Yesterday most of my friends from last year reappeared at Alcoutim so as you can see we all gathered to swap stores and tell tails, it was good to see them all. The weather has just changed, colder in the mornings but it soon warms up. I am planning to do my antifouling next week but there is a forecast for rain so will have to see.
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Here I am at Gail's in Rugby with Ozzy. I got back to Warrior on September 13 with the new water pump for the engine and a few other bits and pieces ready to do some antifouling on the next spring tide and then head off. I am going to explore some of the Portuguese coast and then - will say later.
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While I was in Mazagon my engine cooling pump started leaking badly so I decided to head back to the Guadiana to short it out. I had a long motor sail back with a strong head wind so it took me some 8 hours to make the Guadiana but Warrior takes it in her stride - no problem. I had a great sail up the river the following day with no motor this time. I put Warrior on her mooring at Alcutim and sourced a new pump in the UK which I will pick-up when I go on the 13th.
It was Thomas's birthday during the Alcoutim festival a few days ago so Belen & Thomas had a meal with me and then we enjoyed the festivities. Thomas with his bottle of the 'strong stuff' celebrating & which he did share we also had some cake to go with it - and a beer or two!
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A sign near the monument that gives you some idea of what the trade-off is for bringing in massive amounts of metals.
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A massive monument to Christopher Columbus which lies Seven kilometres south of Huelva city where the Tinto and Odiel rivers meet
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As massive gas tanker discharging its cargo Canal del Pedre Santo
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One of the up-market residences at Mazagon
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Next was just a few miles west the Canal del Pedre Santo and Mazagon which is the town that lies at the mouth of the river. Fantastic, it's a real working river with commercial shipping coming and going all the time. I just love working rivers don't know why but I just do. The last one I spent some time on was the Thames when I lived in the Royal Albert Dock but that was many, many years ago around the time when Ben my eldest son was born. As I headed into the river I counted 10 tankers of various sorts waiting to make their way up.
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The massive fleet of fishing boats at Punta Umbria
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It's me again I did go for a few dips in the river at Punta Umbria
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I think it's a mule because of its large ears.
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Her two beautifully marked kittens
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While exploring I found some stables and came across a gorgeous mother cat with two kittens. We soon made friends she looked very thin like most of the animals I have seen in Spain but maybe that's healthy! I took her a meal before leaving which she mad short work of. She was so cute and she followed me around (before the meal) I was almost tempted to take her with me I think she would make a great ships cat.
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I anchored for a few days close to a wetland nature reserve Punta Umbria.
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I left El Rompido to explore some more of the Atlantic coast of Spain, well the wind help dictate which direction I was going in. My next port of call was Punta Umbria and the river Canal de Umbria. It's a very busy town and apparently one of the fasted growing tourists resorts in Spain. It has a massive fleet of fishing boats of all sizes and there is barley sufficient room to navigate up the river past the three large marinas but I managed to head up as far as navigable without some local knowledge.
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A beach view of the Atlantic side of the 7-mile sand bar Playa Salvaje that forms the river Rio de Piedras, El Rompido.
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Looking across from the nature reserve towards the marina El Rompido with Warrior one of the three specks to the right.
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Mad fiddler crabs .....
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I came across these fiddler crabs in a little estuary here in El Rompido. They are also very common in the Ria Formosa nature resurve in Portugal. Fascinating to watch as they feed collecting whatever it is with a small claw and placing it in their mouth parts. They create burrows and communicate with each other by gestures waving their large claw and when there is a large group all waving madly it's looks very bizarre.
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I MUST BE MAD! I was just getting ready to go ashore for a walk when out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of something bobbing around in the water. It was a rat. It was swimming vertically trying to keep its snout out of the water the sea was ruff so it had a struggle its little front paws going like hell every time it sank bellow the surface. It's a rate and rates should drown. Then I thought of Samantha my grand daughter who loves all animals and I know what she would have told me to do, save it even a rate should have a chance. So what did I do I scooped it up - it sat in the bottom of the container looking at the sky, must have thought it was the hand of the rate God and was saying thanks!! Well I took it ashore hiding it from fishermen on the pontoon or they might have thrown me in. Went to the car park and let it go, it staggered away don't know if it will survive, well that's in the hands of the rat God. Thanks Sam from the ratty.
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Fishermen gathering shellfish just off El Terron. It was just coming off spring tides they seemed to spend 5 hours or more waist deep mind you the water is warm which must make it slightly more comfortable.
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One of the shellfish gatherers having a look to see if he had anything worthwhile.
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After a few days I headed up the Rio Piedras to El Terron a small fishing town known for its seafood restaurants.
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At anchor looking down the river with Ben's yacht then George and Mike & Barbra
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It's such a hard life L to R; Ben, George, Veronica & John at the beach bar at El Rompido.
The old part of El Rompido is a peaceful, fishing village on the estuary of the Rio Piedras. It has a fine beach and a promenade with lovely views across the estuary to the spit Flecha del Rompido. Alongside the river are salt marshes and a pine wood. The nature reserve is known for its wildlife and the natural park.
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The sunset over the El Rompedio marina as I was heading up to anchor.
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Looking across the estuary from Rompido to the spit Flecha del Rompido with the Atlantic just a few 100 meters the other side.
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On the way back to the Guadian a bee hitched a lift.
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Since getting back from the UK in June I have had a few minor problems, a leaking water tank (sorted) a non functioning bilge pump (sorted) a faulty domestic water pump (sort of sorted but need a new one) and finally a leak from my raw water engine pump. I brought some of the parts from the UK and Spanish friends found me an engineer who rebuilt it in a couple of hours at half the cost of a new one so that's sorted.
I then needed to get out of the river and go sailing so headed west up the Spanish coast to El Rompido. Tricky entrance as they had moved the first 3 navigation buoy's close inshore but eventually fond them, what and experience, the channel was only about 150 meters from the shore and literary 100 of swimmers to look out for. The new part of the town is very commercialised and I have never seen so many motorboats in one place before it is was mad. About 6 kilometres up the river I found the old town with a very safe anchorage, supermarket, fuel and excellent marina with showers and washing machines and some friends that I had meet on the Guadiana. The other thing in its favour is it is cooler especially for July & August and NO mosquitoes, yippee. There are also some very nice and cheap restaurants and bars with a nice buzz about the place, think the I will relocate and use this as my base.
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The view as I entered into El Rompido.
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