Villamoura (continued)

We couldn’t resist getting the cycles out and doing some exercise . First trip was along the cliffs towards Albefura but it was tough going and we should have had mountain bikes for the terrain. The following day we had a more leisurely ride through the Park Ambiental stopping at two bird hides and seeing most of the local species including a Purple Swamp Hen (Phorhphyrio phorphyrio or maybe Gallinula chlorpus but I'm not sure since it was too far away!)
We took these long suffering friends out for a sail on the Friday but it was not the best of days (a bit too rolly), that said it was Denise's first ever sail and she loved it.
Malcolm did a coolant change on Saturday and managed to sheer a pipe off which meant another engineer aboard to fix the problem but no spares needed from the Yanmar dealer tee hee. Sunday we visited Faro and Taviera –both were reasonably quiet and well worth a visit if you get to the area.
Tuesday we sailed for Olhao - and got most of the way there without motoring! Being near to the coast it meant we had to look out for fishing buoys and keep clear of the fishing fleet, that done we did see a massive school of Dolphins! When it got to teatime and we still had to navigate the very shallow waters of the estuary we decided to motor the last bit.
Wednesday took the Avon across to Olhao and sauntered around the old town, rather a wet trip back to ‘Piano’ as the weather changed from good sun to yucky rain. Luckily we had taken splash tops so only legs got wet with spray! Nice to have a hot shower to wash off all the salt!
Thursday was also dreary so did some more boat jobs. Friday weather improved sufficiently to take Cescendo to Culatra which is supposed to be a 'nature reserve' It has a small fishing harbour and a jetty for the local ferry out. At low tide most of the shores dry out so we tried up to a beach rope and went exploring. The small town has three 'pastelaria' - where you drink refreshments and a couple of restaurants. The nature trail takes you to the Atlantic beach and long it. Along the strand line were dead fishing buoys, and old ropes also plenty of plastic bottles. We crossed to the landward side and although less breeze the was far more washed up junk. Having said that it may be a management ploy to keep tourists away!
Sunday motor-sailed to Ayamonte, Spain. We needed to berth at high tide so with the wind fluky were quite stressed at not being able to do proper sailing. This was the start of Easter Holy Week so the museums and tourist spots had altered opening times. Due to the festival atmosphere. We stayed up late to watch one of the Religious processions which involved people dressed up with pointy hats looking rather like the Klu Klux Klan trailing around huge floats which had either Jesus or Mary on top surrounded by huge candles and plenty of ‘Gold’ covering it. It must have been quite heavy as there were about twenty odd men underneath carrying it at a very slow pace. Behind came the church band of trumpets flutes and drums. This all carried on until the small hours.
Since our next stop will be up the Rio Guadiana we have unpacked the bikes and were able to take a cycle ride along the coast to look at the beach areas. To the East of Ayamonte are three beaches with their tourist hotels and apartments. It looks as though the recession has hit the area –many are for sale.
Final day in Ayamonte I baked a Simnel cake which turned out rather over cooked but still edible and a couple of Quiches. We found real milk so stocked up (it’s mostly UHT in Spain) and I made chocolate mousse instead of doing Easter Eggs. So the freezer is full and we are ready to hit some anchorages.