Cascais and Lisbon
14 November 2016 | Lisbon
Carole Young
On 30/10/2016 Swallow led the 'British Armada' out of Peniche at 0800 and we all set sail for Cascais, approximately 47 miles away. Not a lot of wind again today so we motor sailed for most of it. We watched the greedy gannets dive bombing into the sea to catch fish and we witnessed a forest fire on the shore. As we rounded Cabo de Roca, with its sheer cliffs, the swell increased. We arrived at Cascais marina at 1630 and decided to stay here for two nights before moving on to our final destination for the winter-Lisbon.
Cascais is a beautiful, up market holiday resort.; there is a stunning beach with an anchorage and the old streets are paved with granite sets. We were delighted to stumble across a delicious Indian restaurant, Masala- of course we couldn't resist!
On 01/11/2016, after fuelling up, we left Cascais with Millie; Kady and Ula had decided to overwinter in Cascais and so we had a farewell drink with them the night before - we will definitely be meeting up again as it's only a short train ride away from Lisbon. This was only a short three hour journey up the Rio Tejo and was the best sail of the year! The exit out of Cascais was incredibly rocky but then we had 7 knots of tide taking us into the mouth of the river; we found ourselves amongst some 50 racing yachts - Paul was in his element when he was racing a Beneteau and achieving 8 knots , which is fast for Swallow!We sailed under the imposing bridge of 25 April- which resembles the Golden Gate bridge; judging from the sites we saw coming up the river we could tell that we were going to enjoy Lisbon. Locomotion welcomed us into the berth next to them in the marina and took our lines; it was great to catch up with Sue and Ed and nice that we will be spending the winter here with them and Millie (Andrew and Angela).
We are at the Parques da Nacoes marina which is on the old Expo 98 site just a 20 minute bus ride from the centre of Lisbon; the airport is three metro stops away so we are well placed for popping home and to welcome anyone who wants to come out and visit. We've been here two weeks now and have already visited Sintra, with its Moorish Castle and Pena Palace; we've also walked around St George's Castle, the downtown and oldest district of Alfama and the upmarket area of Bairro Alto and nearby Baixa, where we enjoyed a typically Portuguese meal and a samba bar. We have become rather partial to the custard tarts- there are so many pastry and coffee shops to choose from! Lisbon is built on seven hills (but there are many more than that) so we are definitely strengthening our leg muscles! This week we will be visiting a massive flea market and a fado house; I am sure that there is plenty to keep us occupied here for the next few months - an exciting prospect for us!