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
As the saying goes - "time flies when you're having fun". It's slipped by this past week with such stunning speed that our feet have hardly touched the ground. Here's a quick catch-up on all our recent comings and goings, before I forget how much has happened in such a short space of time. Last Saturday we experienced the most amazing day ever. I am, of course, referring to Em's wedding. In my humble opinion it was the best wedding in the world, but I guess I would say that wouldn't I. The sun shone brightly, the quintessentially English country setting was exquisite, the bride looked truly breathtaking and the occasion couldn't have been bettered. We cried and we laughed in equal measure. A bunch of lovely people celebrated the union of a wonderful couple with song and dance that lasted long into the night. Then, we all met up again in the morning for a "full English" before we said our farewells to the happy couple as they departed for a well deserved honeymoon in the Greek Isles. The next few days were all about knuckling down to tons of admin, paperwork and generally getting things sorted whilst we were back in the UK. There was stuff to get repaired in the rental house ready for new tenants, getting another house on the market, helping James with his affairs (not the female kind - just more paperwork) and a couple of work related meetings for me thrown in just for good measure. Busy, busy busy you could say!
On Wednesday afternoon we hopped on a train to the airport for the flight home to Malta in anticipation of a bit of R&R in the sun. However, those nice French Air Traffic Controller chappies had other plans for us (the word w**k**s sprung to mind). After an hours delay in the airport bar (not really a hardship) we boarded the plane only to be told by the pilot that we'd be sat on the tarmac for another hour and a half due to the ATC strike. At that point I vowed never to drink french wine again, eat fois gras or look up the dresses of can can girls. Well, two out of three is punishment enough - let's not be too hasty about the vino shall we? Come to think of it - I'm not sure I'm prepared to miss out on any of them, but I'm still bloody annoyed. By Thursday morning we were back aboard Comino and feeling nice and chilled again. Not for long however. Come Saturday, we had birthday celebrations for a friend to contend with, which in these parts means an all day beach party followed by a restaurant dinner. I had barbecued ribs, which basically looked like a whole pig on a plate. Nicki had lamb shank, which resembled an entire lamb on a plate. The next morning we were up at the crack of dawn - obviously still feeling as full as a Catholic School. Being the hospitable people that we are, we'd asked Jane and her sister, Becky, to come sailing with us. By eight o'clock I was slaving away in the galley cooking a little Italian pasta dish ready for the evening and by nine thirty we'd slipped our lines for the two hour journey up to Selmun Bay. It was a scorchio day of swimming in crystal waters with occasional nibbles and drinks to keep us nourished. My pasta supper seemed to go down a treat, so much so that we somehow decided to stay all-night at anchor and enjoy the weekend to the full. And so Monday morning arrived. At some time not long after dawn, we lifted the anchor and gently motored our way back to Manoel Island Marina so that Jane could go to work. As for me and Nicki, we'll be hibernating in the aft cabin for the next three days and not receiving any visitors at all whilst our bodies recover from the excesses of the past week. If there was a branch of the Betty Ford Clinic in Malta, I reckon we'd be in it by now.
0 Comments
Waking up this morning in the Cotswolds has resulted in a dramatic change in colour. What was yesterday a bright blue seascape in Malta, is now a luscious green landscape in England.
This is the week before the wedding bells toll and my word there's plenty to do over the coming days. I'll be mostly praying to the weather gods for bucket loads of sunshine and Nicki will be running around like a whirling dervish making sure Em gets all the support she needs before her big day. We're staying in a little holiday cottage up in the hills away from the hustle and bustle of civilisation enjoying rabbits, squirrels, badgers and deer. By that I mean out in the fields…... not sitting on our dinner plates!!! Seven days from now I'll be washed, scrubbed, suited and booted in all my finery ready for that brief stroll down the aisle holding on to Em for dear life. I'll not be giving her away you see……in my mind I'll just be lending her to someone else, who also loves her very much. In the meantime, I'll relax on the patio and soak up the scenery. Emily-Jane's five day trip to Malta was pretty action packed, although sailing wasn't really a good option due to the blustery North East wind. Let's just say the heavy swell would have made it difficult to hold a glass of wine without spilling it - and that's no flippin good is it? Instead, the entertainment programme went something like this… * A women only shopping day in Sliema (I twiddled my thumbs). * A sight seeing day in Valletta (with me as tour guide). * A sunbathing day on Jane's roof terrace (whilst I worked) * A fish and prawn BBQ (which I cooked). * A beach hopping day around the island (where I chauffeured). * A morning session with a beautician (I don't need such treatment). And one more thing - in-between all of this fun in the sun, our "girlie" friends organised a Malta Hen Night for Em in one of my favourite restaurants. (I had beans on toast on the boat). Aching ribs and sore heads were clearly in evidence the next morning but thankfully the goings-on of the previous night didn't include the normally obligatory male stripper getting his tackle out for maximum comedic effect. After Em departed we had a few days to chill before the weekend sail to Spinola Bay, overlooking St Julians with its cluster of lively restaurants and bars. Being anchored several hundred yards from "the bright lights", we were able to observe the hustle and bustle from a safe distance, whilst we ate a rather splendid supper in the cockpit with Jane on-board for extra company. Although we've been itching to make the trip back to The Blue Lagoon, I wanted to test my engine repairs on the shorter hop to Spinola Bay first. As it happened all was well and after less than an hour motoring up the coast we enjoyed a hot day bobbing around in crystal clear turquoise water. And we had our first swim of the year. In the morning the sunrise was right off the scale, although neither of the women crew were up any where near early enough to see it. Yours truly sat in awe at the spectacular view enjoying perfect peace and tranquility. Early afternoon we motored back with a slight sightseeing detour round Grand Harbour - another first for us aboard Comino. As I write, the weather has turned quite windy again and we're staying at Jane's house so Nicki can prepare for her departure back to the UK on Friday, giving her two weeks to help with final preparations for Em's wedding. I'll be here for an extra week with a mission to polish the boat again, given that half the Sahara Desert has dumped itself on the boat during a heavy downpour last night. It's a really odd phenomenen but I guess in real terms we're quite close to North Africa. At least there was no Camel dung mixed in with the rain! |
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
|