Having arrived one boat behind the other into Figueira yesterday late afternoon, the ARC Portugal fleet made no hesitiation in tucking straight into the freshly prepared sardine barbecue feast - a local speciality and rally tradition - laid on as part of the rally programme.
With the yacht club restaurant conveniently located just five metres from the top of the pontoon ramp, there was a real buzz amongst the crews, who packed themselves along two giant tables inside. They munched on endless freshly cooked sardines brought out by the attentive waitresses, washed them down with a continual flow of locally homemade organic red wine, and compared notes about the day's sailing down from Povoa de Varzim, which was quite a sail, ‘the days sailing was hard to fault’ – Jonathan Terry, Farfelu.
Most of the boats had managed a great day's sailing in the sunny and breezy downwind conditions, with only a few minutes of motoring to be had on the startline from Porto.
Despite a fairly late night for some, there was no shortage of enthusiasm from the participants this morning as they jumped on the coach outside the marina in Figueira da Foz, to head off on a historical and information-packed guided tour to the historic city of Coimbra and the surrounding area.
As the coach made it's way inland through green forested hills, crews listened to commentary from our faithful local guide Joao, who has been taking ARC Portugal groups on this tour for many successful years. After stopping onroute at a well-known pastry and coffee shop for a refreshing wake-up of caffeine and local delicacies, the coach continued on to Coimbra to begin a tour of Portugal's best-known University with our local guide.
Built on a hill it was at the top that the group left the coach to start the guided walking tour around the university. First stop was the beautiful ornate library, where the books date back several centuries, and the resident bats help preserve the books. Continuing on firstly through the university cells (not in use today, although the university is out-with police jurisdiction and has their own force), and then the graduation hall, to a balcony affording amazing views over the city. The opulence around the university suggested at the wealth enjoyed by a nation supported by so many colonies for so long during the discoveries of the world, with much gold coming from Brazil to decorate the inside of many of the magnificent university buildings.
After some free time exploring and finding different venues for lunch, it was time to board the buses and head to the Moorish Montemor Castle situated in the Figueira valley, half way back to the city at its’ mouth (Foz). A short climb into what is reported as the best preserved castle of this age and style in the area to enjoy the magnificent all round views, and hear stories about the castle's rich history of battlement and religion. Some participants opted for the train route back and enjoyed the slightly quicker however many arguw more scenic route back to Figueira.
Prizegiving drinks are always enjoyed by all, and the crews headed to the Skippers Bar overlooking the marina this evening, where the rally was officially welcomed to Figueira da Foz by yacht club president Miguel Amaral, before some more fun prizes were dished out for Leg 3 of the rally, everything from corrected results to correctly guessing the arrival time in advance of your boat!