Nige
& Al's Diary 2004
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Saturday 5th June 2004 -
Southsea
Our big adventure is about to begin - we both finished work last Friday
and have spent the last week getting ready to go. It has been a busy
week and we have not had much time to spend updating the website -
hopefully we should be able to do more once we are underway.
We move out of the flat and onto the boat tomorrow and plan to set off
for Falmouth on Monday or Tuesday. We expect to be in Falmouth for a
couple of weeks (of serious partying!) before heading down the French
coast to Spain then Portugal then left into the Mediterranean. That is
the plan at the moment anyway. We will try to update the website as we
go.
Thursday 10th June 2004 -
Falmouth
We arrived in Falmouth yesterday morning at 0600 after setting off from
Southsea at 1530 on Monday afternoon - had a mixture of pleasant
sailing in light easterlies and motoring directly into stronger
westerlies. Had to make a detour to avoid naval firing and submarine
exercises between Start Point and Falmouth - a brief phone call to
Naval Operations in Plymouth assured us that we would not be fired at!
We both managed to get some sleep on passage but still slept until 1430
after arriving.
Went out for a few beers and a curry last night and are spending today
doing a few jobs around the boat.
Will try to add a few more pics at our next update.
Wednesday 23rd June 2004 -
Falmouth
Still in Falmouth and it looks like we'll be here for a couple more
days - yesterday we had torrential rain all day and today we've had
gale force 8 - occasionally force 9 winds! This is not supposed to
happen in June! We are planning to head for Camaret or Brest in
Brittany and studying the long range forecast it seems Sunday will be
the best day to set off - this is a bit later than we hoped but at
least we'll be able to see the England v Portugal match!
We've had a great time in Falmouth with numerous visitors and lots of
eating and drinking - we'll have to stop spending so much money
otherwise it will be a shorter trip than we planned! Also had our first
technical hitch - the alternator packed up. Fortunately there is a
Lucas electrical centre just around the corner - they have overhauled
it and it seems fine now.
We've spent the time here doing lots of last minute jobs - marked the
anchor chain (thanks to Fran and Rich for the green cable ties!),
fitted a new tap in the galley and then fitted it again to stop it
leaking (lots of swearing!), connected the kedge anchor warp to 15m of
chain with an anchorplait splice (lots more swearing!). Also spent ages
with the SSB radio receiver and the laptop practicing receiving
weatherfax broadcasts - it's great when it works!
We've done a few touristy things aswell - quite a few walks along the
coast which is quite spectacular and boat trips across to St. Mawes and
up the river Fal to Truro. We've also bought a fishing lure which we
will probably try out in France - it is about 8 inches long with large
hooks attached - Al is concerned that we will catch a huge fish and not
know what to do with it - I'll be happy if we catch anything! Being
complete fishing novices, we are now trying to find a book on fish so
that if we do catch anything we can find out what it is!
Next update will be from somewhere in France (hopefully).
Wednesday 30th June 2004 -
Camaret
Well we made it to France as planned - left Falmouth at 1130 on Sunday
and arrived here in Camaret (just south of Brest) at 1600 on Monday.
Force 4-5 westerly winds made it a reasonably quick crossing as far as
Ushant (NW corner of France) when the wind dropped and we motored the
last 30 miles. The swell from the Atlantic was quite big so the
crossing was a bit more bumpy than Al would have liked.
Camaret is a small town with a few bars (they do not close at 2300!!!)
and restaurants. We are trying to get into the habit of eating on
the boat and not spending excessively (obviously this excludes money we
spend in the bars). We are managing to find our way around the French
shops quite well - the wine and beer is easy, but the fromage blanc we
thought was cottage cheese turned out to be cream cheese! Need to brush
up on the vocabulary - it is long time since we did O-level French.
We had a quiet day yesterday to get over the voyage - got up late and
had our first French croissants for breakfast. In the afternoon we
celebrated our arrival in France with a bottle of champagne and a bag
of Cheesy Doritos (we know how to live well - it was a large bag!). The
weather was not so good this morning so we had bacon and egg butties
for brunch (used 50% of our bacon stock!). Al did some alterations to
our wheel cover with her miniature sewing machine - we can now use the
cockpit table without removing the wheel cover (this might not seem
important to you, but it will be to us if the weather improves). I
spent the morning messing about with the ssb receiver and the PC trying
to receive weather faxes again - couldn't get anything to start with,
so I knocked up a cable to connect the aerial socket on the radio to
the backstay - it's now receiving quite well but unfortunately the
weather for the next few days does not look too good.
