By the time this month is done, we will have been in Barcelona for over a month. During that time, we ate a lot, fixed a toilet, had a haircut, and H started knitting a scarf and caught a cold
There is no map for this month as we have become rooted in Barcelona city. We still sail, however, going out locally whenever we can and when the weather is good.
Wednesday 1st October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 6
Finally, the rain has stopped. So I set out while it’s dry and go to the Maritime Museum. It’s very good, complete with an audio headset, then have a good lunch of fish and head back to the boat for a nap. A very quiet day today, really. I have a pizza for dinner and will watch Men in Black 2.
Thursday 2nd October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 7
The sun is out, and it’s a very nice day today, so I think I’ll visit Tibidabo, the amusement park high on the hill just east of the city. It involves a Metro train, a tram and a funicular.
I wait for the tram for half an hour, then overhear from fellow tourists that the tram and funicular only run on weekends. Great…! There is one of those tourist buses here, the hop-on, hop-off type for a city tour. I decide to get a two-day ticket and see the city instead of Tibidabo.
So far, I have ridden the bus twice around the city. It’s great to have the sun on my face and wind in my hair. I visit the Olympic Stadium, Diagonal, Sants Park, Pedrera, and plenty of other places on the bus. It’s a good value ticket.
I am told that the Magic Fountain is working tonight, but it’s not; it was a load of rubbish…, so by the time I get back to the boat, it’s quite late. The new wireless wind vane has arrived. The neighbour signed for it earlier today. It looks quite good, but doesn’t do everything we thought it would, and a bit of it is broken already!
Dinner is a quick steak, bed at midnight.
Friday 3rd October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 8
I have another day on my bus ticket, so I join the bus at the Port Vell stop. It’s packed already.
I get off at Placa de Palou, a very nice area with some lovely backstreets and a huge church, Santa Maria Del Mar.
After some walking, the district turns into the Gothic El Born District, which has a huge cathedral.
My legs are still aching after yesterday’s walk, so I ride the bus and complete the north circuit just to get a rest from walking. It’s amazing how time flies, and I get back to the boat just in time to do some laundry and get back out and go and catch the Magic Fountain. It is magic…, it’s fabulous. They have choreographed it to opera. It’s daft, everyone is standing watching a multicoloured, singing fountain. The things we humans do.
Saturday 4th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 9
This morning mainly consists of shopping, washing and cleaning the boat.
Del is coming back this afternoon from his job in Benalmadena. The good news is that we are allowed to stay an extra night here.
Del finally arrives, feeling a bit worse for wear, so we just get settled in for a quite peaceful morning on the boat. It’s a nice warm day. H can’t be bothered with cooking, and as we are so near to a good Japanese restaurant, it would be a shame to miss it.
We have a delicious lunch, but it’s so easy to just pig out when there is so much sushi and dim sum coming past you constantly on a belt.
H is keen to show Del the Magic Fountains, so we hop on the bus to Plaza España. Del’s knackered, but H insists that it would be worth it, and that he must see it.
However, when we get there, it’s off… and finished… it ended at 9 o’clock.
Del is tired, so we go back to the boat, chill out and go to bed.
Sunday 5th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 10
We can’t believe our luck… Wonders will never cease. The marina has let us stay for yet another day. We have decided that the best policy here is not to volunteer that you are still here and wanting a place; from now on, we will just keep quiet, pay the mooring fee and stay put until they tell us we have to leave. We like it here. We are getting settled and feel very lucky to be ‘camped‘ in the middle of Barcelona city!
We are up quite late, so by the time we check our email and do some paperwork, it’s gone 12. Today we are going to the IMAX again, this time to see two films, “The Human Body” and “Haunted Castle“. The Human body was very good and quite amazing, but Haunted Castle was a little strange.
