Our Wakes: 2015

On the 18th of June we crossed the Portuguese border into Spain. In total we had spent 70 days in Portugal . We found our trip in this country very pleasant, especially south of Lisbon as the weather got better and better. We stopped in several marinas, such as Sesimbra (33 miles from Lisbon), Sines (31 miles) Lagos (75 miles) and Portimao (7 miles). Terus stopped in Portimao for 32 days as we needed to do a trip to Belgium. During our passage south, we passed Cape Vincent which is sometimes difficult to get around. Luckily, that day we had a very calm sea. This Cape was an important landmark as it meant that we were no longer exposed to the Atlantic swell and were now heading mostly eastward, instead of southward. The coast is beautiful with numerous caves carved out by the sea, but other places have been destroyed by the numerous buildings that accommodate the ever increasing number of tourists. Every day, the Faro airport receives a large number of tourists from the UK, France, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium.  The night before leaving Portugal we dropped anchor in the Faro laguna, close to Culatra harbor. We were surrounded by approx. 20 other boats that night. While leaving this mooring we were pushed by the tidal current with a strength of over 4 knots. At certain times Terus' groundspeed changed rapidly from 5 to 9 miles per hour. During our visit in the Portugese province of Algarve we visited some small cities like Silves and Faro. The last one is worth a visit as the historical center is well preserved and if you look up at the various buildings you will see several stork's nests.