Saturday 2nd February 2008

A big day in the rugby calendar – England v Wales in the Six Nations tournament. As we were leaving the campsite, I chatted to another English guy who assured me that they would be covering the game in the campsite bar – he had installed the Sky system and was well in with the 'management'! He also told me about a very good satellite TV specialist not far from the campsite and in the direction that we were travelling. I needed a new cable for the satellite disk and a new connector for the satellite meter. We found the shop and paid €10.50 (£8 ish) for a 19m cable with connectors and a new connector fitted to the meter cable. This would have cost £20 in the UK!
We then visited the Nature Park that was just the other side of the railway line from the campsite and it was a most enjoyable visit. We paid out €1.50 each and read the English guide that told us that it would take two to three hours to complete the visit, which we thought was unlikely. We saw the fish breeding area with its many fish ponds and then walked though the (flattened) sand dunes admiring the typical flora of that environment. We then saw a huge variety of birds including storks (just for a change), redshanks, white and grey herons, little egrets, ducks, coots, and many wading birds but not the flamingoes that were noted in the guide and mentioned by the warden – it was obviously their day off! We nosed around the tidal mill – still in working order but not actually working when we were there. And then there were the Portuguese Diving Dogs. These dogs used to accompany the Portuguese fishermen and could smell fish that were lurking below the surface. They would guide the fisherman to them and dive after the fish up to a depth of approximately 3m. The lady called the dogs to her (they were out exploring when we arrived and arrived back smelling ......interesting!!!) and then showed how their feet were webbed – each toe joined to the next by skin. Unlike most other dogs, they swam using all four legs and were very good swimmers and divers.
Back then to the campsite in time for a very late lunch and then over to the bar to watch the match. Needless to say there were lots of other English supporters, mainly long-term campers. I still haven't quite worked out how we managed to lose a match that we totally dominated for 60 of the 80 minutes. At half time we should have been even further ahead than we were and, if we had been, we may well have won. Wales quite rightly celebrated their historic victory, their first at Twickenham since 1988, but it was England who gifted them the win. It was a young, talented but inexperienced England side and we hope for better results in the future.
A depressing end to the day, but I must keep remembering that I could be working for a living!
Photos: The interior of the Olhao tidal mill showing all of the grindstones, each one of which has a direct drive to a wheel under it that is turned by the water as it is released from the tidal pool; One of the Portuguese Diving Dogs – they are often seen with there back half shaved in order to enable them to swim faster in competitions.