Cascais

---

We left Figueira Da Foz with good winds, unfortunately they were South Westerlies with a bit of swell, this meant a lot of ‘uphill’ sailing which isn’t the most comfortable way to travel. It soon became apparent that Sam was not coping well with the sea state and was becoming more and more incapable of functioning…… I did the gentlemanly thing and turned back to port, not really a hardship as Fig. Foz is a lovely place to be. Two days later the wind had turned around to go in the proper direction and the swell had reduced so we decided to sail overnight down to Cascais. The trip was fine with decent wind most of the way and the next morning we arrived at Cascais Marina. Cascais is probably the most ‘Touristy’ place we have visited but still very nice. We have stayed here a couple of nights and will leave today for Lagos. We are sailing overnight again as the winds are stronger and Sam says she is better able to cope with the sea when she can’t see it !! ……. Oooops change that, we will be leaving tomorrow morning due to a dodgy tummy (mine for a change !!!)



It was sad to leave Foz as we had met some very nice people also until I get over feeling sick 24/7 I kind of dread sailing. My cats are now better sailors than me, and I am still battling the prickly heat and mosquitos. The good thing is the cats are really happy and have nothing to moan about problem is Mavis is now wandering off at night when we are in a Marina and Andy has to collect her off neighbouring boats, they clearly look all the same to her! To date I have seen 4 lizards and met a few stray dogs who seem quite healthy but I would still adopt them if it was practical to do so.

Question: Is mentioning that you have seen Foz Fuzz when the local Police appeared, a Dad joke or a witty off the cuff remark?

I think I forgot to mention the sheer volume of shops selling really ugly clothing, thing is you don’t see anybody on the street wearing them. I would pay to visit the village where everyone dresses from these shops. There are also way too many shops with really practical unattractive ladies nightwear on display, if you go in the shop they have much nicer stock but alas they choose to fill the windows with the scarey stuff (see picture). Are these dodgey displays a cover for something, are they all selling Marijuana over the counter or even Ann Summers? Do Portuguese people like to wear cheap homely looking cotton nightwear all day everyday behind closed doors, this would explain the fact they have 2 entrance doors and a porch to give themselves a chance to whip on something less comfortable?



Cascais

As Andy remarked it is rather touristy with 3 British pubs in a row but still full of stunning houses and amazing painted tiles. The heat here is incredible; we have happily joined the natives in walking around late at night trying to cool down. I had a lovely vegetarian meal in the Marina of mushrooms in pancakes. I have eaten too many local pastries and now feel a bit like Mr Creosote from the Monty Python sketch. Therefore I am yet to try ‘Farturas’ their local donuts.

We have seen 2 restaurants that are both pizzerias and curry houses! Curry is unbelievably expensive 20 euro for a main dish. Can’t seem to find cheese that is hard, or randomly so, cannot find squash to dilute. We are trying local brand coffee until we can find anything other than Nescafe to drink, I just opened it and it smells like a nursing home for all the worst reasons.

The best part of this sailing malarkey is seeing the dolphins and other sea creatures. The marina has the clearest water so far with the most amazing fish, we have tried to look online to identify them but no joy so far. There are some fish with bright turquoise fins, others with spines on their heads and others have green iridescent camouflage pattern on their backs and swim around hoovering the water near the surface.

---