May 2009

So, I've been getting some stick for not having posted anything in a while, so here is our latest ...

For the last 10 days we have been in El Rompido in Andalusia in the Bay of Cadiz. This is a pretty little place, picture left, protected by a 10km long sandspit, known as El Gato, that runs West to East parallel to the coast. It's about thirty Km from the Portuguese border.

Coming from the West, as we did - from Tavira in Portugal to be precise, we had to go around the spit, as the entrance is on the Eastern end. The wind, which was a gentle breeze on our backs all the way suddenly decided to get up just as we arrived. That not only made it a bit hairy coming in over the shallow bit at the entrance, but made the trip back up the Ria Piedras inside the spit with 30 knots on the nose a little uncomfortable. The entire 10 km back is filled with small boat moorings. At a guess I'd say there were between 3 and 5 thousand. The fuel pontoon and the small marina mark the end of the moorings. Beyond the marina there is a massive anchorage lagoon.

[ The picture on the left shows one of the millions of fiddler crabs that come out of the mud at low water. They are called "Fiddler" because their single oversized claw, that gives the appearance that they are playing the violin. Rojo, one of the marina's Marinieros tells me that you can make €30 a kilo by collecting their claws. Apparently you break off the claw, throw the crab back, and then he grows it again.]

The Marina is part of a El Rompida's golf hotel, and is probably the best we have visited to date, considering showers, 24 hour security, friendly Marinieros, etc. Also, as high season doesn't start here until 1st June, they are still on Winter prices, which are half the Summer rate, only €15 a night.

Of course, being penny pinching live-aboards, we only come into the marina to treat ourselves on Saturdays. The rest of the time we've been anchored in the lagoon, which we've had to ourselves except for a few small angling boats who stop for a few hours in the daytime. We have been here since Wednesday week, and today being Sunday we've just spent our second night in the Marina. We're going back on the anchor today, but because the river runs so fast we are waiting for the turn of the tide to get out at slack water.

Being anchored presents its problems though, as it is nearly as expensive to bring the dinghy into the marina for an hour's shopping as to park the boat there overnight and access all the facilities. Because the river banks are shallow, and the riverbed is half a metre of mud, getting ashore anywhere near low water can be messy, at least on the town side. So we stock up at the weekends and if we need to get ashore for anything it is easy enough around high water.

We did park the dinghy in the marina and pay the €6 one day. That time we took the bikes and cycled the 8 Kilometres to the larger town of Cartaya, to take advantage of its supermarkets. After a light lunch in a café in the town square, over looked by the storks nesting in the surrounding rooftops, we found a Lidl and a Carrefour on the town perimeter. This itself was an achievement, as asking and receiving directions in a language you can't understand ain't easy. Unfortunately neither shop had any fresh milk, the only thing that we really needed. They all go for UHT milk here, which we don't find very appetising on our muesli.

Back at El Rompido's sandspit, El Gato is only a few hundred metres wide, and the interior, if it can be called that, has been preserved as a nature reserve. The sand turns to mud below the high water line on the riverbanks, and between traffic and pollution is not the most enticing swimming location. But El Gato's southern shore is a beautiful sandy beach for the whole ten kilometres, and perhaps more to the west beyond where it merges with the mainland. It is only a few hundred metres across, and for access to the beaches and to preserve the delicate eco-culture there are a number of boardwalks traversing the spit. There is a ferry service that runs constantly from El Rompido, but of course we just launch the dinghy and come and go as we please. We've been for quite a few swims, the water is pleasantly warm once you get over the initial shock.

As I mentioned, we came here from Tavira in Portugal, where we'd spent an extended long weekend with Maura and Paul on "Noble Warrior", another Irish boat. Tavira is a very beautiful largish town a few kilometres from the anchorage. The anchorage itself is small and shallow, and is protected by Tavira island, apparently the largest in the algarve. We also went swimming off the beautiful sandy beaches off its southern shore.

Tomorrow we are heading back to the river Guadiana, which marks the Spanish/Portuguese border, where we have already spent the month of April this year, and a couple of weeks last September. More on that another time.

I've got to sign off now, we're moving the boat soon & I've a bit of work to do sorting stuff out, filling tanks, etc.

I'll try not to leave it so long before the next update.