Tuesday 15^th April – Barbate

36:11.039N 5:56.018W

Today we were up late after the long day yesterday and listened to the levanter blowing from the comfort of the cockpit enclosure as we had breakfast.  The only interruption was from a helicopter landing on what felt like on deck but was actually in the car park about 30 metres away, and blasting gravel onto our transom with its rotors.  We were quite surprised it had landed there given the street lights and masts.  I went out and hosed the debris off after it had taken off again.

We spent some time cleaning on Pyxis and resolving a small leak on the watermaker we had noticed yesterday.  

Later this afternoon the wind abated a little and we went for a cycle ride to look at Barbate.  My first stop was the reception to find out if the helicopter was a daily feature.  Fortunately it was an irregular event, however, sadly it turns out it was a rescue helicopter looking for a missing person in the water – a diver has gone missing off the coast.  They hadn’t found him yet and there were some much larger helicopters around later in the day patrolling the coast.

Our cycle tour around Barbate was uneventful and the tourist information office had already closed.  We continued meandering around; it is a town that is probably for the summer season, with many shops and areas that seem to be waiting the arrival of summer and a lot of holiday makers; however, at the moment they are empty and closed.

On the way back to Pyxis we called in at the supermarket; on this trip it seems impossible to pass one without going in and picking something up ‘just in case’.

Having delivered some ‘chocolate ears’ to Moonshadow, both who are suffering with a cold at the moment, and clearly suffering from chocolate deficiency, I then prepared our dinner on Pyxis.