Unlike February, March has got off to a spring-like start. Blue skies with a few decorative clouds, a feel of 25°C in the sun, and a gentle breeze. Ideal conditions to finally give the boat a good scrub again. Which is really urgently needed! La Ola looks like a freshly wallowed pig. Verdigris, red Saharan sand and bird droppings everywhere. So, out with the scrubbing brushes and off we go. Working together, we start on the starboard hull from the upper deck, then move over to port, and finally rinse the hull from the outside as well. Phew, that’s quite a lot of work! Maybe next time we’d be better off with a 35-foot monohull?! Oh no, the work keeps us fit and serves as a substitute for the gym. Well, you wouldn’t say so by looking at us, but perhaps we just need to clean more often. Or do without the reward after work? That comes in the form of a delicious sparkling wine from yesterday’s visit to the vineyard and fresh strawberries. Sitting nicely in the sun. As far as we’re concerned, things could actually stay this way. In the evening, to round off a perfect Sunday, we’ll have some delicious grilled octopus from the on-board grill and the latest episode of Tatort on the telly.
After the weekend, we’re back to preparing the boat. We’re unpacking the spare parts we’ve received in the meantime and wrapping some of them in aluminium foil. We’re hoping this will protect the electronics in the event of a lightning strike, so that the spare parts will still work. We have spare parts for our navigation equipment, the autopilot and the on-board power supply. We also have to deal with tasks that are as tedious as they are important, such as the annual accounts for our former company and our tax returns. Fortunately, our tax advisor handles most of the work, but as always, there are numerous signatures to provide and a careful eye to cast over the accounts. It’s just as well that the weather has turned a bit worse again. That way, whilst doing the indoor work, at least we don’t have to feel sorry for ourselves that we can’t be out in the sun.
We’re also doing a bit of ‘boat yoga’ again. We need to run some cables under our bed. What would be quite simple on land turns into a job lasting several days on the boat. We have to take the duvets off, carry the mattresses into the cockpit, roll away the slatted base and remove the boards from the bed frame. Only then can we really get started. As I’m smaller and more flexible than Axel, I get to climb into the boxes and manoeuvre the cables through various holes. Meanwhile, Axel crouches and lies in front of the bed, trying to pull the cables back out of these holes once they’ve been threaded through. Halfway through, we realise that the holes – which go through various bulkheads, i.e. partitions under the bed – are too small for the number of cables. So we have to drill some holes first. By the end of the day, the cables have made it under the bed and are lying in the bilge, but they still need to be routed further from there. As we’re absolutely knackered, and we’ve been invited over to ZaZoe’s for drinks and snacks with Scarlett and Ad, we put off the rest of the work until the next day. It’s just a shame that we have to put the bed back together first so we can sleep in it. So the next day, the same routine starts all over again. Take off the duvets, carry the mattresses into the cockpit, roll away the slatted frame and remove the boards from the bed base. Plus, lift out the floorboards. We crouch, kneel, crawl and work upside down in the bilge and the bed bases. Finally, all the cables are laid and connected. By the way, we’ve laid cables for the fuel gauge, bilge alarm and NMEA data transmission. Once everything is laid and connected, it’s time for the first test. It doesn’t work! What a nightmare!!! So back into the bed boxes to check all the connections. In the end, one plug was inserted the wrong way round, and finally everything works as intended.
In the meantime, we meet up with Stephan, Pitti and Markus from the catamaran Bobsing, who are stopping off briefly in Vilamoura on their way to Mallorca. We admire the 51-foot Fontaine Pajot and head to the Alxama Steakhouse together in the evening. It turns out to be a lovely evening with delicious food, and we agree to meet up again in the Canary Islands this autumn.
