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Early breakfast- off the dock at 7am, to arrive in Lisboa ready to receive guests at 11 am. If it's this warm at 6:30, it'll be a hot one today. Everyday I went to Jumbo, it was 25 degrees. So, we're finally off, the band is on board with their drums, the morning sun has yet to rise- it's 7:45- and the beaches and bluffs of the Costa del Sol are beckoning us on our port side. It feels so good to moving again. I'm truly sorry it's just down to the mouth of the river and up to the city. Our whole purpose changes as we put to sea.
Our focus on safety, the cohesiveness of the crew and the intensity of our attention is once again paramount. All the other sailing vessels traveling north are under sail, we're motoring right into the wind at 120 degrees. If we had to sail, we would have tacked back and forth for hours. There's a castle on my left and a long stretch of beach, nice.
I just thanked Drew for sharpening two of my knives, they were so dull they couldn't even pay attention. He offered to keep them sharp if I liked and I gratefully accepted. He then made the comment that sailing seems to be the best and the worst of life. When it's bad, and you're seasick, it's cold and you're tired, that's one end of the scale. Then we have the other end, the sunny days, the warm breeze, the sea rolling under you and you're going somewhere new. The excellent way outweighs the not so good.
He has the same enthusiasm I've been accused of having. You know, that from the Greek, en- theus means to be with God and if I'm enthusiastic about my life, my love, my people, my crew, my ship and our mission, I ought to be fine. As will my buddy Drew.
Our compliment circle the other night is one of those new ideas I hadn't implemented in my life, yet. Thank you, Paul, it is a pleasure to serve with you.
Paul seems so sure of himself, very confident. Hannah as navigator is perfectly attuned to all workings of communications and charting, it's almost as though you can see the wheels turning. It's a wonderful feeling as a crew member.
There's a bunch of fishing boats out here, all tethered together with line and nets to collect the bivalves (according to the side of their boat). Four boats are hauling in the anchor line to drag themselves forward to retrieve the nets with a reel. On deck, 4 to 6 men empty the net of shells and set the net again. Red, yellow, blue and orange, all open boats. There seems to be a lot of green space in the urban area, a stadium. We're on a flight path to the airport, the southbound flights have been leaving all morning.
The mariner's constants are striking, the lighthouses, the buoys, the fathoms of the deep. Here, though red right return is reversed from what we know in the US, Canada and the UK. Capt. Bill says each country makes their rules.
Esso is here, probably the most attractive fuel depot I've ever seen, on the side of a hill, overlooking the river. Plenty of trees and only one marked tank. The headlands are well treed and verdant. No wonder people have congregated here.
The bridge under which we're going is a smaller version of the Golden Gate in SF. What an awful sound as we pass underneath! The resounding howl of the tires on the open steel fabrications of the decking of the roadway is deafening. The train contributes to the noise. Well, it looks good anyway. A deity watches over the city, a smaller version of the one in Rio, very nice. It is an Americanism that bigger is better, maybe not in all things.
The port area is piled high with containers, many I recognize from Halifax. Maersk has her terminal here and the Vigo from Gibraltar is unloading. No Clarke containers that I saw. The cruise ship Costa Magica from Genoa, Italy is stern to stern with Vigo.
The murcado is just off the right, the classic museum is up the hill and now the drum band is playing to bring us into the city with great fanfare.
Paula and Drew took the launch into the harbour to check our accommodations and all is ready- here we go! Green tugboats make our path as we pass at low tide through the walls of the harbour built many years ago. The band moves ashore as we tie up flawlessly and ready to go on shore. A troupe of beautiful African dancers greet us with a tremendous performance and winning smiles. The US ambassadore also greeted us and our interpreters arrived to help us with the tours we'll be giving for the next few days.
For now, it's back to the galley with me. Love to all my people and take good care,
PS. Today we have arrived in Lisboa. Oh, this is going to be an adventure. We had a reporter on board, Joao, with his photographer for the trip this morning from Cascais to downtown Lisbon. He was such a help showing us important landmarks. The Costa del Sol passed by on our port side with terra cotta roofed houses and trees I only know from Vancouver, BC as a monkey tail tree. They tower above the housetops like ladies umbrellas. As we entered the Rio Tego, we passed a formidable fortress on the north shore and a series of 24 grain silos on the southern tip of the entrance. I asked Joao if they exported grain and he said no, that was for the hard durum wheat that they import for their pasta, possibly from Canada.
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