockpit and we enjoy a peaceful start to Sunday. There is significantly less boat traffic today, or rather, it starts later. The market is closed and the tourists are sleeping in. Eventually, the rest of the crew gets up and we have a delicious breakfast. After we have thoroughly recovered from breakfast, we go shopping together at the Continente supermarket. Then Svea and I set off on our bikes towards Faro. Unfortunately, Axel’s bike is a little too high for Svea, so it’s a short trip. We ride to Salina do Grelha, where we are unfortunately faced with closed gates and cannot sign up for a tour. No problem, because you can also do that online, of course. In any case, we want to go back there again in the next few days. Back on board, we enjoy the sun on the upper deck until a fresh breeze drives us into the cockpit. In the evening, we have delicious shrimp from our visit to the market yesterday with aioli and baguette. Today, accompanied by jazz music from a café at the market hall.
Monday starts early for me again, because Lucky is rampaging around in my bed again. Today he has come up with something new. He sits on my pillow and purrs so intensely that the whole pillow vibrates. After shooing him away three times, I give in at 6 a.m. and give him something to eat. An hour later, I’m freshly showered and cheerfully busy washing up from the night before, until first Svea and then Axel join me. The weather is much less windy today and the sun is shining from a bright blue sky. That’s how we like it! While Svea indulges in some intense sunbathing after breakfast, Axel and I go shopping again. This is somewhat unplanned, as we unexpectedly have to buy drinking water. We usually use the water from the marina, which we filter very well so that it is drinkable. However, sometimes salt water comes out of the tap here! Salt is not so easy to filter out, and we don’t really want salt water in our tanks. Since the water is still salty, we puzzle a little over the cause. The only explanation we can think of is a leak in the water pipe. At normal water pressure, fresh water flows through the pipe and the water pressure keeps the salt water out of the pipe. However, as soon as many boats draw water at the same time, the water pressure drops dramatically and is then probably no longer sufficient to keep the salt water out of the leak. This theory assumes that the water pipe was laid under the jetty in seawater. We inform the marina about the problem, but unfortunately we don’t really hope that it will be repaired quickly. So we test the water, fill our tanks with non-salty water, which we use for washing up and showering, and buy bottled spring water from Monchique for drinking. In the afternoon, Svea and I go into town again and buy a Portuguese cookbook. We had actually planned to take a cooking class, but unfortunately, there are no such classes offered in Olhão. Instead, we now want to try our hand at a Portuguese dish on our own. I also buy a cocktail shaker so that Svea can prepare sundowners for us in a more professional manner. We are still working on a La Ola board drink that we want to serve our guests on board in the future. The Aperol Sour is already quite good, but it may need its own variation. And its own name! We are currently wavering between Lagoon Orange and La Ola Olala. In the evening, we test and try it again and find it good once more.
Tuesday also starts early. Not only because of Lucky, but also because of Axel. He leaves for the airport at 7 a.m. and flies to Germany, while Svea and I stay on board. A storm-free cabin, so to speak. We start the day with some exercise and take a short bike ride to Fuseta beach. Unfortunately, it’s low tide, so the swimming area only reaches Svea’s belly button. I don’t really like being in the water anyway, so I pass the time at the beach bar. Svea has a huge club sandwich, and I have a baguette with chicken. We both have a delicious passion fruit lemonade. Then we make the long journey back to Olhâo, where we arrive in the early afternoon, covered in dust. We spend the rest of the day recovering from our exertions and reading our respective books. After the mega sandwiches at lunchtime, the galley remains cold in the evening.
Since Axel isn’t in his bunk, Lucky naturally takes over his side of the bed. He lets me sleep until 5:30 a.m., then announces that it’s time for breakfast. After his breakfast and later ours, I decide to clean our outdoor refrigerator today. Unfortunately, a bag of fish has leaked, so now it smells very appetizing. Yuck! The problem is quickly solved and the refrigerator is defrosted right away. Unfortunately, the refrigerators ice up very quickly in the summer temperatures. Just a few seconds of opening the door and, of course, adding relatively warm drinks cause thick ice to form and the cooling performance to decrease significantly. As more wind is forecast for the next few days, I also take down our front cockpit sun sail and notice that it is once again covered in dust. So before we leave Olhâo again, the boat definitely needs to be scrubbed down. In the evening, we go ashore to eat and visit the Frango de Cidade restaurant. Although the term „restaurant“ sounds a little exaggerated. In a tiny room, there are a few tables, a scullery, a storeroom, and a huge charcoal grill with an equally large extractor hood. We are early and the first guests, so we have to wait a little while for the charcoal to heat up properly. While we wait, we are served bread and olives, accompanied by Vinho do Casa and water. After half an hour, we are served delicious grilled chicken with piri-piri sauce. Svea also manages to whip up a chocolate mousse for dessert, and we are surprised to see that the bill comes to just €31. Back on board, we enjoy the beautiful sunset – as always – and sip a La Ola Olala.