Now that both Bobsing and our Dutch friends from ZaZoe have set sail again, we’re getting back to work on our projects. All the bilge alarms and fuel gauges are finally working, and a couple of new fire extinguishers automatically protect us against fires. I get the sewing machine out again and sew a few sun shades for our deck hatches. That way, the sun stays outside and hopefully won’t even manage to heat up our cabin in the summer. For this project, I’m using some Sunbrella fabric that I bought in Panama back in 2009. I must have been a bit over-enthusiastic when I bought it back then… As we’re using different fabric colours on La Ola, we’re getting some more Sunbrella fabric in the current colour, Graphite, so that we can repair these items ourselves in future. Or perhaps we’ll come up with one or two sewing projects to improve life on board? Back on Hello World, it felt like we sewed a cover or bag for absolutely everything. And now that I’ve practised a few times again, I’m making reasonably good progress with the straight seams.
Our repaired mainsail has finally been returned and hoisted, so we’re actually ready to set sail. But we’re staying a few more days to enjoy Vilamoura and life in the south – beach bar visits and delicious food included. We can now finally sit in the cockpit again in the morning and enjoy our first coffee in the morning sun. Marvellous! Even Lucky finds it quite exciting out here now and moves about easily on deck. Meanwhile, the Sahara sand has once again left a fine layer of red dust on the deck, which has to be hosed down several times. But at least, thanks to the sand, we’re treated to spectacular sunsets once more.
To ensure that it’s not just La Ola that’s fit for long ocean crossings, Axel and I are also given a thorough check-up. We’ve had our teeth cleaned, undergone health screenings and received vaccinations for the tropics. The healthcare system in Portugal proves to be quite good. Getting appointments is no problem, and communication in English also goes smoothly. The travel medicine specialist, Dr Marisa, spends over an hour with us and not only gives us excellent advice but also prescribes most of the additional medicines for the on-board first-aid kit. Test results are sent here by email and do not need to be faxed or delivered in person, as is the case in Germany. And at the dentist’s, we even receive a little goody bag. And yes, poor Lucky has to have his turn too. He has to go for his annual jabs and complains about it pitifully, meowing loudly. But there’s no helping it. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.
To round off our project work, we still have a spring clean to do. La Ola is being washed from top to bottom once again. The Sahara has actually left it with a reddish tinge again. Inside, all the cupboards are being wiped down, dusted and vacuumed, and the windows cleaned. The upholstery is washed and can dry quickly in the lovely spring sunshine. The cockpit is cleared out and thoroughly cleaned as well. Here too, the upholstery gets a soak in soapy water and is left to dry in the sun. At the same time, broken fastening buttons are replaced. And we’re clearing out clutter too. A staggering amount of stuff from our move is still on board, things that have never been used and probably never will be. So off they go! Not in the bin, though, as these items usually find new owners straight away at the jetty or with the marineros. We’re also saying goodbye to much of our winter clothing. In the hope and expectation that we won’t need thick woollen coats and jumpers in the coming years, a lot of it goes to the charity clothing collection or is donated by us to the second-hand shop run by the ARA Animal Rescue Algarve association. Only a small ‘emergency reserve’ remains on board, so that we don’t have to freeze during any visits home to Germany.
In mid-March, life at the jetty starts to pick up again. Little by little, Mansoor from Starlight, Wolfgang and Sylvia from Independence 2, and Ralf – first with his university friend Jürgen, then later with his wife Martina from Atlas Shrugged – start to drop by again. Of course, we ‘have’ to spend a few evenings together chatting first. And we’ve got visitors coming aboard La Ola again. Axel’s long-time school friend Achim is coming round and we’re planning a few trips again.
First on the agenda is the now traditional Pizza Friday on board La Ola. This time, with a large group of us, we’re sitting in the saloon due to the cool temperatures and rain. Giovanni and I are now working together like a well-oiled machine, and the pizzas turn out perfectly, one after the other. Nice and crispy on the bottom, juicy on top and fluffy around the edges.
