Balestrate - 2 October 2021

If yesterday was all about cleaning, today was a shopping day. We are planning to spend the next few days away from marinas and so we need enough food to see us through this period. We climbed up to the village, crossed the single track railway line and headed for the butchers and first, the green grocer. We were served in the old fashioned way by a lady who tested each item before deeming it to be ok to sell to us. Next door was the butcher that we had seen recommended on social media, and it lived up to its reputation. We bought enough for a few days, and as we paid, the lady taking the money gave us a jar of olive paste. The people are so friendly and hospitable. I think they are aware of how few foreign tourists they have seen this year. We spotted a fishmonger and chose some that looked like bream. This was as much as we could carry, so we headed back to the boat for coffee.

Its always vital to be on a boat with someone who is a great cook

There have been forecasts of rain during the day here, so having checked the horizon, we went back up the 125 (or depending on which one of us you believe, 124) steps to the town. This time the supermarket and bakery for bread. The supermarket was called “Quick” but did not really live up to its name. It was very full and there was a queue at the deli counter for the cooked meats and cheese that are essential to life here. We were back to the boat before any rain fell.

The other side of the pontoon from where we are moored there is a fleet of charter boats. It is “change over” day and last night, after Tricia had gone to bed, I could hear the young crew of one of the boats, sitting on deck and talking excitedly in Czech about their exploits. Later today a big group of Germans came to take the largest of the charter boats. The first thing that was brought down the pontoon was a trolley loaded with about 6 cases of beer and several containers of wine. It should be a good evening for them. Fortunately for us, they have departed already, so we won’t be disturbed tonight.

We realised that we need further supplies of gas for cooking to last us through our time here, so I asked the marinaros who arranged for a guy to come and take one of our bottles to be refilled. There was some confusion about when he would bring it back, but he duly reappeared about an hour later, and returned the bottle. It was so inexpensive, that I wish I had had others refilled. We have paid about 10 times that much for gas in some places in the past. We should now be able to eat for the rest of the trip. 

This show the town on the cliffs above the marina

With the chores completed, we decided to walk round the harbour, which took us 45 minutes, albeit at a leisurely pace. As the pictures will show, it is enormous, but it is very underdeveloped. It appears as if a lot of money has been spent building substantial sea walls, which are very reassuring. However, the usage and facilities contained within the harbour are rather lacking. It is not clear if there is no demand, or whether the developer has run out of funding. There are fishing boats, but not large numbers and they are mostly very small, 1 or 2 man jobs. Much of the harbour is shallow, and so although there is a lot of empty space, we are right at the end of the pontoon in the deepest water. The harbour is in a large bay, maybe 12 miles across, and ringed with hills beyond. We can see for miles and have been able to watch the rain and lightning storms in the distance. So far, we have managed to avoid a soaking, but the air is very heavy and humid.

Storms and a rainbow in the distance

Steve (and Tricia)

Distance today               0 miles

Total distance 2021:   367 miles