Sightseeing in Spain

The great thing about anchoring off is the lack of money spent.  It’s nice to finally be able to feel comfortable about having the odd beer ashore or contemplating a light snack even.  This section of the Spanish coast has turned out to be much nicer than we expected and bays more sheltered.  Agua Sa Tuna and Aguia Freda were particularly nice.  Clear water and a pretty back drop make up to the slightly small nature of the bays.  The locals are friendly and the place is pretty sleepy as summer hasn’t even been thought about yet.  We can only imagine that Sa Tuna is named for the shoals of leaping tuna that tease us each day at sea.  Fishing line goes out, fishing line comes in but never a strike to be had.  Probably just as well as I am not sure how we would get one landed, let alone how we would deal with that amount of fish!

 

 

 

We take a long sweaty walk up to Begur along the convenient walking trail.  It’s a lovely old town and has some lovely bars and restaurants as well as fabulous old merchant’s houses and cobbled lanes.  Lots of the locals made their money in Cuba in the past and the place still has a busy feel of a prosperous trading village.  It is also popular with the Brits and we see a couple coming out of the notary having signed up for their piece of the action and note the existence of the “most authentic” Indian restaurant in the area.  Shame it is too far to walk back up later to sample that claim.
Further down the hill as we wander about we notice the subtle signs of recession.  The street lamps are all broken or have been gas axed off, lawns and gardens are untended and previously locked gates have been forced open so the locals can range where they like again.  Apparently the Spanish would rather let a place fall down around their ears than accept a lower price for their properties so everywhere crumbling ruins are in the making.  Not that this stops them building new ones!  There are still construction teams going hell for leather with the concrete mixer.  Cheekily the Lonely Planet talks about the Spanish as having discovered the secret of reverse alchemy and instead of turning stone into silver they are now turning silver into… well, into concrete really.  There are an estimated 1.5 million recently built houses standing empty and yet still they continue to go down the construction route, but this is just a case of history repeating itself.  Spain’s propensity towards boom and bust is well documented but a bit like the Greeks they don’t seem to be able to help themselves when it comes to wanting to be seen as movers and shakers in Europe… another case of Moet aspirations on an Estrella budget.

As we proceed along the coast towards Barcelona we really start to appreciate the effort that has gone into protecting a lot of the forests that cover the hills near the sea and cloak the mountains in the distance. There are fabulous walking tracks everywhere and loads of mountain biking options for those that can get one on a boat!  We also start to appreciate the eye the Iberian’s (the original Spanish folk) had for a good anchorage.  They liked a small peninsula with a sheltered bay on either side.  An easily defended hillock and a nice view of the sunset are a must and access to a fertile flat plain is a handy addition.  However, as much as we have been enjoying the bays the weather is starting to become unsettled again and so we glide down the coast to Blanes. 

Not the best of choices in the rain and wind and not the best of parking manoeuvres (what do you expect when the gap is half our size and wind blowing a cross 20 knots!) but the town grows on us.  It’s a locals place; plenty of shops and restaurants and just enough old bits to keep it interesting.  The next day turns out to be St Jordi’s (St George’s to the English among us) Day and it is traditional to buy a book for a man and a rose for a lady… we do neither as we didn’t know this tit bit of information till later!  Still we enjoy the atmosphere and find a gyros shop and snack on the waterfront watching the world going by.  (Hang on a minute?!  Was that gyros I hear you say?!  Yes, gyros… who would have thought we would start reminiscing about Greek food but that just goes to show you need to travel to appreciate the finer things in life!)

For once today we are going back on ourselves.  Murray has an urge to see Tossa del Mar… when we went past the wind was blowing in and it didn’t look inviting… this time the wind isn’t blowing in but it is still not inviting.  A lazy swell is rolling in but we resolutely park on the point break and go ashore to avoid having to watch the surf pounding up the beach threatening to wash away small children and unwary pit pat players.  The old town is delightful (Iberian in design of course and later taken over by the knights Templer) and we have a lovely time mooching about and poking around the souvenir shops.  It’s all “bucket and spade” in the new part of town but not many tourists about yet.  When we get back to the boat we decide we have seen enough and move to a smaller bay to get out of the swell a bit.  Fat chance; in the night the wind drops and the swell rolls straight into the bay we have moved to.  Deep joy… crashing and banging ensues and continues till the 6.30am start... Cate and Bramble have to make an Aussie surf-lifesavers power start off the beach after the morning’s perambulation; time to move on! 

