Tied up to pier in the centre of Porto, I am bellow decks just having retreated from the evening’s chill, the sun set behind a bend in the river. Tony is working on tomorrow’s passage plan for the 160 mile sail to Lisbon. So far Portugal has yet to live up to it’s bureaucratic reputation. We have been tired up sharing the river bank with a host of ferries and tour boats at no cost. We tried to find the Capitana, the Harbour Master, but was told we had no formalities to complete. We did in the end get a visit from a local policeman but he was very apologetic and just took the boats registration details and our passport information.
We have had two days in Porto. The view along the river is spectacular. The entrance to the river was a bit tricky making only 1 knot headway at one point having overshot the ebb tide by about 2 hours. I think all this gentle sailing with 10kn of wind off the beam has made me go to sleep a bit. I had not planned our approach to Porto at all! The pilot reported currents up to 6 knots on a strong ebb so we got away rather lightly just poking our nose in the moment we arrived. Despite the bit of drama approaching the bar at the rivers entrance we made it up to the old section of town with plenty of daylight. We tied up the main shipping dock and ordered a beer overlooking the river. I have been marvelling at the view. Porto is a very old city and it dramatically rises up from the river’s edge. When we arrived we asked around if it was ok to tie up to the pier. Some girls from the tour company directed me to a pier that was not being used by any company just across the river and there we have stayed for the duration. Our very own personal jetty with a gangway up to the shore.
I got out on Saturday for a little photography. Here are some of the sites of Porto. Just click on the picture to work through the stack. Appologies in advance for the trash can school of photography but every once in a while I can't resist taking a picuture of a drain pipe or some none descript detail of city life. One for the bannana bread diaries. . .