Grand Slam

Monday 11th August, Vilagarica

Sunday was a day spent sorting stuff out on the boat or to be more precise - cleaning it! There was still lots of grime on the grp from our travels down here so it needed a wash, an application of rubbing compound followed by a good coat of polish. We managed the starboard side before the heat beat us. We'll have a go at the port side maybe tomorrow. We also did half a dozen little things that I had been putting off like tightening the nuts on the galley taps and defrosting the fridge.

After our exertions we headed up the sailing club for a drink. It was late Sunday afternoon and quite a bit of activity in the marina but hardly any body in the club. Below is the view from the outside. Almost like PEYC but much warmer.

This has been the cheapest place for a drink with beer (Estrella of course) and a glass of wine for 3 Euros. Not quite as up market as the main marina restaurant and bar. Below is a close up of Grand Slam with it's gleaming starboard side (Oh sorry, we can't quite see that side can we).

In the evening we went up to town to watch one of the out door concerts. They have been on every night leading up to the big fiesta that is on next Saturday (15th). There is a big stage set up in front of one of the squares flanked by numerous small bars. We have frequented O Tapeo quite few times though (seen below) and now we don't even have to say what we want. On Thursday last week we stopped here to watch the concert which was very good. It was an Argentinean version of Dexy's midnight runners (who? I hear most of you say - "Come on Eileen"). 6 of them with flash hats and a few saxs - that's meant to be the plural of saxophones! One snag is the concerts don't start until 11pm so on Sunday we gave up before they started and retired to the boat to sleep.

The trees almost look plastic. Haven't a clue what they are. Anyone know?

Monday brought the expected wind and rain, not unlike a typical Scottish summers day except it was almost in the twenties. We went off to Santiago on the train - only 5 Euros return - took 50 mins on the slow stopping train with 10 minutes walk either end. Had a great meal there and a good look around dodging all the tourists in the mist and gloom with their umbrellas.

Back on the boat I spent a wonderful hour changing out the joker valve in the Jabsco toilet - a very easy job if the unit wasn't screwed down so close to the wall that it was nigh impossible to get a screwdriver near. Finally managed it with a flexible drive coupling long enough to get down to the two inner screws. One of those jobs where you need 3 hands - but that means two people and there was hardly room for one! Tomorrow is market day in town so that's the target for the morning if we can get up in time. For Wednesday it's time we headed south into the next Ria to have a week there. The forecast is saying it should be sunny again by then.

Saturday 9th August, Caraminal

We had done two days in the marina in Vilagarcia (playing tourists) so it was time to do a bit of sailing -with the added incentive that there were 100+ boats heading this way for Friday night. The dinghy was returned to us on Thursday night looking "as new" but with two yellow "go faster stripes" hiding the repairs. There was however a strong recommendation not to use it for 48 hours to let the adhesive cure properly.

We left the marina Friday morning and headed back in the general direction of Caraminal (where we had anchored the previous weekend). It was another leisurely cruise in great weather so topping up the sun tan was the primary activity. We decided to go into the marina in Caraminal rather than be stuck on the boat all evening. As we approached the marina, I did the usual call on channel 9. I have now worked out the system! They either do not respond - as they can't speak English, or they come out with something totally un-intelligible. Either way you haven't a clue where they want you to go but at least they know you are there and then they come out waving hands to direct you - and take your ropes. Now don't get me wrong. I am not criticising these guys - just the opposite. Imagine a Spanish boat coming into Port Edgar.

Anyway, we were shown to a rather substantial berth on millionaire's row - in between 40-50ft motor cruisers. The marina itself is described in the pilot book as having good pontoons but there wasn't a lot more. It cost 24 Euros for the night (we are 12m). The showers / toilets left a lot to be desired. There was a cafe bar where we had a cold one while waiting for the office formalities (very quick - shortest form to fill in yet - and they had brought that to the boat).

In the evening we went into town for a meal and found a nice bar in one of the squares away from the busy cafe area behind the park area. For the first time in weeks we found a waiter who spoke reasonable English - although once we got chatting we found he was from Romania!

Saturday morning we stocked up on food in the local "Gadis" - Spain's equivalent to Tesco's and for the second Saturday on the trot got mobbed by old ladies. Rule 2 - don't go to the supermarket on Saturday. Midweek - fine. Saturday - manic! We left the marina around twelve-ish and headed towards the Isla de Arosa - about 3 miles away. Here we saw the massed ranks of boats that had evicted us from Vilagarcia.

