Anybody else with children going to overwinter in Portimao?

Ariadne

Ariadne

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The Mrs kids and boat are in Grenada. Me? I'm in S
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Our children aged 8 & 9 will be desperately looking for friends from the begining of November 2007 until March 2008, so is there anybody out there going to be wintering/visiting Portimao during this time. They aren't fussy about language barriers - they seem to be able to communicate with any child in any language (better than us adults!).
 
Not wishing to alter your plans but had you considered going up the Rio Guadiana instead? At San Lucar ther is a small local school and English friends of mine live there full time. Might be worth a visit for a month or two. The only thing to watch for is the occasional strong flow in heavy rains.
 
Also not wishing to alter your plans, but have you considered and discounted lagos.

We visited Portimao in 2006 before commiting to lagos. The station is a long way from the marina, and we couldnt get a taxi.... the town is a long way from the marina... and one of the locals we spoke to said it was dead as a dodo from November onwards.

Whereas lagos town centre is a short walk from the marina, the station is more or less at the marina entrance, loads of people either wintering, or permanent liveabords there. An active social scene if you want one.

Just a thought, as we discounted Portimao fairly quickly and easily, and loved our 9 months in lagos.

Cheers

Richard
 
Re: kids on the Guadiana. There are several ex pat families living in the vicinity of Sanlucar/Alcoutim with children of the right age. Most live in fincas (smallholdings) along the river banks. They all attend the local school and are bi lingual and well integrated. Two of them came on a liveaboard last winter, their parents put them in school for the winter in the hopes that they would learn Spanish quickly (which they did) and are now staying for a further school year! The school runs are by dinghy! However, spaces on the Sanlucar pontoon are limited and you may have to stay anchored out most of the winter. If you can get on, the price is reasonable including water/electric and showers.
 
Second Richard's observations on Portimao and on Lagos. Portimao is a long way from anywhere, but shopping etc is doable with a bike. There were a number of liveaboards there but not many children and it is pretty dead in the winter. Lagos on the other hand is well served for transport, supermarkets and good eating places and there is a substantial expat presence with a busy social life to keep you occupied and provide a wealth of local knowledge and tips. The marina does low rate deals for six and nine months. If you go there, you'll fuind out why it is nicknamed Port Velcro, hard to tear yourself away!
 
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Lagos was full when we asked last week so we will stick with Portimao for now.

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Wow! I was there from September last year to June this year, and there were always several berths available around us ... Pontoons M & N I think - I wonder if there is an ARC or something going on, and lots of space becomes available in the next month or so?
 
we spent last winter in Portimao and had a wonderful time with our 2 year old who went to the local nursery 2 days a week. We thought Lagos to loud for us, and the friendly overwintering community was great. Bikes are really useful. All the really good shops are in Portimao, so I would say you've made the right decision.

look out for the Pondarosa bar near the first roundabout and the Veranda restaurant on the road overlooking the beach at the far end. €5.4 3 courses and homemade creme caramel

don't forget to anchor in Alvor

Red
 
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