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"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
On 15th we lifted our anchor in San Antonio Bay and set off for a holiday around Ibiza. First stop was Cala Tarida, just a couple of hours away. The beach was wonderful, the water crystal clear and a few restaurants and bars on the shore made short hops in the dinghy an absolute must. I even found a place up the hill that specialised in take-away spit roasted chickens. I got them to pop one in a bag for me and quickly returned to give Nicky a surprise slap up lunch on-board, washed down with a chilled bottle of Vino Blanco. Absolute heaven I must say. Swimming off the boat is now routine but you can imagine my surprise when I got up early one morning for a quick dunk and found Comino completely surrounded by jelly fish. I had contemplated a skinny dip but something told me it could get a bit painful round the nether regions!!! After a few days we decided it was time to move on again and find another Cala. We poked our nose into a couple just to have a look but they were all choka. Not enough room to swing a cat let alone a 30 ft yacht. High season here is crowded with many boats from England, France, Italy, Belgium and Holland, not to mention the Spanish on their home turf. They range from little tiddlers like us, all the way up to 300ft super yachts costing £25 million plus. We're all trying to squeeze into the same idyllic little bays but luckily for us we can usually find a spot in shallow water unsuitable for the big boys.Travelling anti-clockwise round the island we eventually dropped the hook in Cala Yondel. More swimming and more chilling but later we had a rolly poly night with an irritating swell all night. Tired, we set off again with our sights on Ibiza Town and some home comforts in a marina for the first time in two weeks. This involved some tricky navigation through rocks, reefs and small islands all waiting to trip up the unprepared sailor. A few uncomfortable hours in very choppy seas later, we arrived in the capital and rocked up boldly to Marina Ibiza amongst the biggest boats you've ever seen. Sorry sir, no room at the inn was the initial response but the head honcho of the place came out of his office and took pity on me. He made a dozen phone calls to birth holders to see who was away for the weekend. Eventually, after a tense half an hour wait, he found us a place for three nights in the farthest corner of the marina amongst the small speedboats.....Phew!!! This marina is geared up for the worlds richest people. There are immaculately uniformed staff on hand to do everything for you if you can afford it. Fetch n carry, cook, clean, polish your Rolls Royce (there are plenty of them). Everywhere you look very stylish looking couples ooze money out of every orriface.....but I'm sure they're really nice people at heart!!! One of the VIP services here is completely free and I've used it mercilessly. Rich and famous people are not expected to walk anywhere in this heat so a fleet of gleaming white golf buggies patrol the marina picking you up the minute you step off your boat. How cool is that? Yesterday we took the ferry over to the old town for a good old mooch around. Very attractive place full of shops selling outrageous clothing designed mainly for hedonistic types looking to adopt a designer hippy lifestyle. If you wore the stuff on Cheltenham Promenade you'd be arrested I'm sure. Anyway, here's a few pics of our stay.....tomorrow we sail and that means saying goodbye to the luxury showers and toilets and hello again to our solar bags. Actually, they do just fine, plus you don't pay 94 euros a night for them!!!
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A FEW PICS OF COMINOClick 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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