Puerto Sherry, Cadiz & Seville. June 2014

   

  SANTA MARIA  

    There was a lovely long walk from Puerto Sherry along a promenade between a beach and pine trees into El Puerto de Santa Maria, part of the Sherry triangle of Spain. It was a tired old town obviously with plenty of history and was great fun to explore and imagine what might have been in days of old. The renovated merchants houses were magnificent and the old Moorish Castle was splendid with beautiful script on the towers. Santa Maria was a useful stopover point with rail connections to Seville and ferries to Cadiz. We also found a lovely old restaurant that the locals frequented and which was to serve us very well with delightful food.

Santa Maria, Avenue Of Orange Trees Behind A Sherry Bodega. 

Santa Maria, Renovated Merchants House, Casa De Leon.

Guy Strolling Past Santa Maria Moorish Castle.

CADIZ

    

      It was a short ferry ride into Cadiz and then we were to spend an exhausting day strolling around all the tourist routes that can be seen on the very good map below. It is a very beautiful city with an enormous amount of history and as a main gateway to the Americas, plenty of wealth. The fortifications that have been built up over the centuries are amazingly strong. The Cathedral is stunning, especially the crypt underneath the altar which produces a wonderful echo to a whistle. The wooden carvings of the choir stalls are a work of sheer beauty. Overall, Cadiz with its narrow streets, open squares, large buildings and history make for an exhausting but enjoyable place to visit. We finished the day with a well earned drink while a religious procession came past followed by a band of over 100 playing very sombre music. 

Cadiz Main Square With Fountains Playing To Music.

Cadiz Map & Excellent Route Guide

The Statue To Liberty.

Guy Imagining Drake Attacking Cadiz!

One Of The Many Narrow Streets Of Cadiz

Caleta Beach From Old Fort Of Santa Catalina

Cadiz Cathedral Crypt.

Cadiz Cathedral Altar.

Cadiz Cathedral Choir.
Stunning Carved Woodwork.

Cadiz Cathedral & Square

A Religious Procession Negotiating A Sharp Corner Out
Of A Narrow Street Into The Main Square (8-10 pt turn)

     The trip to Cadiz exhausted us so much that we decided to have an admin and rest day during which time Guy took the opportunity to clean the hull and keel which had acquired mud from resting in the silt while moored in Ayamonte. The wet suite was useful as it allowed him to spend longer in the water while polishing Kisti Two's bottom.

Guy In BDSM Outfit!!
About To Clean The Keel.

SEVILLE

      We walked in to Santa Maria and caught a lovely Renfe train into Seville where we were to spend one night in a delightful old hotel full of paintings, a grand selection of tiles and other old collections of artifacts, statues etc. We felt quite at home!! We attacked the tourist route once again armed with guides, camera, maps and our Seville Tourist Card which was to provide us entry and travel around all the wonderful tourist traps of Seville. The temperature was very hot on both days and was to test our endurance and humour to the full. The city is quite large divided by the River Guadalquivir which we enjoyed a short boat trip up and down. The city has also been host to 2 Expos, one in 1929 and the latest in 1992 both of which have resulted in plenty of lovely large buildings being constructed by several countries, especially the Americas all with their historical architectural style. We saw most of these on an open air bus trip which was just as well as they covered an enormous area. 

The Torre Del Oro On The Bank Of The River Guadalquivir.
Gold From The Americas was Stored here On Arrival.

Seville Cathedral.

Ginny In Seville, Cathedral Square Beside One Of The Many 1HP Taxis.

Narrow Street Of Santa Cruz With View Of The Giralda Tower

The Lion Gate Into The Alcazar.

Guy In Alcazar Palace.

The Detail Of Alcazar Palace Golden Roof Work.

Alcazar Palace, Tiled Courtyard With Cooling Water Feature.

Alcazar Palace Room.

Ginny At Alcazar Palace Pool.

     We then honed in on the three main buildings, The Seville Cathedral, The Alcazar Palace and finally the Plaza De Espana. They are all magnificent buildings, quite stunning and powerful. The Seville Cathedral is the third largest Church in Christendom and has a lovely tower, The Giralda Tower built on the original minaret with a slope inside to allow the Sultan to climb to the top on his horse! It provided excellent views over the city. The Alcazar Palace with all it Moorish influence has plenty of stunning rooms, amazing ceilings, intricate tiling and plasterwork, pools and gardens. The Plaza De Espana is a beautiful and enormous building surrounded by delightful gardens and statues. The evening was spent watching a very energetic and powerful performance of Flamenco Dancing at the Flamenco Museum after we which we went for Tapas at midnight, normal for Spain. Seville was a wonderful experience but it was two shattered old sailors that returned to Kisti Two to spend another day recovering! This tourist life is exhausting.

The Flamenco Dance.

