The best anchorage so far - Culatra, Faro, Portugal

Mandy left me for a week in Vilamoura marina, to go home and work, and I managed to service the engine and generator. New oil, impellers, fuel filters and oil filters, also replace the 20 year old exit pipes on the toilet. As well as this I managed to flush the water maker, grease the rudder post, tighten the altenator belt and fix the water heater. I am well happy, no engine or genny work for another 150 hours, hopefully. 

We left the marina and had an ace 20 mile sail to Faro, specifically an anchorage off a town called Culatra. We flew up the Faro Canal at 9 knots, with the tide, and arrived 1 hour before sunset to the most peaceful, flat anchorage we have ever seen. The seas was a sheet of glass. 

Yes, and we had the best sunset EVER!

I know I keep banging on about sunsets and sunrises but the colours always amaze me. A Lapis lazuli sky is such a great colour. And on the other side of the sky you can sometimes see the belt of venus, the earths shadow,  rising like some ominous dark cloud to engulf the world. Then the stars and moon come out. It wasn't the best seeing but still Orion looks really strange rising on its side.

And the moon setting, the smiley face right down on the horizon was a wow view. The picture does not capture it at all but it blew us both away.

So the next day we went ashore to Culatra, the most Portuguese place we have been so far. A world of difference to Vilamoura and only 20 miles away.

And we got the drone out. Thanks a squillion to all our mates who bought us this brilliant piece of technology. We needed to practice on land before we try it at sea. When I worked at the BBC this technology was science fiction, the quality blows me away, and this is only 2k, absolutely amazing!!!

Then back to the boat for another beautiful sunset and quiet night on anchor. 

We're gonna stick around here for a while. There is a boat here in the anchorage that came for 2 nights and has been here for 6 months.