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
We finally made it to Barbate on Saturday, so technically we're now in the Straights of Gibraltar. Despite very little wind, the sea was lumpy and once out of the Bay of Cadiz a rolling swell came from behind us, which meant Comino did a lot of surfing.
Barbate used to be a centre for the Tuna industry. The processing factories are empty now, but they still put huge nets from the harbour entrance to almost 20 miles out at sea, using an ancient method called Almadraba to harvest the catch. Basically, they raise the net inch by inch until hundreds of huge Tuna come to the surface. Fishermen then hook them with giant gaffs and pull them into small boats for slaughter. It's a very bloody affair - I've seen it on telly and you need a strong stomach to watch it. I'm afraid the town itself is rather shabby, with very little of interest for visiting yotties. It's a bit of a hike from the marina too. However, the beach is lovely, with plenty of eateries along the seafront. Out of season, I imagine it's pretty dead around here. The really fascinating thing about Barbate is the view across to North Africa.....just amazing. Yesterday, we celebrated our first 100 days aboard Comino in style. We dined at a really good Chinese restaurant, then slept it off on the beach. I brought out the G&T in the evening (the first time in 100 days) and we watched the sun go down with a couple of "large ones", reflecting on how fantastic our odyssey has been so far. Tomorrow is the big finale to part-one of our journey. We set set sail for Gibraltar, which means going round Tarifa, one of the windiest places on earth. A deep breath is required, together with a steady nerve.
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Final prep has been completed for our morning departure to Barbate. Comino has been scrubbed and all things that might fly around in a bouncy sea have been nailed to the floor (metaphorically speaking). We'll slip our lines at 7.30am, with an ETA some six hours later. My next blog will feature something of a milestone, because on 26th Aug we'll celebrate 100 days aboard the boat. Here's a few pics for your interest. Yesterday's planned departure to Barbate didn't happen for two reasons. Firstly, the wind down there had shifted to an easterly, which means the sea state could have been unpleasant, even in quite light airs. And secondly, Nicki has got a trapped nerve in her back, causing serious pain when she sits down.
The easterly "Levante" is now set for about a week, as is the norm, after which time it will turn west again. My weather research this morning suggests next Friday or Saturday could be suitable windows for our getaway. Let's wait and see. So, time to put the laptop away for a few days and enjoy Rota some more. Nicki can relax and get well again with plenty of swimming to help sort out the problem. The temperature here is up in the high nineties, with very little wind. Good job we've found a bar that serves large cold beers for one euro a pop! Here we are on Thursday and still in Rota. We both woke up really early on Tuesday feeling a little ropey - too much sun the day before I think. Anyway, we decided that a six hour sail wasn't what we wanted, so we rolled over and went back to sleep. It means that the next weather widow appropriate for the Straights isn't until Sunday. Because we're not working to a timetable, it really doesn't matter........manyana and all that! Last week I yomped two miles to get a new camping gaz cylinder. A four mile round trip in 90 degrees was one hell of a workout I can tell you. To make sure I don't need to do this very often, I invested in an electric griddle. The idea is to cook more healthier and cut down on costs, given that electricity is free on the pontoon. Here are some of my recent gastronomic delights.... Just for the record, not all of the food above was one meal. My new galley toy is a real pleasure and will pay for itself in no time at all. Plus, I love going to the shops and markets each day to buy fresh local ingredients. All in all life in Rota for the past few weeks has been wonderful. The beach is top notch and the town is Spanish through and through. I'm going to put some pictures on the blog tomorrow of our last week here in Rota. However, today I'm doing the final bits of navigation and route planning in prep for our departure on Tuesday. Next stop is Barbate, but to get there we have to round Cabo Trafalgar, a rather fearsome headland surrounded by rocks and reefs. It's also the spot where Nelson met his end in 1805, hence the name. With the chartplotter still not working this will be quite a testing journey and will require the very best of my seamanship skills, using paper charts.
