7:00am departure from Porto on April 5th and we were dockside in Fig da Foz eleven hours later after sailing 60+ nautical miles. We had fair winds and most of the voyage was a beam reach on our Code-D spinnaker. With a population of under 50,000 it looked much bigger from the water with many tall buildings. We only stayed two nights as we are now in a rush to get out of Europe before our 90 day schengen visa expires in one month pushing us to be in North Africa and/or Gibraltar by May 2nd. More on our travel visa woes in our next blog post.
Fair winds, flat sea state, SunnyDay = Code-D spinnaker sailing.
Trucking down the coast at 6.5kts.
We biked along the water front and to be honest it was more glamorous sailing by.
Fort and Chapel of Santa Catarina was built at the end of the 16th century to reinforce the defense of the mouth of the Mondego. Together with the Fortress of Buarcos and the Fortim de Palheiros, it was part of the defensive system of the port and bay of Figueira da Foz and Buarcos. With a triangular design structure, it has three curtains, a half bulwark and two irregular bulwarks.
The entrance gives access to an interior courtyard where there is a small chapel, with a centered plan and a ribbed dome, dedicated to Santa Catarina de Ribamar, which was built by the architect Mateus Rodrigues.
The Fort, with its lighthouse, remains a historical reference and an emblematic element of the city.
Each step is significantly worn down from hundreds of years of use. Makes you think of how many people have been here before you.
View from the forte.
Where will tomorrow bring us ....
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