The next day, with the sky initially slightly overcast, we set off on our first outing with Achim. We’ve hired a car again and are heading east. First, we drive to Olhâo and show Achim the salt pans there, complete with flamingos. Then we head into the town, where the tourist season has clearly begun. Numerous coaches are parked along the main road and the cafés and restaurants are packed to the rafters. We stroll through the market halls for a while and buy some delicious churros. Then we make our way back to the car through the narrow streets of the town centre. We decide to make our next stop at a place that is still completely unknown to us. I’d seen pictures and read reports months ago, and now we’ve finally made it to the Cemitério de Âncoras – the Anchor Cemetery – at Praia do Barril. We park in the little holiday village of Pedras d’el Rei and walk across a small bridge towards the lagoon and dunes. We soon reach a small railway station. Just in time to hop onto the little narrow-gauge railway to the beach. At a snail’s pace, it chugs leisurely through the marshland and after about ten minutes we’ve reached our destination. The former so-called Arraial, a seasonal hamlet for fishermen and their families, is now home to various cafés and restaurants, as well as a tuna museum. In the past, this was home to the employees of the Três Irmãos ou Barril fishing company, which operated a traditional tuna fishing net here. An approximately 8 km long net structure was anchored from the shore and as a bottom-set net on the seabed, and laid out across the coastline into the deep water. Additional nets formed a sort of funnel, so that the schools of tuna swimming out of the Mediterranean from April onwards were guided through these net structures into a central fishing net, where they could then be caught. Even today, tuna is still caught in this traditional manner in Andalusia, Spain. At Praia do Barril, tuna fishing came to an end with the company’s bankruptcy in 1966. In the hope of resuming operations, the equipment was left behind at Praia do Barril. The steel anchors used to secure the nets to the seabed were erected on land and have stood as a monument in the dunes ever since. They support one another, as each anchor point is threaded through the ring of the neighbouring anchor. Wind, waves and sand have now almost completely buried many of the approximately 250 anchors, creating a bizarre sight in the dune landscape. After inspecting the anchor graveyard and the remaining fishermen’s huts, we quickly enjoy a small snack at one of the beach bars before taking the little train back to the car. We continue along the Ria Formosa to Tavira. We park by the Rio Gilao and take a short stroll through the town. Here too, the crowds of tourists have become much more noticeable, but Tavira charms as always with its relaxed atmosphere. The final stop of the day is Cacela Velha. This little museum village on the steep cliffs at the end of the Ria Formosa has become one of our favourite places to visit. It’s simply lovely to gaze down at the lagoon and the Atlantic from above, and depending on the tide, the landscape looks different every time we visit. Finally, we head back to Vilamoura, where we spend a pleasant evening with Achim in the cockpit, swapping the odd anecdote from our youth.
The next event on the programme is hosted by Marina Vilamoura. On 22 March, the BP Rally-Raid Portugal will stop off in Vilamoura. The rally itself takes place in the hinterland, but the prize-giving ceremony will be held right on our doorstep, in the very spot where we were cheering on cyclists just a few weeks ago. The Rally-Raid is an international race for cars and motorbikes. The vehicles race through the countryside along unpaved roads and tracks, and the world’s best off-road racers compete in the Rally-Raid Portugal, the second round of the World Championship (W2RC) following the gruelling Dakar Rally in January. For Axel and Achim, who used to go on numerous motorbike tours together, it’s just the thing for a Sunday afternoon. We start with the – as yet relatively unspectacular – prize-giving ceremony for the motorcyclists. The bikes still look fairly normal, and Axel and Achim talk shop and examine the vehicles at length. Meanwhile, I prefer to head down to the beach and check on the progress of the clean-up work following the winter storms. Most of the piles of reeds have now been cleared away, and only a relatively small pile remains to be removed. Instead, however, a large amount of seaweed has been deposited, which is now rotting on the beach. Unfazed by this, a few geckos are basking on the stones of the harbour breakwater. Back at the rally grandstand, it is now the turn of the four-wheelers for the prize-giving ceremony. The vehicles look far more spectacular, and even though many of them bear a Dacia or Toyota logo, they have little in common with the cars produced by these companies. Achim, Axel and I realise that we wouldn’t even fit into the cramped driver’s cockpits! And if we did, we’d have to be pried out afterwards. So it’s unlikely to become our sport any time soon. Back on board, my cousin Arne drops by for a visit; as a rally fan and driver himself, he’s been watching the action too. We round off the evening with a delicious couscous salad and grilled chicken breast fillets, and once again spend a long time chatting together in the cockpit.
