We spent 6 nights anchoring out as we made our way up the coast. All anchorages were beautiful, one was a bit rolly and one, Puerto Genoves, offered us protection for 2 days as another levante swooped down on the area. At one point while anchored, we sustained wind gusts of 40 knots, but the anchor held and we were glad to be tucked into a safe harbor. Not only a safe harbor but also one surrounded by mountains with hiking trails to lookouts with views and nude sunbathers. 
First order of business was to check in at the marina office and clear customs, and then it was baths for the three of us and a good rinsing for Lone Star. With that taken care of Jan and Jennifer headed off to town in search of Fish and Chips and shopping while Craig grabbed a much needed nap. The Colony of Gibraltar is composed mainly of the Rock. Gibraltar town, situated at the base on mainly reclaimed land, is long and skinny and with one Main Street lined with shops and pubs. You would swear you were in merry ole England instead of tucked on a peninsula sandwiched on either side by Spain. Pub Grub is available everywhere and pounds, not Euros is the currency. The Rock was still hidden behind clouds and out in the open the Levante winds could be felt. Fingers were crossed for clear skies the next day.
Our wishes were answered as the next day dawned bright and clear with great visibility and diminished winds. We spent the day all over the Rock – on top, on bottom, all around and even in it. The Rock is the colony’s best sight. Its attractions include fantastic views from the very top, quirky, apes, a hokey cave and impressive Siege Tunnels. 
The three of us took a cable car to the summit deciding it would be much better to hike down rather than up. At the top we were immediately greeted by the official residents of the Rock – the Barbary Apes. Actually a breed of monkeys, there are about 200 inhabitants who have no fear of humans; we saw several going after tourists’ backpacks. The views were amazing and from the top you could see that the Rock does indeed look like the one in the Prudential ads. We spent the day hiking down stopping first at St Michael’s Cave, full of stalagmites, stalactites and classical music. Our next stop was the Siege Tunnels.
Originally built by the British during the Spanish and French siege in the 1700’s they were enlarged by more than 30 miles during WWII and were home to over 17,000 soldiers. As we neared the bottom we made one more stop at the Moorish Castle, actually the remains of a tower built in the 700’s. After several hours of hiking and touring our way down we finally made it back to the town and immediately headed for a Pub for a coldie and some Pub Grub. After a long day both never tasted so good! 
With full stomachs and sore muscles we turned in early. Tomorrow was an important day - we would officially sail into the Mediterranean!
At 10AM on Friday, May 29, refreshed from a good night’s sleep, we motored out of Queensway Quay Marina. We first stopped at the fuel dock to take advantage of the cheap Gibraltar fuel prices and then were on our way. At 1040 we rounded the Rock and were now officially in the Med. The Levante winds were now gone and in light winds of 8 knots with Jennifer manning the helm for part of the trip we sailed to Benalmadena Marina close to Malaga, Spain. At 1820 we were in our slip and popped the champagne in celebration of making it to the Med.
The celebration was also bittersweet because we knew our time with Jennifer was coming to a close. It had been a great visit. We thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company, even the “spirited” political discussions! Jennifer is fluent in Spanish and we took great pleasure in having Jennifer with us in Portugal as she spoke Spanish, the Portuguese spoke Portuguese and somehow they understood each other. In Spain she became our interpreter and we knew we would not just miss her but also her language skills once she was gone. Our last full day together we took the bus to Malaga, toured the old town, enjoyed tapas for lunch and visited the Museo Picasso which houses paintings and sculptures spanning Picasso’s entire life. Back at the marina in the afternoon, Jennifer and Jan headed for the beach for some sunbathing and a first dip in the Mediterranean Sea. Then at 5:30AM on May 31st with heavy hearts we said our good byes as Jennifer headed off in a taxi to the Malaga airport for her flight back to NYC. In two days she would be leaving the USA again, this time for Mexico City and a summer internship. We headed back to Lone Star knowing it was going to be a bit lonely and definitely quieter on board.
After arriving safe and sound, we stopped by Lone Star to stow her bags, show off the boat and then it was back in the rent car and off to the town of Sintra for a day of sightseeing. For centuries Sintra was the summer playground for Portugal’s royalty and upper class. Today it is an escape for tourists of all sorts. Sintra is a green, very hilly village home to several castles, beautiful gardens, cute shops and excellent cafes. We spent the first part of the day touring two castles. The first, Palacio Nacional, was the official summer residence for Portugal’s kings from the 1500’s to the early 1900’s. 
The Palace, with a unique roof resembling Madonna’s bra, has beautiful painted ceilings and tile work throughout the inside. The two cones on the roof are actually chimneys in the kitchen. Our second stop was Palacio de Pena built in the 19th century by German born Prince Ferdinand. This castle is a crazy mixture of Gothic towers, Renaissance domes, and Moorish minarets. Done with our official sightseeing we spent the rest of the day browsing in the many shops and having bacalau for lunch at one of the cafes. 