 

Honestly this picture doesn't do it justice but there were around 50 boats motor sailing down the Ria. I got it wrong when I said in a previous post it was the equivalent of West Highland Week although maybe I was right and the winner is the one who gets in last burning the most fuel. Turns out it is a cruising thing where they all sail together from one marina to another over 4 days. They were all off to Sangenjo in the next Ria down.

Anyway, we headed over to a nice anchorage at Punta Caballo for lunch on the north west tip of Isla de Arosa. First job was to thread our way through the mussel floats or "viveros" as the locals call them.

These are laid out all over the place and look quite daunting. However they are laid out to a plan and it is easy to sail between them providing it is not dark. The photo above shows us motoring into the anchorage between the rows on what was yet another very pleasant day. The photo below shows the anchorage once we had got in. A really pleasant place although exposed to the north which stops you using it as an overnight anchorage as most nights that is where the wind is coming from.

We then headed back towards Vilagarcia, stopping to do a bit of fishing. Within 15 minutes we had caught a couple of mackerel for tea and something that looked a cross between Thomas the tank engine and a manta ray. It was about 10 pounds in weight, but not knowing how to go about preparing a railway engine cross (or is that a cross railway engine), it went back in.

We had decided to go back to the marina in Vilagarcia so we could go and have a look around Santiago again and also possibly Pontevedra - there a good rail links from here. Also despite the great weather this weekend (and most of last week), the forecast is cloud and rain on Monday and Tuesday so a good day to play tourists again. We got into the marina around 5 ish and parked up on a hammerhead in time for a siesta ahead of a stroll into town for the evening.

Thursday 7th August, Vilagarcia

We got up early today. Just before 10 o'clock. It's a hard life being retired. Last night had been quite a late one. We had gone into town for a meal in one of the street cafe/restaurants and a great meal it was too. Seafood paella plus plenty to drink for less than 30 Euros. During the meal we had a torrential downpour - that was obviously the cold front going through then. One snag was they had run out of cold Estrella so I had to do with San Miguel instead. That's the Spanish equivalent of Tennants! Bad mistake!

This morning we went into town to have a look around the meat and fish market plus a few of the historic buildings that were on the tourist guide. Quite a contrast between the streets with dozens of cafes and the sedate pace of life in other areas.

(the mid-day bustle in the quiet part of town)

For lunch we decided to try the "menu del dia" at the restaurant at the marina. This looked a bit up market from the rest of what we had seen and quite expensive prices. As for most places we've found here, there was a lack of written menus which then presents something of a challenge. We are improving though fast. For the last 3 days we have got exactly what we ordered for our meals. Contrast that to a week ago when I asked for the menu and got shown to the gents. Anyway...where was I .... oh yes, the menu of the day. The board outside said 3 courses, wine (or beer), coffee and bread for 9.90 Euro each...and that's exactly what we got - except it was a bottle of wine and a bottle of beer. For the two of us the bill came to less than 20 Euros. Excellent food as well.

(The marina restaurant on the top floor)

(and the view from the restaurant - Grand Slam is at the back)

I'm expecting the dinghy back around 8.00pm this evening but we can't use it for a few days. We'll be off for a sail tomorrow to make room for the racing boats but we will wait to see which way the wind is blowing before making a decision on where to go. We will come back to this marina after the weekend as we have decided another day looking around Santiago would be good and there is a good train service from here to there. We also have another 379 restaurants to try.

Wednesday 6th August, Vilagarcia

That's us been here 24 hours in the Vilagarcia marina after arriving yesterday afternoon and it certainly looks a nice place. The marina is again one of those friendly, welcoming places that I never thought existed.

We got in yesterday, the marina guy came out in his boat and directed us to the visitors berth, helped with the ropes, spoke reasonable English so we knew what we needed to do etc. After the usual tidy up, cold beer etc we went up to the office to register. Silvia behind the desk was very welcoming, speaking good enough English to have a conversation and find out what the Craic was. Seems like it is the equivalent of West Highland Week with 200 boats descending here on Friday - good to know in advance. Our plan was to try and get the dinghy fixed as it has developed a leak again. I tentatively asked Sylvia if she knew who could help. "Let me sort it for you!". Two phone calls later "someone will be over in an hour to look at it, why don't you go upstairs to the bar and have a relax, I'll call you and here - have a coupon for two free drinks!" An hour later, Sylvia appears and introduces me to Jeronimo (for the dinghy repair and Tito - a good English speaker who appears to run the chandlery). Talk about service. Must happen at Port Edgar every day.

