Portimao and Ferraguda, Portugal

News Flash: This just in - Jungle receives huge award for completing ARC Europe Rally. Award received for listing in Jungle breakage report - Malfunctioning Windshield Washer. We received a telescoping squeegie and a bottle of wine. Here is the proud crew (Jim, Jenée, Don) posing with Andrew Bishop, ARC Director and Martinho Fortunato, Lagos Marina Manager. This proves that last place has it's rewards - yes!

We went to tour the fort (Castelo - huge place) and all the gates were shut tight. We ran into the local police and asked when it was open for tours and they said it was a private residence. They said it was a wealthy Portugese family - I guess so. Jenée did a great job on all these pictures. Later today, we'll sail (overnight) for the Spanish city of Cadiz which puts us at the mouth of Gibraltar. Bon dia.

This little restaurant on the beach had great food so we dinghied into the beach later for dinner. They were also featuring a 5 piece jazz band - sweet!

We strolled up and over the town and arrived at this beach resort and there's Jungle. As always, we prefer anchoring to marinas.

Classic or what ?! We tied our dinghy off to this wall while we toured around Ferragudo.

Castles and forts protect the entrance to most of the old Mediterranean harbors. Portimao dates back to the 16th century. Now we are anchored in Portimao, facing the town of Ferragudo. This is a much smaller town and it turned out we enjoyed this side better. We'll get off the boat and tour this old fort.

These are sights you will only see in Europe.

Heading out of Lagos you can see that the harbor is actually cut out of a river. We enjoyed Lagos.

The walk bridge over the Lagos Marina is open and it's time to go. Jungle is setting sail for points east. It will be a long journey ... Actually, we're going 7 miles to Portimao. We were told that it's a quaint town with lots to see.

Touring Lagos, Portugal

Another beautiful end to a wonderful day. We're just getting started!

Jac is preparing to serve the sea bass. Great bass!

Jenée and I had a monk fish stew, thingie - delicious. Everyone else had the sea bass, also great.

Is this a beautiful couple or what?! I must admit, Jenée doesn't look bad either.

We joined up with Rene (back left) and Sophie (forward right) for dinner on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic. We'll get the seating worked out better next time. Jac is Dutch (Holland) and everyone else is from Belgium (Flemish). For my American friends, you cannot find more gracious hosts than Europeans. Once they take you in, they are truly the most pleasant helpful folks you will meet. Jac drove me all over Lagos to find a 220V Dremel tool. It was quite funny to walk in to a hardware store with Jac while he says to the Portugese clerks who speak English "Dremel?" Huh, what? Let's go to the next store. Same thing. Finally we find a clerk who speaks no English. "Dremel?" Ahh - right to the one Dremel tool in all of Lagos. Jac was a patient man - very helpful. I even got 15% off because it was the last one! Winner!

Jac and Renata (S/V Surya) drove us out to the west coast of Portugal (30 minutes from Lagos). How is this for spectacular scenery? Like all west coasts world wide, very rugged sea and cliffs. We actually sailed through this!

Jenée and I posing on Green Harbor, I mean, Lagos beach.

We will see a lot of these type villages and it will keep getting better.

Finally, Jenée and I have time for a little touring and R & R. We walked to the beach from the marina and I couldn't believe how much it reminded me of Green Harbor, the beach I grew up on. That note is for my Mom, Dad and family. Not the part about the topless women strolling around - hello! That ain't Green Harbor! Oh look, fat men walking around in slinky speedos! Time to punch myself in the face.

This is Surya who won the race to Lagos from the Azores. If I had known we were racing the outome would have been different. Harrumph! We became very close with Jac and Renata of Surya and spent quite a bit of time with them - great couple. The gentleman speaking is Lyall Burgess. Lyall works for ARC and did a tremendous job for all of us in the crossing. He is a real credit to the ARC organization.

Time for award night at ARC. This is the crew from Samji - Stephen, Melanie and Skipper Phil. We had a lot of fun with this group, including our daily radio contact sessions while at sea. At one point, Stephen asked us to shut off our engine and try sailing as they were having trouble breathing while sailing behind us.

A specialty in this area is sardines. Not the little ones in cans, but these big fellas.

We stroll through beautiful Lagos (pronounced La-gosh). We don't think we'll tire of these quaint Mediterranean villages, but we'll sure try.

Arriving Europa!

Land ho! After departing Ft. Pierce, FL in late March, Jungle delivers her crew to Portugal. Now we begin our next adventure in the Mediterranean Sea. First we'll enjoy Portugal. Bon dia!

Katie and the captain got some much needed rest. Thank goodness nobody follows this blog or I'd never live this down.