It's also worth mentioning that yesterday we hit 100 degrees for the first time. Much of the afternoon was spent standing up to our necks in the sea trying to stay cool. I kept my sunglasses on at all times, so I'm assuming I looked cool as well! Last night was clearly party night for the youngsters. At four in the morning, I sat in the cockpit with a cold beer watching the many hundreds of people in and around the marina nightclub giving it large. It was impossible to sleep with all that noise, so I felt I'd join them - albeit from a distance. At seven the music finally stopped and the crowds drifted away. We heard that the Spanish authorities allow this mayhem every weekend because youth unemployment is at 50%. If they tried to intervene, they'd have riots on their hands, so better to allow the kids to let off steam. Seems sensible to me - in England the police would rock up with truncheons in hand and wonder why people got stroppy! Our daughter Emily-Jane and her partner, Will, departed on Saturday after a week of good times in splendid sunshine. Rota certainly has plenty to offer as a holiday destination. Needles to say, we sampled many culinary treats of one kind or another. The fried choco (cuttlefish) was a firm favourite on more than one occasion. On Wednesday we all jumped on the ferry to visit the historical city of Cadiz. Talk about a WOW factor......what a place. This ancient city was on the receiving end of many a pounding by British cannons, including Sir Walter Raleigh and, of course, Lord Nelson. No wonder they built such strong ramparts with so many lookout towers. It was strange to peer across the water to see where these famous English seamen came from to raid the city in square rigged warships. Cadiz is a mighty fine city with so much of its old architecture intact. The narrow streets lead to many splendid parks and plazas where you can admire exotic plants and topiary. We walked for miles admiring the sights. Right in the middle of the city is a beach.....how great is that. Only problem is, it's not very big, so unsurprisingly towel space is in short supply. Below are a few more pics of the day, including a confrontation with a rather frightening croc who just happened to be lurking in a pool right in the heart of the city........only kidding.......he's made of concrete, but it took a few glances to be sure. For the last two nights in Rota we've been to the 2012 Festival Urta, just outside the marina. The purpose is to celebrate all things fish, but really it's an excuse to stay up till the early hours consuming local sherry varieties, with a bit of fried/boiled/grilled/ fish on the side. The stage performances have been.......mmm interesting. That said, the Spanish certainly know how to party. At one point, I wandered into a Salsa disco where a guy was leading the young crowd of trendies in a dance routine that was nothing short of pornagraphic, to say the least. To be honest, with all the excitement of the last couple of days, I think it's time for a holiday! Arrived Rota in the Bay of Cadiz on Wednesday, having first set off on Tuesday. Being buffeted by quite big offshore waves on the starboard beam made the motion of the boat very uncomfortable. Returning to Chipiona was the sensible and safe thing to do. However, we're here now at what was supposed to be our final winter destination in October. Talk about being ahead of schedule!
And Rota so far has not disappointed. The old town is very Moorish in style; hardly a shock as those naughty little North Africans ruled this part of the world for quite some time. I've got the full history in my Andalusian guide book, but I'll spare you the detail. All the necessaries are here......great sandy beach, overflowing food market, fisherman's co-operative where you buy direct, a maze of streets and alleyways buzzing with tapas bars and restaurants, plus some great clothes shops (that bit is Nicki's comment). Trouble is the marina is full, which means we may need to move on after a week as our berth has been booked in advance by someone more organised than us. Not to worry, that gives us enough time to visit the great historic city of Cadiz. Having now found an internet hot spot near the marina, I'll be doing a picture feature in the near future. Later this evening, Emily-Jane arrives with her partner, flying into Jerez (pronounced HEREZZZ), which means the next week will be dominated by sightseeing, beach loafing and tapas. I've been steadily loosing weight over the past few weeks, but this could be a testing time for my waistline!!! Comino arrived in Chipiona on Thursday after a five hour sail in light winds (on the nose) and a slight swell. I say sail....actually we motored all the way. My chart plotter has packed in, so navigation was done the old fashioned way with paper charts, dividers and plenty of maths. Seeing a shipwreck on the rocks as we approached Chipiona was a bit disconcerting, but we managed to negotiate the reefs successfully. This is a place with three distinct parts. Beach, seafront promenade and old Moorish town. The picture below shows just a bit of the beach and boy do the Spanish pack themselves in like Sardines. The old part of the town is quite spectacular. Pretty squares in amongst a network of small lanes, where you have many authentic tapas bars to choose from. In the morning it's very quiet. At lunchtime it's very busy. At night it goes nuts. Thousands of people mill around, enjoying the buzzing atmosphere. The bars and restaurants are packed to the rafters with Spanish diners enjoying food that is out of this world. Seafood of every type is favourite, which is hardly surprising given that the main industry here is fishing. Chipiona is world famous for it's light sherry called Moscatel. There are traditional Bodegas in the old town where you can drink many different types, from bone dry to sweet cream. I'm in the queue in the pic below and I have to admit, it wasn't my first time! The atmosphere is similar to wine tasting in French vineyards. They take this stuff very seriously and best of all, you can order small tapas delicacies to help wash it down. The Spanish are so civilised. Mind you, some of the locals did look like they'd been on the sherry for a very long time. The ancient fish traps here are really fascinating. Originally built by people back in the dark ages, they were further developed to perfection by the Romans. The principle is so simple. You build walls in the sea so that the fish swim above them whilst the tide is in, but when the tide goes out, they become stuck in giant rock pools created by a maze of inner walls. All my attempts at fishing from the boat have so far proved hopeless, so I might just go on an early morning raid on the beach tomorrow. That said, getting your grilled fish served up in a Spanish Bodega is a hec of a lot simpler. I mentioned a while back that we'd invested in a washing machine for Comino. Here you can see our marvellous device fully plumbed in and working brilliantly. People who know me well will see that my OCD side is fully exposed......the machine and the hose are colour coordinated !!!
