Update 10th December 2007
17th – 30th Nov
Had a few days at Francy and Richard’s enjoying the luxury of baths and a full size bed! We also had a lovely evening trip in the car to see the fabulous Christmas lights on the Portugal side of the river. The Portuguese side appears to ‘be into’ Christmas lights much more than on the Spanish side and although there are Christmas decorations and lights on the Spanish side they are not switched on ‘til 6th Dec and the displays are not as big (as on the Portuguese side).
We then had a lovely day out with Diana and Jaap going first to Castro Marim Castle and then driving up to Alcoutim where Nocturne and Seawalk were anchored. They were just about to ‘up anchor’ when we arrived so they came alongside the pontoon while we all chatted for short while and sheltered from the rain. After the boats left we had a lovely lunch in the small local restaurant and then went a drive through the country and arrived back through torrential rain. We saw Nocturne & Seawalk later as they spent a few days here in the marina before heading off towards Cadiz and Gibraltar. Vicky & Darren had spent a good bit of their time up the river compiling their website which can seen at http://www.freewebs.com/yachtnocturne/ .
1st – 9th Dec
On Sunday we went up to Francy and Richard’s ready for the surprise trip to Gibraltar. On the Monday we went by car to Algeciras where we stayed at the Reina Christina Hotel. It was a beautiful old colonial type hotel set in lovely gardens. Being so close to Morocco and Tangier, Algeciras has a very mixed assortment of people and a strong Arab / Muslim presence which you see in the cafes and shops. The following day we got the bus to La Linea and walked across the border to Gibraltar where we caught another bus to the cable car that took us to the top of The Rock. There really were apes everywhere just as the books say! It was also very strange to be shopping in pounds Sterling again! We had a wonderful day in Gib. We drove back through Spain to Ayamonte on the Wednesday and then the four of us took a trip on Balchis up the river to Alcoutim and back on the Thursday.
Whilst at the boat we have been catching up with various jobs that we’ve been promising ourselves we’d get round to and Carolyn has even been knitting! We’ve also been exploring Ayamonte which has a lot of history and character of an old town. Carolyn is also getting good at Spanish and can now get the proper types / cuts of meat from the butcher; we even managed to get some goat to make a stew… (we may even send the recipe to Inversnaid…).
The ‘language thing’ is sometimes quite difficult, but we think especially here where we are so close to Portugal and moving backwards and forwards across the border so often. Although the languages are similar in some areas, there are enough differences to trip us up at times… then there is the mixed community in the marina where there are French, German and Dutch and it is polite to try some basic phrases (at least the greetings) in their native tongue. Good for a laugh, though..!
Had a few days at Francy and Richard’s enjoying the luxury of baths and a full size bed! We also had a lovely evening trip in the car to see the fabulous Christmas lights on the Portugal side of the river. The Portuguese side appears to ‘be into’ Christmas lights much more than on the Spanish side and although there are Christmas decorations and lights on the Spanish side they are not switched on ‘til 6th Dec and the displays are not as big (as on the Portuguese side).
We then had a lovely day out with Diana and Jaap going first to Castro Marim Castle and then driving up to Alcoutim where Nocturne and Seawalk were anchored. They were just about to ‘up anchor’ when we arrived so they came alongside the pontoon while we all chatted for short while and sheltered from the rain. After the boats left we had a lovely lunch in the small local restaurant and then went a drive through the country and arrived back through torrential rain. We saw Nocturne & Seawalk later as they spent a few days here in the marina before heading off towards Cadiz and Gibraltar. Vicky & Darren had spent a good bit of their time up the river compiling their website which can seen at http://www.freewebs.com/yachtnocturne/ .
1st – 9th Dec
On Sunday we went up to Francy and Richard’s ready for the surprise trip to Gibraltar. On the Monday we went by car to Algeciras where we stayed at the Reina Christina Hotel. It was a beautiful old colonial type hotel set in lovely gardens. Being so close to Morocco and Tangier, Algeciras has a very mixed assortment of people and a strong Arab / Muslim presence which you see in the cafes and shops. The following day we got the bus to La Linea and walked across the border to Gibraltar where we caught another bus to the cable car that took us to the top of The Rock. There really were apes everywhere just as the books say! It was also very strange to be shopping in pounds Sterling again! We had a wonderful day in Gib. We drove back through Spain to Ayamonte on the Wednesday and then the four of us took a trip on Balchis up the river to Alcoutim and back on the Thursday.
Whilst at the boat we have been catching up with various jobs that we’ve been promising ourselves we’d get round to and Carolyn has even been knitting! We’ve also been exploring Ayamonte which has a lot of history and character of an old town. Carolyn is also getting good at Spanish and can now get the proper types / cuts of meat from the butcher; we even managed to get some goat to make a stew… (we may even send the recipe to Inversnaid…).
The ‘language thing’ is sometimes quite difficult, but we think especially here where we are so close to Portugal and moving backwards and forwards across the border so often. Although the languages are similar in some areas, there are enough differences to trip us up at times… then there is the mixed community in the marina where there are French, German and Dutch and it is polite to try some basic phrases (at least the greetings) in their native tongue. Good for a laugh, though..!
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