After a windy night, the morning starts off calm and sunny again. Svea and I enjoy a leisurely breakfast of muesli and yogurt, then tidy up the boat a little. We spend the morning reading, then set off on our bikes again. We head back towards Faro and the Salinas do Grelha. We have booked a tour there and spend an hour learning lots of interesting facts about salt production. The seawater from the Ria Formosa nature reserve is continuously dehydrated by the sun in various basins, increasing the salt content and causing the salt to settle at the bottom. The partly pink color of the water comes from bacteria that contain carotenoids. The bacteria are in turn consumed by small prehistoric crustaceans, which also turn pink. At the end of the food chain are the flamingos, which also get their pink color from the pink crustaceans. Before the salt can be harvested, the crustaceans are filtered out, leaving white salt. It is then laboriously broken up from the bottom of smaller basins, as it is rock-hard. This is done by hand with various rakes and very carefully so that the mud from the bottom of the basins does not get into the salt. The coarse sea salt has an irregular structure, i.e., the salt crystals have different shapes. Incidentally, these different salt crystal shapes also indicate whether the sea salt was mined manually or industrially. Industrially mined sea salt is extracted from the basins using excavators instead of by hand. As mud also gets into the salt during this process, it has to be cleaned, losing its uneven shape and becoming round. In addition to the production of coarse sea salt, we also learn about the extraction of fleur de sel. Unfortunately, as the wind has picked up again, we are unable to see the formation process, as the salt flower only forms under very specific conditions. Only when the air temperature is high, usually around 3-4 p.m., do fine salt crystals form on the surface of the water. These are carefully skimmed off and stored to dry. They contain much more minerals than coarse sea salt and have a lower salt content. Perfect for seasoning a delicious tuna or steak. Far too good to use for pasta water. In very rare cases, fleur de sel also forms in pyramid-like crystals. However, as the production of these salt crystals is very low, these fine crystals are rarely available in stores and can only be purchased directly from the producer. Which is what we do, of course! Incidentally, salt production only takes place in the summer months from June to September, as rainfall is very low during this period. Harvesting takes place twice during this period in the Salinas do Grelha. In winter, the basins are flooded by rain and the salt concentration is insufficient. In April/May, the basins are then pumped out and cleaned of mud so that new salt production can begin. After we have finished the tour, another highlight is on the agenda. In Salinas do Grelha, there is a saltwater basin with a very high salt concentration, which allows for a bathing experience similar to that of the Dead Sea. The salt content there is so high that you cannot sink and float weightlessly on the surface. The water is also very good for the skin and all kinds of other ailments due to its high salt and mineral concentration. We quickly changed and floated around in the 31°C warm water. Fortunately, the water is only waist-deep, because it is very difficult to free yourself from the state of suspension and get your legs under water. And you have to be very careful not to get water in your eyes, because it really burns like hell. You should also avoid having any open wounds if possible. After the bath, we booked a mud pack. We are given a small bowl of salt mud, which is produced when the salt basins are cleaned in the spring. It also contains quite a lot of minerals, and Svea and I look like well-camouflaged mud monsters in no time. The sun and wind dry the mud very quickly, and it is then washed off again in the saltwater pool. Our skin feels super soft afterwards, and we definitely look years younger. However, even after rinsing and showering, a slight musty smell lingers, which we can only get rid of with a shower back on board. The visit to the salt flats was definitely worth it for us, and our salt supply on board is now well stocked again. As the wind has continued to pick up throughout the day, we prefer to take our bikes on deck today rather than leave them on the pontoon. This is because the wind and waves cause a lot of salt water to splash over, and the wind actually pushes the bikes around. Together, we manage the maneuver and don’t have to worry about them at night.
The next morning, the wind has died down again and the sun is shining brightly. We enjoy a leisurely breakfast while the onboard washing machine runs, causing the entire ship to vibrate during the spin cycle. I refill the water tank and have already finished my daily chores before 11 a.m. We spend the rest of the day reading in the cockpit and only get up to eat something now and then. In the evening, Svea cooks pasta with tuna cream sauce for us. A lazy day, but then again, Svea is on vacation…
On Saturday morning, there is a lot of noise at 5 a.m. as the market stalls are being set up. So I am awake and alert early and watch the morning hustle and bustle from the cockpit with a cup of coffee. Svea joins me at 10:30 a.m. and after a delicious breakfast, we make our way to the market. We buy fresh vegetables, chicken fillet, and a few culinary souvenirs for Svea. Back on board, we read in the sun again, but the wind is so strong that it almost blows the Kindl out of our hands on the roof terrace. It’s better in the shady cockpit. However, it is quite warm there because we have closed our cockpit tent against the wind. So it heats up quite a bit and we sweat away. In the evening, we have a delicious vegetable pan with feta cheese from the oven, made from the ingredients we bought fresh in the morning. We enjoy our evening sundowner on the upper deck again today and take a few photos of the sunset.