We did some fancy sail flying of our own. Don Mack showed me how to best use our spinaker pole to hold out the jib on a downwind run. Well done.

Here is Cisa from Germany flying their Cruising Chute - looking good. Unfortunately the skipper, Wolfgang, took a spill while tending to a rip in his main sail. He flew back yesterday to get treatment on some painful ribs. We all are wishing Wolfgang the best.

Hah ! It worked we are clearly in the lead. That is until I realized the starting line is back where all those boats are. Yikes!

We embark on the final leg of our Atlantic journey. I just dig writing the word embark. Our strategy is to be the first boat out of the harbor and never give up the lead.

'Ola Europa !!

We've mde it! We arrived mainland Portugal an crossed the finish line at 10 PM (UTC) Friday evening. We atually almost hit the finish line - orange mooring ball. We saw the strongest winds of the trip (40+ kts) comming into the Lagos harbor. We safe and sound and will update the blog shortly. I'm having internet difficulties now, but we'll get it fixed. Talk with you soon.

Santa Maria - Our final Azore Island

Jungle's ready to go we head out in a few hours. Next update from Europe in 7 or 8 days! Ciao.

For those who care to follow our sailing progress, follow us at: http://live.adventuretracking.com/arceurope2011

The dinner included being entertained by a local violinist. He was great - he did My Way, followed by U2's With or Without You - impressive.

The local town held a farewell dinner for us. In the morning we head out in racing formation with many local sailors who head back to the last island. We'll all head out together, then we'll split off and head to Portugal mainland.

We did find this beach complete with sunbathers - aren't we adorable!

I'm definitely digging the scenery. This place is so untouched, no traffic to speak of and the nicest friendliest people. I'm giddy!

The locals build these natural pools that fill up with seawater. We're here a little early in the summer season to see them in operation.

A beautiful village to visit - Maia.

We've made it down to Sao Lorenco just in time for lunch.

Here's Don with the admiral. Don and his better half, Maryann are live aboard boaters currently anchored in Houston. They've sailed all over and it's always great to have experienced help. Don and I will be swapping sailing stories (and lies) over the next 5-7 days.

This little settlement was tucked away on the northeast corner of Santa Maria. The island is the oldest inhabited land of the chain (closest to Portugal) which puts the settlements at around 1430 AD - wow. We're planning to drive down and check this one out.

We toured the island with our newest crew member - Don Mack. Incredible sights.

An idyllic paradise.

One last tour of another beautiful island in the Azores.

While sometimes camera shy, the Bournes were a tremendous help. On their first real passage they came through like champs. Lennie fought through the effects of motion and sea sickness, but never missed a shift at the helm. Rick couldn't have been a bigger help if he tried - Johnny on the spot whenever help was needed. We already mis them both, not to mention Ricky's soft hands, but again, I digress.

Well, it's time to set sail for our last stop in the Azores - Santa Maria. Before we go, it's time to say goodbye to the Bourne's. After nearly a month together, Rick and Lennie will head home to Brookline, MA. But before that, I wanted to show you Jenée's dinner, or what's left of it. Me personally, I don't like my meal to look like the previous owner - but that don't stop the admiral! We did have a great last supper with our friends Rick and Lennie.

More from from Angra and Porto Delgada

Wonderful little towns - we're off for now. Ciao.

More island beauty - this time on the beach, although not quite beach weather.

More volcano lakes.

The little towns might not have much, but they all have a nice church. My buddy Luca timed this half head shot perfectly. Funny Italians! Buena sera!

Unfortunately the weather didn't always cooperate as we toured around Sao Miguel, the Azoran capitol. The beauty is unmistakable.

Here's a local specialty - grilled squid. Excellent.

Who's hungry? This hot dog was a local specialty and it looked a little better than it tasted. Then again, maybe not.

Beauty everywhere.

We took a tour the next day and visited the "Furnace" where the volcano continues to out gas. That's our driver behind me. When I said "Hey, nice furnace", he wouldn't stop laughing. I'm telling you, I slay 'em in multiple countries.

Where was Jimbo the matador? Behind a retaining wall making sure the womens were safe. This fella got close and dropped a duece on us - it was bullshit. I'm killing me again, how do I do it?!

One of the features in the Azores is the "running with the bulls" events held by the various towns. Basically the locals stroll around acting cool until the bull gets close and than it's hilarious to watch their faces as they scramble for safety. A few guys do it with style, but there are tons of wan-a-bees
that you'd pay money to see flattened ... like this dork.

More beautiful countryside.

Here is a beautiful park in Angra.

Time to catch up on Azorian history? Nope, this fellow has the same name as Jenée's son, Garrett. He's an important guy in their history.