Achim has simply hit the jackpot with the weather for his holiday in Portugal. The next day, we have breakfast in the cockpit under blue skies and sunshine before setting off on our next day trip. This time we head north-west, driving through the stunning countryside of the Algarve hinterland to Cabo Sardão. After taking in the view of the fantastic cliffs and the storks nesting on them, we head south again along the coast. In the little surfing village of Arrifana, we finally stop for lunch at O Paulo. Whilst I have a delicious skewer of prawns and squid, Achim and Axel enjoy a huge fish cataplana. Just like on our first visit, the food is delicious again and we have a great view of the cliffs. We carry on to Lagos, where we ‘naturally’ have to show Achim the Ponta de Piedade. It’s become much busier here too, though that doesn’t spoil the experience (yet). The cliffs are in bloom and lush with greenery, and the sea shimmers in shades of turquoise to dark blue, set against the reddish-yellow rocks. Numerous wild plants give off an incredibly intense scent of Swiss herbal sweets, the likes of which I’ve never experienced before. Finally, this lovely day ends back on board, where we round it off by enjoying a few tapas and the odd glass of wine in the cockpit.
The weather holds up on the last day of Achim’s stay, so we set off on one final excursion. This time we’re heading into the hinterland. We drive to Alte, where the hidden waterfall, Cascata do Vigário, is still considered an insider’s tip for tourists. To reach it, you not only have to walk around the cemetery, but also descend a steep cliff face some 30 metres. Luckily, someone has built a wooden staircase; otherwise, we would only have been able to view the waterfall from a distance. But the steps are no walk in the park either. Whilst Axel’s knees aren’t too keen on the descent, I work up quite a sweat on the climb back up. The sun is already shining as brightly as in summer, and temperatures are well over 20°C. We continue on to the Alte springs, where we linger for a while and enjoy the babbling of the stream. As it is now lunchtime and we are a little hungry and thirsty from our exertions, we next stop off at Quinta da Tor. We reach the vineyard via a small cypress-lined avenue and delight in the lovely atmosphere. Sitting right by the beautiful pool area with a view of the surrounding hills, we enjoy a small wine tasting with matching tapas. Beautiful and delicious! Naturally, a few bottles of wine come back on board with us and find their way into our wine cellar. In the evening, we barbecue a lovely sea bass that Axel and Achim bought fresh from the fish market that morning. Achim also tries tuna sashimi for the first time in his life. Although he’s quick to take to the raw tuna, he struggles a bit with the chopsticks at first. But then again, what are forks for?!
Well, and then, sadly, our time with Achim is already over. He’s leaving us far too soon, and we’re once again wondering when and where he’ll come and visit us again. We throw ourselves back into work and finish off the last few remaining projects. We spend quite a few evenings with Wolfgang and Sylvie, as well as Ralf and Martine (pizza on Fridays!), and get ready to leave Vilamoura.
After more than six months, the time has finally come. We’ve managed to get almost everything we set out to do done and are well prepared for the season and the longer voyages to Madeira and the Canary Islands. The only thing still causing us a bit of concern is the scheduled visit to the shipyard. Not because there’s so much to repair or anything particularly difficult! We simply can’t get a slot to have the catamaran lifted out of the water. Even though we’ve actually requested and announced our stay on land well in advance. Oh well. We’re in no rush and will simply enjoy the Algarve a little longer until the appointment. But no longer in Vilamoura, rather beautifully at anchor again. No, it’s not an April Fool’s joke! We’re setting off today, and the reports from on board will soon be a bit more sea- and sailing-focused again.