Anyway Jeronimo's now off with the dinghy to put a permanent patch on where the temporary patch was (it's going to be expensive!). The adhesive just was not holding in the daytime heat. Hopefully we will get it back Friday although it will be another 2 days then before we can use it. We may head back over to the marina in Camarinal to avoid Friday's mayhem.

Many marinas here seem to have a bar and restaurant on the top floor of the office building. This one was no exception. Great place to sit outside in the evening sun and sip a cold beer. This one seemed to have a more expensive restaurant than Portosin so we elected instead to try the sailing club building on the breakwater. This was a bit more downmarket (the equivalent to Jeanette's in PEYC - well not quite but the nearest analogy I could find). Sitting outside, looking over the sea out to the west, watching the sun go down, drinking cold Estrella and Rioja, eating fried Calamari - heaven.

Overall then a great Marina and probably could match Kilmore Quay if only we could understand the language. Difficult to have find great Craic when you can't understand a word of what people are saying to you.

Today, Wednesday, we got up to wall to wall .....cloud! Yes, cloud. A cold front came over and it all went grey. That then was a good opportunity to do the tourist bit around town and a walk up the seafront to Carrill - a mile or so up the beach. Vilagarcia is quite a big place, lots of shops and seems to be geared to local tourists. By mid afternoon the sun was again out and the temperature is at least 15�C warmer than Edinburgh. Pam's now gone a deeper shade of brown. Whilst I did mention a beach, it doesn't look the nicest so a swim is out of the question.

Tomorrow will be a bit more of tourist bit and then off on Friday to seek out new ...... places to have a cold Estrella.

Sunday 3rd August, Caraminal

Sunday (as for Saturday) turned out to be great weather again with wall to wall blue sky and 25 deg plus temperatures. We sailed from the Ria de Muros to the Ria de Arosa by the outside route - missing all of the rocks that run all the way down the coast line. It started with less than 10 knots of wind but soon turned into 15- 20 knots downwind. There was also a couple of metres of swell as we were out into the unprotected Atlantic.

25 miles of the trip was outside the Rias but as soon as we turned into Arosa the wind died to about 4-5 knots for our drift up the Ria.

Time for a bit of fishing then. We trawled a line with lures initially at 2knts of boat speed but as we trimmed the sails properly we got almost two more knots. After lunch we pulled the line in and found our first fish, a six inch long sardine. That went back in as Pam had already bought

chicken for tea!

 

By four-ish we had made our way almost to the top of the Ria and the town of Caraminal - which had been recommended on the YBW forum.

We anchored in the bay just outside the marina in around 5 metres of water. Before dinner, we took the dinghy ashore to have a look round. Looks a nice little town with convenient rubbish disposal and shops. I couldn't get an internet connection that wasn’t security protected so this blog is a few days late. We also found a trendy bar on a first floor balcony overlooking the anchorage and beach.

(this is the view from the balcony - we are the boat on the right)

 

We stayed in the anchorage for a couple of nights and had a good look around the town on Monday. Quaint place with lots of old narrow streets and a museum that said it would open at 4pm but didn't. There is also a marina in the town which seemed very busy but little in the way of facilities - and no wifi.

 

 

You can just about make out Grand Slam Too in the foreground - just before we discovered an almost terminal problem (more of that later - nothing like keeping up the suspense is it?).

 

Both nights we spent here turned out to be very windy. During the day the wind went from non-existent to around 8-10 knots - usually with a westerly component. By 9pm though it swung to the east and increased to 15-20knts. By midnight it decreased again. This anchorage was protected from south to north through the west so it was an exciting end to each evening. No problems with holding though - everywhere seems to be mud/sand with excellent holding.

 

We left Caraminal on Tuesday morning - after another leisurely start - and cruised along at around 3.5knts in not much more wind. The sky was blue, the temperature 25+ (hope this isn't too upsetting for all the poor people who have to go to work). When the wind died to zero - out with the fishing rod again.

 

 

This time I managed a reasonable size mackerel. Can you imagine doing this on the Forth? I can't. Interesting to see we are the only boat with crew wearing life jackets?

