Alvor to Rio Guadiana

Beach walk at Alvor

 We spent three nights anchored off Alvor. Jeremy recognised the town from 11 years ago, when we had a holiday at nearby Estrella de Vau to celebrate our 30^th Wedding Anniversary. We enjoyed walking along a 6km boardwalk across the sand dunes that separate the sea from the lagoon and returning via a long stretch of unspoilt beach. In contrast, the old town has cobbled streets and numerous restaurants and bars with well-stocked supermarkets within walking distance. A number of international boats winter here and others have decided to stay indefinitely. I couldn’t help being amused by a small fishing vessel called “Sol Dourada”.

Praia de Roche behind Kathy

After shopping at Pingo Doce on Wednesday 19^th October, we returned to Sal Darago to find an American yacht called “Detour” had anchored within hitting distance of us. Fortunately, we were leaving for Rio Arade about 5 miles away, so we waved politely and motored away with no dramas on the exit route to the sea.

Private castle at Ferraguado

We passed the first yacht anchorage opposite the large Portimao Marina and continued upriver to Ferraguado. The crew on a Dutch yacht called “Anne Mara” told us a red mooring buoy was good and there was no charge for using it. We spent three nights there, delaying our departure by a day, as the expensive laundry up the hill in Ferraguado needed two days to wash and dry our clothes. We explored the village and sampled sardinhas at a quayside restaurant. Two large plates of BBQed sardines arrived complete with heads, tails and bones. It took a while to dissect and eat but it was very tasty.

Ferraguado fishing village

 Bad weather was coming our way, so we abandoned our plan of spending a night at anchor in the lagoon off Faro 35 miles away and decided to sail 65 miles to Rio Guadiana, which marks the border between Portugal and Spain. We left at 6.00am in the dark, following the flashing red buoys that mark the channel. I was temporarily confused by the red and green buoys marking the entrance to the marina as Jeremy dashed about hauling up the main sail. Once out at sea the promised wind was noticeably absent, so we continued motoring. When the wind came it was preceded by a squall, distant thunder and rain lashing down in stair rods. When the weather cleared we had many hours of blue skies and sunshine sailing comfortable on a reach….until we had to change course. We could not afford to lose time as the bar at the entrance to the Rio Guadiana is shallow and we needed to be there at half flood.

Rio Guadiana

Just as we reached the bar, the sky darkened and another squall began. We motored up river for about 5 miles and anchored on the Portuguese side opposite Pedra Amereta in the dark. The rain lashed down all night and we bounced around when the tide turned and small waves crashed into our stern. The next morning it was absolutely still and the river was a mirror. We were reminded of Loch Lochy on the Caledonian Canal in Scotland and thought we could smell bog myrtle, but I think it was actually eucalyptus trees.

Good navigation posts on the Rio Guadiana

We had a quiet motor up the river for 15 miles on Sunday 23^rd October. The deep water is marked at regular intervals by red and green posts. There were huge rafts of loose bamboo floating in the river and avoiding action had to be taken many times before we arrived and tied up at the Spanish pontoons of Sanlucar de Guadiana, opposite the Portuguese town of Alcoutim.

Alcoutim, Portugal from Sanlucar de Guadiana, Spain