FEBRUARY'S FURY

During these last few days in Portugal, MotherNature has shown us her true strength, her power and flair.  The north Atlantic's powerful winds  left us rocking and rolling in our beds.  The constant roaring force of the waves slamming up against the breakwater wall didn't exactly lull to sleep, however, it is a spectacular sight day or night.

These pictures are only a tame representation of true experience.

 This will be our last week in Cascais. We love it here, and our weeks spent enjoying this delightful town have been wonderfully simple, yet enriching; but, the time has come to say farewell and continue our odyssey.  The next stretch of the voyage takes us to the Algarve in Spain and then thru the Strait of Gibraltar. 

Before the lines are untied we must do some last minute jobs; stowing everything that could possibly roll around while sailing in open water, fill water tanks, provision, check all the sails, check all batteries, top up diesel fuel and look at spare parts list to ensure we have what we need for emergency repairs.

The coming week promises to be warm and sunny, so I'm digging out the sun screen and putting away the woolies; optimism can't hurt.