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Freebooter - 13th June - Povoa de Vazim



After saying goodbye to Claire and William, we left Bayona after the
best part of a week there. The wind was against us, but the first
indication of what was to come was when Valhalla, the leading boat
suddenly heeled hard over and rounded up. The sea turned rough and we
had a pretty miserable passage down to Povoa. Even when the sea and wind
abated, we were then stuck with poor visibility by sea mist, and only
saw Portugal from about 1 mile of the port. It was a real relief to tie
up at 21.30!

Povoa was, and is a fishing port. However it is also a seaside resort
(but apparently not in June thankfully). Once you walk behind the
seafront streets, the original buildings are apparent, many with their
distinctive tiled facades. Contrasts are very evident, with high fashion
next to vacant shops, derelict buildings and abandoned developments. Not
many towns would boast of a shop selling only socks, but the real gems
were those selling fruit and vegetables. Apparently we failed to find
the market, which was reported as splendid.

A coach tour of the local area had been laid on, which opened our eyes
to the differences in wealth and living styles. An eye-opener was
finding a public clothes-washing bath with a woman doing her washing
there. However the highlight for me was seeing some of the enormous
aqueduct that ran for 11 km, with 999 arches. Nothing quite prepares you
for the scale of the construction, nor for the purpose which was to
serve a monastery. Built in the 17th century, and now a national
monument, it is suffering from the economic crisis with several arches
having collapsed and not been repaired.

Today is due to be a short sail down to Porto, with dinner at Grahams,
that well-known port maker!

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