Our plan now is to start heading south - our next port will probably be
Benodet which is about 60 miles down the coast.
Wednesday 7th July 2004 -
Sauzon
Here we are sitting out a severe gale again! This time we are in Sauzon
on Belle Ile - I'm sure it is "Belle" when the weather is better. We
spent last night on a mooring ball just outside the harbour, but with
the storm approaching we moved into the harbour and are now rafted up
with a French yacht attached to mooring balls fore and aft. It is
fairly calm in the harbour but the wind is howling through the rigging.
If we look out of the companion way we can see straight out to sea -
HUGE waves with white crests and flying spray. If the mooring balls
give way, that's where we'll be!
The passage here from Camaret was fine - about 27 hours - another
overnighter but we did see our first dolphins of the trip. Al thinks I
plan overnight passages to save money on mooring fees. (Whilst underway
we had an extremely tasty beef stew prepared by Al before we set off
from Camaret - a recipe sure to develop as our journey continues. (Al
added this bit)). It looks like the weather will be better on Friday
and Saturday so we're planning to head for La Rochelle - about 115 and
overnight again!
Saturday 17th July 2004 -
Gijon
It has been a while since our last update and there is quite a lot to
report. We managed to survive the gale in Sauzon and sailed down to La
Rochelle as planned arriving there on Saturday 10th. We stayed in a
massive marina (3500 boats) at Les Minimes which is about 30 minutes
walk from the old town of La Rochelle. The old town proved quite a
happening place with lots of street theatre and lively bars. We decided
to splash out and go out for a meal (our first since Falmouth) -
Chicken Palak and Fish Madras with basmati rice and nan bread at the
Sri Krishna Indian restaurant - typical French fare! Got the
folding bikes out for the first time and went to the Supermarket for
provisions - it is the first time Al has been on a bike for years. She
managed OK but refused to cycle along the pontoons with me in case she
fell in.
We are now in Gijon (Northern Spain) having sailed direct from from La
Rochelle. We motored most of the way due to light winds and a large
swell in the Bay of Biscay. We saw a whale (which Al was a bit scared
of) and loads of dolphins (which she wasn't - they were great fun
playing in our wake). This was our longest passage to date taking just
under 48 hours so we were quite tired when we arrived early yesterday
morning. Felt fine after showering and sleeping all day so we had our
first night out in Spain and sampled some of the local customs. The
first was drinking the local cider - a bit like scrumpy. The locals buy
it in large bottles with a pint glass - the technique then is to hold
the glass in one hand, as low as possible, with the bottle in the other
hand as high as possible. You then start to pour and hope some goes in
the glass. When there is about an inch of cider in the glass, you drink
about half of it and then discard the dregs on the floor (along with
that you spilt when pouring). The process is then repeated until the
bottle is empty - interesting to try, but very messy. The second custom
is going out late - the bars are quite empty at 2330 and then at about
midnight everyone comes out and the nightlife really gets going - so we
had quite a late one last night and are planning to do the same again
tonight!
The plan now is to make our way along the coast towards Portugal. We'll
try to do some shorter passages and stop in marinas or anchor overnight
so we can get more sleep!
Tuesday 27th July 2004 -
Bayona
It's getting hotter! We are now in Bayona, the awning is over the boom
and the wind scoop is over the forward hatch trying to keep the boat as
cool as possible. We've been in shorts and T-shirts for the last couple
of days (even when sailing) and we'll be eating in the cockpit again
tonight.
After leaving Gijon we sailed to Ria de Ribadeo where we anchored
overnight before continuing on our way at 0400. Did not sleep that well
as it was quite windy and there was some swell in the anchorage - kept
worrying about the anchor dragging and ending up on the rocks or
drifting around out at sea. Happily we were still safely anchored in
the same place when we got up. Continued on to Ria de Cedeira where we
anchored again - a much better anchorage - very sheltered, picturesque
little place and we had a great nights sleep. Next day we continued on
to Marina Sada in Ria de Coruna where we stayed for a couple of nights
to restock the boat with with beer and wine (and some food) and to do
some washing. There are a number of other British yachts around
including another Moody 376 - Ian and Yvonne on "Nicola Jane of
Dartmouth" (I think). They were in Ria de Cedeira and then in Marina
Sada at the same time - we managed to get together for an hour for a
beer and to compare notes.
