Date: Sunday 19 September 2021
Position: 38° 40.598’ N 9° 19.080’ W
Location: Oeiras, Portugal
Distance Sailed during the week: 264 NM
Distance Sailed total: 2288 NM
Weather: 
, 26°
Most popular on the menu: Barbecued salmon 
Animals NOT spotted: Orcas!
Comment of the week: “Was Christopher Cloumbus a hero or a villain?”
Baiona, the last stop before leaving Galicia. We had one thing that we really wanted to do before leaving Spain, and that was a visit to Baiona and more specifically, a visit to Pinta. Pinta is one of three ships that Christopher Columbus sailed to America with in 1492. The fastest of his three ships, the one that first sighted land in the Caribbean, as well as being the first ship to return to Europe (Baiona). Christopher Columbus also became the school subject for the week. The kids were fascinated about it, how much he and his life has affected us. And on the question if he was a hero or villain, the answer was easy according to the kids – Christopher Cloumbus was a villain!
Finally the northern winds graced us with their presence, and we could set sail south, aiming for the first stop in Portugal, Porto. It’s the first time for all of us in Portugal, so we are really excited to see and explore Portugal.
The first thing that welcomed us, just after passing the border, were the fishing nets – and not just one, a lot of them. To avoid them, we decided to go rather far out from the coast. What we also found 12 nm from shore was a lost kitesurf kite, which is now happily returned to its owner (instant Karma).
Porto, such a beautiful city. So much to see and of course it is cool to visit a port with a wine producer, Taylor’s. It’s definitely one of the most beautiful cities we have visited so far.
We didn’t succeed in getting the vaccine in Spain, so we had to give it a try in Porto as well. And luckily Axel got his second shot! 
So now he is fully vaccinated. Not the easiest bureaucracy to navigate – you have to have a Portuguese telephone number – but after some joint efforts together with a family from another boat, we managed to clear everything out!
The next stop was Oeiras, and for the first time we were really nervous. Not because of wind or waves, but the orcas. Just the day before, there had been five attacks in the area that we would sail through, going from Porto to Oeiras. And it wasn’t an easy choice to make, go further out into orca territory, or going closer to the shore and the infamous Nazaré waves. Picking the lesser of two evils, we chose to skip the Nazaré waves and go further out. It was a long night, with not much sleep for anyone in the crew. Luckily we had no interactions with, nor could we see any orcas! We had a lot of dolphins playing around the boat though, so they kept us in a good mood. 
After less than 23 h hours and 180 nm (perks of having a fast boat), we arrived in Oeiras. Such a huge relief!
Just next to the marina, there is a pool area, so the first day in Oeiras was spent at the pool. The kids have asked for a pool, so it was nice to be able to meet that request. Unfortunately it was just for one day, then the pool closed for the season.
Next week’s forecast seems promising for sailing to Porto Santo, Madeira. And hopefully we won’t have any orca visits during that trip either! We just have to wait for AIS to return and some repairs and improvements on our lazy bag. Then we are ready to leave the mainland.
Written by Susanna Edholm, edited by Hanna Ericksson
Liv Sailing 