There are still a lot of trees and hills and the coast is a lot less built up than we expected so we are pleasantly surprised, however, we are close to Barcelona now and so have to resort to marinas once more as the bays have all been turned into yacht harbours.  Marina after marina line the shore and we nearly end up at the wrong one they are so close together but eventually we sort out the right entrance and trundle in.  Port Balis is uninspiring but after our rolly night even the threat of no electricity and water for the nearly 40€ per night fee doesn’t put us off.  Again the Spanish remind us of the Greeks.  They are great at filling out the EU paperwork to get a new marina built but haven’t thought much about how to maintain it and to actually provide the services to the yachts that they lure in there… we don’t even bother with the showers as Murray’s experience of the toilets was bad enough…

And now for Barcelona…

We have no idea what to expect from Barcelona and as we sail up to the port we are blown away by the lovely waterfront skyline and marvellous harbour filled with cruise ships and super yachts.  We have decided to risk going into Port Vell right in the centre of town.  Rumour has it that it is being turned into super yacht harbour and small boats aren’t welcome anymore but you know how much we like to find out stuff for ourselves and in this case the gamble pays off and rather than turn us away the staff couldn’t have been friendlier and we get an excellent deal (27€/night) and front row seats in downtown Barcelona.  Sure, it will be a super yacht harbour once they have finished construction but 10m plus boats will still be happily received, if they can afford the price!  The marina has a lovely location and is surprisingly quiet (once the workmen have finished pounding in the pontoon piles for the day!).  The entrance leads us out into Barcelonetta… the funky old fisherman’s part of town that backs on to the foreshore.  It has a great feel to it and if you want to buy in Barcelona this would be the place to look.  We stroll through its narrow streets and down the waterfront to Port Olympic Marina.  Definitely the right move going into Port Vell, Port Olympic is pretty tired and rundown looking with no security to speak of.  We later learn that 1/3 of the boats in there belong to bankrupt companies and no one is paying their bills so no wonder the marina looks like it is on the down and out.

Surprise, surprise its St Jordi’s Day again in Barcelona… this time we are prepared but we still don’t buy the traditional gifts… CC is groaning with tat as it is… but we aren’t prepared for the crowds.  The whole of Barcelona is on holiday and we have to push and shove every step of the way as we take a short tour of the sights.  It’s a beautiful city and if you can avoid being mown down by bikes and rollerbladers, a great place to get around by foot.  We decide to forgo another trip up the Rambla and take Bramble to Monjuic Park in the afternoon and although a strenuous climb are rewarded by great views across the city.  The city reminds me of Athens in the way it is laid out… does it have the seven hills though??

The next day we get a few things sorted out including regassing the fridge… can’t have the beer getting warm… then take in the historic museum in the centre of town.  Very interesting especially if you get an English audioguide.  Next it’s a walk in the park and we discover the most amazing fountain complete with gold gilded chariot and horses… very cool!  This park becomes a favourite haunt over the next few days as the weather conspires to keep us in port. 
There is so much to see here that we feel slightly overwhelmed but resolve to not try and do everything.  A trip to the Sagrada Familia is called for and after a slight misinterpretation on the metro map we arrive to find a long queue… 40 minutes and one amusing moment later we get our tickets and audioguide.  Ah and the amusing moment, you may ask??  Well a beggar had decided to stake out the queue (smart move) and Murray kindly put some money in his pot… note to those of us that like to do this sort of thing… don’t under any circumstances take your change out and then select the lowest denomination coin.  The cheeky bugger was not impressed with Murray’s offering, taking it out and waving it about for all to see and a standoff between the two commenced.  The little ferret’s pleas of more money fell on uncomfortable deaf ears with the rest of the queue trying to disassociate themselves from the fracas until finally Murray (and I have to say I backed him on this one!) finally put an end to the matter when he told him not to be so greedy and if he didn’t want it would he mind giving it back!  At least the church was worth the wait and we spent a good couple of hours gorping at its monumental proportions and bizarre decorative attributes.