It was tough saying goodbye to our ARC rally pals after spending the last 3 weeks traveling together. Each boat has it's own upcoming adventure and challenges. Simon, MIke, and Mauritz in Gertha V had to abort their passage to the Canaries due to a rudder leak, and are investigating next steps from the UK. Jules and Olivia of Oyster Moon had to fly back to England to attend to family health issues. Jackie and Peter took Free Spirit to a nearby harbor to get some necessary structural work done. Mark and Charlene on Pure Elegance are enjoying some R&R in Lagos before heading into the Mediterranean. And Kitty and I, grateful for the continued health of our families and for the soundness of Ithaka, are looking forward to exploring the southern coasts of Portugal with Kitty's brother Brian and our good friends Maggie and Bill during September.

In anticipation of our upcoming visitors, we spent the last few days doing reconnaissance east from Lagos. First stop was Cabo Carvoeiro, a limestone peninsula which juts out a mile or so from the coast.

The 100-200 foot limestone cliffs have been eroded by the waves into natural caves, tunnels, and amphitheaters, many of which are big enough for small motorboats to enter.

In between some of the promontories are wonderful small sandy beaches, some of which are accessible only by boat. Unfortunately this idyllic setting has been fully discovered by the local tourist operators, so we definitely didn't have the place to ourselves. It is spectacular none-the-less.

Our next stop was an anchorage behind Isla Culatra. This had been recommended to us by a friendly pontoon mate in Lagos, who said that his wife thought it was "paradise." The first night we anchored a little too close to the channel between the island and the mainland, and were buzzed by motor taxis, jet skis, and motorboats until late in the evening. Paradise indeed. But the second night we found an anchorage spot tucked deeper into the bay and had a much more pleasant evening. In the morning we watched white storks poke the tidal flats looking for breakfast, then took our dinghy over check out the small village on the island.

It struck us as a Portuguese Fire Island - no cars, families rolling wagons with luggage from the ferry to small vacation homes, small cafes serving the catch of the day. A half mile walk across a boardwalk brought us to a spectacular beach, which runs continuously along the entire 4 mile coastline. Later on we went for a dip at the eastern end of the island, floating along with the ebbing tide until we thought better of it, not wanting to get washed all the way to Morocco.

On the way back to Lagos we spent a night at Villamoura Marina. Villamoura marina is huge, the biggest in Portugal with space for 1300 boats. It is definitely a place for the rich and famous, and Ithaka felt pretty small compared to the luxury yachts we shared the pontoon with. The highlight of the stay was meeting Joao and Paola and their kids. They are a sailing family who live near Lisbon who invited us over to their sailboat Pendragon for a delicious lunch of Portuguese wine, cheeses, meats, and salad. They had noticed our boat anchored near Culatra the day before (our American flag stands out, I guess), and told us of 15 years of family vacations in the Culatra estuary. It was a pleasure to spend time with them, and a reminder of all of the friendly help and support we have had throughout our trip so far.

Then back to Lagos to clean the boat and get ready for Brian to arrive.