After departing Cascais, Bob and Tania endured another anxious crossing.  A very threatening electrical storm, a sailboat that was illuminated like a freighter, and my autopilot acting up again made for a lot of issues for them to deal with.

•   But once they saw Cabo São Vicente they knew they would be alright.  It is the southwestern most point of the European mainland.  The weather cleared and it was a beautiful day for boating (although they ended up motoring most of the way because of light and on the nose winds again).  After the Cabo, they saw Ponta de Sagres where Henry the Navigator held his school that launched many explorers now read in history books to this day (Columbus, Gil Eanes of Lagos, etc) . Passing by the Grottos at Ponta da Piedade was a great experience and then the canal to the Marina de Lagos appeared.

•  A view of from my stern as I was berthed at Pontão C-47.  The lift-bridge accommodates foot traffic to and from town to the marina and it's restaurants and apartments.  The usual response on channel 09 VHF for a lift in order to enter/exit the marina would be "we will open it in 2 minutes". 

• The lovely whitewashed buildings with bright trim colors and the various designs of chimney tops are characteristically found in the Algarve region.  The designs of cobblestones into various mosaics also created a wonderful vacation-like atmosphere.  The beaches are world famous and Bob and Tania were amazed to see how big, beautiful and clean they were.

• Bahia Beach Bar Restaurant was their absolute favorite place to go.  The setting was wonderful and so was the food.  The fact they could find hamburgers this size and tasty was a treat.  Bob discovered other great dishes there also, including Osso Buco, Lamb, and Filet Mignon like steak dishes (the Sangria wasn't bad either!).

• The marina is huge with a majority of the boats from the United Kingdom.  In fact, the British were everywhere.  It was hard not to hear the English language spoken.  Bob at the Lagos monument.  The original Slave trading building.

• Finding a place to play tennis was a plus.  The tennis facility turned out to be only a few minutes walk from the marina.  Bob was able to get my "Big Boy" Genaker sail out of the bag and fly it for a short while.  Tania took the little tour train to the "Grottos" at Ponta da Piedade to get some of the incredible shots below...

• The Ponta da Piedade is a beautifully wild place.  When the seas are not so rough small boats take customers through the mazes of stone.  The lighthouse at the point.

To View More Photos of this Beautiful Area:

Photo Gallery of Grottos at Lagos, Portugal