We spent a day in Mazagon but it didn’t have much of interest and the following morning we were up and off on another windless day motoring along the coast. Chipiona has a large marina with mostly local boats, quite a few fishing boats and a quiet, lazy feel to it. We had some discussions with the staff as they realised the beam stated on our document was wider than we had said, it is in fact an error. After much to do they insisted we move spaces and would have to pay more, which has prompted us to sort out getting the certificate changed in case we find the same thing in the future. There was a festival on as we arrived and we enjoyed a musical night in one of the squares and a procession on the following evening. The procession was very well attended with a large Madonna icon being carried through the streets. We were pleasantly surprised by Chipiona having been lead to have low expectations but it has some lovely squares, long beaches and a busy centre with the usual touristy shops and cafes.
Our friends, Geoff and Belinda, who we met on the way down, messaged us to say they were back home in Lisbon and would be up for a get together. We eventually arranged to meet in Seville and decided to go for 2 nights. We had wanted to make the trip up the river and stay in Seville on the boat but had been disappointed to find the only marina which we could access was full with a race going on. So on Saturday 9th Sept we caught the bus into Seville. We had read somewhere that it should take 1.5 hours but we realised this was nowhere near true. 3 hours later, having lost the will to live, we arrived. It was worth it though. Seville was gorgeous, amazing buildings, winding alley ways through the old Jewish Quarter, parks, a river, and great restaurants. It was fab to see Geoff and Bel again, we didn’t stop talking for the whole time. We went to a fabulous flamenco show and later found a packed bar where 3 men with one drum and a guitar were playing traditional music accompanied by raucous clapping which everyone joined in with. Members of the audience joined in every now and again with singing and flamenco dancing. It was amazing, we were out until 2 am and at the end of Saturday we had walked 20k according to Belinda’s step counter. B&G left on Sunday afternoon and James and I stayed until Monday afternoon, we loved it but were clapped out by the time we had made the same tortuous journey back.
Back on BB we talked to a yacht broker who had contacted us and decided to put the boat on with him, we organised ourselves for a week’s dieting, sad but true, so stocked up with veg and non carb sustenance. We went for a bike ride along the coast and realised that the beaches go on forever and miles of sand dunes run along the coast. We have been sad to see a lot of rubbish about which makes everywhere look tatty and graffiti is just as prolific in Spain as it was in Portugal. We have noticed people dropping litter without a thought and realise that you don’t see that so much at home anymore and you certainly don’t see it in the USA.
We had a lovely day out on the bus in Jerez, another old Moorish town, more of a working city than Chipiona and went for a marathon bike ride to Rota another day. There are miles and miles of cycle tracks which are great, we saw the agriculture, very dry, lots of cotton growing which was a surprise. Horses everywhere in scrubby fields, most look well cared for some not. Saw donkeys and mules too, makes it feel old worldly. Quite a lot to do for to organise things with the broker, contract to get printed and signed, photos to take, still no carbs being ingested!
We travelled back to Seville on the bus on Tuesday 19th Sept to meet up with Jan and Ian. Jan had booked a lovely apartment overlooking the Cathedral in the middle of the historical sector. Really beautiful and so good to see Jan and Ian. We walked all over Seville again, we love it, loads going on, such beautiful buildings and it was lovely weather. We drank cocktails, had sundowners on the apartment terrace had fab tapas and generally felt we were living the highlife. Then it was time for the bus again back to Chipiona. We left the following day for Rota just down the coast. Jan was a bit nervous although Ian was looking forward to the trip. We motored all the way there, very quiet. Jan slept, no sickness and we arrived in Rota with no incidents. Rota was a nice place to stop, there was a festival with the usual procession of a Madonna through the streets, nice day on the beach and we enjoyed the quiet seaside vibe. As the weather was looking a bit unsettled Jan and Ian agreed to come with us to La Linea, over the border with Gibraltar a two day trip and very brave given the initial nerves. Day one was quiet, a little motor sailing and Jan slept most of the way helped along with some seasickness drops. We stayed the night in Barbate, very off the beaten track and had a nice meal on the front after very cheap mojitos. Next day was the passage through the Gibraltar straits which can be tricky with strong currents and winds which need to be all in the right direction. We left early to catch the tide and even with the wind blowing us through the straits towards Gibraltar the sea state was lumpy and Jan was definitely the worse for wear, a shame after being OK for the first two trips. We’d been sad to see Jan and Ian off, it had been a great few days
The rock looms up in front of the boat, through the straits the coast of Africa and Spain can be seen on both sides and the history of the area is interesting and still current to modern day politics. Strange to find a little bit of Britain, and it is little, on the med coast. The weather was distinctly British when we woke up, grey, dull and wet for the first time since we got to Lisbon. For most of the time we were there a cloud was hanging over the rock, sometimes lower, sometimes higher. We had a little look around La Linea but found little of interest or charm. We went back and forward across to Gib, the frontier, as they call it, less than 5 minutes away on the bike and most of the time we were waved straight through. It makes for a strange journey to be crossing a border every time you want to go to the shops. I didn’t like Gib, the roads were very busy and the hundreds of scooter drivers are dangerous and rude. James was so nearly knocked off by one that I don’t know how she missed him but the woman didn’t even turn to check he was OK. The staff everywhere in shops and cafes were rude and service awful, like the weather very British. We cycled around the rock and had to go through a long tunnel across the back of the rock. It was uphill, badly lit and felt very dangerous in all sorts of ways especially on our bikes, there were some flowers against the rocks at one point which did nothing to make me feel safer. The following morning I spoke to a woman in the showers and she was surprised the tunnel was open, apparently there had recently been a rock fall and some passengers in a car had been killed. Definitely wouldn’t be going back through there. It is such a strange place, accommodation packed onto a small rock, the road in goes across the only runway so to get on to the rock everyone has to drive, walk or cycle across the runway. We were stopped one night as a plane took off in front of us as we waited behind the barrier, just like a rail crossing. There must be all sorts of security and safety problems with that arrangement. The best thing about it were the two supermarkets where we stocked up on British goodies. The tax free shopping was mostly more expensive than amazon at home except for sunglasses and I treated myself to a pair. I wondered at the psychology of living there, always feeling like a hostage, possibly trapped on a small rock, very little green space, horrid I thought. We went to the cinema one night taking advantage of the English language films and took the cable car to the top to see the view. All in all we were not sorry to leave and as the wind looked like it was going to pick up in the wrong direction we set off on Saturday 30th September. The weather was very benign and in the end we did the whole trip to Benalmadena arriving about 6pm and motoring all the way. We were meeting up with 3 lots of visitors coming into Malaga and as there is no suitable marina for us in Malaga we had decided to make Benalmadena our base for the next 3 weeks as it is only 15 minutes from the airport. It was our first stern to, med mooring since St Lucia and we were a little nervous, all went really well except that James twisted his knee again while moving around and was back to square one with it in an instant.
Our first impression of Benalmadena was pretty low, very Costa Del Sol, rows of Irish bars, full English Breakfast and British tourists. We have yet to find an old bit but hope to find some pretty corners as we will be here for at least a couple of weeks. Luckily we have hired a car for when we have visitors so can travel further afield and explore.