End of June, end of journey...

Back in a radiantly sunny Amsterdam, after a varied and most interesting few weeks in Portugal and Spain.
When we arrived back in Porto it was pouring; we took a taxi from the airport, and the windscreen wipers never stopped swishing! Through the misty green countryside we drove north to Povoa de Varzim, where our boat, Stroemhella, was out if the water waiting to be cleaned and inspected.

Here she is on a sunny day... And below, two views of Povoa de Varzim.

Finally, the sun returned and we set off northwards with little wind and not too much swell. But too much for me: I became seasick, quickly went and lay down in the thoughtfully prepared bunk, and tried to sleep into oblivion. I managed not to throw up and slept several hours.
When we arrived at our arranged destination, Viana do Castelo, no one appeared to take our ropes. So I did my much practised act, balancing on the toe rail, ropes in hand, and stepping elegantly off onto the pontoon as David brought Stroemhella slowly alongside. We have got very good at this over the years. Provided there's not too strong a wind, all goes well. At Viana there is in fact a treacherous current that pushes boats off the pontoon, but we were the first to arrive and had a fairly easy job.

We came to love Viana; stayed there a week all in all, and Gaenor and I made expeditions by train and coach to nearby splendid historic towns such as Ponte de Lima and Valanca.
And while we were at Viana the summer Medieval Fair took place.

Above: Povoa de Varzim, before the sunny days arrived. Seen through a porthole.