Tuesday 27 November 2012

Gran Tarajal


Trip from Calero: Thursday 22nd:
We set off about 7.30 to go to Gran Tarajal, only a 42 miles not far I know but as usual the wind did not play nicely. So motored all the way with the headsail up to keep us stable, there was a big swell but not so bad as before. 
When we did reach Gran Tarajal and entered the marina it was blowing around 20 knots which is not so funny when you try to manoeuvre backwards onto short pontoons. There were no marineros to help, just the security guy and thankfully a few boats to help us in. The port captain is on holiday so the security guys are doing everything they can to help. 

The marina has short floating pontoons which are quite low and as there are strip light like the ones to decorate the house with at Christmas the passerelle is out of question, it looks pretty. No big deal but its a challenge to step off the boat as Don found out when we came in. Poor thing slipped an fell in, when we came in Don was using the bow thrusters which couldn't handle the power so the main boat fuse blew. So after Don's dunking he needed a shower, when he tried the tap nothing came out, no fuse so no power. I'm not saying what he used but its still working and when we find a chandler with fuses the same we will buy a few.


Leave him alone for 2 minutes ,,,,  Just who is this woman? I can't take him anywhere!

Gran Tarajal reminds me of the places when I first came to Spain many years ago, we love it. There is some kind of clown festival going on for the kids most of the week. 
The town council seem to be making this place very different, the sides of many buildings are being painted with Murals which are very good, it beats plain white walls any day. It must be difficult not being able to stand back and look at what you have painted, they use a cherry picker.






Saturday 24th November: There was a procession through the main streets. We watched a few hundred kids and adults joining in the fun, one of the floats managed to get a puncture so there were people including kids lifting the float so one guy changed the wheel. All the traffic backed up the town including the camels laden with kids having a great time.





We heard about the weather and the ARC being delayed which means there is no space in Las Palmas marina in Gran Canaria so we decided to sit out the weather here. The earliest the ARC rally will leave now is Tuesday 27th.


To use the internet we have to take the laptops into town and use the cafe to do anything online so doing the blog is not easy.

Sunday 26th November: We are bouncing about quite a lot, the salvamiento boat (life boat) went out today no wonder with the swell and conditions its bad enough here and this afternoon a boat came limping in the engine had failed. We went to the fisherman's bar to eat and watch the Brazilian Gran prix, great atmosphere with all nationalities getting very excited. Not much wind but the water is breaking inside the marina so I think it may be a bumpy night again.

Monday 27th November: As predicted the wind is blustery and we had some rain but its reasonably warm so we went to the cafe in town to upload the blog, are going into town a 15 minute stroll.

Tuesday 27th November: Oh well best laid plans and all that, weather looking too bad to leave here now so looks like Gran Canaria will have to wait.


BFN
Don and Glenys
Agua Therapy

Lanzarote part 4

Graciosa, this was taken from Mirador del Rio
This is the anchorage where we stayed for 2 nights



The marina in Graciosa, it was full, pity we would have loved to gone ashore


The views here are very dramatic, Don is fascinated by volcano's and loved it. Vines and the local produce is grown inside circular high walls made from lava for protection.

After leaving Parque National de Timanfaya we continued La Santa where we had a fish lunch then drove back towards the marina along the way visited
El Grifo a wine museum on a 40 hectare estate. 
it has a permanent exhibition of 19th and 20th century machinery. There is a traditional barrel making workshop. We dis sample some of the wines they make now but none of them were to our taste so we didn't buy any, for those of you in Spain you can find the wine in supermarkets the label has a griffin in red.
 








Tuesday 20th: To make the most use of the car on the last days hire we drove to the Cactus museum which is built on the site of an old quarry. When we walked around I saw many of the cactus I used to grow myself years ago, they were just about the only things I could grow without killing them. So many varieties to see there but not many in flower, there is an old windmill on the top level, Don went inside to take a look and said it looked very old. The toilets had some very obvious signs on the outside just in case you went in the wrong one. 














Looking around the island some parts are black deserted volcanic areas, nothing in sight, no birds or wildlife to be seen. Other parts green and lush with palm trees usually around villages where they live in white painted houses, some small and modest and others very grand, all having flat roofs which seems odd.

BFN
Don and Glenys
Agua Therapy
Next blog Gran Tarajal

Monday 26 November 2012

Lanzarote Part 3


Lanzarote Part 3
Monday 19th: Took a trip to Parque National de Timanfaya, there are camel rides into the hills but it didn't look like they went very far. All of the camels are tied together and the "passengers" all seem to hang on in fear of falling off as they go up and down the slopes, not one person was smiling until they were safely on the ground.



There is a small information building with some of the farm equipment they use with the camels to plow the land and sow the seeds. I did manage to rescue a lonely looking camel (named Cedric Junior )from the coffee shop, he was one of the more normal brown ones not the pink or blue ones, maybe when we get home he can be adopted by Cedric the one rescued from Dubai. I will post his photo later. 

To be continued part 4
BFN
Don and Glenys
Agua Therapy

Exploring Lanzarote Part 2


Sunday 18th: Went to the north of the island a Sunday market in Teguise, a very busy place, I think its just for tourists, as we walked up to the market we passed a very strange "garden" with what you might call art made with so much junk, an old exercise bike, old TV's, lots of toys, dolls, teddy bears, concrete statues, rude figures, there was a box on the wall with old mobile phone chargers. I'm amazed there was no charge for looking.








I was hoping to buy some fresh fruit and vegetables but it was the normal Spanish wares, tablecloths, clothes, sugared nuts, (yes we did buy some) local wines, "organic" cheeses, chutneys, mojo sauces, local breads and the oddball stands with artists and people making drinks from sugar cane. There was a small gallery named Cabra or something like that (goat), outside was a guy who was trying his best to use his mobile, the goat followed him everywhere and just wouldn't leave him alone.



All done with an airbrush using a dive cylinder 






After the market went to Mirador del Rio, you can see the Island of Graciosa and the water that we sailed down to the anchorage we stayed in, much quieter than when we went in, there were only four boats at anchor not like the 15 or 20 while we were in. Afterwards we went into Arecife the capital of Lanzarote and wandered about close to the water and little boats inside the harbour wall. 

Back in the marina there is a bar called Buda where they make great cocktails and have a huge TV so we watched the start of the US grand prix but didn't stay to see the end otherwise we may have had to swim back, it's a long walk to our boat.

Don had a lemon Daiquiri I had a Buda, don't ask! 
To be continued in part 3
BFN