By the time we get back to Stargazer, it’s late, and there is not much time to go out to sea and empty the black tank, so we stay in and have dinner, a very tasty Spanish stew
Monday 6th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 11
We have a busy day ahead of us today, lots to do. We have some cheques to post. We need to call the makers of the now broken wireless wind vane, and post that back to them. We need to go to Port Olympic and also need to contact Opal Marine, the boat dealer, about warranty snagging repairs that need doing. Oh, and we still need to empty the black tank…!
We have to admit to the marina that we would like to stay another night, as we are expecting our replacement wind vane tomorrow. Good. They allow us yet another night. We finally get the boat out of the marina for a potter at about 7pm.
The wind is good, and the sea is lovely and flat. As we turn to go back in. There is a spectacular sunset over the hill of Barcelona, deep pinks and reds. By the time we finally get in and tied up, we can’t be bothered cooking and faffing about, so we go for beer and tapas in the local back street. Fantastic…
Tuesday 7th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 12
At 11 this morning, we get a knock on the door. It’s the postman with our new wireless wind vane. That was quick!
We ask Paul from Antigua Lady if he fancies having a go at mounting it for us. He is happy to oblige, and soon he is with us, armed with a harness and some tools.
It’s terrifying to watch as we hoist him up on our tiny halyard. He’s up there for a couple of hours. There are problems with mounting the wind vane due to the plate at the top of the mast. After another hour or so, he finally gets it mounted. We are so grateful to him, and we celebrate with a beer. Paul and Karen are coming to us for dinner tonight. We will have a proper Spanish paella, so it’s off to the market to buy a pile of seafood.
A very nice evening was had by all. Too much wine was consumed.
Wednesday 8th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 13
H is feeling decidedly iffy this morning. Could it be the 4 empty wine bottles we took to the bin this morning?
Oh, dear, we have breakfast out when she can stomach it, which is at 11. We also need long showers to wake up.
This morning we also find the new wind vane has packed up!!! (Not having any luck with this thing) The signal strength from the wind vane to the receiver in the cockpit is a bit weak, but we think something in the marina is interfering and overpowering it, since it works fine when we go out to Sea.
The marina is now letting us stay on a week by week basis which is a big improvement and allows us to feel more at home.
We will have another visitor tomorrow. Natalie, H’s best friend is coming to see us. It’s her birthday on the 12th…
Thursday 9th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 14
We have now been in Port Vell for two weeks, and we’ve really settled in. During the time we have been here, we have seen lots of the city, and our friendship with Paul and Karen from Antuiga Lady has grown. We have met lots of other people here on the marina, so we have become quite a little community. There is a boat next door, but one called Marathon, the owner is a chap called John Pickworth, and we have become good friends with him, so we have become rooted here, we move around like locals, and we have made Barcelona our home.
H is off to the airport today to meet her bezzie, Natalie. We are a little apprehensive about whether Natalie will like the boat or sailing, but in fact, she loves both. Once she has been shown around the boat and met some of our new friends, we go out on the boat for hours.
Natalie loves it, not only that, but we see a fantastic show of dolphins as well as baby dolphins up close, which are dancing on their tails. A good day out.
We return to the marina under a red sunset and a rising full moon. Dinner tonight is Spanish. This is followed by movie night. Tonight we will watch “Signs“
Friday 10th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 15
We all go out together to explore the backstreets of Barcelona this morning. They’re very interesting with some unusual and trendy shops. Natalie has now started dictating what the menu will be, and has decided that, tonight, we will have paella, so it’s off to the fish market to get some fishy goodies for it.
The Rambla is very busy today with all their regular weirdos of unusual buskers and artists. There are lots of these artists who dress up and pretend to be statues. Del gets a fright when a vampire statue comes alive and chases him and Natalie, grabbing her and, in one clean swoop, covering her in his cape. H knows better and hot foots it back to the boat.
Back at the boat, H starts work on the Paella for tonight’s dinner.
One of the jobs is to pull the insides out of the squid that we bought. Time is marching on, so there is no time for a sail today. Dinner is fabulous, a very nice evening.