Excellent Flamenco Show At The Flamenco Museum.

Seville Cathedral At Night.

Ginny At The Cathedral Square With
The Giralda Tower.

Seville Shopping Area With Avenues of Trees For Shade.

Ginny (Can You Spot Her?) In Seville Cathedral

A Seville Cathedral Chapel Roof.
Chapter House.

The Sarcophagus Of Christopher Columbus Said
To Contain His Remains.

View Of Cathedral, Orange Tree Courtyard & Seville
Bull Fighting Ring From The Giralda Tower.

Our Hotel In Middle Top Third Of Picture
Down Wonderful Narrow Streets.

View Of The Alcazar Palace & Gardens From The Giralda Tower.
Plaza de Espana In The Distance As well As The River Guadalquivir.

Ginny At The Spanish 1929 Expo Building.
Plaza De Espana

Guy At The Enormous Spanish 1929 Expo Building.

Ginny At The Front Of The Spanish Expo 1929 Building.
Plaza De Espana

    Puerto Sherry has a silted entrance which has created a bar with a limited depth so we went out late evening and anchored off the beach just around the corner to enable us to depart early for Gibraltar on 5th June 2014. Guy spent most of the evening working out the tides and currents for entry into the Gibraltar Straits. It is possible to get 10 hours of tide with you and as usual, this meant an early 0500  hrs start again. This provided us with a lovely sunrise over Cadiz Cathedral as we motored round due to a lack of wind which failed to materialise all day. It was a long 70nm motor to Gibraltar but with a positive tide and current the whole way, only took us 12 hours. We then had the fun of doing our first Med mooring 'bows to' at Marina Village which was made more difficult due to a cross wind. We are now moored 50 metres from the Gibraltar Airport runway, under the Rock of Gibraltar behind a few Gin Palaces (enormous motor boats).

Horses On The Beach At Our Anchorage Outside Puerto Sherry.
The Walk To Santa Maria Is Behind The Beach.

Sunrise Over Cadiz On Departure For Gibraltar.

GIBRALTAR AND THE MED. (AT LAST)

Approaching Gibraltar Straits.
Europe To Port, Africa To Starboard.

Guy Happy To See Gibraltar & The Mediterranean After 13 Months!

Kisti Two Moored In Gibraltar At Marina Village

   These two chart pictures taken from our chart plotter show our entry into the Gibraltar Straits with all the ships showing up on our AIS system. The second chart shows our route since leaving Lagos a month ago. It has taken us 13 months to get to the Med!! Who cares, there is so much to see and visit en route and we have the time to do it. Plus one of the crew armed with maps and guide books is keen not to miss out on any tourist visits ashore and she must be obeyed!!

Kisti Two On Chart Approaching Gibraltar Straits.

Kisti Two's Route (Black Track) From Lagos To Gibraltar.

     Now its into the Med. Do come and join us if interested. There are plenty of airports and cheap flight connections. You can also follow us on marinetraffic.com and see our latest position.

The Guadiana River On The Spanish Portuguese Border, May 2014

     Preparations for the trip up river continued as we watched for a weather window and a fair tide. We managed to make a good repair to a slit in the base of the dingy which we had tried a couple of times before to remedy. Expecting to be in need of the dingy while anchored in the Guadiana we were pleased to find the patch held and seemed not to leak air. With the dingy stowed and the shopping done we went into town for the last time and while enjoying a glass of wine or two in one of the town squares a procession slowly made its way around the square and off around the town.

Guy Waiting For The Glue To Dry Before Applying The Patch.

Religious Procession On Route Around Town.

    The morning of the 24th May we waited for the tide to rise enough to let us out of the silted Marina safely and begin the adventure up river. Once out into the River Guadiana (Mudiana) we then had to negotiate the impressive suspension bridge between Portugal and Spain which we were informed had a height of 20m at high tide. We reckon to have a height of 18.5m so a little tight and heart stopping as you approach. We both held our breath but we slipped under with a little clearance and then progressed up river with the tide and under engine. 

Castle Marim On Portuguese Side Up Stream From Vila Real De Santo Antonio.

The Suspension Bridge at The Lower Reaches Of The Guadiana.

A Cautious Approach. Dont Panic!

Just Enough Room For Mast And Aerial - Phew!!

