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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
Yesterday was meant to be washing day. This coincided with the arrival, the day before, of 20 boats that had just sailed for three weeks from Plymouth, across Biscay, to Lagos, on The Rally Portugal. And what do you think they wanted to do after they sobered up.......do their mountains of washing of course! So, we left the laundry queue and headed for the Spa to have a sauna and jacuzzi session instead. A much more sensible way to spend an afternoon I think.
Talking of washing, I bought a washing machine to help reduce the cost of laundrettes. It's a real mod con and so very simple to use. You just put the powder in the bottom, fill it from the hose pipe, scrunch the clothes with your hands and then rinse with clean water from the hose again....fantastic. If you're thinking it's just a bucket, then think again. It's a "special" bucket, with two handles on either side to make it easier to carry. This could mean clean undies at least once a week from now on.....only kidding. Regarding future plans, we're set to leave Lagos on Sunday morning after 21 nights here. We'll decide the destination nearer the time, when we can get a more accurate feel for the weather/wind. Because we have some minor boat repairs to sort out, Albufeira will be a stopping point at some stage. I must now go and attend to my "smalls" - I think the new washing machine is leaking already - Nicki turn that bloody hose off will you!
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Emily-Jane and James departed yesterday after a wonderful week of laughter and fun. It was the first family holiday we'd had all together for a long time. A few tears were shed as they boarded the coach to the airport....actually, my wallet was quite glad to see them go! Happy days..... we'll be catch-up again soon, I'm sure. With access to a luxury hotel pool and spa complex, courtesy of passes loaned to us by a friend, we'd had some days there rather than the beach. James took particular advantage of the Gym, Sauna and Jacuzzi, but both of them went home tanned, toned and well fed. After they left, the boat was an absolute tip. I therefore needed to unleashed the full force of my OCD in order to make Comino neat and tidy again. Everything was meticulously stowed in its rightful place until we were completely ship-shape. I now feel at peace with the world once more, but not for long. Today is washing day, which means any moment now the boat will look like a bloody Chinese laundry. After our week with the kids, we feel like we need a bit of a lie down. So, we're heading for the pool sun loungers later to chat about possible next steps for our adventure. We both feel the time to leave Lagos is soon, otherwise we'll end up here forever. They call Lagos "the Velcro port", because it's difficult to tear yourself away. I know of one chap who arrived here 20 years ago and he still hasn't managed to sail away. But Spain beckons us loudly......particularly the Tapas. Em sorted out the photo upload issue - apparently I was trying to put pictures on the blog with file sizes bigger than the entire internet. The word plonker was uttered. I'll spend an hour or so tomorrow getting pics sorted. The temperature here has risen big time in the last few days. Writing this has exhausted me........is 10.30 too early for a cold beer? Nicki says yes and has poured me a lemon squash. Cheers! We've been liveaboards for just over a month now and with a lot of hard work and dedication Comino has become a shining example of order, discipline and tidiness. Everything lives in a precise place, which means when you want something, you know exactly where it is.
Then Emily-Jane and James arrived........crash, bang, wallop....... what a mess! Those two have no concept of "putting it away when you've finished with it". But seriously, what a joy to see them both and on such good form. I'll suffer the chaos for a week just to enjoy their company, although Nicki and Em already look like they'll be sneaking off every five minutes for "girly" catch ups. The general feeling amongst our new crew is that partying takes preference over sailing. Bustling nightlife is favoured over remote isolated anchorages. People watching (or in James's case ogling at you know what) is preferred to glorious uninhabited beaches. So, it looks very much like we'll be staying in Lagos for another week then! Last night was epic. A whole spit roasted pig was on offer at the local beach restaurant. A Samba band played, the sun set and people danced the night away. It was a rather hedonistic atmosphere, enhanced by the arrival of several crews who'd just arrived, having sailed across the Atlantic. Naturally, they wanted to party, and they did. It was all you could eat and drink for 15 euros a head and that's exactly what we did.....eat and drink all we could. The walk home was...well...a bit wobbly to say the least! Today will be a quiet day.
I've just returned from the weekly farmers market with a bag laden with wonderful local produce, including a big bunch of fresh basil that's now wafting a hypnotic smell throughout the boat. I shall cook pasta tonight and the basil will be the star of the show in my tomato sauce. I know we're not doing much sailing at the moment, but Lagos is a place to be enjoyed and we wouldn't want to offend by departing too soon ! My word, have the winds blown! Not quite the 40 knots as forecast (completely unreliable as ever) but still, the last couple of days have been "hang on to your hats" and whatever you do - "DON'T go sailing"!
