Our Christmas Eve passes quietly and with delicious food. Lucky the cat gets a great orange ribbon as a present from Jens and Aneta and is not only lucky, but also happy. How great it is to play with!
After surviving Christmas with far too much food, we continue with a small marathon of visits.
We take off on Boxing Day with Axel’s sister Anja – called Frosch. Her plane lands in Faro 10 minutes earlier than planned and less than a quarter of an hour later, Anja arrives with a heavy load. Unfortunately, in addition to many orders, souvenirs and presents, she also has a bad cold in her luggage. She is therefore more than happy when she finally makes it on board La Ola and falls more or less quickly into her bunk. The next day is dedicated to Anja’s regeneration and wiring work on the new solar panels. Then Anja slowly gets better and we can start the tourist programme. We start with an excursion to Tavira and Cacela Velha. With glorious sunshine and a bright blue sky, we look forward to a nice lunch in Tavira. It’s just a shame that the restaurant we wanted with the delicious tuna tartare is unfortunately closed. So we try Cacela Velha, where we have already had a delicious meal. But the doors are closed there too. So a little detour to the Quinta da Ria golf course round the corner? We can sit on the terrace of the open club restaurant there, but unfortunately there is no service to be seen for miles around. So after a 10-minute break in the sun, we leave the place again and make our way home undaunted. In the evening, we simply fire up the barbecue on board and grill some delicious steaks.
The excitement for the turn of the year is slowly building. Our neighbours tell us that there are spectacular fireworks in Vilamoura and the neighbouring town of Quarteira. A large stage has also been set up for live music. Perfect omens for a good party night. Unfortunately, however, we lost our party guests. Our boat neighbours have either fled to the mountains to spare Helmut, the dog on board, the banging, or are celebrating with their families. Anja still has a cold and the crew of the Marieke aren’t really keen either. Well, what’s left? Clearly: raclette!!! It’s just a shame that we don’t have one on board. But luckily, Lidl has a suitable one for sale. We find the right cheese at Aldi and the rest of the ingredients are also quickly bought.
On 31 December, we start the day quietly and reflect on the past year. A lot has happened in the last few months! We started in January with flooding in Langewedel and the whole of Lower Saxony. Then things went from bad to worse. Mill sold, catamaran bought. Mill cleared out and La Ola put away. The time from March to July flew by for us with lots and lots of work. There were many goodbyes and many promises that we would see each other again. Then we set off with La Ola. The journey from the North Sea and the English Channel turned out to be more arduous and difficult than expected. Nevertheless, we had some great days and made new friends. It also felt more difficult to sail across the Bay of Biscay this time. Not only because of the wind and weather, but also because of the orcas. After some lovely weeks in La Coruña, a former hurricane drove us onwards. Against all our plans, we drove past the beautiful rias of Galicia and fled overnight to Cascais in Portugal. Despite all the precautions we had taken, we still made the acquaintance of the sociable Oracas. Fortunately without any damage. And fortunately also without damage from ex-hurricane Kirk. At the end of October, we finally reached our destination of Vilamoura in the Algarve and were finally able to take care of our boat projects in peace. Now we are curious to see what the next 12 months will bring us. We’re still not sure which way the winds will blow. But that doesn’t really matter to us. In any case, we are very happy in our new floating home!
After this review, it’s time to ease into the last day of the year. While Axel is busy with his 3D printer, Anja and I stop by Marieke’s and watch Jens, Aneta and Jens‘ mother Nell prepare the traditional Dutch speciality oliebollen. A kind of doughnut baked in oil. And of course enjoy a few of them. Very tasty! Later in the evening, as usual, there is a traditional New Year’s Eve dinner with delicious raclette. The obligatory fortune biscuits only bode well for the New Year, so we can look forward to 2025! At 11am, the Mariekes come round and we go to Quarteira beach together. There is live music and a fantastic firework display along the entire coast. Fortunately, there is no „private fireworks“ before or after, so that Lucky the cat can also enjoy New Year’s Eve in a very relaxed manner. We are back on board around half past twelve and then in our bunks relatively quickly.
The new year 2025 greets us the next morning with glorious sunshine and a bright blue sky. We enjoy a nice breakfast in the cockpit and then set off on an excursion to the west. Our first destination today is Lagos, where we visit the lighthouse and Ponta de Piedade. We had already admired the beautiful rock formations from the sea in October. From land, the rocks can be easily accessed via wooden boardwalks and the view from above is also very impressive. We continue to Cabo Sao Vicente, the most south-westerly point of mainland Europe. Unfortunately, the lighthouse is closed, so it is only a short walk over the rocks to the left and right of the cape. Back on board, New Year’s calls are made and the day draws to a relaxed close.
As Axel has sprained himself quite badly during his excessive boat yoga in the engine compartment and can barely move, we take a day off. Then it’s off to the town of Silves in the hinterland of Carvoeiro and Lagoa, where Anja and I trudge through the steep alleyways while Axel waits for us in the car. Unfortunately, almost everything in the small medieval town is closed, so it ends up being a rather short excursion. On the way back to Vilamoura, we stop briefly in Porches to visit the small ceramics workshop and have lunch in the German beer garden. Back on board, we relax again and have a nice chat.
Unfortunately, after just 10 days, our time together with Anja is already over. She flies back to an icy and snowy Germany on a windy Sunday in Portugal. She probably already has plans for her next visit on board!
