On the 9th september after the luch, we decide to leave all together, to go to Nazaré.

After one hour sailing we must start the engine as there is no more wind.

We start to think that we´ll never sea the so-called Portugese alizes ! A thick fog reduce the visibilty to a few meters and hide the sun until the following day. The hygrometer announces 96 % humidity !

On the 10th, at 11am, Severine and Stephane call us on VHF to invite us for the dinner : They caught two tunfishs and a makrel ! A bit later, we also catch a makrel, it´s gonna be a big feast !

Nazaré is a very touristic city, without any particular center of interest. We are a bit deceived by this place, which we had heard so much about.

The coast is very beautiful, alternating white sand beaches and cragged cliffs.

The 11th, we leave Nazaré to go to the Berlenga islands.

The Berlenga island is the main island of the Berlenga archipelago, natural park, which counts 4 islands. On 1 km length and about 500 meters width, it is a bird protection area.

Situated 25 nautical miles away from Nazaré, we arrive there about 4 hours after departure (this time, we have enough wind and in the good direction)

On the way, we fish a 45 cm tunfish ! Our first real big fish. It is a white tunny, on contrary to the one fished by Severine and Stephane which was red. This time, we invite !

We find an idyllic anchoring in a turquoise water surrounded with pink granite rocks and caves. Water is very cold but so transparent that we can´t resist to diving. Fishes are everywhere around...

Formerly, the islands was protected by a XVIIth century fortress which still stands there in a very good state. We walk on its ramparts and enjoy sightseeings on the horizon and the surrounding caves.

A path leads us to the light-house and on top of the cliffs from where we can see the creek where we anchored. Along the path, we can observe thousands of birds.

We really enjoyed our stay in the Berlenga which is worth a visit.

We leave the following day after a last bath in these dreamy waters. Our next stop is Peniche, 5 miles away form the island.

We expect nothing from Peniche, or more or less the same than Nazare and we are quite surprised to discover a huge fishing harbour and a city which seems much more authentic than Nazare. We anchor very near to a citadel whereas the others went to the marina.

The swell prevent us to sleep, it´s as if Cephee would like to dance!

We spend the 14th visiting the city and its surrounding. We find a restaurant (after elimination of all those where the menu is translated in 36 differentlanguages and just before we give up) very simple which proposes 3 dishes of the day. Thomas dreamed of sardines and Hélène about squids (Choco in portugese) and they serve both of them today! Thomas orders the full portion, while Hélène takes a half (which is normally suffucient for one person). When we see Hélène´s plate size, very copious, we hardly imagine how Thomas´one will be! What a plate! About 1 kg grilled with salt sardines garnished with potatoes and a salad! Choco are cooked in a delicious sauce and really tender... A very good adress which we won´t give as we found it by chance and would be unable to find again. Its name is Minholto, (be careful there is a Minholto 2). Take the small streets, behind, you will certainly find.

The city hides some charming churches, sympathetic lanes and houses with tiled houses. The tiles are often blue painted and called "Azulejos". Going a bit further, we reach the cliffs on the ocean. Unfortunately, there are detritus everywhere, it´s desgusting to witness human´s lack of respect for nature. The more we go away from the beautiful center, the more we see shattered houses. We finally cross a slum, dirty ground equipped with huts where children play among detritus. The contrast with the the places one shows to the tourists is striking.

Back to the city center, we are dazzled by the walls whiteness and the shops opulence...

To recover the lost sleep and as the swell forced, we go to sleep in the marina and agree with Serge, Severine and Stephane that we´ll leave the day after to Lisbonne.