Cascais (continued again)
17th June Nigel installed the solar panel and we were very impressed by the difference it made to the batteries. Although the power is vastly less than that possible using the wind generator, the wind generator only works typically for a few hours a week as mostly there is not enough wind. However sunshine is in abundance every day, and for the first time we recharged the computer using entirely natural power!
In the afternoon we went to the beach and at 5 we went to a beach bar to watch the football match between England and Switzerland. Luckily the score was considerably better than against France!
18th June in the morning we took the boat across to the marina fuelling berth and filled up with diesel and water. The water was payable and was metered, however at 1 Euro for 200 litres it was not expensive! We filled up lots of buckets and the solar showers at the same time, and afterwards I proceeded to do all the washing, which took much of the afternoon. Later Nigel took Dan to the beach and then brought him back and went windsurfing.
When we re-anchored after refuelling I had a small accident with the anchor, as I was lifting the anchor over the bow roller it jumped off the side of the roller instead, the sudden weight on the chain as the anchor pulled it round the side of the bow pulled it sideways with some force and my foot was in the way. My foot was sore for a couple of days, I was glad my foot hadn’t been any closer to the chain or it could have forced my ankle over. Next time I will be more vigilant, and possibly we might redesign the roller surround.
In the evening we had planned to have the Brazilians round for more Shepherds Pie, however Jacqueline (Jack) and her son Tom arrived (who we had met on the first day), and she invited us to have some beers with her at the bar upstairs, and we all ended up staying in the bar. Dan played with Tom, and they both ended up falling asleep by about 11pm. We all finally left the bar at about 2am! The bill was paid by Jack. Jack’s family lives here but was brought up speaking English, she has learnt Portuguese since leaving school. We planned to spend the next afternoon with her and she would tell us some local folklore and take us to see a few sights, and in the evening we planned a party at her apartment.
In the morning we all had sore heads but we went to the beach at the due time of midday, but Jack did not arrive. Later we were told her father was very ill and she could not come. Dalgas finally announced that he had got a replacement for our gas bottle for 28 Euros with the new fitting etc. I don’t know what happened to the old bottle. Thanks to Dalgas for doing all the legwork, propane is not so easy to get and he had a car!
We stayed at the beach, Nigel windsurfed, then I got Dan’s bike and took him to the supermarket. It was complicated as there are a number of pedestrian crossings across busy roads on the way, but we managed. Inside the supermarket I had my trolley mostly full of Dan and bike, there was a bit of room left for food in the corners. I got a few looks, but I guess it made sure I couldn’t buy more than I could carry back! Dan is getting more confident on his bike, he now mostly looks where he is going, he has learned to use the brake to control his speed on slopes, and he is good at avoiding other people in busy areas.
On the way back we bumped into the black man, Jimmy, who had a chat with Dan. Dan is happy chatting to him now, although he find’s Jimmy’s accent a little hard to understand.
Sunday 19th June, the party at Jack’s has been rescheduled to tonight, we spent the day doing jobs on the boat, and Nigel fixed the generator as both the water pump impeller and a wiring connection broke.
Later we went to the beach and then left with Ana, Dalgas and Dawdson to drive to Jack’s for the party. Dan had a great evening playing with Tom, and Jack cooked us all some lovely spaghetti carbonara with fresh parmesan and salad. Jack is an artist and we saw a lot of her paintings, done in various styles, with some very good work among them. We stayed overnight and caught the bus back to the boat in the morning.
Monday 20th June, Dalgas took Nigel out to the dinghy in one of the paddleboats, then we loaded up the dinghy and went back to the boat. We went back to the beach with Daniel’s bicycle as the place wasn’t busy due to some clouds, the first we had seen for two weeks! Then we went over to the marina to look for a chandlery which would have a chart of the Azores, but we didn’t have any luck. Nigel thought we could go there next as we’d heard reports that the Algarve was full of football fans with fights every night. We then went onto the land behind to look for a playground which the pilot book had mentioned, we found a beautiful park with a beach, a mansion, a mini-zoo, a play area, peacocks, and wonderfully diverse trees, the whole place being beautifully landscaped, it was like a fantasy land. Then we meandered back through the marina village and had a very interesting chat with an estate agent about property in the area. Finally we got back to the beach and then the boat.
Tuesday 21st June, We went over to the marina again to try to find a chart for the Azores. I did find a chart with the help of a lady who worked at the marina, she was extremely helpful, athough it was a bit of a wild goose chase – Nigel nearly gave up waiting for me to come back to the dinghy, and when I did come back, Dan had fallen asleep! Unfortunately later after some consideration we decided not to go to the Azores at this stage.
In the evening we took the ingredients for a second Shepherds Pie (back by popular demand) to Ana, Dalgas and Dawdson’s apartment, and watched the England / Croatia game on TV during tea/beers/wine. Then followed Daniel strumming the guitar while Dawdson set up the notes, and then Dalgas got his trumpet, and I learned how to play a scale on it – which I had always wondered how to do. Nigel managed the same. Daniel amazingly also got some notes out of it, I said just blow a raspberry into the mouthpiece, and then it was pretty straightforward!