 

After 3 days anchoring we were heading for the marina in Vilagarcia - the huge distance of 5 miles away. We noticed on Monday that the dinghy had re-developed it's anti-inflation tendency - ie it was leaking again. I had patched it in Ireland after it had got a few pin hole leaks hitting some rocks. The patch kit did say it was a temporary repair however it had worked fine during our stay in the Guinness Isle. Being a chemist, and even one who had developed adhesives (that's glue to the most of us) I should have know that the single pack adhesive was not going to stand up to the heat of Spain. A professional repair was now needed using a twin pack adhesive and proper patches. So Marina Vilagarcia it was then. The five hour mile sail only took 3 hours - what with all the fishing and sunbathing. What an ordeal!

 

We arrived the marina around 4-ish and parked up on the visitors pontoon. Will this marina challenge Kilmore Quay for the best marina in the world competition? You will have to wait until tomorrow!

Saturday 2nd August, Ensenada de San Francisco

We have finally found an internet connection so now I can post a summary of the last few days.

 

We arrived back into Portosin late on Thursday evening just in time to get a meal up the club and then a long lie in on Friday. The plan was to sort various things out on the boat on Friday and go to the Supermarket ready to set off on Saturday. This weekend was fiesta weekend in Portosin so Friday evening was quite noisy with fireworks and music so a good chance to soak up the atmosphere in one of the street cafes - which we duly did ('till quite late!).

 

Saturday was late starting. When we finally got up, it was a last visit to the supermarket and then once enough water had filled up the marina, we eased the boat out between umpteen ropes from the various boats tied up and

moored near us. We were aiming to go and anchor in Muros, a town just 5 miles away the other side of the Ria.

 

It was wall to wall blue sky and temperatures to match. We took the long way round route to have a look at some other beaches but were not too impressed with the anchorages in Muros. The one by the harbour was described as dirty mud and rubbish (hence tripping line) and the other one by the beach was now occupied by mussel rafts. Instead then we headed south round the corner to the beach of San Francisco – a large sandy beach, exposed to the south but as the wind was forecast northerly we were happy to drop anchor for the night.

 

(now where is this anchor thingy?)

 

We noticed a couple of other boats – just out for the day – upping anchor and pulling up huge quantities of weed. The pilot book had said nothing about weed and as we were holding well, thought nothing more of it.

 

 

We had anchored in around 20knts of wind but by sunset the wind died to nothing but we were rolling a lot in the swell from outside the Ria. Still it was a very pleasant stop.

 

We departed early on Sunday morning to make the 35 mile sail down to the next Ria down (Ria Arosa) before the strong afternoon sea breeze filled in. At 8.30am then we weighed anchor and pulled up a forest of kelp and other

assorted green stuff. Interesting.

Monday 27th July, Dunblane ???

Serious withdrawal symptoms are setting in from lack of Estrella. Their share price has plummeted. Rob's hardly eaten anything since he got back last week. We are of course back home in Scotland for a week with the boat safely(??) tied up in Portosin marina. We fly back on Thursday. Trying some Singha tonight.

At least the weather has been good up here. It's actually been over 20 C for the few days we've been here - a record for this year. We went down Port Edgar on Sunday and went out for a very pleasant couple of hours sail on Erin in tea shirts - in Scotland!!! Erin is off today round the west coast via the canal to do West Coast Week. Best of luck guys.

To cope with the lack of Estrella we have been to the Tapit Hen in Dunblane a few times (ie a lot of times). Pam fancied a snack ie a few plates of Tapas. Some hope. Quavers or pork scratchings. I have never seen the attraction of anyone eating a snack with hairs on it. Anyone recognise the book I have been reading yet? That was another clue.

As a recap then on the trip, we have done around 1400 miles and spent 8 weeks on the boat. Looks like we have another 600 miles to go and around 7 weeks. The best pub of the trip was Kehoes in Kilmore Quay - but the Tapit Hen in Dunblane is still winning. The best marina has to go to Kilmore Quay for the all round great time we had there. Must try and get back sometime. Runner up is Portosin - and we still have a few days when we get back there. Best places to visit apart from Kilmore Quay were Rathlin Island which was very nice and Arklow (thanks Dave). The friends we met in Kilmore Quay though were fantastic and hopefully we will meet up with them again.

Very little has broken on the boat. Two seasons of racing has ensured all the weak bits have failed already!! We needed a new set of taps for the galley in Crosshaven when the original mixer tap packed in. The dinghy needed patching when holed in Islay (which along with Craighouse was probably the worst place on the trip). Oh and a bottle opener broke in Portosin - good job we had a spare. Best bit of new kit on the boat has been the AIS - very useful for crossing the shipping lanes in Biscay given the way the big tankers and cruise boats bear down on you at 18 knts+. Best bit of advice gained was from John and Sue on Ellan Vanin who suggested adding a 3rd jack stay from the port stern round the bottom of the mast and to the starboard stern so allowing the person at the mast to clip on easily. Oh and the wifi dish antenna has done a storming job since Dun Leary (easy spelling) when we have hardly been without a good connection.