      Travelling up-river was calm and serene and Guy said very reminiscent of the Shire River in Malawi but without the Crocs and Hippos. There were long stretches with no inhabited settlements. In the lower parts there were several abandoned smugglers properties and custom houses to keep an eye on the trade!!We were heading up to Alcoutim 20 miles upstream but with the intension of anchoring en route. There were various jetties on the Portuguese side that you can tie up against but we prefer to anchor off rather that chance shallow water and underwater hazards. The tide was taking us nicely and we could watch the Portugese riverside villages pass by, usually with a small flotilla of yachts moored or anchored off the main channel.There was a little bird life but not easily visible and we had a leisurely trip up stream. After passing four or five settlements on the Portuguese bank we chose a quiet uninhabited stretch to anchor in and have the whole scene to ourselves. That was until a Cruise Ship from Cadiz appeared in the turn of the river downstream. It passed by quietly with passengers in their suites, on the balconies or on deck enjoying the evening sunshine. The road up to Alcoutim ran along the river at varoius stages and we were surprised to see a cavalcade of motor bikes, vans and cars which proceeded a cycle race of some 70-100 bikes. A Barbecue Supper made a perfect end to our day with the setting sun being accompanied with a glass of wine or two.  The calm waters in the pictures tell the early evening story but once dark the wind picked up against the tide and we spent the night on 2 hour watches until 3.o'clock when the wind eased and we felt secure at our anchorage.

Guy on Hippo Watch As He Cooks Supper On The Barbecue.
Wrong Country Dear Chap!

Quiet Anchorage As Sun Begins To Sink On The Guadiana (Mudiana)

Supper Cooked And Ready To Eat.

The River Cruise Boat On Its Way Upstream.

     We awoke and had a leisurely start to the day awaiting the turn of the tide to travel upstream again. The banks of the river were edged by reeds, shrubs and pink and red Oleanders which were a feature of the next stretch of the river up to the twin towns of Alcoutim on the Portuguese side and Sanlucar on the Spanish side.We went upstream of the two settlements looking for a suitable anchorage as there were numerous boats along a good stretch up and downstream. We selected a spot clear of other boats  downstream and had two goes at a secure spot to anchor, clear of the main stream and well away from other boats all turning in the tide and wind.  All yachts would swing a good 50 metres and at quite a rate at times so isolation was essential. We visited both towns and found them to be very different in character. 

Riverbank Parkland. Looks Like Australia?
Double Click The Pics To Get A Better View.

Approaching Alcoutim With The Cruise Ship On Its Return Journey.

Portuguese Alcoutim With Castle And Willows Along The Quay.

View From Our Anchorage To Spanish Sanlucar With Fort and Windmills.

Guy striding along the Quay at Alcoutim.

The Town of Sanlucar From Alcoutim

Another Riverboat At The Alcoutim Quay.

Guy Stoned Again In Alcoutim!!
A Quite Brilliant Statue.

Kisti Two Anchored Below The Two Towns.

Spanish Sanlucar. 

The Anchorage 20 Miles Upriver.

Drinks At Alcoutim

   We decided that as there was a hill with a castle on top, we just had to climb to the top of the hill and explore the ramparts. The first part was a journey through Sanlucar then up past the Zip-wire down to the opposite river bank, and on to the castle which has just had a £1M of European money to save it and hopefully open it to the public later. Looks very grand in its glorious cream paint now. The views from the top were stunning and you get a good sence of the isolated but wonderful spot we were in.

Sanlucar Church

The Two Towns On The Guadiana River.
Alcoutim In The Distance.

The Guadiana (Mudiana) Winding Its Way Through The Countryside
Which Is The Border Line Between Spain And Portugal.

The Renovated Sanlucar Castle At The Top

Windmills Of Sanlucar

    After a few glorious lazy, hazy, crazy days of living life in the slow lane, the anchor was raised on 28 May and we headed back down the river, under the bridge and the anchored off Ayamonte for an early start. O500 hrs to be precise!!!! 

Down The Mudiana On A Rare Cloudy Morning.

That Bridge Again! Clouds Going.

   Yes, we were up at 0500 hrs and set off for Cadiz, some 60nm miles away. The early start was to cross the 2 metre bar safely at the exit of the Guadiana into the sea at high tide. We crossed safely then had to negotiate our way around all the fishing nets. Yes, we saw the sunrise for the first time in about 6 months which helped us spot the nets as we exited the river. It was a stunning dawn which made the early start much more bearable.

Guy On Fishing Net Watch ( I Say, Any Submarines Out There Sir?)

Five Fishing Net Flags!!

     It was a glorious sail to Cadiz with the wind behind us for almost all the trip. The sea water suddenly turned a stunning turquoise and once again dolphins joined us to play with Kisti Two's keel. It was a 12 hour trip and we headed for Puerto Sherry Marina on arrival. It is located along the coast from Santa Maria on the mainland which has a railway station and ferry to Cadiz, as well as the Sherry Bodegas (Caves)!!

Glorious Dolphins

Ginny Enjoying The Breezy But Sunny Sail.
Clean Water Again.

Sailing Downwind To Cadiz

Arrival Pontoon At Porto Sherry Marina.
29 May 2014

    Now for Cadiz and a visit to Seville. We are now back in the land of siestas and tapas.  Its a tough life, but someones got to do it.