Autumn News

The weather is, without doubt, getting into winter mode. We have broken the duvet out to keep us warm during the crisp clear nights we have experienced recently with the temperature dropping to 10ºC. During the day we are still in shorts and Miggy is still swimming daily in the sea. We have not missed the torrential rain that Spain has suffered over the last few weeks although we have had no flooding. This area needs the rain to top up the reservoirs as it failed to materialise at all last winter.
Peter and Mary, John Gilbe’s Mother and Stepfather, are kind enough to have come all the way from Sotogrande to take us out to Sanlucar de Barrameda for the day. Sanlucar is on the southern side of the mouth of the River Quadalquivir, the river upon which stands Seville and Cordoba. We visit the Pedro Romero Bodegas, one of the many Bodegas in Sanlucar that produce the very dry and salty Manzanilla sherry.
The English tour should have begun at begins at 1200 but there was no English-speaking guide. No matter a sweet Spanish lady who spoke not a word of English takes us around the Bodegas. This somehow enhanced the experience in that we had to listen intently and understand the commentary the best we could. In fact we did comprehend a surprising amount and now have a good knowledge of the Sanlucar sherry making activity.
I will describe sherry making after we have visited a Bodegas in Jerez but the difference between Jerez and Sanlucar sherry is interesting. Manzanilla is only produced in Sanlucar and is made with 100% locally grown Palomino grape whereas Jerez sherry uses a blend of Palomino and imported grapes. The Sanlucar sherry producers also say that their Manzanilla differs from and is better than the Fino sherry of Jerez for three reasons, besides the quality of the grape: the air from the Atlantic Ocean, the proximity of the Donana wetlands to the north, and the wide mouth of the Quadalquivir river! Finally Sanlucar sherry is feminine, i.e. la Manzanilla Fina whereas Jerez sherry is masculine, i.e. el Fino. Whatever the reasons we all like it as the photograph shows – the empties are piling up!
We are treated to lunch by the riverside on the Bajo de Guia of grilled fish and simple salad washed down with a beer. It was a delightful day and we are so thankful to Peter and Mary.
All here is not play however and the cooler weather is more conducive to boat maintenance. We have been doing things such as washing and taking off the sails to save the wear and tear in the winter gales, winterising the engine with an oil change, oil and fuel filter replacement and checks and cleaning, fitting compensators (sort of stainless steel springs) to our shore lines to stop them ‘snatching’ in the wind and waking us up and, of course, constant scrubbing and polishing! Miggy has also been in the water in her fins, mask and snorkel to check the anodes and underwater fittings and to scrub the bottom of the boat as far as she can. She needed a good shower afterwards!
We are getting excited about our impending tour of Andalucia. We have hired a small car from Saturday the 18th of November for eight days and will drive to see the Pueblos Blancos (The White Villages), Ronda, Granada and the Sierra Nevada, Jaen, Ubeda and Cordoba before returning to Rota via Sotogrande to spend a night with Peter and Mary.