Swallows and Amazons

Yet again we sailed up rivers the first being the Rio Guardiana which forms the border between Portugal and Spain. The blue ribbon of the Rio winds between rounded hills covered with citrus plants, holm oaks and olive groves. The wildlife is abundant with Storks, Heron, Egret, plovers and other wading birds in plenty and splashes of colour from oleanders and wild flowers. We saw Cows and Sheep for the first time for months.
Some fifteen miles up river we dropped the anchor in midstream between the whitewashed houses of the tiny villages of Alcoutim on the Portuguese side and Sanlucar de Guardiana on the Spanish side. We did not know which courtesy flag to fly and even the mobile phones were confused as to which country they are in.

This part of the world was going through a heatwave with temperatures of 35ºC in the shade on the coast but inland it reached 39ºC during the day and no less than 30ºC overnight all in humidity between 70% to 90%. We sweated and one night resorted to sleeping in the cockpit.
One of our infrequent meals ashore was in a local Alcoutim Café and deserves mention. After sardine pate and chunks of bread, Miggy had ‘Bife a café’, a traditional dish of thin steak with a creamy sauce served with chips and topped with a fried egg and Neal had ‘Bacalhau’ with chickpeas. Bacalhau is salt cod and is eaten in plenty in Portugal. They say there are 365 ways of cooking Bacalhau, one for each day of the year. This fayre, together with a litre of Vinho Tinto de Mesa, mineral water and coffee, cost us the princely sum of 17 euros (about £12). We have enjoyed sampling food and wine that is traditional in the country or region that we find ourselves, and Portugal has its share of good food in addition to sardines and tuna. Its wines are much underrated and not limed to the sparkling Mateus Rose however nice that may be taken chilled at lunchtime. There are rich, fruity red wines from the Douro, Dao and Alantejo regions as well as the bone dry, young and slightly sparkling ‘Vinho Verde’ from the Minho region. Then of course there is the Port. Miggy has a creditable and usually successful attempt at cooking local dishes. The salt cod Bacalhau was not one of those successes in that it turned out very tough and extremely salty. She had soaked the fish for two hours whereas, as we later discovered, it is customary to soak it for two days! Neal thinks it was a deliberate ploy to go for a meal ashore!

We came across Steve Mehlman’s villa on our way up the Guardiana with his schooner ‘Siesta Key’ moored outside proudly displaying the burgee of the Royal Lymington Sailing Club.

It was wonderful to have Miggy’ old friend Jill and her husband, Brendan, visit us on Bella at Ayamonte having driven from their holiday villa at Sagres some 200 kilometers to the west.
Our next river was the Rio Piedras and the tiny holiday village of El Rompido reserved, it appears, mainly for the Spanish tourists. The marina there is new and sparsely populated but the management were friendly and helpful. We spent one night at anchor in the river which is separated from the sea by a strip of sand dunes upon which people picnic. The trouble is they leave their rubbish in plastic bags under the signs that say ‘National Park’ when they go home. They even leave cheap picnic tables, chairs and umbrellas. Who do they reckon will clear it up? We can tell them – it is the seagulls that rip open the bags, eat what they can and leave the rest scattered for the high tide to wash away and litter the sea.
At the next port, Chipiona, we witnessed the Fiesta of the Virgin de Regla. She is a black saint established by the Church to attract ‘pilgrims’ and swell their coffers! How could I be so cynical? The fiesta also marks the end of summer.

Talking of the end of summer, the number of visiting yachts plying this coast is dwindling as they head for their ports of refuge against the winter weather, which can be fierce in these parts. We too have hung up our sailing boots in the marina at Rota at the northern end of Cadiz bay. We are lucky to have booked our spot a month or so ago as berths for the winter are at a premium. Rota appears to be a convenient and friendly town with all the facilities that we need for the winter and great travel links with the places we intend to visit during the winter months such as Sevilla, Granada, Jerez and Cordoba. But more of that later.

Our contact details here at the marina are as follows:
Address: Bella of Lymington (Miggy & Neal Flux)
C/o Puerto Deportivo de Rota
11520 Rota (Cadiz)
Espana

Tel (emergency only): +34 956 840 069
Fax (mention Bella of Lymington): +34 956 813 811

Miggy’s next Radio broadcast is at 0630 on the 9th of October.