Just a quickie to say we are still at Alcoutim (I think we have been Guardiana glued!!) For such a sleepy little hollow we just seem to be so busy, so when I have a little more time I will put an overview of our stay here. But for now you will just have to be patient

Ria Guardiana

We have been in the sleepy hollows of Alcotim, SanLucar and Pomarau for nearly a month now we were discussing the other day where we should be when my daughter Gemma and her best friend Leigh come out to see us on the 12th of May. We first thought about Tavira as it is lovely in the summer with beaches starboard and port of us, however after some consideration we decided the dingy ride is just too far away from town. We considered other areas but while we were having our ‘sundowners’ we could not help but feel gloomy about leaving this tranquil relaxing place! plus the weather is not settled at present either. So we thought why not ‘lets stay longer’ we eagerly started mulling over the things the girls could do while here and we actually came up with a whole array of activities (more than they will be able to cram into their four days). So decision made. We will stay here until after the girls go home and the weather has settled.

While having breakfast in the cockpit this morning Nigel was checking out the anchor drag alarm, we were rather amused to find that he was sat in Portugal an I in Spain! so bom dia from Nigel and buenos dias from myself!

We have been busy and posts have been missed because of no internet connection. However, after a brief visit to Vila Real de Santo Antonio and Ayamonte on the Spanish side, we have moved on up river in the Guadiana which separates Spain and Portugal. We are now at Alcoutim which is about 20 miles upstream from the sea entrance having visited the very secluded town of Pomerau which is another 8 miles up river.

After the coming weekend, we look forward to the sardine festival on Tuesday. Sardines are a popular delicacy here in Portugal and we are new converts!
We will let you know how it goes.

Here is a link to watch a video of the launch