Porto de Recreio Oeiras Marina was a pleasant place to stay because we were surrounded by sandy beaches and It was easy to get a taxi into Lisbon but perhaps we should have hired a car to have more flexibility.
Richard, Anne and Bob hired a car today to drive to Sintra, a famous group if three villages only about 30 km to the north, where there are extraordinary palaces, gardens and mansions set in wooded mountains. It was the summer residence of the kings of Portugal and the Moors before them, building the first palace before the 10th C. As Greg and I had been there previously we opted to stay at the boat for a rest, which turned into mostly a cleaning and washing day for me and a day for Greg to sort out his tools, manuals, etc. It was a glorious sunny day, allowing us to finally rest in the cockpit and sunbake during the afternoon.
When the others returned we had dinner at a local restaurant which had been recommended to us by a couple of people. If you walked past it you would not choose it as a place to eat because it just looks like a shop or a bar and it definitely is not a place where there are any tourists, but the owner was a plump jovial man who looked after us very well. As soon as we sat down he brought us plates of octopus salad and whitebait with fried onions plus the customary bread, and then we had to choose which fish we wanted grilled. Richard chose robalo and durado for us to share, which were served on large platters with potatoes, broccoli, beans and tomatoes and the owner filled the fish as he plated it for us. It was fabulous. We didn't like the white wine as it was too sweet but thoroughly enjoyed a red from the Douro area.