...like this one, with its ornamental pagoda in its centre.
 |
Admiral Nancy was quite upset to discover the lack of shearing scissors on the boat! Quite why they had been packed and shipped back to the States is a mystery beyond the comprehension of this scribe. So off we went on a mission to find hair-dresser scissors. What did we do, as we could not possibly explain in our non-existent Spanish? We went into a barber's shop, pointed at the scissors and got out some Euros: The young barber understood instantly, but had no scissors for sale: instead he directed us to the beauty shop around three corners and voila! Here is a happy Nancy flourishing the new weapon she will use on the skipper's mangy locks.
|
Arriving late into an anchorage - which Nancy claims is all too often - the routine once anchored securely is to have a cocktail and then a fast food dinner out of cans: this was the same old story played out in the Rio Guadalquiver, which leads ships all the way up to Seville. Here is bowtie pasta with Spanish canned mini hotdogs and a can of excellent French ratatouille, garnished with some black olives, sliced green beans, and a pot of sprinkling cheese for Nancy.
And another surprise awaited us: the Moorish town of Rota, in the Northern end of the Bay of Cadiz, was simple, clean and a glimpse into the past. Tight little streets and alleys, with a kempt and charm that even had push bikes instead of Vespas. And no, that is not John on the bike.
Local fresh fish in the refrigerated display: we had the "shark" second from left and it was grilled perfectly.
Nancy was intent on showing you this pic: our dinghy newly converted into an amphibious vehicle! look closely and you will see the grey wheels John has just installed astern, which, when the motor is lifted up in its out of the water position, makes it relatively easy to drag the dinghy up a beach. And when in the water, the wheels lift up and lock. Crafty, eh?
So - finally we hear you cry - a pic of us sailing: downwind on jib alone, through the straits of Gibraltar. Look far left and you can see the Rock beginning to appear, and in the haze on the far right is just visible Africa - the mountains of Morocco....
...which are adorned with the ubiquitous windmills, seen behind this westbound ship.
Here is a closer look at the Atlas mountain that is due South of Gibraltar. The Atlas Range goes some 1,500 miles across North Africa, with the highest peak being Toubkal, at 13,600 feet, in Morocco.
And so in the evening sun we arrive in Gibraltar: This was after a long hop of some 86 nautical miles from Rota. The original plan was to sail just 50 nm to Barbate. But as we rounded Cape Trafalgar (Rule Britannia!) we were having a good sail. Admiral Nancy was asleep, and so after some quick mental arithmetic the skipper sailed past Barbate, and onwards some 32nm to Gibraltar.
Luckily for him we arrived at 21.18 - twelve minutes before his forecast of 21.30 and still in broad daylight. Which was just as well as no less than six ships decided to leave as we sailed the 6nm into the top of the bay and dropped the anchor exactly where we had picked it up last July.
The anchorage in the Rio Gualdalquiver could have been in the Chesapeake Bay: and so we leave you with our love and best wishes,
John and Nancy
S/V Adventuress
Gibraltar
