Baecelona - Port Vell

Sophia - so this is Christmas! It was far from certain that we would get a berth at Port Vell this winter because of it's conversion to a superyacht marina but we finally got a six month contract with someone who owns a private (bought) berth. We arrived in the early hours of the 10th November after an uneventful 19 hour passage from Pollenca. D44, our berth is on a floating pontoon. It wasn't long before Tan was heard muttering about the dirt, noise and something about council estates! Still that's better than a few years ago when we arrived on pontoon E when they were doing the work on the quay and her first words were "this is shit". Her comments were not entirely misplaced due to the significant ongoing redevelopment of the marina.

Isabella - "Look what I've got! We were back in time for a charity gig at a small bar (too small) put on by a few talented marina staff and some of the crew from a resident super-yacht. Prior to the gig which doesn't start until about 21:30 we went to a tiny local Argentinean restaurant we fondly know as meat and potatoes. One of the few that still does excellent value. Char grilled steak, potatoes, salad, wine, water, bread and salsa for just over 20 euros for both of us.

Sophia - and I've got something in here! Tans pilgrimage to Wales was very late this year because of all the uncertainties, she didn't leave Barcelona until the 28th November, returning on the 9th December. It didn't go well, she had problems returning items to M&S because of the delivery note then a front tooth came unglued from the her new denture. Again it was the fault of lab in Mallorca, the very same that put the wrong colour teeth on twice! Tan called her dentist in Mallorca who advised her to get it fixed in Wales and she would reimburse her costs. One thing that went well was her trip to the passport office in Liverpool to renew her passport. She had booked an appointment the previous week and obtained the precious new document the afternoon of her appointment.

Early December the hot-air heating on the boat started to play up and finally quit around the 10th so called out the LSNautic who had been recommended. They were very thorough and after checking out the installation had to remove the heater and take it back to their workshop for detailed analysis. The prognosis was not good, it could be repaired but the cost was going to be 75% of a new one. As it was nine years old the answer was obvious, not cheap but obvious. The bill was going to be 1,300 Euros! They ordered a new unit which would arrive within a week, but as we were going to Rachel's over Christmas and New Year we deferred the installation until we got back and used the electric oil radiators in the interval.

Marbella

Just what I always wanted! 17th December we flew to Marbella to stay with Andy and Rachel over Christmas and New Year. We baby sat Tans lovely two granddaughters (Isabella, now five and a half, Sophia, now two and a half) while the parents went to London for a couple of days. On Christmas Eve Andy and Rachel arrived with a new puppy which was named Luna by the girls. Surprisingly Lola, the resident Sharpee, took very well to the new arrival but unfortunately the story has an unhappy ending. On Christmas morning the puppy was rushed to the vet because it had Parvovirus. Fortunately Rachel has a very good vet, but despite blood transfusions and injections the puppy didn't survive.

Thank you Mummy The rest of Christmas day was wonderful, starting with two delighted girls stripping presents of their wrapping paper then a period of relative calm before we went out for lunch. Andy had treated us all to a special Christmas lunch at a very exclusive hotel on the beach. Jackie drove us all to the hotel and joined us for lunch. The food was excellent, the wine flowed and the live entrainment was great, culminating with a Marlin Monroe impersonation singing songs of the era. Afterwards we retired to the lounge overlooking the sea For more drinks before Tan and I took the two girls home by taxi and put them to bed. It was a great day.

Rachel and Tan at the restaurant. A few days later Rachel went to pick up her new car, an impressive black Range Rover. Her previous car, a BMW 5 series, had been stolen a couple of months ago and the police refused to put out an alert until Rachel had gone to the police station and filed a full report by which time as she pointed out the car would already be in Morocco.

Andy & Sophia. We had hired a car on arrival at Malaga and decided to use it to take a couple of days sightseeing between Christmas and New Year. I had originally wanted to go to Gibraltar but was disappointed with the hotels I found on-line so we decided to go to Tarifa for a night then on to Jerez for another night, returning to Marbella through the mountains. On the 28th Dec we arrived at Tarifa - called the windy city and world famous for wind surfing and kite surfing. It was here that we stood at the southernmost tip of Europe, just 16km north of Africa across the straights of Gibraltar. The Mediterranean sea on the one hand and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. We stayed at a lovely little hotel (La Casa de la Favorita) situated in an almost impossible to find square within the city walls. The rooms have a kitchenette and are well stocked with tea (even Earl Grey) and coffee. It's only listed as a two star but the care and attention we received far exceeded that.

