OUR BLOG
"There's always a plan, but unexpected things happen and we just go with the flow. Though I do believe that fate and destiny often play their part"
sailing blog
Yesterday (Friday) we left Marbella feeling as if we'd like to visit the place again. We had intended to untie our lines on Tuesday, but the wind has been blowing wildly for days, causing the sea to cut up quite rough. Thankfully, our journey on to Fuengirola was uneventful - no wind to speak of, so we had to motor all the way. We travelled just a few hundred metres offshore, allowing us to admire the scenery along the coast. Fuengirola is a true Costa del Sol tourist resort. In happy hour (which seems to be all day) you can get a pint of San Miguel for one euro. Lord knows how little fish n' chips will be? I can't wait to find out. Let me firstly do a bit of catching up and talk about our trip to Puerto Banus, over a week ago now. We decided to arrive in style, so we hopped on the shiny white ferry in Marbella to do the half hour journey across the bay. Approaching from the sea (pic taken with my phone camera hence the blur) it all looks pretty normal. But, as you enter the harbour and see the big yachts moored up and the Ferraris parked on the key-side, you know it's going to be slightly different. In truth, the harbour in Puerto Banus is just about all there is that's really posh. If you wander two streets back you could be absolutely anywhere. It's just another high rise holiday resort with a very fancy waterside bit. After a nice tapas lunch away from the harbour area, meaning we didn't need a second mortgage to afford it, we wandered around to see what we could see. Firstly, there's the shops.......all the world's major designer brands lined up alongside each other. Then there's the cars.......super. Then there's the people.........a mixture of eye candy, Brit blokes on stag do's, baffled tourists and people who've clearly been in the sun too long. And, of course, there are some people who look absolutely loaded. We also saw a party boat filling up with trendy youngsters who were revving up for a wild day of alcohol abuse and blatant strutting of their stuff in-front of the opposite sex. Had I been ten (OK thirty) years younger I would have joined them.....or as Nicki said "yea,in your dreams". I mused that if ever I wanted a second career, I could always apply to be a party boat captain. It was a day of admiring shiny baubles in the shops, gazing at lush supercars, drooling over flashy boats and discreetly watching interesting people. Puerto Banus is, in our opinion, a great day out, but once you've seen it.... that's it. Yes, if I had squilions in the bank I might hang out there now and then. To be fair, the waterside restaurants did look fantastic. In summary....... been there......couldn't afford the T-shirt. Here's a few images of our time in one of the world's most famous yacht havens.
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Just over a week ago we set off from Estepona for the three hour hop to Marbella. Within minutes of leaving the harbour dolphins were all around us, dancing alongside and diving under our bow. What a wonderful uplifting experience it was. Nicki sat on the front of the boat in total awe. I tried to take pics, but the little blighters just wouldn't keep still. Nicki was so excited, I was worried she might leap overboard to commune with them. The truth is, we didn't quite know what to expect of Marbella. Lots of kiss me quick hats maybe; expat gangsters looking menacing; a sprawling concrete jungle, or might it actually be an OK sort of place? What was it to be? Well, we're pleased to report that Marbella has made quite a positive impression on us. Yes, there are lots of high rise apartment blocks, some of them from the early days of development and some very recent additions that look extremely upmarket. There are also plenty of sumptuous villas surrounded by exotic gardens, barely visible through the dense shrubbery. Clearly, there's a lot of money here. All in all, the feel of the place is super relaxed and particularly well groomed. The never ending beachside boulevard takes you all the way to Puerto Banus with ornate marble paving and lush palm trees lining the route. The main marina area is, as you would expect, full of chill out bars, good restaurants and very beautiful people lounging around in rather revealing swimwear. What we didn't see were groups of drunk brits sporting sunburnt bodies, spouting foul language and generally making a nuisance of themselves. Sorry if I'm being a bit stereotypical here. As for Marbella old town - breathtaking hardly comes close. It's a labyrinth of cobbled streets and alleyways; gorgeous traditional architecture; amazing little bars and restaurants in truly stunning settings; posh boutiques; little courtyards; trailing flowers everywhere....I could go on, so let's stop raving about it and allow the pictures to do the talking. The area around the main beach is lush with greenery and again marble is in abundance. It gives the feel of somewhere just a little bit special and the fact that you can land a helicopter right in the centre of things rather says it all. The other day we did what everyone else does here at some point - made the short trip to the infamous Puerto Banus. I've been sat in a bar writing this blog for quite some time now, so the full story and pictures of the things we saw will continue later. But here's one photo to set the tone of what's to come..........catch up again soon.
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A FEW PICS OF COMINO Click a photo to enlarge and use side arrows to scroll through. COMINO IS CURRENTLY HEREDID SOMEONE SAY SEAFOODOn our journey from Portugal to Greece we enjoyed amazing seafood almost everywhere we stopped. Finding the local fish market was always a priority because seafood was so plentiful and so reasonably priced. And, the displays were a feast for your eyes.
Locating a market sometimes meant pounding the pavements in searing heat, but if you kept your eyes peeled, you often came across a little clue. The pic below was a rather less than subtle advert for a fish market - it was eight feet tall.
Freshly cooked onboard, a plateful of giant prawns, baked in wine and garlic, washed down with a few glasses of local vino, was like heaven. Watching the sunset on the boat eating a meal like that was the epitome of "living the dream".
Now we're in Greece we've another favourite to savour. I'm talking about fried Calamari. It's usually good, but every now and then it's off-the-scale fantastic. At Natalie's Taverna on Kontokali Beach in Corfu, it was nothing short of epic.
We're based in Lefkas now and It's been a bit of a mission to find somewhere just as good. And we have. Rakias is a mere ten minute walk from the marina and this little fish market, with its very own taverna attached, is quite sensational.
Oh...and it's also worth mentioning that, on occasions, a bit of barbequed Octopus is on the menu at some of the tavernas we frequent. Can I resist....no. SUNSETS AND DRAMATIC SKIESNo filters, or any other monkey business, have been used to enhance these images.
OUR ADVENTURES FROM THE BEGINNING CATEGORIES
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