After resting in Marina Sada for two nights we sailed about 60 miles
further down the coast to Corme where we anchored for the night again -
it seemed quite a dreary place but it was very sheltered and another
great nights sleep was had. Next day we rounded Cape Finisterre in
quite strong winds with two reefs in the main. That night we anchored
just north of Muros in another great spot - had chicken curry and a
bottle of Cava for dinner. Woke up the next morning with two old
Spanish blokes fishing from a small rowing boat about 3m from our cabin
window.
The last couple of days we have had a number of flies in the boat -
they seem to appear out at sea rather than at anchor or in the marinas.
Fortunately I bought a fly swatter before we left England - £1
from Robert Dyas in Southsea - absolute bargain! I wanted to buy two
but Al said one was enough - she is regretting it now!
Next stop Portugal!
Tuesday 10th August - Cascais
Quite a while since our last update, so there is quite a lot to report
including a major incident in Leixoes - more of that later.
On Thursday 29th we left Bayona and sailed down the coast to Vianna Da
Castello - a fairly uneventful day (apart from crossing the border from
Spain into Portugal) with very light winds until we turned into the
river to approach the marina (just what you don't need!). The marina
here was small and full with local boats - just a couple of spaces on
the main pontoons for visitors. Wandered around the town in the evening
and had a few beers - quite a nice place.
Next morning we set off again for Leixoes - a large commercial port
with a yacht harbour close to Porto. Our plan was to spend a couple of
nights in Leixoes and go into Porto for a day - things didn't quite
work out that way! We berthed in the yacht harbour - really
friendly marina staff - gave us two miniature bottles of Port when we
checked in. On Saturday morning we caught a bus into Porto - really
interesting place. We went on a town tour on a tourist train - included
a stop at one of the Port caves where we were told about the
development of the Port wine trade. Free samples were included of
course! Later we had a wander round and visited the Taylor's port caves
- better than the first caves with more free samples. We thought about
visiting a third cave but decided we should head back to the boat
instead as we were planning an early start the next morning. Caught the
bus back to Leixoes without any problem but as we were approaching the
port, the bus was diverted by the police. Everyone was babbling away in
Portuguese - which of course we couldn't understand, so we got off the
bus and decided to walk back to the yacht harbour. As we got closer we
could see a column of black smoke rising above the buildings (did we
turn the gas off???) and then a police cordon and fire engines
everywhere! We continued walking towards the yacht harbour but were
stopped by a policeman - fortunately he spoke good English and
explained that a fuel supply pipe from the oil refinery to the port had
exploded and was now on fire. Apparently there were about 50 fire
engines working to contain it. He explained that we could get to the
marina by going through one of the local yacht club buildings and that
we may then be able to get back to our boat. We managed to get to the
side of the marina (the opposite side to our boat), and could see that
our boat was still there and appeared to be OK - the fire was quite
close but on the other side of the harbour wall. The top floor of the
building that we checked in at the night before had disappeared -
completely burnt away! Most of the other visiting boats had left - we
were one of about 6 or 7 remaining. The Policia Maritime guys took us
back to our boat in their dinghy and recommended that we leave the
yacht harbour - they said we could anchor in the outer harbour with the
fishing boats. When we got back to the boat we found it was covered in
black ash, the air was full of acrid fumes and there was fuel floating
on top of the water - not a pleasant situation! So in traditional
English style, we had a cup of tea while we discussed what we should
do. We decided that moving to the outer harbour would not get us away
from the fumes and that we would leave straight away and sail overnight
to Figuera da Foz - our next planned destination. So we set off on
another (unplanned) overnight passage - this time in quite poor
visibility which meant that we both stayed on watch all night trying to
avoid the numerous lobster pots and fishing floats along the way.