So we have now stocked up on more warm weather clothing and other essential items for our trip back on Thursday. Look out for more postings from Friday onwards.

Monday 21st July, Port of Sin day 3

Shares in Estrella have rocketed. They were top of the Spanish FTSE gainers today. The sky is still very blue and the fridge is having a very hard time coping. It is now official, the boys have left the building the boat. Thanks for all the emails from home saying how bad the weather has been (although it sounds like it is heating up this week) – but it won’t get as nice as down here guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and you don’t have Estrella. We are coming home for a week so that will put the mockers on that. That will be rain by the weekend in the UK then.

 Rob and Tom left today. We all went into Santiago de Compostella (why can’t they have simple names like Stirling or Denny? –that’s Denny as in twinned with Beirut) with Rob and Tom heading off then to the airport to fly back early Tuesday. Really nice city, full of pilgrims (?????) and tourist tat – ie lots of the equivalent of “see you Jimmy hats” which looked like walking sticks with shells and gourds on them. Anyone know what a gourd is? I didn’t.

Santiago is about an hours bus ride from Noya which is about a 15min bus ride (or 45min if the bus is half an hour late – it is Spain – cheap but no rush) from Portosin. Some great photographic opportunities. Shame I didn’t have the SLR with me. The Cathedral is not to be missed. I don’t think I have ever seen a more impressive inside than this one! ….however I am not starting the world’s best cathedral competition (the best bar and best marina is as far as I will go!). Lots of gold flake, ornate carvings and the biggest incense swingy thing in the world. Certainly worth the trip to Santiago. I will try and post some pictures tomorrow but this is becoming a logistical problem. Late evening it is relatively easy to compose one thoughts to paper, (or electronic media to be precise) however to manipulate pictures from the camera to the PC, run them through photoshop, reduce them to the right size, upload them to the web client, spin through 360 degrees on your head and make a ham and cheese sandwich all at the same time is almost nigh impossible – hence no pictures in this post. I will try in the morning. I promise.

So where were we. Oh yes, back in Santiago. The heat, and fear of death from hunger required us to stop for an extended luncheon break and as we only know “Estrella”, “vino blanco” and “café con leche” we were limited in what we could drink (ps Tom was on the coffee). Our mid-afternoon break gave us the same problem. Pam and I then said our goodbyes to the boys and wandered off back to the bus station and back to the boat. I haven’t a clue where they were sleeping tonight but there are no beaches around so no Sulidae to worry about. We got back to the boat around 8 ish, chilled out a bit in the now 29 deg C evening sun and then went up to the bar to give Estrella yet another day of impressive stock market growth. Back with more tomorrow.

Domingos, 20th July, Port of sin

Sunday afternoon and we are still in Portosin marina. The wind is blowing a hooly (F6-7) but we are nicely tucked up in the back of the marina (as we are staying a couple of weeks). Most of the visitors are on the outer pontoons and bucking up and down - in a very similar manner to Port Edgar in an northerly F6. Not a lot of time to spend blogging as we have been on the beach, in the bar, on the beach and back in the bar. Probably spend a bit more time putting more on the site when the lads leave for Santiago tomorrow. We will then be back to two on board.

Above is a pic of us going round the Cape of Death. Well at least it was taken from our boat, we are not the boat way inshore. F6 - downwind sail - magic!

I said in the last post that Portosin was a great marina. I'm still going to give the award to Kilmore Quay on the basis of better "Craic" but this is not far off. I mean ....were do you get facilities like this.......

......and they don't do pie, beans and chips. Just Calamari and pulpo (that's octupus for the linguistically challenged - er, me!) for about the same price. Despite the wind, it's been 25 deg C + all the time so we have been very dependent on the cold Estrella Galicia, the Spanish answer to Guinness. Rob's trying to work out how much he can take back on the plane.

I tried to get Rob to do a guest blog for the day but he refused point blank. So you will have to settle for me. Yesterday, Saturday, Pam and I caught a bus into Noya which is the nearest city about 15 mins bus ride away. Nice old town with lots of history. Given our complete lack of knowledge of the local lingo, we managed a huge mid-day meal with drinks for only 22 Euros - obviously a communication problem as we ended up with at least 2 dishes we didnt think we ordered! Great food.