After Anja has left us again, there are only a few days until the next visit. Axel’s godchild Laura and her boyfriend Lars drop by for a short visit. After Axel pays a visit to the local medical centre, he fortunately gets better quickly with the help of painkillers. Diagnosis: inflamed nerve from twisting it in the engine compartment, so that we can also go on a few trips with Laura and Lars. Once again we head to Ohlāo, where we buy delicious ingredients for dinner in the market halls. Then it’s off to Lagos, where we visit the Ponta de Piedade rocky landscape again and this time even walk down the steep steps to the sea. Unfortunately, you then have to climb the stairs again, which turns out to be quite a sweaty affair at 20°C and in the blazing sun. We then head to the marina in Lagos, where we fortify ourselves with lunch before exploring the historic centre of Lagos. Back on board, we relax and enjoy another delicious meal in the evening. The next day is Lars‘ birthday and we enjoy a lovely birthday breakfast before Axel, Laura and Lars set off for Monchique and the highest point in the region, Foia. For once, I stay on board and do a bit of work. The next day, Laura and Lars fly back to Germany early in the morning and both of them still want to visit us again next winter.
A few days after Laura and Lars fly back to Germany, our golfing friends Anke and Carsten from Bremen come to visit. Unfortunately, the weather also turns bad in the Algarve, so we are unfortunately limited in terms of excursions. Nevertheless, we explore the hinterland of Tavira and the Rio Guadiana together in cloudy weather. On the way to Cachopo, we marvelled at the beautiful landscape with its many hills, pine forests and cork oaks. There’s not much going on in the small village of Cachopo, but the local restaurant is open and we enjoy a typical Portuguese Sunday lunch in a cosy atmosphere. We continue eastwards through the hilly landscape towards the Spanish border. The small town of Alcoutim appears suddenly and abruptly around a bend. Situated on the border river Guadiana, we drive through steep and narrow alleyways to the riverbank. There are numerous yachts moored in the river for the winter, including one or two well-known boats. We wander around the village for a while, drink Galao – coffee with milk – and eat Pasteis de Nata before continuing by car along the riverbank. On the horizon on the way back to Vilamoura, bad weather is on the horizon and we are glad that we were able to spend the day without too much rain. Unfortunately, this changes in the evening and it starts to rain cats and dogs. Unfortunately, it continued to rain for most of the next day, so we made ourselves comfortable in the lounge. In the afternoon, we take advantage of a short break in the rain and walk to the nearby and newly renovated Chinese restaurant Taitai. Given the weather, we are almost the only guests and are wonderfully catered for. We decide on a menu for 4 people and are delighted. Not only by the choice and abundance of dishes, but also by the quality. We definitely have to come back for the Peking duck! Unfortunately, the next day brings more rain and stormy weather. Fortunately, it clears up a little around midday and we enjoy a delicious lunch with Anke and Carsten in Olhos de Agua before they leave us again to visit other friends in the Algarve.
The next night is stormy again and it rains and thundersnows like crazy. But from our point of view, that’s enough rain for now! Even though the Algarve can certainly cope well with rain, it doesn’t have to be the whole year’s amount in one night. Anyway, we’re enjoying winter in the Algarve! Warm rain is followed by sunshine and we can go on a bike tour again. As a reward, we have a delicious dinner at the Rare restaurant in Vilamoura Marina. We also meet up with Anke and Carsten again before their flight home to Bremen. Together with them and their friends Hildegard and Saul, we enjoy a lovely sundowner followed by dinner in Ohlão.
And of course there are also a few boat projects to tackle during the marathon visit.
Boat project 1: Drawer in the kitchen. Joiner Brian and his team build us a nice big drawer in the hole created by the removal of the gas oven. Now we finally have space for large kitchen utensils and are (even) better organised. Two cutlery boxes have also been built into the large drawer for us, so that large kitchen utensils such as soup ladles and graters can finally be stowed away properly.
Boat project 2: Installation of the induction hob. After the hob we ordered was delivered defective, the manufacturer wanted to send us a new one without much discussion. Unfortunately, it takes quite a while for the new induction hob to arrive, but once it does, it’s installed very quickly. Brian’s team of carpenters sawed the right hole in the Corian kitchen worktop and we had already prepared the necessary electrical connection in Cuxhaven. Then we can finally cook our first fully electric meal on the new cooker!
Boat project 3: Installation of the air conditioning system. After much deliberation, we have found a place for the system in the owner’s hull. Craftsman Nico comes round and takes the measurements for the panelling and makes a nice box for us. He covers it with leather foil to match the hull panelling, so that you can hardly see that no air conditioning had been installed there before. We ordered the leather foil for this in several different colours. The self-adhesive film is surprisingly easy to apply and looks very professional in the end. However, it smells rather like plastic on delivery, which fortunately disappears after a few days of airing.
Boat project 4: Partly completely unplanned, because unfortunately our hot water boiler has given up the ghost and no longer supplies hot water. Fortunately, there are good shower facilities in the marina, but it’s still a bit of a nuisance and has to be repaired as quickly as possible. We order the right spare part from SVB in Bremen and have it replaced by the local mechanic during the upcoming engine check. In addition to our two Yanmar engines, which receive a major service with oil change, impeller change and cooling water replacement, the generator is also serviced. Axel also has two separate filters installed for the Yanmar engines so that it is now easier to see if there is any dirt in the diesel. So we should be well equipped for the next season and be able to motor reliably.
Next on our agenda is a visit to the shipyard in Portimao. There we will apply new antifouling to the underwater hull, polish up the hull and have a few other little things done.