We arrived at Figuera da Foz at about 08:00 the next morning in thick
fog - we couldn't see the harbour entrance until we were less than half
a mile away. We were just about to turn back out to sea when one side
of the harbour entrance just started to appear out of the mist! Quite
scary! Stayed just one night in this large seaside resort with huge
beaches before sailing down to Nazare for another one nighter. Nazare
was like a down market Blackpool and the marina was quite small and
right next to a large fishing quay where boats were landing their
catches late into the night - quite interesting but not easy to sleep.
Next stop was Peniche - another marina located in a large fishing
harbour where the visitors moorings are renown for lots of wash from
the fishing boats and the ferries as they come and go. We had been
warned to put all our fenders out and make sure we were tied securely
to the pontoon - this we did, but as it turned out we had a quiet night
and slept really well. We think this was due to the festival that was
going on in the town where all the fishermen were probably getting
drunk!
After all these one night stops we arrived in Cascais - just outside
Lisbon - where we decided to stay for a week and have a rest. Cascais
is a really nice town and the train into Lisbon is frequent and cheap.
We've been into Lisbon sight seeing a couple of times and walked along
the coast to Estoril. Found an Irish pub in Cascais (O'Neill's) that
sells pints of Guinness, Carlsberg and Strongbow - just like home (but
cheaper and they open late!), so we've spent a couple of evenings in
there. We've spent a couple of evenings with people we've met on the
way down here who are also stopping for a rest in Cascais - Steve and
Carol on "Double Bill", and Robert and Brenda on "Paprika". We spent
last night on our boat drinking with Robert and Brenda, so we're having
a quiet day today recovering from our hangovers. Robert is a
hairdresser and this morning cut Al's hair on the pontoon next to their
boat for €7.50 - I thought this was great as she was
thinking of going to Toni & Guys in Cascais where it could have
cost €60!
We're moving on again tomorrow so it will be a quiet night tonight
(maybe just a couple of pints in O'Neill's) - down the coast to Sines
for a night then a fairly long sail to Lagos on the Algarve the
next day. When we get there, we'll have done the bulk of the trip to
the Mediterranean, so we'll probably do shorter sails and slowly work
our way towards Gibraltar.
Sunday 22nd August - Ayamonte
Once again sorry for the gap between updates - sign of the good time
being had!
On Wednesday 11th we sailed down the Portuguese coast to Sines.
The pilot book said not to be put off by the chemical plant chimneys
prominent on the approach as round the corner was a picturesque village
- it was but it still smelt like there was a chemical plant next
door. We spent two nights there before setting off again to Lagos
on the Algarve.
The sail to Largos was all going to plan - a bit of Atlantic swell but
sunshine and reasonable wind - until we reached Cape St. Vincent (the
bottom corner of Portugal). As we turned east to head along the
Algarve coast it started blowing a hooley! Winds up to force 7
blasted us to Lagos - we have since found out these occur most
afternoons on this part of the coast so decided to do our sailing in
the mornings (well we're cruisers not racers!).
Lagos is a lively town with lots of bars - so we had a big night out -
making it back to the boat in the early hours (apparently). We
also found a pie shop so stocked up on sausage rolls and pork
pies. Then Paprika and Double Bill arrived in the marina along
with Trooper sailed by Ian, his son James and their two soppy
dogs. We all went round to Paprika for pre dinner drinks - except
dinner got forgotten as 9 bottles of wine and 40 bottles of beer were
consumed (thirsty dogs obviously!).
The next day (Tuesday 17th) we sailed just 7 miles and anchored off
Portimao - a quiet day was needed. Unfortunately the shelter was
not good and the swell made the boat roll all night. So we headed
off again at first light (Wednesday 18th) to Albufeira. This
brand new marina is surrounded by multi coloured (mostly empty)
apartment blocks and villas - Portuguese taste presumably. The
marina shops and bars have also yet to open so we walked into the town,
decided it was another Portuguese Blackpool and had an early night in
on the boat.
On Thursday 19th we sailed towards Faro, and anchored in 'Canal de
Olhao' for two free nights - the prices of the marinas on the Algarve
are similar to the South coast back home so you make the most of good
anchorages. We went ashore in the dinghy to buy bread and were
surprised to find that the shacks on the sandy spit hid a small village
of well kept houses, a few restaurants, a supermarket and a sports shop
(?!). The next day who should arrive - Paprika and Double
Bill. The dinghies were much used between boats but drinking was
more restrained than on previous occasions - staggering along a pontoon
is one thing - getting back to your boat in a dinghy is rather more
bothersome!
