We have now been in Barcelona for nearly two months. We didn’t really expect to be here for so long, but it’s such a great place to be, and we have made a lot of new sailing friends. This month we secure a place here in Barcelona until the end of the year, a month that has seen its fair share of toilet capers…
Saturday 1st November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 37
It’s the start of the boat show today here in Barcelona.
It’s also a very beautiful day so we go out for a sail, it’s sunny and there is a slight swell to the sea. There are few show boats out being filmed.
Once we get back in we have a quick lunch and a look around the floating section in the marina of the boat show. We go on most of the Bavaria boats, a couple of Moodys and we have a look at the gorgeous Island packets. In the motorboat section there is an Elegance 90 that we have a look at just for a nosy. Wow this boat is a palace. It has a Jacuzzi, a state room, four or five bathrooms and a full sized bath. It’s beautiful, it’s also £5,000,000+ tax
Oh well, at least the knitted scarf is progressing!
Sunday 2nd November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 38
We are going to the boat show again today and then we’re going to go up Gran Via to see the inside part of the boat show at the exhibition halls. When we get there it’s huge, three halls of boats but not much chandlery to buy. We do buy a new mat after watching a great demo.
Bavaria have a 32 foot motorboat next to the 32 foot yacht. The motorboat is very nice, same fittings, but expensive. Strange to see them sitting next to each other.
Monday 3rd November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 39
It’s another day at the boat show today where we get lots of look arounds on boats. Some are quite disappointing such as the Grand Soleil, which has an oven but no crash bar protecting it and the inside is all made up of cheap wood. Most of the French boats are a bit disappointing, except the Dufour range, the Moody 64 and the 54.
What we did like was the Island packet the Dufors, Nautica, X-yachts, and Bavaria of course, and the Contest.
We buy some key floats. Del by a nice pink cleaning cloth!
Today we will have a Japanese lunch.
Tuesday 4th November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 40
Now that we’ve seen the boat show, it’s time to have a boat sort out of our own. Today all the cupboards are cleaned out, and redundant stuff is now stashed in the storage locker in the bow of the boat.
Of course in the middle of all the chaos we get some Beer Burglars visiting. Karen, Paul, their friends Max and Sue pop round. Max is looking for a new boat so has a good look around ours. He likes it.
We get a good feng shui feeling after the clear out. It needed doing.
Wednesday 5th November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 41
Just as H is flushing the loo this morning, she hears a loud splash outside. It appears that our black tank is full…! How can this be? We emptied it only a couple of days ago.
We are going to go out for a sail later anyway, so we will empty the tank then. It’s a beautiful day today at sea. We actually have our shorts on again. We open the black tank seacock and wait to see the results at the back of the boat. Nothing. It looks like the tank is blocked. Nothing we do seems to free the blockage and as usual we can’t find any pump out facilities to empty it from our deck fitting.
We are worried because we see an evening using a bucket looming large over us. Del gets some help from Paul and Max, and after a couple of hours messing around with the tank there is a comforting rush of water out of the seacock. Well done lads!!! Job done.
H goes out the the Carrefour supermarket to buy bedding and a heater. Winter is getting close…
Thursday 6th November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 42
The marina have agreed to let us stay until the 7th of January 2004. Hurrah!
We have a productive day today we fit a new bulkhead section under one of the benches that will stop all the food sliding about. We go shopping for bits and pieces.
Time is getting on by the time we finish and it’s late so we pop out for a Chinese dinner. Tonight there is a marina party. They have hired the floating bar nearby, it’s a free bar for all the Cava you want and some random chestnuts. Well it is autumn.
Once again we have too much drink and fall asleep quickly once home…
Friday 7th November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 43
The toilet is not working again, it’s not flushing properly, it must still be blocked, so we try pressurising the whole tank again with the dinghy pump. Nothing, we fill the tank with freshwater trying at least five or six times, and each time it comes with a spectacular brown coloured 1 m high fountain. Yuk!!! This is disgusting work.
There are loads of pieces of calcium coming out but still the main outlet is blocked. After struggling for half an hour to remove the inspection hatch on the top of the tank we manage to free it open and there, right in front of us, is a problem.
The bottom of the tank is heavily packed with with layers of calcium and sewage. It has been going on for ages we think, slowly building up until the exit hole is just completely blocked.
Del pulls on the pink Marigolds and wrestles clearing the bottom of the tank with a hosepipe getting covered in the nasty stuff, and covering the boat it all finally comes free… Well done Del…
Finally we get the boat, and Del cleaned. We Milton and sterilise everything we have touched and have a welcoming shower. Bliss… We have been doing this tank thing all day and it’s now 6 pm, it’s out for dinner.
We think we certainly deserve it today.
Thursday 13th November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 49
It’s the women’s coffee morning today Karen has persuaded H to go. Against H’s better judgement, she goes along. It’s okay, mostly Americans and she gets to see some new faces, but most of the talk is about Thanksgiving.
The meeting is in a very nice setting. It’s at the top of the Museum here at Port Vell called Museum of History of Catalonia which has a fantastic full view of the harbour and parts of the city. As she is already at the Museum she gives Del a call.
We have a look around. We’ve been putting this off for weeks. It’s quite good and after we have lunch in the Bombeta or favourite lunch spot.
Tonight Karen has organised drinks on her boat for a few of us including Steve Jacqueline, and their daughter Emily. It was a good night, but also quite late by the time we leave.
Lots of fuss of Jack the Cat tonight.
Friday 14th November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 50
It’s Del’s turn, and he reluctantly goes to his coffee morning with Paul. It’s full of Americans being a bit dull. When he gets back. We are ready to go out for a sail.
