Goodbye Portugal and Hello Spain (again)!

The time is flying by and after just a week we said goodbye to Portugal about 10am this morning.  We crossed a large bay from the harbour entrance to Faro and Olhao to the Bay of Cadiz today.  The wind started gently which was perfect for our departure out of the harbour, and the tide was just starting to ebb – both of which contributed to a smooth exit.  The day was another sunny one (how lucky we are at the moment!) and we were able to motor-sail the whole way using the gennaker all day.

For the non-nautical, a gennaker is a cross between a genoa (foresail, jib) and a spinnaker.  It’s a very large sail that, when used correctly, can give the boat a good push forward. As it’s also a light sail, it can be used in fairly light winds up to about 25 knots.  Tad loves our gennaker as it’s very versatile and quite easy to set up and take down (actually we don’t take it down, just furl it).

No luck with the fishing again, and I just have to include a photo of my lure when I reeled it in at the end of the day – it’s no wonder I’m not catching anything, although there ARE teeth marks on the body of the lure!

                                          A very tangled lure!

A propos of fishing and fish, it’s probably time to talk about food on board.  With a well-equipped, although basic kitchen, it’s amazing what one can prepare.  We find that we are hungry throughout the day and so tend to graze rather than eat large meals.

Some of you will already know my passion for healthy eating and my wonderful business helping people achieve better health through nutrition (www.leanmeanandclean.isagenix.com).  What some of you may not know is that through careful planning and various means of transportation, we were able to bring 6 months’ supply of our Isagenix products to Bisou for our consumption while on this voyage!  Thus we have been able to enjoy our Isalean shakes every morning for breakfast – start our day with our Ionix Supreme shots, and also have our daily vitamin/mineral/antioxidant intake taken care of.

                                  Enjoying my Isalean shake for breakfast on the back of Bisou 

As I think I have mentioned before, we have a three-burner gas cooktop (stove), a gas BBQ and a gas oven, all of which work very efficiently.  Our fuel is butane which burns much hotter than LPG and so things heat up very quickly and also cook quickly.  Lunches tend to be simple affairs when at sea: some soup and crackers if we feel like it or I make a salad with fresh veggies and some tuna, olives or some cheese or hard boiled eggs.  Since leaving France we really haven’t eaten bread as it just isn’t the same quality, and we never eat bread at home anyway.  If we rise late, we often don’t eat lunch as our shakes tend to keep us satisfied, except for a snack of an ice cream (if ashore), or some peanuts/cashews/pretzels until dinner.  Tad discovered a ‘new’ kind of snack in A Coruña to which he has become addicted – it’s deep-fried corn kernels that are salted.  It doesn’t sound very tasty (I am not particularly partial to them) but he loves them!  We haven’t been able to find them since leaving Spain (not even here in Gibraltar!) and our supply is fast running out.  I think perhaps we will have to find an alternative.

Our evening meals are eaten at a restaurant ashore (if we feel like treating ourselves) or we BBQ some meat, have a salad and some starch like quinoa, sweet potato, pumpkin, etc.  I occasionally make a potato salad as Tad is not that keen on cooked potatoes otherwise.  We pretty much run a ‘dry’ boat when we are at sea – neither Tad nor I drink alcohol to any great extent at home and we find it makes us drowsy.  Not something you need when you are on watch!  We do celebrate with a drink or two when we are on land and not heading anywhere early the next day though.

We have not eaten as much fish as I had hoped – sardines are plentiful but become rather monotonous after awhile.  We had a good deal of calamari and cuttlefish while in Spain and Portugal, but didn’t see any paella or mussels!  I guess they are more popular on the Mediterranean side of Spain which we will not be visiting this time around sadly.

For a special treat, we do have a ‘big breakfast’ once in awhile – this consists of Tad’s “Swedish hotcakes” (crepe-like pancakes), bacon, fresh orange segments and cranberry juice (for me).  We have also indulged in French Toast made with the remains of baguettes in France and in Portugal.  I have stocked up on maple syrup so if we are careful we should have enough to last us for a few more breakfasts!

The last night in Spain was spent in a small town called Rota – just 5 km across the Bay of Cadiz from the city of Cadiz, we chose to stay here due to the ease with which we could leave the marina in the morning.  The wind was blowing 25-30 knots as we entered the marina and the attendant wanted us to ‘park’ the boat in a tiny berth in between several boats; we were tired and didn’t want the hassle of getting in that night and out the next morning (when the wind was STILL blowing) so we paid extra to be in a larger berth with an easy exit.  We went into town for dinner and were surprised by the tidiness and prettiness of the town.  As usual, for Spain, although it was about 9:30pm there were lots of people in the streets (including small children who seem to stay up until all hours), and we wandered a little until we found some place to eat.  Summer time means the evening stays light until at least 10pm, many of the shops are still open and the streets are buzzing with people eating at outdoor restaurants and cafes until quite late.

Due to another dawn departure the next day, we didn’t linger, and the strong winds were rather chilly, so we headed back to the boat and to bed.