On Saturday 21st we weighed anchor and sailed to Ayamonte - back in
Spain (hooray!). We moored up at the marina and then realised it
was an hour later than we thought and it was Saturday so the
supermarket would be closed the next day. So off we dashed to stock up
- we had been down to the free sachets of coffee so things would be
desperate otherwise. After dinner and showers we headed into town
at 11:30pm. Families were still out eating at this time but the
bars soon started to get going - another good night out was had.
Today (Sunday 22nd) is swelteringly hot with little wind. We are doing
jobs around the boat - including preparing the chicken we bought in the
Supermarket - from 'farm fresh' (ie plucked but still with its head and
innards) to 'oven ready' - well done Nige!
Tomorrow we set off towards Gibraltar - stopping in Mazagon, Chipiona
and Barbate on the way. We should get there by next weekend in
time for our first visitor (Al's sister).
Sunday 12th September -
Marbella
Getting even lazier at updating the website - have written quite a lot
this time though.
As you can see from the heading we have moved on a bit since our last
update and have made it into the Mediterranean. We left Ayamonte
as planned and headed down to Mazagon - not much to say about Mazagon -
a small seaside town with a marina - we only stayed one night. Next day
we set off for Chipiona - a larger and quite popular seaside town - so
popular that the Marina was full and we had to go another 10 miles
along the coast to Rota in the Bay of Cadiz. The Marina in Rota is next
to a large US Naval Base, so we spent our first night in Rota drinking
in an Irish bar (They seem to be everywhere!) that was full of
Americans. We met a Dutch couple on the boat next to us in the marina
who had spent the last couple of years in the Med. They gave us a lot
of tips regarding the marinas in southern Spain - they will generally
tell you that they are full but will let you stay for one night. The
next day you ask if you can stay another night and usually it will be
OK - then you stay for a few more nights and so on.
We stayed two nights in Rota and then carried on down to Barbate - a
large fishing port and seaside town. Our Dutch neighbours in Rota had
told us that Barbate was not very nice and that the walk from the
Marina was not too pleasant. They were right! We walked into town that
evening past the back of the fish docks - dark and intimidating with
dogs roaming around. When we got into town we wished we hadn't bothered
and after a quick walk around we went back to the boat.
Next morning the forecast for the Straits of Gibraltar was Easterly
force 3-4 - not ideal but we decided we would go anyway as the time was
right to catch the tide through the Straits. About 12 miles out of
Barbate the wind started to increase until we had a force 6-7 headwind
with increasingly large waves breaking over the boat! Thought about
turning back to Barbate but it was such a dump we decided to continue
towards Tarifa - about 8 miles further on - where we could shelter if
the wind did not decrease. It didn't, so we anchored in the lee of the
headland just west of Tarifa. Apparently Tarifa is the windsurfing and
suicide (due to the incessant strong winds) capital of Europe. We saw
plenty of windsurfers enjoying the strong Easterly wind but no
suicides. That may have been due to the fog that appeared as the wind
died away that night. It was so thick that we could no longer see the
coast or the lighthouse that were only a couple of hundred metres away
- like being encased in cotton wool - weird!
The following morning all was clear again and now with fairly light
winds - just had to wait for the tide to turn and then set off again
for Gibraltar. Really liked listening to the weather forecasts on the
VHF from Tarifa Traffic Control - they monitor all shipping that
transits the Straits of Gibraltar. "The wind in the Strait is currently
Westerly force 2 and the sea state is slight ..." pause while
they look out of the window ".... visibilty is moderate". Managed to
sail part of the way through the Straits until the wind died away
completely - quite something looking to starboard and see Africa in the
distance (seems like a long way from Southsea).