Today we are taking pictures of John’s boat. John is our sailing friend next door but one, and he’s looking to sell his boat. We take over 70 pictures. The sea is flat, the sun is out and John puts his cruising chute out; it’s all very colourful.
He’s very pleased with his pictures and he invites us for lunch. He takes us to a lovely fish restaurant. The food is delicious and we meet a couple of his friends, two guys who are local boat brokers.
What a fabulous lunch, but now we are feeling rather full and can only think of having a nap.
We elect to take it easy for the rest of the night.
Saturday 15th November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 51
Today we have a visitor who will be staying overnight, so we clean up the boat and make up the spare room at the stern as we are expecting Chris from Lite Alternative, who is coming with a laptop that has some lighting software on it for Del. He’ll be staying the night.
He arrives at 2pm and we dine at our local favourite restaurant and then have a potter out on the boat locally with a few cups of tea.
Back in the berth the lads get sorted themselves out with the computer. Tonight the dinner is on Lite Alternative, so we find a good fish restaurant in the nearby Port Olympic.
We have a large Perrillada each, nibbles, nice wine, some cava and delicious chocolate desserts. Del and Chris have an amazingly strong Irish coffee. the whiskey layer an inch thick… Wow!
All suitably fed and watered, we make our way back to Port Vell and bed.
Sunday 16th November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 52
We go out for breakfast this morning with Chris. We just have a simple tortilla and coffee, followed by a walk around the Gothic quarter of Barcelona.
Chris leaves at 4 pm to catch his flight back to the UK, so we just tidy up the boat and do nothing for the rest of the day and the evening.
Monday 17th November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 53
We have had a few issues with the boat since we picked it up in May, nothing major but at midday Jim and George from Opal Marine, the agent that we purchased our boat from, turn up with all the bits. New doors, which we rejected as they’re the wrong colour and have cracked, and a new floor.
They spend all afternoon sealing and tightening up cleats and sorting things out in general, so we should have a dry night tonight at last.
There is now a pile of boat floor stacked up on the pontoon. It seems a shame to throw it all away, but some of our friends have ideas about making it into tables and refurbing boats. Before you know it it’s all gone! Steve from a boat called Magellan Cloud, take some for his floor and a table. Paul takes a piece for his table. We also keep a bit for a table.
We’ll all have matching tables.
Saturday 22nd November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 58
We are up late today so we go for a walk to freshen up. H realises that she’s not had a Big Mac in 15 years, randomly, so we decide to go and get one. It’s okay. She thinks she can live another 15 years until the next one. Del is not mad on them though, and he sits pulling faces outside the restaurant.
It appears that England have won the rugby as on our way we meet Karen carrying a rather drunken Paul. It’s now gone 3 pm in the afternoon and he’s been drinking since nine this morning so of course we buy him another beer, (sticking to coffee ourselves of course).
Del mentions that we are going out for a quick drink later and a couple of tapas and if they’d like to come along. So here we are again… Paul has recovered from his drinking and lead us straight into a pirate themed cocktail bar. This starts a slippery slope. We get to our boat late after half a bottle of wine each, then onto another bar for another cocktail, then another bar, then another bar.
It’s 1 am by the time we get back to the boat. Some quick drink that was.
Sunday 23rd November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 59
Del is up at 8:30am to fly to England today for a meeting.
H is not, she’s not up at all. She feels awful and by the time she makes it out of bed it’s 4pm.
She staggers to the corner shop to get some water. She goes back to bed. She feels awful.
Wonder why…?
Monday 24th November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 60
H still feels bad this morning, but by lunch she’s feeling a little bit better, and by dinner she’s round at Karen and Paul’s boat having a tasty Mexican dinner with Jack the cat on her knee.
Tuesday 25th November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 61 (2 months)
Del is coming back to Barcelona today.
It’s a beautiful day. H goes to the coffee morning with Karen, then to the beach.
Apparently it’s raining in England.
Del is back, so we celebrate by going to the the local Japanese restaurant. Fantastic.
Wednesday 26th November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 62
It’s 11 am by the time we get up, we are getting so lazy. Lars a good friend of ours gives Del a call; he’s in Barcelona with the Elton John tour, but it’s been cancelled, so they’ve got a day off.
We meet up with him for coffee, beers and nibbles eventually leaving hime to go sightseeing, and we leave to get some work done.
We catch Karen and Paul having a crafty Thanksgiving quiz rehearsal on the boat Los Ramblas. We all have tea together at ours.
Tonight we watch 24 and the film KPax.
Before you know it it’s 11 pm…
Thursday 27th November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 63
There are lots of Americans staying here on the marina at Port Vell, and at last today is Thanksgiving. The Americans have been leading up to this for weeks all busy baking. We have cava courtesy of the marina, canapes, spinach salad, turkey, mash, sweet potatoes with stuffing, and for dessert, pumpkin pie of course.
All very nice with entertainment provided by Albert and Pam, from the boat Los Ramblas.
All in all a very good turnout. 80 people and nine countries represented.
Our first real Thanksgiving.
Friday 28th November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 64
A busy day today of washing and prepping. Tomorrow we go to England.
Burnt pizza for dinner.
We have the world’s fifth largest mega yacht parked nearby Pelorus 377 feet long wow, the tenders are bigger than us.
Saturday 29th November 2003 – Port Vell, Barcelona – Day 65
We are up early today and at the airport by 9 am.
The flight is okay and on time, but we have a windy landing back at Liverpool.
It’s grey and miserable, but back in Handforth we see H’s mum and dad and give Colin, a wonderful cat a big squeeze and cuddle. He’s lovely, but fat. He’s on a diet from now on.
Nice dinner and drinks then bed early, we’re knackered.
Del is here working for a few days. We will be back on our boat home in Barcelona in a few days. In the meantime we can get Christmas sorted out while we are here.
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