Bacalau, Portugal’s national dish is made with salted cod. We’ve been told there are 365 different ways to cook Bacalau, one for each day of the year. During our time in Portugal we didn’t quite taste all 365 recipes but we sure gave it a good try!
The monastery stretches for some 300 yards along Lisbon’s waterfront and the church houses the tomb of Vasco de Gama. Also on the waterfront is the Monument to the Discoveries, 
those Portuguese sure loved their explorers, and Belem Tower which was built in 1515 to protect Lisbon’s waterfront. We also took a double Decker bus tour of the city. Like all major European cities Lisbon has her fair share of monuments, cathedrals, museums and restored buildings. 
The one thing we found disturbing was the amount of graffiti in the old sections compared to some of the other cities we’ve been to.
While in Lagos we were visited by a family we met on our land tour to Porto. Deolinda, her husband Dave and her parents Deolinda and Bob, stayed at the same pousada we did. Deolinda’s (the mom) parents immigrated from the Azores and Dave’s family also had Portuguese roots. The four were on a month long trip to Portugal. Over drinks in the Pousada bar we discovered our paths would cross again in Lagos. In Lagos we shared a lovely afternoon over a bottle of Portuguese Champagne which they brought and appetizers on the boat. Dave and Deolinda own Coelho Winery in Oregon and hopefully one day our wanderings will take us to Oregon for a visit. Later that afternoon Jennifer and Jan did another “first” of the season- sunbathing on the beach. Yes – winter was definitely over!
who returned to Bayona in the Pinta after his first trip to North America and once again visiting the forts, sampling the local cuisine and exploring the area we were anxious to head for Portugal. Jennifer, our oldest daughter, was scheduled to meet us in Lisbon on the 21st. Our original plans were to make about four stops along the Portuguese coast – taking about a week to get to Lisbon. However, once again, the long range weather outlook was not promising. While rains were not predicted after the first day, gale force winds were expected for later in the week. Concerned we might get stuck somewhere north of Lisbon for an indefinite period we decided to do an overnight sail directly to Lisbon. On May 12th we left Bayona at 0900 with a light wind on the nose (go figure), scattered showers, and seas of 1 to 2 meters. By 1500 the sun was shining and we had picked up a hitchhiker
! We had been underway for a few hours when out of nowhere a small black bird decided to join us. He hitched a ride with us spending most of his/her time at the helm and even flying into the cabin once or twice to check out the accommodations below! After a few hours we guess the bird grew tired of our company or we had reached his destination because off he flew not to be seen again. We motor sailed almost the entire trip. We had one period around 0700 the next morning where we sailed, but it only lasted for about an hour before we restarted the engine in order to arrive at the Porto de Recreia Yachting Harbor Oeiras at 1440 in the afternoon. Our guide book said this was a marina with staff that spoke English and were very helpful. That is not an understatement. Everyone we interfaced with at the marina did everything they could to help us and their English was generally very good. The facilities were first rate and we felt comfortable when we left the boat for a couple of days to land tour later in the week. We also received a 50% discount on the slip fees because we are participants in the ARC and they are a host marina for the Rally Portugal and ARC Europe events. It also turned out to be a good decision to head for Lisbon. Within 24 hours of our arrival the predicted gale force winds arrived and pummeled the Portuguese coast for seven days. However, the entire time the skies were clear and sunny. The most sun we had seen since arriving in Europe!
Since this was our first port of entry in Portugal we were anxious to clear in so we could start flying our Portuguese courtesy flag and we filled out the appropriate document at the marina office and waited for a visit from the authorities. We were still waiting to clear in when we left 10 days later on May 23rd. We did enjoy seeing the Coast Guard go in and out because they had a slip for their 53 foot boat two down from us, but we were apparently of no interest to them. Finally on May 21st we determined that we were not going to be visited so we started flying our courtesy flag below the yellow Q flag. Why, you ask, were we so interested in flying the flag? We also wanted to also fly our Texas flag and Seven Seas Cruising Association flags on the port spreader and felt it would not be appropriate if we were not also flying the courtesy flag on the starboard spreader. Anyway, even we this new configuration we were still not visited. However, we had a proper welcome flag for Jennifer when she arrived on May 21st.
Jan was fighting a cold so we were low key for the first couple of days while she recovered. Then on Monday (May 18th) we rented a car and did some land touring, checking out some of the sites we missed on our speed trip down the coast. We drove to the Douro valley in northern Portugal for a 2 day stay.
The Douro Valley region is the area where Port wine is made. The valley is quite beautiful with steep, green mountains dotted with quintas, the wineries where the grapes are grown. After a visit to a few quintas (“farms” or vineyards)
where we learned the methods used in making port, sampling the end result, and a 2 night stay in an 18th century posada we headed back to the boat to prepare for Jennifer’s arrival.