We were looking forward to seeing the Rock of Gibraltar and getting
some good photos - unfortunately there was thick fog in the Bay of
Gibraltar and we couldn't see a thing. It was so bad we had lifejackets
on and the EPIRB and grab bag sitting in the cockpit. We could hear
Gibraltar port control on the radio directing large tankers to move
frighteningly close to our position! We decided it would be wise to
call them up and check that they knew we were there. They were very
helpful - asked if we could find our own way to the marina and said
that they would monitor our progress on their radar. Fortunately as we
got closer the fog lifted and we made our way between the larger
anchored ships to Marina Bay. After clearing customs and refuelling we
called up the marina and were allocated a berth at the end of one of
the pontoons right next to the airport runway. According to the pilot
book the proximity of the airport was not a problem as there are only a
handful of flights per day. That was until a squadron of RAF Tornado
fighters was relocated from their base in Scotland due to bad weather
around the UK. The BA and Monarch Airlines flights landing and taking
off were fine, but when the RAF boys decided to play with their planes
it was really LOUD. (No, it was LOUD,
LOUD, LOUD!). It was however great to be so close and to watch
them practising for the air display that was scheduled for later that
week to commemorate the 64th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.
We had a busy time in Gibraltar and also had our first visitor - Al's
sister Fiona who also brought a bag of supplies from home. Went
shopping at Safeway's and bought bacon and pork pies! Went to the top
of the rock in the cable car - great views and monkeys. Walked down
(and then up again much to Fiona's disgust!) to St Michael's cave and
then walked along to see the tunnels dug in the rock by British forces
to protect the Rock from the Spanish during various sieges - quite a
tiring day that one. We also met up again with our friends Robert and
Brenda on Paprika - they were in Queensway marina so we went over there
one night and had a great Indian in one of the marina side restaurants
then back to Paprika for drinks. Quite enjoyed Gibraltar but found it
expensive compared with Spain (despite being duty free) and the pubs
close early.
Fiona flew back to the UK on 4th September and the following day we had
a great sail up the coast to Estepona. Nice marina with a number of
bars and restaurants around the perimeter and a small town about a mile
away. Spent a fairly quiet five nights in Estepona apart from the night
that Robert and Brenda plus Ian with his son James and daughter Rachael
from "Trooper" came over to our boat for a few beers - turned into
another good night! We had all met up in various locations on our way
down from the north of Spain but will probably not see each other for a
while - Robert and Brenda are heading off to Cartagena and their new
villa in La Manga while Ian,James and Rachael are thinking of renting a
villa near Estepona and trading in their boat for something larger
(Rachael is a new and somewhat unexpected addition to the crew so they
need more room!) We have decided to spend some time along the Costa del
Sol and are looking forward to our next visitors in October - Fran and
Rich from Harrogate (professional boozers who like to go out early -
could be a problem in Spain where no one really starts drinking until
mid-night!).
We are currently spending our third day in Marbella - didn't know what
to expect before we arrived but it turns out to quite a nice place.
There are lots of British ex-pats here and obviously lots of cash
about. This does mean that there are loads of bars and restaurants
around and it is a really lively place. Some of the restaurants are
expensive but there are plenty of Tapas bars around. We did our first
Tapas night last night - moving from bar to bar having one or two small
dishes and a beer in each bar - Great!
Our Dutch neighbours from Rota are also in Marbella - funny how we keep
meeting the same people. They were absolutely right about the marinas -
when we arrived we were told they might only have space for one night -
we've been here three nights now and will be staying for another.
That is about it for now - more news soon (or maybe later!)
Wednesday 3rd November -
Almerimar
We are still afloat! Have not been able to update the web page as the
laptop crashed - I've re-installed it from scratch and we should now be
operational again. Hope to have a more detailed update posted in a
couple of days.
Wednesday 8th December -
Almerimar
We arrived in Almerimar on 21st September and have booked in until the
end of January. We had not planned to spend the winter in one spot, but
having booked flights back to the UK for Christmas we had to find a
place where we could safely leave the boat. Once booked in we were also
free to come and go knowing that our berth was reserved.
This is a well known wintering spot - there are 1200 boats here in
three 'Darcena's'. There is a large liveaboard community, both
travellers stopping for the winter and retired travellers living
permamently here on their boats or in apartments. Almermar itself is a
purpose built resort with bars, restaurants, supermarkets and even a
launderette. The nearest real town, El Ejido, is a short bus ride away.
