Our visit to Portugal coincided with the local festival (or "festa") happening at the village of Reixida. Reixida was celebrating its annual festival of patron saint, Santa Marta. Or better known as St Martha of the New Testament.
The climate of central Portugal allows for a multitude of plants, flowers, vegetables, shrubs and trees to thrive.
The ancient city of Conimbriga is the largest Roman settlement in Portugal, as well as the best preserved, and well worth visiting.
Coimbra is one of Portugal's oldest cities (it already was an important municipality in Roman times) and is home to one of the world's first universities. It was the capital of the country from 1139 to 1256 and its university was founded in 1290.
Sesimbra is a short drive south of Lisbon, a peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. Historically, it was a fishing village. It still has a viable commercial fishing industry, but the main economic activities are tourism-related
We drove to the village of Sao Mamede for its weekend fair, but nowadays, it's more like a flea market for cheap clothing, shoes, household goods and music CDs. Interspersed among them are farming implements, such as back hoes, saws, leather reins for animals, and live chickens, roosters, rabbits, evidence of a rural social-economic life. There were also local handicrafts such as pottery, but I couldn't help but notice that most of the traditional Portuguese tablecloths were machine-made in China.
A typical Saturday morning begins with a drive to Leiria, the nearest city to Portelas. We head straight to the fish market, where all kinds of fish and sea life can be bought for a price.
Septubal Peninsula juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. Located just south of Lisbon.
The town of Óbidos and its castle are located on a hill and encircled by a fortified wall. It retains a picture postcard quality due to its well-preserved medieval look of its streets, squares, walls and its massive castle.
Exposed to the strong winds of the Atlantic Ocean, Portugal has a long tradition of using the power of the wind. Some windmills are equipped with earthenware vessels fixed directly to the bar of the windmill-wheel.
Sailing in the Grenadine chain of islands in the winter of 2006. The crew flew down to the island of St Vincent to pick up the charter boat, Dancing Bar, at Young Island Cut.
Sailing to Wallilabou Bay, on the west coast of St. Vincent, in the Grenadines
Sailing to Bequia and dropping anchor at Admiralty Bay.
With too much wind making anchoring life uncomfortable at Tobago Cays, Dancing Bare finds shelter in Saline Bay, on the island of Mayreau.
Underway to Tobago Cays
Sailing to Chatham Bay, in Union Island
Meeting up with other cruisers in Chatham Bay and watching the Green Flash.
As the winds abated, Dancing Bare sailed back to Tobago Cays one more time.
From Union Island to Petite Martinique and to Petit St Vincent. The anchorage at Petite Martinique was too rocky to set the anchor. So Dancing Bare was forced to anchor at Petit St Vincent.
Touring Petite Martinique and sailing to Carriacou
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