Lisbon (Oeiras)

One of the tings that has marked this trip is the well organised tours put on by the WCC. A coach was waiting for us at 9:30am and it was a shame that half the fleet was still in Nazare as this was a great day.

The first stop was a former gun powder factory which had been preserved and it was amazing to see the simplicity of the process and they had built the factory over a waterway to use the water to drive a wheel to grind the powder before the invention of electricity. The factory was in use right up until the second world war.

After a short stop we were taken to an amazing very smart cafe on top of a gallery which look out over the whole of Lisbon and the coast it was magical, unfortunately they really didn't get the timing right because we were chased out after 20 minutes to go to the next place and it took 15 minutes for our drinks to arrive we really needed another ten minutes, I ended having to gulp down my drink which slightly spoiled the experience.

Next we went to a wine cellar where they have just started making the local fortified wine from an original process that was first started over 200 years ago. The local council has funded it to get it going but in a short period it is expected to be self funding. The drink with is called Oeiras (Catchy - er no) is a sort of cross between Port and Sherry and is served slightly chilled, it was so nice we bought six half bottles. Sounds a lot but it isn't really. The have made a wonderful effort to restore an old building and make a cellar which is stunning. The building is in the grounds of the local palace where the gardens are simply beautiful.

After this we returned to the port where a few of us sat down together and had lunch on the quay.

Soon we were approached and invited to paint our boat logo on the harbour wall, it is a bit of a thing in some marinas. It was started in the Azores as a way of leaving your mark to show your achievement at reaching quite a remote location.

Later in the evening there was a supper and drinks on the quay which was all included. I threw a spanner in the works by buying a bottle us Mateus Rosé which causes some mirth, I declared that I would soon don a corduroy jacket to get the look right. However there was then a minor rush to the bar where four more bottles were ordered buy others on the rally. The barman was quite taken aback because we were all opting to buy a bottle of wine when wine, beer and sangria was provided free of charge.