Odyssey adventures

A guest blogger, Claire, who joins us from Benelmadena to Gibraltar.

After four days of partying hard in Villa Montana, Liz, Liam, Shane and myself boarded Odyssey. I thought by 6pm my hangover would have gone…I was wrong. Within around 20 minutes of getting onto the boat, I rudely interrupted Liam’s health and safety chat to ask whether I was allowed to be sick off the side of the boat. A great start! We headed out that evening for a taste of Spain’s culinary delights and got a Chinese. Hangovers still not gone, we struggled with the excess amount of food ordered. Anyway, first night on the boat! Apart from not being able to sleep for fear of dying (hangover still very much alive and kicking), I felt more well-rested the next day. Even Shane’s snoring wasn’t too bad (gotta love earplugs)!

The next morning we set off towards Estepona. Liz knocked up a treat of noodles, mackerel and frankfurter sausages - a combination well worth trying out (I just had the noodles, hangover left me at around 4pm). There wasn’t much wind so annoyingly we couldn’t ‘sail’, but I had fun trying to steer the boat and seeing the fins of two dolphins. We spent the night in Estepona and ate some amazing seafood - the octopus salad was top notch. One thing I really struggled with was getting on and off the boat. It’s really difficult! Mild panic every time without fail, and I’m someone with long limbs!

The next day we set off for Gibraltar. The sea was so calm. Shane got out the old fishing line but sadly, we didn’t attract any fish. That night we took a look around Gibraltar and sampled some of the ‘nightlife’ scene - after ordering one round of drinks I think we all pretty much had at least one complaint to make (pint of beer not full enough, chipped glass etc); it was a fine establishment. The next day was Gibraltar’s National Day! Everywhere looked like a scene of an EDL march - I know Gibraltar is British but all you see everywhere are English flags. We had a look at the National Day schedule and decided that the Political Rally seemed right up our street, so we joined the crowds for that. What a site! I’m still not sure how I feel about the locals of Gibraltar. We had some interesting chats about it and whichever way we put it, we sounded like complete snobs.

After mildly embracing National Day (i.e. getting a photo with a drunk local), we decided to really 'go hard' on the cultural side. We climbed what can only be described as a mountain in the scorching sunlight. We saw some interesting historical bits and bobs, and took a photo of Liz being whipped by a fake human. After a while the walking became too much, and Liam, Liz and I retreated to get some good ol' fish and chips. Shane put us to shame and carried on, inevitably seeing monkeys - Sod’s law.
In the evening we caught glimpses of the air show and went in search of the fireworks. We walked for ages to get to the ‘good spot’ (just behind Morrisson’s for those that are interested), and once we got there, they were some of the best fireworks we’d all ever seen! That was my last night on the boat. Liam and Liz sure were great hosts, I didn’t have to make a cup of tea once and they knocked up the best late-night noodles.

Thanks guys for putting up with my lack of practical expertise (never did master that knot...) and general incapabilities. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience for me and I wish you all best for the rest of your trip. BIG LOVE.