Saturday 11th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 16
After a quick trip to the supermarket, we get a move on and set off for another sail. Natalie loves it. It’s busy, with boats everywhere. She finally gets a chance to helm the boat under motor and sail, and did very well at it.
There are more dolphins out today racing and bobbing about in the distance.
Back at the marina, John, our next-door neighbour but one, invites us over for drinks on his boat. We have a nosy around it. It’s beautiful inside and very big.
After a few drinks, we leave John and go to the Magic Fountain. Del and Nat are impressed with it, especially Del, who is running around like a little kid. The music tonight is Barcelona, you know the one, the one by Freddie Mercury and the lady Spanish opera singer, whose name we can’t remember.
Back at the boat, we have dinner of pasta with chorizo and Lomo (thinly sliced pork). Another Natalie request.
Sunday 12th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 17
HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATALIE… Yes, today it’s Natalie’s birthday, so Del goes out to the local bakery to get her a secret chocolate birthday cake. We sneak it back, put candles on it and then present it to her. She had no idea we’d been planning it.
John, from next door, calls in and has a bit of cake and invites us back to his boat for a sail out, which of course we accept.
We all have a go at helming under sail and motor. It’s fantastic, the winds are light, but we are moving along at a pleasant and peaceful 3 to 4 kn. John takes lots of pictures of us all. A great afternoon out on the sea.
Back at the marina, we eat in again. Natalie doesn’t want to eat out at all; she just loves being on the boat all the time. Dinner tonight is steak and lentils with peppers, just like the birthday girl ordered.
A very nice day today…
Monday 13th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 18
After messing about for a bit this morning, we eventually go out into town to do a bit of shopping; however, all we manage to get was a few hooks, some CDs, and a couple of pairs of earrings.
Natalie is desperate to have her last sail on the boat before she goes. We are given our orders!
It’s a good sailing day, a force 4 wind, slight sea, but a little dreary. We tack around outside the marina for a couple of hours, but there will be no good sunset today as it is too cloudy. We head back to the marina slightly disappointed.
When we berth the boat, John is there to help us in. He has photos for us from Natalie’s birthday. We have a bottle of wine for him, which he shares with us on our boat. Later, after he says his goodbyes to Nat, we dine again on spaghetti bolognese.
Natalie is depressed about leaving.
Tuesday 14th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 19
We are up early today. Hayley is taking Natalie to the airport. We have breakfast there, then say our goodbyes. It’s been good having her. When she gets back to the boat, we get ready to go shopping again.
We have better luck this time on our own and spend hours accumulating nine to ten bags of shopping. We are being slightly extravagant, so we eat at the local Japanese.
It’s a relief not to have to cook. We decide to try our luck, so we go to the casino in Port Olympic. The casino is quite busy. We buy €40 of €2 chips and lose the lot at roulette despite some initial luck.
Wednesday 15th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 20
Last night it rained a lot…! Heavy, noisy rain.
We have a new leak in the boat, which is directly over Dels’ side of the bed.
The rain was very noisy as it banged on the GRP of the boat; neither of us slept much, and we are surprised to discover that it’s now 10:30!
We drag ourselves out of bed and set off in search of some fresh air and breakfast. While we are out, we do some more shopping!!!
Thursday 16th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 21
We have breakfast out again today. We then go for a walk, dodging the rain as we go. It’s time for lunch.
We find a nice restaurant near a church in the backstreets and have a Fideua. It was very nice, very tasty. We will have to come back again.
We have eaten a lot, and it kind of knocks us out for the day, so we have to sleep it off.
We can’t think about eating again.
Friday 17th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 22
This morning we have breakfast out again… It has become a bit of a habit. We go to our favourite place on the seafront and have a look at the sea. It’s rough, and the spray is blowing horizontally across the front of you. You can taste the salt in the air.