Tan at the restaurant. La Casa de la Favorita has a long and fascinating history. Before it became the property of the Chamizo family, well-known and loved residents of Tarifa, it had been home to a doctor, a writer, a veterinarian and even a smuggler. It was already included in the catalogue of Tarifa′s important buildings in 1850, when it was the home of the heir to the title of Prince of the Abbasi dynasty, to whom the mansion owes its current structural layout. Faithful to the original project, a palace created for the worthy task of serving as a home, two years of meticulous restoration have yielded a comfortable, practical and evocative manor in which every room, every corner, respects the spirit of the original construction, where the Prince of Abbasi dedicated his life to the love of a woman from Bruno and arquitect, the Yáñez, Pilar favorita". or "favourite.

The bridge at Ronda. Following our plan we left next day for Jerez via Cadiz. We didn't get too see much of Cadiz other than to drive around for a while. The four star hotel I'd booked at Jerez was a little disappointing after La Casa, being much like any other four star hotel. We were surprised how dirty Jerez was compared to Tarifa but we had a pleasant stroll around the city in the afternoon marred slightly by the lack of sun and a cool wind. However we overcame this by stopping and sampling a very nice amontillado sherry, very warming! Next morning I became a fugitive from the law when I went to get the car. There was a man telling me the police had been called to tow it away for parking in the wrong place. We told him we had to leave and drove away before the tow truck arrived!

Collegiate Church of Santa Maria de la Encarnation Mayor Our return trip through the mountains took us via Ronda, the highlight of the trip for me. The town is perched atop a huge slab of rock and split by a deep gorge through which a river races. The two parts of the own are connected by an impressive stone bridge spanning the ravine. The old town is home to the very impressive Adjuntemant (Town Hall) building and the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria de la Encarnation Mayor. Once Ronda had been conquered by the Catholic Monarchs in 1485, the main Mosque was consecrated sand transformed into a Christian church. During the reign of the House of Austrian it became a collegiate church and in the 19th century was converted into a High Parish.

The building has a cathedral-like feel to it. It is built of masonry and was constructed in two phases: the Gothic part, which must have been undertaken very early and coincides with the shape of the former mosque, and the enlargement of the northern part, begun after the earthquake of 1580 and which would take up until the 18th Century, displaying a mixture of styles ranging from Renaissance up to Baroque. The main facade opens onto the square, with superimposed verandahs that served as boxes from which the festivities that were often celebrated there could be observed. Some remains of the Mihrab of the Muslim building have survived, as well as a large part of it's original shape, dating from between the 13th and 14th Centuries. The North African influences can be seen in these remains.

Ronda Town Hall. We had a very pleasant traditional menu-del-dia at a small but popular family run restaurant before driving back to Marbella, arriving just in time for the "shift-change". Andy and Rachel were packed and ready to head for the ski slopes of the Sierras Nevada to celebrate New Years Eve while we took charge of "las chicas".

Barcelona

On the second day of the New Year we flew back to Barcelona. An uneventful trip, about the best one can say about air travel unless you are extremely wealthy. It was nice to be back on the boat. The engineers came the next day and fitted the new hot air heating unit and tested it. They were very good and I would recommend them. The next couple of weeks were playing catch-up, shopping, laundry, etc. until Tan's Birthday.

Villanova i la Geltru Tan had seen an advert for a Peruvian restaurant and was longing to try it so off we went on the evening of her Birthday. On our arrival, the charming waiter told us it was only Peruvian food so the menu was quite limited. We shared a superb Caesar salad to start. Tan ordered char grilled chicken and I ordered a mixed meat plate which according to my interpretation was grilled slices of beef heart, tripe and chitterlings served with maize. The waiter went to great pains to make sure I knew what I was ordering. Unfortunately Tan's chicken was charred and dry but my plate of offal lived up to expectations. The Peruvian experience having been satisfied, we went back to the boat for a brandy!

On the 27th January we took the train to Villanova i la Geltru some 35km south of Barcelona, to check out the marina and the town as a prospective winter berth. The train journey is just over an hour with a frequent service which also provides easy access to Barcelona airport. The marina is situated at the bottom of "Las Ramblas", the main thoroughfare which runs aprox. two km to the ineviable Cathederal/Church at the top. We strolled the entire length and stopped for a menu-del-dia at the dubiously named Beverly Hills Grill and Bar. Despite the name the food was good quality and good value and the service excellent.

