POS 41:06.456N 001:15.080E
Tuesday 17th August
The sea was calmer still when I took over at 4am. I’d only
woken up once when I heard Paul shouting up above and discovered that a police
boat had come alongside to ask him questions about where we were going etc. Apparently they do random checks like
that to check boats aren’t transporting illegal immigrants etc. It really made
Paul jump because they honked their horn at him and he’d been sleeping! All I had to do for the first couple of
hours was check we didn’t get to near an enormous crane that was setting up
moorings and was protected by two other boats. Lit up as it was it looked like a huge
roller coaster in the water. I read
Haunted Liverpool wrapped up warm in the chilly night air and learnt that you
are likely to encounter werewolves, vampires and cannibals in certain areas of
the city as well as the more mundane ghosts. There were also reports of people
experiencing timeslips in Bold
Street!
I didn’t know Liverpool would be such an exciting
place to live when I moved there.
As it got lighter I had to dodge numerous fishing buoys and it got
windier but apart from that a good dawn watch – shame I couldn’t see the sunrise
due to cloud though. When I woke at
11 30 Paul said there were storms on the horizon and we could actually see them
but luckily we didn’t get them.
It was about 3 when we approached
Tarragona. It didn’t look very
impressive - oil refineries and chemical plants dominated the view but the guide
book did say the outskirts are ugly due to industrial estates and its being the
second largest port in Catalunya.
Near the marina the view improved
– we could see lots of oldish-looking buildings clustered on the hill that
Tarragona is built on. It’s
described as an ancient place with Medieval and Roman histories but before we
could set off to explore we checked in and got the boat sorted and tidied which
was hard work in the 35 degree heat and humidity, especially when we had to shut
all the windows and hatches so Paul could spray water all over the boat so that
I could check for any leaks – suffocatingly hot but no leaks at least. It had cooled down by the time we went
out to check our new surroundings, armed with a map and leaflets from marina
staff. You have to cross a busy
railway line to get into town.
The gates were down when we got
there and after the first train went through it became clear another one was due
but some people just ran across rather than wait because you can see fairly far
both sides. I was tempted to do the
same because five minutes seem ages when you’re eager to get going.
Tarragona has a distinct ‘run
down’ feel to it. The park we
came to was not as well kept as others we’ve seen in
Spain and had
drunks on one of the benches. The
high apartment buildings in the street leading to the centre were dark and
shabby. This is the lower part of
town – apparently it’s nicer in the upper part but the centre itself was quite
nice. It’s modern with the usual
big name shops and eateries, lined with palm trees and the main street (Rabella
Nova) is extremely wide with cafes, bars and restaurants. Too tired and hungry to walk far we
chose a table outside a nice Italian-style restaurant and had dinner in the cool
night air.
