Now where was I?

Christine's Atlantic Circuit
Peter Lansdale
Thu 22 Sep 2016 21:17
Ah yes, Calero, where we were banished to the pontoon at the edge of the world, thus ensuring a healthy dose of exercise once properly berthed and tied up, to have the ritual 'dirty beer'. (See, I am really getting the hang of this sailing jargon; a dirty beer referring to the state of the imbiber, rather than the drink [imbibee?] apparently).

Nice marina, plenty of little, expensive shops and a small supermarket which provided the base for the next four nights' superb dinners. Basically we ended up with twice the amount of chicken we thought we had bought so it was definitely 'Chicken Tonight', Tomorrow Night etc. Terry "Masterchef" Reeves did a fantastic job. I highly recommend his paella.

So, where to next? We headed off the next morning to Lobos, a small island off the coast of Fuertaventura. Very stark, rocky and described in "the other Peter's" ( let's call him Pietro) blog as being reminiscent of Yorkshire slag heaps. We didn't go ashore to check as the seas didn't allow us any way to get out of the dinghy, having made the trip. I saw a photo anyway. Check the earlier blog!

The following morning saw us setting off for Castillo on Fuertaventura. I was at the helm for a while until it became obvious that the sea was building up into something that I just couldn't handle. I believe the term to describe it was "corkscrew". Not only the wallow and yaw but the bouncy up and down as well. All went well, Dear Reader, until I was asked to winch in a sail. That was my undoing - the bending down to do so. The rest of the trip and the dramatic but skillfull entrance by the Skipper into Castillo Marina passed me by as I was prostrate in the cabin, eyes closed and stomach empty. Sue's photo of the breakers looks beautiful and benign...But!

Once safely in, the story continued. We motored up and down a few times, ignored by any authority on duty. It is a small marina and as the only available berth seemed way too narrow, El Capitan decided we should raft up to a fair sized motor cruiser. This took some time and effort. A fair few onlookers had gathered by then, and I feel we should have passed round the hat for the entertainment provided. Just as we had it sorted, the "authority" arrived and pointed us to the previously discounted narrow space. Super Skip managed to get us safely in there in fine style. But the final farce was the finger - the bit of the pontoon used to get off the boat - it was somewhat shy of bearing any weight so Terry was submerged beyond his ankles trying to tie the ropes on.
Fair to say, an eventful days' sail all in all.

Sooo - Wake up! Still more to tell. We spent two nights in Castillo. Don't go there - it isn't finished. The town is sort of Blackpool-sur-Canaria....some poor souls had appartments with a sea view blocked by cement-like slag heaps. I leave the rest to your imagination.

So, plans to carry on to Grand Tarajal further south the following day were unfortunately scuppered. As ever, not the 'right' wind, current or the other pertinent stuff (see I am really getting into this sailing lark). Back to Lobos. It was cold and wet en route but we had a fabulous time swimming in beautiful turquoise water the following morning, even if we had to use a line from the boat to do so, due to the strong current.

We left Lobos for a short trip to Punta Papagayo. Another anchorage off some amazing rock faces, secluded beaches and the odd naturist. Why is it always the fat, hairy and frankly ugly bloke that struts his stuff? A lovely spot though, despite that.

A short trip from there to Marina Rubicon, on the south coast of Lanzarote which is where I am now, inflicting this diatribe onto you, assuming you are kind and interested enough to follow the blog. We picked up Terry 2 from the airport yesterday, and dropped off Sue and Terry this afternoon. Sue did sterling work uploading some of the many fabulous photos she took over their two week stay. The one "for Lynn" was taken for the lovely little green baby boat on the lagoon - look closely at the smiley face it has. Just along from there was a great little restaurant with the best tapas ever... Not your traditional dishes, rather more a modern take on the original.

We will miss them both and enjoyed the time spent with them, as ever. Who knows where or when next time? Thanks to you both, but we could have done without the hangovers this morning...a very subdued crew in place this morning for sure.

So...that's us to date. One more day here to get boring chores like washing done, then hopefully on down to Grand Tarajal, Fuerteventura.

I hope you have enjoyed this book. I promise I won't write another.
Maybe.
Lynn





Sent from my iPad


Sent from my iPad