Dodging the zig zags

Today has mostly been about weather avoidance. We are feeling happy though, as we have made the most of today without getting particularly wet.
After a pretty miserable but spectacular night, where the lightening lit up all our windows, the rumbles of thunder literally shook the van and the rain lashed down at varying velocities, we woke to a calm. A blue sky was trying to break cover through a hushed moment of the morning, although there was a consistent aggressive set of noise in the distance like the sound of living next to a motorway.We decided to make the most of the day. The thought had been to avoid Aveiro due to the weather, but then we thought again and decided that we are here, so lets carry on! So we did. Initially we took the short trip to the sea and parked up. It was here that we realised the hidden aggressive noise was the sea. An angry sea, which reminded both Clare and I of the oft studied poem called 'The Sea' by Philip Reeve. It was raging. So we raced onto the beach to watch it. We just stood and watched because it was quite amazing.

What should be a really nice seaside beach was now an aggressive place. We were fascinated. So much so, we brewed up and watched it worsen as more lightening and rain raced in towards us with an accompanying soundtrack of thunder.
However, the skies began to brighten a little. We therefore aimed for Aveiro. And what a treat it was. We managed to catch it in the sun, and have the benefit of that weather for the duration of our stay. We learnt all about the boats called moliceiros, which were used to either transport the salt (for the salted fish that they love over here....quite amazing to see all the pallet loads of cardboard looking cod in the supermarkets!) around the canals that litter this place, or to transport the special seaweed that they used to fertilise the soil. We duly took a trip around the canals in one of these boats. Although I have not been to Venice (yet), I can see why they call it the Portuguese Venice.
The colours of the boats though were fantastic. The picture below demonstrates this. Many of the boats however depicted "hot and spicy" scenes as our guide told unlike the distinctly un-racey picture below!!!

Sometimes it is only with the benefit of hindsight, and having seen the photos, that we realise that some of the things we are seeing are fantastic.

A pleasing day though. The children have done only a little school work, they have completed their diaries, but have enjoyed their day all the same. A day of going to the beach, taking a boat ride, and then finishing it off with homemade pizza in the van!
Successful weather dodging achieved today though.