Back at base, we ended up in the club house with another Estrella or three watching the sun go down.

I guess this is what Port Edgar will be like once they complete the development.

Rob's still heavily into monitoring the various species of bird life. He has seen 43 species this trip which includes 8 or 9 all time new ones - so that means 8 or 9 all time new ones for me. He is now very actively looking for the family Sulidae. There were none on the beach today. I will have to keep looking when Rob returns and update you all on progress.

Tomorrow Rob and Tom are going into Santiago so they can catch their early plan back to the UK on Tuesday. Pam and I are planning to go in with them to get a day to look around before our flight back on Thursday. We will then have another couple of days of beach and bar. We do keep thinking about the poor people who have to go to work each day. Well not that much. Task for the next couple of days is to get the Spanish phrase book out and learn some!!!! Back with more news tomorrow.

Friday 18th July, Portosin

Well after 3 days of La Coruna, we decided to leave. Great town (as always) and great Tappas but the showers, the fight over the washing machine and the toilets left a lot to be desired. The main problem was that the high pressure over the atlantic was setting up F6-7 Northerlies around cape finisterre so everyone was arriving at La Coruna but not leaving. It was getting quite busy. Added to that, Wednesday was a fiesta day so for the whole day the guy on the pier was setting off nuclear blasts which could be heard in Madrid. The weather has also been brilliant, blue sky 25+ deg C etc.

The forecast was F5-6 northerlies so at least they would be behind us - but add on 1-2 more as they always under-read. The plan was to move down the coast a bit so Rob and Tom could get nearer Santiago to fly back. On Thursday then we left late morning after stocking up with provisions including are rather dodgy 5 litre box of wine which cost as much as 5 Euros. 6 hours later we anchored in Ria de Camarinas after a 45 mile sail in winds that ended up as force 7 (at least behind us). It was a great sail though with great weather and another downwind sleigh ride into the Ria. We anchored for the night in 25knts of wind and decided the 5 Euro wine was not so good after all. There was an attempt at a fireworks display that night in the town of Camarinas but a bit of a damp squib.

We left Camarinas first light on Friday to head down to Ria de Muros and into the marina at Portosin where the plan was to let Rob and Tom off and then for Pam and I to catch a flight back to the UK for a week in seven days time. Again another great days sail with 25knts behind us, 2 reefs and an 8 knt roller coaster ride round Cape Finisterre (also know as the Cape de Morte - Cape of Death). Not a patch on Rattray head - or Carnsore Point which are far worse in these conditions!! By midday we were all in tea shirts and shorts (and life jackets following the sad news from Port Edgar).

We arrived in Portosin mid afternoon, threaded the boat between a pontoon and a yellow bouy with 2 inches to spare either side and onto a berth for a couple of weeks. After the usual boat tidy up we went up to the office to register and to go for a beer in the bar. If you remember in previous posts, I mentioned my unofficial "best pub in the world" competition. Well I'm now starting the best marina competition. To date it was Kilmore Quay but that has almost been surpased by Portosin (Kilmore Quay, you should be worried) - and we have only been here an hour. The office staff are great, the cost is low, the facilities are brilliant and the four of use sat down to have a few cold ones on the balcony, overlooking the marina, the blue water and the Ria. It was 30 deg C, wall to wall blue sky, a F3 westerly and the beer was cold. This was around 4pm local time or 3pm UK time. Rob spent an hour texting and emailing as many people as he could to let them know it was warmer here than in Scotland. Did I tell you Spain was cheaper than Ireland? ....and now I realise why we decided to take the boat down to Portugal with such good weather.

We've now decamped from the bar back to the boat, raised the large saltire flag (with the Welsh dragon underneath) we have as some french boat has put up a tricolor - although very careful to keep it below the spanish courtesy flag! and prepared for a siesta ahead of a night of more food and drink.  There are good wifi conections here so looks like there should be a post each day for the next week.

I have advanced my bird watching, now being able to recognise the difference between a Corry and Great Shearwater, of which there are many here. Also the european, manx and sooty shearwater although Rob reckons the sooty I saw was indeed a european. Rob's been seeing a lots of great boobies as well as gannets. They tend to congregate on the local beaches.

So a few hours kip and then back up the bar. Talk to you all tomorrow once we have done a bit more exploring.