Although it’s Sunday, we’re all up early. And for once, it’s not Lucky’s fault! Svea wants to take the first ferry to Ihla Culatra to sunbathe on the sandy beach and swim in the Atlantic Ocean. No sooner said than done, and at 7 a.m. she’s already on the ferry. Since I’m not a fan of beaches or swimming, I stay on board and do the dishes. I also clean the inside of the refrigerator. Since it doesn’t have a freezer compartment, it’s quickly done. Then I sort through all my photos from the last few months. We’ve seen so much already! In the early afternoon, Svea returns from her day at the beach, slightly sunburned, and needs to recover from the stress. Sunbathing is quite exhausting after all! In the evening, we have grilled chicken with couscous salad, accompanied by jazz music from the café at the market halls. Svea disappears into her bunk early and I sit in the cockpit for a while with a glass of wine until I too eventually disappear into bed.
Time flies by quickly once again, and after a few days in Germany, Axel finally returns. Being apart is very unusual for us. Even though it’s nice to see family and friends in Germany again, we’re even happier when we’re back together on board. However, I have to wait until the evening before I finally have my loved one back with me. Axel has a whole suitcase full of souvenirs, and we can replenish our Haribo supply. To celebrate the day, we go out for dinner in the evening—or rather, out of the boat.
The next day starts with a delicious breakfast and a little tidying up. Bags have to be stowed away again and souvenirs have to be stored somewhere. At lunchtime, we are visited by our former neighbors Elisabeta and Dean from Daverden. We go out for lunch together and, of course, La Ola has to be thoroughly inspected and approved. We take a few photos as proof for our other neighbors, and then our time together is already over. Axel and I go on a shopping trip to Lidl. Once again, everything there is themed around Oktoberfest, and there are bake-off pretzels, white sausage, and wheat beer. In the evening, we just have a light meal and enjoy the evening in the cockpit.
The next day begins sunny and warm, as usual. We have breakfast together, and while Svea sunbathes in the front cockpit, Axel and I ride our bikes to the Ría Shopping Center. There is a large Auchan supermarket there that has „everything.“ We stock up on a few supplies and struggle through the self-checkout. Unfortunately, the scale, which measures exactly whether you have scanned everything, is a little glitchy. But in the end, we manage it and cycle back to the boat. There we fortify ourselves with a Leberkäsesemmel (a type of meatloaf sandwich). Although, to be honest, the Leberkäse doesn’t really have much in common with real Leberkäse. In Portugal, it consists of chicken and turkey meat and tastes rather bland. No comparison to the original, but hunger drives it in. In the afternoon, we have another tourist activity lined up: we go to a wine tasting. The local wine shop Casta Nova opened just six months ago and is run by Diogo and Sara, who give us a warm welcome in the shop. A table is already set for us and we are quickly served bread, cheese, chorizo, and olive oil. And then we’re off. Diogo first asks about our wine preferences and then starts with a glass of rosé sparkling wine for us. Delicious! He generously refills our glasses and explains a little about the wine. We continue with a white sparkling wine. Again, the glasses are generously refilled. In between, we nibble on the delicacies and find the cheese from the Azores particularly delicious. But the local olive oil is also impressive. We continue with various white wines from different regions. Diogo tells us a lot of interesting facts about these wines and continues to pour generously. To finish, Axel is offered a light red wine to taste, and of course we take a few bottles of wine, sparkling wine, and some olive oil home with us. Instead of an hour, we spent a whopping three hours at the wine tasting and are, to say the least, a little tipsy as we make our way home. We can definitely recommend the wine tasting at Casta Nova, as it was not only very informative, but you can also feel the passion with which Diogo and his wife Sara run the business. Back on board, we start with some water to neutralize the taste. Unfortunately, as I was putting away the wine bottles we had brought with us, one of them slipped out of my hand. To prevent the bottle from breaking, I heroically held my foot between the bottle and the cockpit floor. Ouch, that hurt! Despite quickly applying an ice pack, it still hurt quite a bit, but what wouldn’t you do to save a good bottle of wine!
My injured foot throbs and hurts all night, keeping me awake. The next morning, my middle toe is a lovely shade of blue, so I decide to take a day off. Axel and Svea have to go shopping on their own, while I stay on board. As it is Svea’s last day on board, we enjoy another beautiful sunset with La Ola Olalá sundowners to round off the day. The sky is slightly cloudy, but the colors are spectacular. Ice crystals in the clouds probably cause small rainbows to form and the clouds to glow in turquoise, blue, and purple. Beautiful! Afterwards, we prepare a delicious salad Nicoise, and Svea is a little sad that her vacation is almost over.
After Svea leaves us again, we stay in Olhão for a few more days. We do laundry, clean, stock up on provisions, and enjoy the beautiful market once more. I treat my toe injury and take it easy as much as possible. Now it’s time to leave the marina and drop anchor again. We are happy that we can moor there in a quieter spot and perhaps enjoy a few more days of swimming.