We pop round to see Karen and Paul and have a cup of tea. We arrange to go out for drinks later, but of course it’s far too wet to venture out of the boat, so we postpone until another drier day…
Saturday 18th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 23
It’s raining again today, so we sit around until there is a break and pop into town for a walk.
Tonight, we are going to an Indian restaurant nearby after a few drinks at a couple of bars with Karen and Paul.
The Indian is very tasty, but we have both had too much alcohol again. Again. We do need to stop this…!
Sunday 19th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 24
It’s H’s birthday today… Happy birthday, Hayley…
Del cooks her favourite breakfast, scrambled eggs with smoked salmon. She has lots of presents from Del, and from Karen and Paul.
Unfortunately, the rain has started again; it’s heavy, so we watch one of my DVD gifts.
The rain keeps on and on and doesn’t stop until the afternoon when we pop out for a drink and a look at the sea.
The winds have ravaged the front. The boardwalk has been ripped up, and the beach showers are all bent over. The sea is a lot calmer now than it has been.
There are lots of surfers out now.
It’s nearly time to go out for dinner. We are going to the famous “Caracols Restaurant”, where outside, people are queuing in the streets for a table, but we have a reservation, so we walk straight in.
The birthday dinner is great. We have the roast piglet.
Diet tomorrow.
Monday 20th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 25
Finally, the rain that we have had for a while now has gone. It’s sunny at last, and we might even get out for a sail today.
It’s such a nice day that Karen has set up a little barbers on the pontoon where both Del and Paul get their hair cut!
Tuesday 21st October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 26
Lunch today is at the place by the church that we went to last week. Today we have a tasty lentil and squid stew. It was delicious. There are two submarines moored in the harbour with some “iffy looking” Dutch seamen aboard.
We shall have to take a look.
Wednesday 22nd October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 27
The weather is not too bad today, and we have invited Paul and Karen to join us for a sail as they are too ‘installed‘ on their berth to go out.
Of course, it chucks it down with rain just as we want to go out, but soon it clears up, and we head off out to sea.
There’s hardly any wind at first, but eventually we get 5.5 knots of boat speed. We then realise that we are dragging a large plastic bag behind us, which looks like it’s caught on our rudder. At the speed we are doing, the water resistance is too much to have a fiddle and try and get it free, so we sail back into the outer Harbour.
We are reluctant to start the engine until it is clear, so H leans over the back and manages to free a long, twisted piece of plastic off the rudder; however, the engine is vibrating a lot when we put it into gear, so we crawl back in, dead slow towards our berth and put her bow in.
Someone has to go down to investigate, and H is the only one with a wetsuit who is willing to have a go! The water is freezing at first, but after a while it’s quite pleasant, so she says. Her diving skills are not up to much, and she has difficulty getting right under the prop, but she can now see the problem: a foot of plastic sheeting is still caught on the prop.
The light is starting to fade; we will have to leave it for another day.
Thursday 23rd October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 28
It’s a nice day today, but cold. We are going to Port Aventura. It’s a Universal theme park near Tarragona. Paul and Karen are coming with us too. It’s an hour and a half to the park by train.
It looks like we’ve picked a good day to go. None of the rides have queues over 10 minutes, and most don’t have any queue at all.
I must be getting older as I find the first coaster, “Stampida“, which is like the Grand National in Blackpool, quite violent and scary, and I scream my head off. Karen keeps her eyes shut all the way. Next to the mine train, followed by the dodgems, a water shoot called Sea Odyssey and the Temple of Fire, which was very hot, and of course for Del, the Teacups, which are actually quite fast, with Paul and Del spinning the cup.
A good day was had. Karen won a stuffed toy that looked like Grover from Sesame Street. It was all topped off with a fine Chinese supper back at Port Vell.
Friday 24th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 29
Back to more practical matters today. We need to get the offending plastic off the prop. Del doesn’t like H doing it, so we go and see Phone Card Bob, who does a bit of diving from time to time, but he has the flu.
