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Published: July 27th 2013
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We arrived at Baiona, it has two marinas, the first was Deportivo de Baiona and the second was the Club De Yates. We chose the wrong marina and berthed in the Deportivo Baiona marina……. I dealt with the miserable disinterested member of staff who took my money and shuffled back to the boat. I then went to have a shower which was a grotty porto cabin with grotty showers. Later we happened to go past the luxurious new facilities at the Club de Yates (cheaper than Deportivo) and could only look and yearn past the 24 hour security at the restaurant and café. I will know next time. Baiona itself was lovely and overshadowed by a fort which you can wander round. – Andy
Baiona was very nice indeed despite the initial anxiety of going to the loo in a toilet/Porto cabin without a lock which was not in the grounds of the marina but part of a public car park. The shower inside the porto cabin only had a plastic curtain to separate you from Baiona so I showered on the boat. We went to a bar in the evening that was couture themed and
played connect four of a floral ironing board. There were a few beggars which I felt very guilty about especially when I was feeding and watering the stray cats! It weighed on my mind and I prayed about this a lot, my mind was put at rest when I saw a guy begging who was the size of ‘Giant Haystacks’ and was using an icecream tub to collect the money. In Foz we saw several beggars crutches aloft marching to their pitches, all of these guys looked far healthier than we currently do so I guess I will keep feeding the stray animals and the pigeons with manky feet. - Sam
The Fort is amazing and vast with a stunning hotel within the grounds. Andy managed to put his hand in a Pterodactyl poop despite it being the size of a Greggs jam donut (please see picture with ashtray to show relative size). - Sam
Sealife The grey mullets we keep seeing love brackish water and will gather in harbours, marinas and near sewage outlets, I know I keep going on but it is like you are in a fish
farm there are so many surrounding the boat. On the internet there are loads of recipes on Mediterranean websites so I am guessing the populations as we near Italy will thin out. Again the marina sealife is different, the mussels are bigger and more spoon shaped and they have orange lips protruding, there are also some amazing anemones that look like prickly pear. – Sam
We left Baiona on Sunday 21
st July into Portugal, there was so little wind we almost had to motor all the way to a town called Aveiro where we anchored for the night. We stayed on the boat and left the next morning for the next leg to Figuero Da Foz. The marina and the town have proved to be a real gem with a mixture of old and new. The staff at the marina are helpful and friendly. We had a day out to the medieval town of Coimbra, which is full of history and has the oldest university in Portugal. It was a beautiful place and I would recommend it to anyone. I shall be sorry to leave Figueiro Da Foz, I have really enjoyed my
stay here. We have been waiting here (4 days) for some decent wind which apparently is imminent. – Andy
Figuero Da Foz
Really, really lovely facilities despite being the cheapest marina so far. The Town is full of amazing tall houses covered in ornate tiles and the floor is made up of cobbles in a mosaic pattern rather like the scales on a snake. There are a lot of derelict mansions in the town and many examples of 1930s architecture, mainly hotels and garages.
We found a decent sized supermarket, I was like a kid in a candy store whilst Andy lost the will to live following me around as I was scrutinised the packaging and looked for bargains. I have found vegetable protein called ‘Seitan’ – pronounced ‘satan’- I really think they could have come up with a better name.
Spanish coffee is really nice but you have to ask for a large one or you get an espresso, I really like ‘Pastel de Nata’ which is a custard tart cake – yum. Andy ordered cheese pizza but ended up with a pile of ham
and spicy sausage on a slither of bread – not happy.
Coimbra
I would encourage anybody to go to stay in this medieval city, you could have taken pictures of literally every building but still not convey its beauty. The city is on a steep hill with the oldest University at the top which was originally a palace. We visited the library which has an academic prison beneath it! Seriously, they really know how to create phenomenal architecture. I think we saw 3 churches and 2 cathedrals on our way to the University all dating from the 10
th century onwards. We took a few pics to show you.
They have ornate painted tiles everywhere and I was surprised to see a painting of John Mcenroe on the side of a building, clearly he is very highly thought of here – who knew!
We head off tomorrow (Saturday) for Cascais, I have heard really good reports about it and am sure I will enjoy it. Still looking for the national sweet delicacy that is called ‘Fartos’ a serrated deep
fried donut.
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Peter Kifford
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Hi, Enjoyed the blog. Looks a lovely place. Nice Guano Speak soon. Take care