Barceloneta Carnival There is easy access from the marina for provisioning and there are regular street markets. It´s a town which relies heavily on tourism but has maintained it`s own character having sufficient other income to carry it through the winter months. The marina is not too big and not too small, just right, the staff are friendly and helpfull and the facilities are excellent.

February was very mixed weather-wise. Most of the sunny days were accompanied by bitterly cold winds and there was the usual cloudy and wet days for the time of the year, we even had hail, thank goodness for the hot-air heating!

The 17th February was a dull day which was brightened by an assault on the senses by the sumptuous colours of the costumes, strident marching bands, and lively dancing of the Barceloneta Carnival. As in the past it was a multi-cultural, friendly and family event encompassing multiple generations and geographies. Local groups and associations were followed by various South American troupes (not to be confused with troops) in their traditional costumes and performing traditional dance. It was a wonderful and heartwarming spectacle to behold.

Barcelona to Sitges vintage car rally The weather was kind for this years Barcelona to Sitges Vintage Car Rally (more photos) on the third of March. Its not a race but a spectacular event which is judged on the turn-out of the cars and the period costumes of the participants. I'm delighted to say that the turnout hasn't been affected by the current economic climate.

My laptop died just a couple of months before it's 10th birthday! It had been ill for a while so it was not entirely unexpected. After mulling over the merits of going alone with the iPad, getting a desktop computer or another laptop I finally bought a Packard Bell Easynote TE with a 15.6in screen, 4GB memory, 750GB disk drive for 399 euros-amazing! My only concern was the quantum leap from Windows 2000 to Windows 8 but that has proved unfounded. I was worried that I would have to buy new versions of all the programs I have already but so far the most important ones have installed with ease. For example I installed Microsoft Office 2000 and all my word documents, spreadsheets, and databases and all work! I'm also discovering that Windows 8 is very easy to use but sometimes it's not intuitive, you discover things by accident.

March was a very mixed month weatherwise, some days being shorts and T-shirt days and others requiring the heating on all day but the most notable thing was that the wind could be bitterly cold. Tan went to Wales at the end of the month for almost three weeks so I got on with some of the outstanding maintenance tasks, but it wasn't all work!

Don't park there! Spring (Primavera) arrived mid April but not without a struggle. We are due to leave Barcelona at the end of the month so when La Señora got back boat cleaning moved into highest gear (Industrial!). The anchor chain was rusting where it attaches to the anchor via a stainless steel swivel and was staining the deck rust colour. I had taken the anchor off while Tan was away and painted it. Somehow the job escalated when Tan got back and I had all 85 metres of chain and 30 meters of rope flaked on the finger pontoon. I cut off the few rusty links and then marked the chain at 5m intervals. While the anchor locker was empty Tan wanted to clean it, so we did.

Then came the windlass saga. The Gypsy on the windlass had locked so that it wouldn't allow "free fall". To take the gypsy off I had to remove the chain stripper plate. Both bolts holding it in place sheared (stainless steel into aluminum). I spent a large part of the next few days on my hands and knees trying to drill out the bolts and cut new threads. I even bought a bolt removal tool which has a thread cut in the opposite direction which you insert into the hole you have drilled through the broken bolt and it unscrew the offending bolt. In theory! In my case the removal tool broke filling the hole with something that even the stainless drill bits wouldn't touch. I finally drilled out the other bolt completely and used a fresh bolt to cut new threads in the soft aluminum. Very slowly and gently, screwing it in a little, taking it out and cleaning the thread. Just when I thought the bolt was deep enough the head sheared off and I was back to square one. I could have cried! I drilled this one out and this time the removal tool (there are four bits) worked. Eventually, after drilling and tapping a second hole I screwed in two long bolts with two extra nuts on each then sawed off the head of each bolt so now the stripper plate fits over the threads and is held in place by locking nuts. The last phase was to put the 30m warp and 85m chain back into the anchor locker and attach the anchor. Job done.

A large low pressure weather system settled over Barcelona at the end of April resulting in four days of dense cloud and heavy rain. Unfortunately it spanned the weekend that Tans friends Helen and Idris were here, very disappointing. The rain was heavily laced with red sand which sticks to the deck like guano so in the intervals of less rain, Tan was out on deck with the hose. On the 29th April it was so bad she could have cried! The weather forecast predicts the best time for us to cross to Majorca is the 1st May, but the huge work barge with massive crane has just parked just about 10m in front of us. Very challenging!

With the help of the friendly Marinero's at Port Vell we slid out of our berth just before midday on the 1st of April on our way to Mallorca.