We'll be staying here in Chipiona until Monday or Tuesday next week to sample more of it's delights. Then we need to round the peninsular into the Bay of Cadiz to find Rota marina. There are rocks and reefs everywhere which means a slightly stressful voyage is on the cards. I said yesterday that we were heading out of Mazagon........not so. When I double checked the forecast down in Chipiona it was very different to here. Easterly winds mean rough seas and that's precisely what was going on. Nicki and I don't do roller coaster rides on the ocean if we can help it. Today is much worse in Chipiona and it won't be till Thursday that we can contemplate moving on. And, just to make my start to today worse, I've lost all the wonderful photos of Culatra and Ayamonte. As I was about to download them onto the Mac to put on the blog, I discovered that the camera chip was empty. How irritating is that. Nicki called me something unpleasant and said I should read the manual before fiddling. There are ways of restoring them, so I shall search Google for some help.
Anyway, here's a quick catch-up. When we got to Ayamonte, we had no idea what a gem of a place it would be. The Moorish architecture, the spectacular palm tree framed squares and the cobbled lanes full of very authentic cafes and restaurants. It was all a delight. The icing on the cake was a large daily market where we bought fresh fish, fruit and veg, plus bread baked within the hour. The pictures I took of our time there were particularly interesting, so I'm doubly annoyed that I can't show them. Our seven hour sail to Mazagon on Saturday was OK, up to the last two hours, when the sea kicked up. We certainly had a bit of a rough ride into the harbour as the light faded fast. Nicki declared at one point that she was "not comfortable with this". My job was to make the best of it and steer us safely through the breaking waves. Once tucked up in the marina, we celebrated a tough journey with a hearty meal onboard with just enough wine to send us into a much needed deep sleep. We've been exploring this Spanish holiday resort for the past few days, enjoying a few good meals and long walks along the huge beach. Last night we watched a festival procession where a large statue of something or other was paraded down to the harbour, put on a boat and then taken out to sea. An armada of small boats following. Today, I need to find out what the hec that was all about. The weather here is really...really hot now. At one point our saloon topped 100 degrees, which means the only journeys I make down below during the day are to collect a cold beer from the fridge. Cheers! We've been in Mazagon for a couple of days and very shortly this morning we'll slip our lines again to head for Chipiona. It's a six hour sail, but the forecast is for light winds so we'll probably end up motoring. We're in a bit of a hurry to get to Rota, near Cadiz, because Em is flying out with her partner to spend a week with us. That's why we've been steaming down the Andalusian coast at a pace, but I'll do a proper catch up soon with lots of great pics and a few tales of fun times in interesting places. We've had the odd scare as well.
Our time anchored off Culatra Island was fantastic. I took some pictures that represent the very best of this really "off the beaten track" place. They need to be uploaded from the camera (and they will be shortly), but this is just a quick update to say we sailed for nearly seven hours on Wednesday to Ayamonte in Spain. Yes, we can't believe it but we're actually in another country with a very different atmosphere and style, despite the fact that we're only just across the border.
Ayamonte is for Spanish people only and there is absolutely no sign of anything created for British tourists......how wonderful and authentic. But, we had the shock of our lives this morning when we realised that the time zone is different. Spain is an hour ahead of Portugal and we hadn't realised (completely forgot more like it). It meant we got hear later than we thought Wed evening, which could have been disastrous from a tide point of view had it been the other way round. Unbeknown to us, we had lunch mid afternoon yesterday and dinner at 10 o'clock at night. And, after reading for a bit, lights out was at a rather late 1 am. We both feel complete numpties, but at least we came to our senses before we set sail again tomorrow for Mazagon.....another big sail. Before we go, I'll come back to this cafe with Wifi and do the pictures. Adios for now ! |
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.
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