its Tuesday

Well it's a start. At least I know what day it is. Actually it's a special day in Portugal today. Its the 100th anniversary of the day they got rid of the monarchy and became a republic.

Here are some photos that Alan and his mystery companion gave us today.....

it was the vodka wot done it

growing old disgracefully

this is our mate Alan

He also took this one when we were in Alvor.....

Mo's gone home this morning :(
Colin will be following shortly.
We have decided to go to the Canaries :)

Olhao

Anchoring here is not for the faint-hearted. Not when your skipper seems to love anchoring as close a possible to bloody big sandbanks...

eeek!

and the tide still has a way to go. Hopefully we will still be floating...

down amongst the dead cats

unlike these vessels.

sunset over the islands

are they following us????

Must be getting colder....never seen Alan in a pair of long trousers before!

If there's one thing that spoils Portugal for me it's the dog sh*t everywhere. But hey, that's just me....

Olhao marina

Joe is back Thursday.

Watch this

Old, but funny.

So, do we, don't we???

I cant believe it! Here I am on the net in my cabin and Mike's in the cockpit and he called me - on Skype!!
How sad is that...... hahaha

Anyway, I digress.
What are we gonna do?????
We are very undecided.
The choices are as follows:

Put the boat to bed and go home until spring. Earliest we will get back is April/May (weather)
Plus side of this is we will be earning money (possibly?), I can see my cats :) and I won't be scared a good percentage of the time.
The minuses are - it will be great to get home - for about one week then the novelty will wear off and it will be boring and cold and dark at 5pm for months on end.
Readers, I am being truthfull here.....bear with me please.
Choice number two is sail the boat  to the Canaries. I can fly home easily and cheaply anytime for a week to see my cats (and my bro). The weather is much better. We can leave the boat in a marina anytime we want and still go back if we change our minds.
The minus side of this is it will cost more than leaving the boat here. And, and its a big and, I will have to sail to the Canaries - 5 day trip. And to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, I'm a bit scared after the experience in Biscay.
Oh dear, I will just have to ponder it some more whilst I drink this nice cheap local red wine :)

Late night ramblings

Okay, okay it's not that late. You have to understand that, when cruising, time takes on a different...what's the word.... a different meaning, a different quality.
There are no timetables, you can eat when you're hungry (which for me is all the time), sleep when you're tired, surf the web when you've got a connection....hahaha

It's raining quite heavily outside and I've had a few of the captains home-made Caipirinhas and I'm tucked up in my cosy bed whilst the wind is whistling around the anchorage (don't worry readers, the forecast is good again for tomorrow). Mike is watching a film on his computer in the saloon and all is peaceful with the world.

So, I'm making the most of having the internet on the boat - yahoo!!!

I was going to post a photo of myself sunbathing on deck but then realised - even though I've had a few drinks - it really is too unflattering (and I don't want to scare any children who may be reading).

Here's a nice picture instead

well, nice'ish

I am longing to have a really good soak in a hot bath with loads of bubbles then put loads of moisturiser on and blow dry my hair and go to bed on clean crisp sheets that smell of being freshly wind-blown. Aaah the simple pleasures......

We walked up to Lidl when we were in Ferragudo and do you know? it's more expensive than at home. Shocking!

My name is Carolyn and I am an addict.....

Oh yes, truly I am an internet addict. I cannot tell you how happy I am today because for the first time this trip dear readers I have an internet connection on the boat. Yes!!
So what have I done all day? NOTHING AT ALL
Well, the weather has been a bit miserable - we even had a bit of rain last night.

clever, ain't he??

Did I tell you we used to own a villa near here? Mike built it himself.
Sold it earlier this year.


Colin came over this morning (he's anchored next to us). He has decided to leave the boat down here until spring and go home with Mo. They are giving up sailing completely and selling Amy (Nicholson 32) and going to build a houseboat to live on.....somewhere.....
Anyway, we are all trying to find the cheapest place to leave our boats for the winter. We too are going home once the weather breaks. We will come back in the spring and have an extended cruise to the Azores, via Madeira and Porto Santo (we think)

storks nesting

I am here listening to the Libertines on the stereo, Mike has gone over to see Alan. 'Tell it to the King' has just come on and it reminded me of late night drunken singing in Crewe and Heather playing the viola. Happy daze!!

In town

So, now we are up in Olhao, anchored off the town wall. The lure of civilisation (ie the internet) is just too great.
Also, I wanted to see my good friend Eva...

Me & Eva

 Eva brought us a lovely cake she had made that morning.

lush

It was kind of like a stollen, with crushed nuts, mmmmm. Didn't last long Eva!

There was a gorgeous cat at the Yacht Club bar where we met Eva and Jens and Carla their daughter.

I wanted to steal her, readers, oh yes I did

She reminded me of my Heidi back home and I felt sad :( cos I miss my cats.....

But Carla (6) made me an origami flower and it cheered me up a bit. Danke, Carla xx

Mike hand fed her prawns