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 had a small disaster a few days ago when the electric griddler decided to give up the ghost. As the news broke locally, two prawn fishing boats were immediately mothballed in anticipation of a significant drop in demand.....LOL. However, a quick stroll into town soon solved the problem. There in the electrical shop window, staring back at me, was the shiny face of the one and only James Martin on a box containing a similar machine. Given our reliance on this method of cooking, I felt I had no option but to buy a new one immediately. The first trial meal (Moroccan chicken, not prawns as it happens) was a big success, but if this one breaks down I'll be phoning his Saturday morning live show on BBC 1 to give him an earful in front of the entire nation. Yesterday (Thursday), both Nicki and I had concrete evidence that we're both well and truly back in leisure mode. I set off first thing telling her I was heading for the Wednesday market in La Linea. "Have a good time" she said as I disappeared off the boat. Upon arrival at the huge site, the whole place was completely deserted, at which point the penny dropped with a loud clunk as I realised I was a whole day late. We lost complete sense of the time of day soon after arriving back, but forgetting what day it is shows we must be chilling nicely. During a trip back to England the other day (a stroll over the border to Gibraltar to be precise), we came across an interesting old galleon moored in Ocean Village. It turned out to be the "Pickle", one of Nelsons ships at the Battle of Trafalgar. It wasn't part of the actual fighting, but served as a communications vessel. According to the leaflet we picked up it carried the first news of the victory back to England in 1805. Amazing what you see if you keep your eyes open. Yesterday also turned out to be a rather full on day for socialising. Before lunch we met a great couple, Mark and Angie, who sailed here via the almost exact route from Portugal as we did last year, although they originally set off from Hull two years ago, crossing Biscay the brave souls. The difference is that they then stayed on their boat here for most of the winter so were able to give us loads of good advice about what events are going on and where to go. We eventually ended up in the marina bar for a quick thirst quencher and hopefully we'll meet up with them again some time soon. Then after lunch, as we were relaxing in the sun, a knock on our hull heralded the arrival back to La Linea of our friends Roger and Lynn (yacht VIS), who we first met back in Albufeira last spring. They were here with us in September, having spent their summer sailing in the Med. With so much catching up to do, it was only polite to trot back to the lounge bar for another couple of beers.
So, as you can see, life here is both hectic and restful in equal measures. The sun shines a lot, the beer is cold but we haven't ventured into the water for a swim just yet. More news of our adventure to follow soon.
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If a day of rest is good enough for the almighty, then it's surely fine for us too. The mop, bucket and scrubbing brush have been put to one side just for one day and we've de-camped to the marina lounge bar for a lunchtime drink in glorious sunshine, accompanied by a plate of delicious olives (gratis of course). I have to confess that the language here is still troubling me a bit......I ordered a vin rouge instead of a vino tinto. Bless, the kind hearted waitress smiled and said "would you like a red wine then!!!
The keep fit campaign kicked off with a five mile power walk first thing today. I found myself trekking through a huge council estate on the edge of La Linea and boy was it a shock. The area was so run down with an air of decay and poverty clearly reflecting the state of the economy. Many people around here talk about how things were so much better before the Euro and you can see all too clearly why there is a growing movement to part company with Brussels. Right, enough of politics.......let's move on to the agenda for next week. We need to organise for Comino to be lifted some time soon in order to scrub her bottom. I've brought some new seacocks from England to fit plus there's a little more work required on the engine service. Best enjoy the rest of Sunday before the work starts again in the morning. Cheers. After an exhausting month of non stop decorating, packing our possessions for storage and sorting out a mountain of paperwork, we're finally here aboard Comino. Stepping off the plane yesterday in brilliant sunshine felt like a true homecoming and both of us couldn't stop smiling as we walked the short distance from Gib airport to the boat. And there she was, after five months of bobbing up and down in the marina all alone, looking absolutely fantastic. Apparently the rain down here has been of biblical proportions over the winter, keeping Comino well washed. And, would you believe it, the engine started with less than half a turn of the ignition key. It was almost as if she wanted to fire up all on her own, just to say welcome back my absent friends.
Even though Nicki and I were both physically and mentally drained, we spent our first afternoon cleaning our cabin and airing the bedding, but just reward came in the form of a delicious pasta supper washed down with a fine Rioja Reserva.......( 2.99 euros would you believe Ray). Having said that, I'm going to try hard this time round to focus more on our cultural and sailing exploits, rather than produce a blog that's more like a rolling menu. So, what now? The next few days will definitely be spent grafting. In reality, Comino needs a lot of spit and polish, both inside and out, before she'll look brand new again. I have a sneaky feeling though our toils might be punctuated by occasional trips to La Linea for a spot of Tapas.......oops......there goes the menu reference again !!! Catch up soon when the work is all done and the true adventure begins. |
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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