Very sunny, very windy and very lazy sums up the situation here in Lagos. Chuck in a bit of fresh fish last night at a little gem of a restaurant on the village ramparts and you've got the whole picture. Today, and for the next week, it look like being seriously, seriously hot, so I'm thinking it's beach time. We're staying in Lagos for a while because the excitement is mounting for the arrival of James and Emily-Jane on Tues/Wed respectively next week. And, we're happy to hang out here for a while because quite frankly it's such a great place. Can't wait to see the kids in the flesh......Skype is fantastic, but not as good as the real thing. This will also herald the start of uploading new pics.....at the moment I've got challenges with my new Mac, but Em is the Mac wizard, so she'll sort it out. Watch this space. We set off on Saturday, a day earlier than planned and slid down to Portimao with a force 4 wind behind us. It was a gentle Genoa only sail all the way, with the sun shining, so the mood aboard Comino was well chilled. Friend Adrian, and two of his relatives (hello Mike and John when you read this), were in close convoy aboard Teal. Once safely moored up, we took the dinghies across to the wonderful Ferragudo beach, but us lads soon retired to the beach bar for cold beers, leaving Nicki alone to soak up the rays on our behalf. It was her choice to stay just for the record.
On the way back in the dingy the water was a bit choppy and Nicki got drenched by a couple of rogue waves - or was I going too fast ? Either way, if looks could kill! Nicki doesn't do a wet bottom. Our plan was to head down to Culatra Island on Sunday to anchor up for a few days in the lagoon, but what a shock we got when we looked at the forecast that morning. The next couple of days were expected to blow up big time with gale force winds - not the right weather to be sat at anchor in somewhere really exposed to the elements. So, after a strategy meeting, we decided the sensible thing to do would be to head back to Lagos Marina to sit out the storm, which is where we are now. As I write, the dark clouds are above us and rain is spitting. If the 40 kn winds actually arrive today, it's going to be one hell of a blow. What a good excuse to find a bar and watch the England match on the telly later this afternoon. Having said that, we all lead ourselves astray last night with far too many vinos for common sense, but with all of us in a bit of a party mood, it was difficult to stop the stuff flowing. Much more restraint and discipline required tonight - what do you think Mike and John ! I said to Nicki that we should regard Monday and Tuesday as proper holiday and take some time out, just like we would if we were back in the UK. Therefore, we did things like lazing around in the cockpit reading, going to the beach and strolling through the old town eying up dilapidated old houses that we might want to do up and live in for rest of our days (Lagos does that to you for some reason). Not one chore or bit of boat maintenance was done in the whole two days........... plus, as a treat, we allowed ourselves wine with lunch!
I went to the commercial fish market in Lagos yesterday. It's where the restaurants and hotels bid for the days freshly caught catch, which comes straight off the boats moored just a few hundred yards away. I noticed how old locals lurked in the background, waiting for the right opportunity to quickly move in and buy a small bag of Sardines for next to nothing in price. I followed suit, only what caught my eye was a Tuna that had been skinned, filleted and cut into a giant oblong of solid red fish. I asked if it would be possible to just have "two small steaks please". What I got were two pieces each about as big as a dinner plate - which is precisely where they ended up last night aboard Comino, pan fried to perfection, with a little bit of pink in the middle. Today the holiday is over. There are a multitude of jobs to be done, including some much needed polishing. We're slowly preparing to set sail on Sunday for a few nights along the Algarve, followed by our first venture into Spain. Let's hope Wi-Fi will be available so I can upload some pics. Oh.....was there some kind of royal thing going on in blighty......one of the marina bars had Union Jack bunting up for some reason ! We've moved address to Marina de Lagos and we're now safely tucked up on C pontoon with a great view. The morning sun beams into our cockpit just in time for the first coffee of the day - very pleasant indeed.. We set sail at 09:15 yesterday, arriving four hours later in strong winds, a choppy sea, but with the contents of our stomachs still intact. It was great to blow the cobwebs away and finally get out on the ocean, albeit always in sight of land.
We really like the feel of Lagos with its bustling marina, lively town centre and historic old houses. To celebrate our arrival, we headed for a very authentic taverna type restaurant that holds hundreds of people in a big rustic barn. Being Saturday night it was full of locals, which is always a good sign, creating that typical hustle and bustle that you get in countries where people like to speak loudly and gesticulate a lot. I ate fried baby squid swimming in garlic, whilst Nicki went for the grilled piri piri chicken. It all came with potatoes, chips, fresh salad and a jug of wine so big you could drown in it. All this for 10 euros each - truly magnificent. Sorry, I must stop commenting on the contents of our plates every time we go out to eat. The plan is to spend a week here enjoying long beach walks and local fayre, although some of those walks will turn into sit downs and swims. We're still in Albufeira, mainly because I've spent the week role playing an engineer. Actually, my efforts with the spanners have paid off because to change the oil, various filters and carry out other bits of engine maintenance, would have depleted our funds quite considerably had I called in the marina chaps to do the work. And, the weather has been a little unpredictable in the last 24 hours, with a big storm overnight. If we'd been at anchor in a bay, as planned, it would have been like Alton Towers in the aft cabin. So, I'm keeping a close eye on the forecasts and the expectation is that we might head off first thing in the morning. To be fair, the only deadline we have is to be in Lagos by 8th June to meet up with friends. Now there's a word I haven't used for a while "deadline".......how very strange that feels.
Both Nicki and I are pretty brown now, so lord knows what we'll look like in four months time. I expect you'll be able to make a pair of stout walking boots out of my skin, it'll be so leathery! One of the real pleasures here is watching the sun go down whilst relaxing on deck with a chilled glass of white wine. It's even more enjoyable because the wine only costs 2 euros a bottle....and it's really not bad - honest. |
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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