Every morning at 10:00 the "Cruiser Net" is broadcast on the VHF. This
is run by a team of liveaboards and anybody can contribute with local
info, details about social events, etc. There is a weather forecast, a
'treasues of the bilge' section for selling off stuff or borrowing
tools, and often a 'thought for the day' which may or may not be
amusing. After the "net" the day starts. There is pool on Monday night,
boules on Tuesday, the market in El Ejido and quiz night on Wednesday,
ladies coffee morning and spanish lessons on Thursday, and craft fair
and boat jumble on Sunday - it's all go!
Surprisingly our friends, Fran & Rich from Harrogate, who were
flying out to Malaga to visit us, were less than excited by the above
and so, on 4th October, we sailed overnight back to Marbella to meet
them. We stayed in Marbella for three weeks; four days with Fran &
Rich, then a week alone before Al's sister, Fiona and her boyfriend,
Simon, arrived.
While Fran and Rich were here we hired a car for a day and went up into
the mountains to Ronda - great views and an exciting drive. We went to
the bull fighting musuem and Nige and Rich pratted about in the
bullring (no surprise there then - there were no bulls so they decided
to pretend - see photos).
During the week between visitors we managed to keep ourselves amused -
revisiting the bars just to check they were still going. In particular
"The Tavern" in which we met a crowd from Nottingham. Later that night
Nige took a dip in the marina (unintentional!) while checking the
mooring lines - scary to think what might have happened as it was three
in the morning and there was no-one around. The first Al knew about it
was when she found Nige's wet clothes in a pile in the sink the next
morning.
Fiona and Simon arrived to enjoy the glorious sunshine - apart from one
night when it chucked it down and we were stuck in an irish bar
watching football and eating burgers. All was not lost as we did tapas
one evening and went for a spanish meal in a 'locals' restaurant
recommended by the live-aboards in the marina on our last night in
Marbella. The next day they drove to Almerimar (4 hours) and we sailed
back (20 hours). They checked into an apartment overlooking the marina
for the remainder of their two week stay. We enjoyed its facilities -
washing machine, hot power shower - as well as making the most of their
hire car to obtain the components to make a passerelle. (boarding
ladder - see photos). Unfortunately this was only completed on the day
they were leaving - but it is now ready for future guests.
We drove to Granada to see the Alhambra (and stayed in an interesting
hostel run by an Osama Bin Laden look alike). The Alhambra is a
spectacular moorish palace but Nige also enjoyed the gardens - standing
in front of the many fountains so that it looked like he was .........
well you get the idea!
After Fiona and Simon left we got back into the swing of life in
Almerimar - helped by making friends with Bob and Liz on Yanina. They
had also met Rob (the hairdresser) and Brenda on Paprika along the way
who had recommended us to them and vice versa (not sure exactly what
for but drinking was certainly mentioned). We formed an enthusiastic
team on quiz nights (we'll go if you go) - even winning one week with
help of a few friends.
Rob and Brenda are wintering further along the coast in Cartegena as
they are having a villa built near there. They came to visit us for a
weekend (on the bus) and the six of us had a murder mystery evening
aboard Yanina - fancy dress of course (see photos).
A week later we (Nige and Al) went for a return visit to Cartegena - no
murder mystery but a great time was had by all!
Bob and Liz have many talents including drawing cartoons (to create
Christmas cards to sell on the Sunday market) and playing guitar and
clarinet - Bob was the star of the jam session one Saturday night and
has been booked for a similar gig on new year's eve.
We have been learning spanish, attending weekly classes in the marina.
Before coming home for Christmas we had progressed to the intermediate
class and plan to continue when we go back in the new year. Hopefully
this will be useful later on as we do not have much call for it in
Almermar.
Friday 17th December -
Brighouse U.K.
We flew back to the UK on 15th December for Christmas. Looking
forward to seeing friends and family - thanks to Fiona for the loan of
her car.
In 2005 we plan to sail east along the Spanish coast as far as
Alicante, then head across to 'The Ballies' (Yottie speak for the
Balearics - that is Ibiza, Majorca & Minorca for those whose
geography is not too good!), and back up to Barcelona by late spring.
After this we will continue to Nice, then head south either along the
Italian coast or via Corsica to spend the summer on the coast of
Croatia. We plan to spend next winter in Corfu - but this could all
change - and probably will.
For now we are just looking forward to Christmas and then returning to
the sunshine - Bob and Liz kindly texted us to tell us how warm it
still is in Spain - Thanks a lot!