Blog 22: We made it to Portugal!
It was a perfect day for passage-making in the Atlantic when we finally left the lovely Rias Baixas in Spain and headed south towards Portugal – that is if you didn’t want to sail!! It was calm when we left at dawn. There was no wind at all and just a bit of a swell in variable directions … … but blue skies and sunshine all day so an easy passage and no complaints! Changing courtesy flags from Spanish to Portuguese. Viana do Castelo There are fewer safe harbours along the Portuguese coast than in Spain, but our first port of call was the delightful little town of Viana do Castelo. We were curious about the big church on the top of the hill. We tied up at the Visitors’ Pontoon in the river and I set off on the 15-minute trek to the marina office to find it closed for lunch! Things happen in a different time-zone here although it’s not that far from the Spanish border – Portugal is an hour behind Spain and they seem to have lun...