We should explain that Phone Card Bob was a chap on the marina, a liveaboard, who had a reputation for selling international phone cards on the cheap.
Paul offers to do the job for us and goes in even though he has no wetsuit. A couple of seconds later, he has the rogue bit of plastic in his hand. We are very pleased, and we take him and Karen to lunch for a €7 menu del dia lunch, which is delicious. How do they do it for the money? A starter, main, dessert, bread, and wine?
A sleep is in order now for this afternoon. Later, we watched the film AI, which is a bit weird. We have sandwiches for dinner.
Saturday 25th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 30
Where’s this sun that they forecasted for today? It’s cloudy and cold but still dry, so we might still get out and look for a big, warming lunch. Of course, we find a sweet little backstreet restaurant and have a three-course lunch for a staggering €6.50. We are full again. We just never learn.
We tuck ourselves up for a sleep back on the boat and sleep most of the afternoon. By the time H wakes up, she can tell that she is coming down with a cold.
We are going out to John’s place, our boat neighbor next door but one, tonight for pizza, so despite H feeling a bit under the weather, we get ready.
John’s lives in Barcelona and has a flat in the centre of town, which is huge. We have a very pleasant evening of drinks, pizza, and good conversation. John always has lots of good stories to tell. By the time we leave at midnight, both of us are feeling very ropey.
Sunday 26th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 31
The clocks went back last night, so we get an extra hour in bed, not that it matters anymore.
H has a few extra hours in bed as she’s not feeling very good with a cold. She managed to get up for lunch, and we managed to go to our local restaurant, The Bombeta, for tapas, but she feels bad and can’t eat properly.
Back to bed for her.
Monday 27th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 32
H stays in bed again today; the cold has really got a grip on her. Del is up, and he’s not feeling as bad.
We go out for lunch, where H manages to eat a large meal. Back on the boat, it’s the usual story. We just nap.
All the jobs that need doing are being put off for now. We don’t feel like cooking, so we just pop a couple of pizzas in the oven.
Tuesday 28th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 33
Despite still not feeling very well, we were up late last night downloading loads of songs, so we’re a bit tired today. We have finally got wired internet on the boat which is a massive game changer.
The pump toilet needs fixing, so we will fix the toilet, wash the boat, and spray the bikes, as it’s a really nice day today; however, after lunch, again at the Bombetta, we have a large siesta.
There is a pattern emerging here.
Wednesday 29th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 34
Our usual dining place, the Bombeta, is closed today, so we stand a chance of getting some of our boat jobs done. Del strips down the toilet and removes the suspect joker valve in question.
No wonder the toilet is backing up. This thing is caked in a hard lime substance. We clean it up, and things seem to be clear.
The boat is washed, but H is still feeling under the weather and flakes out, feeling worse for wear.
Thursday 30th October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 35
It’s shopping day today. We acquire a baking tray for the boat, a bath mat, some real glasses, and a mortar and pestle.
Later, we go into the town to look for a warm coat for H and a scarf. No luck, but she has an idea. Why doesn’t she knit a scarf seems easy enough, so plunging in we guess at the size of wool and the needles required.
Back at the boat, she tries to cast on. After a couple of attempts, she gets it and starts knitting with some help from the Internet. All is well until she runs out of wool, two lines in, and she has started at the wrong end.
Del can’t take the cursing, so goes next door to see Kate, another liveaboard who is an expert. She gets H off and running. It seems it might take a little longer than she thought to finish, probably next summer!
Dinner tonight is meatballs with a homemade sauce. Yum.
Friday 31st October 2003 – Port Vell – Day 36
We have a pumpkin ready for tonight. It’s Halloween, and we also have some Halloween treats in for trick and treaters, we are not sure if we will get any in the marina
H gets carving. Percy, our pumpkin, looks great when he’s finished.
Tonight we have cava, treats, and watch The Omen II with Percy. Afterwards, we pop out for a rather tasty Indian with Paul, Karen, and their visiting guests.
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