Montessas & Medieval Feasts

Sadly our time in Alicante is coming to an end.




We have been super busy getting the boat ready for El Jefe's return but managed to take in some of the Medieval Festival happening in Alicante this weekend. All the alleyways are filled with booths of artisans & sellers: bread-makers, leather-workers, soap, incense, books, swords/knives...But the most impressive sight was the bird-of-prey display. Many owls, falcons, a vulture even. Amazing to see up close!





We went out to eat on Saturday night at El Portal, Taberna Gastronomica! And it was. We arrived at 9:15PM. We could have table if we promised to be done by 11:00 as they had a reservation! Spain is crazy. Had a fantastic meal; one of the best salads in my life. Now I can really appreciate the fuss over truffles. Excellent fish, veggies, wine.

After exiting exactly at 11:00... we walked back through the Festival and caught the end of the night’s stage show. Dance/Performance with MUCHOS fuego (a lot of fire!). I’m fairly certain this would not be legal in North America. Flames and fireworks very cozy with the buildings, performers and the crowd. We had fireworks debris raining down on our heads. It was very impressive...and no one got hurt (to the best of our knowledge!).

The great thing is that we have been here long enough to make some new friends....one couple we met through a vintage Montessa Motorcycle....along with an unusual visit from a friend from the past.


We are looking forward to the next adventure, but also hope to return to Alicante in 2012.
Hasta Luego.

Make Tea Not War

Wall with a View

Blank slates: new Fabriano watercolour postcard pad and paint set.



IN the little seen ART theme, I made a book using up some of my paper shopping bags, gifted paper from a guest, and a leather scrap from VISAR flea market in Tortola (happened to be the perfect size!). It took some doing as I'm out of practice. The spacing is too loose. But it works.
















Wall at Castillo Santa Barbara. Had a good climb up and enjoyed a 'bebida' at the top. Spectacular views.

New Look

Let me know if this new background is too much? Too distracting?

Herring-Chokers & Bag Addictions

While in NB in April I purchased a New Brunswick flag to replace our missing one. MP put it up on the weekend. Doubt we'll get anyone recognizing it. But...you never know. At least it is well colour coordinated with the Spanish flag.

The other photo is of a bag I bought last week. The shop window stopped me in my tracks with a display of these cute shopping bags and other purses. Yes, I have a 'bolsa' problem. This one is made by PrettyCity (disasterdesigns.co.uk). Especially liked the AirMail theme, sewing tape handles and tiny pocket just for "stolen grapes or any other pinched items"!

Otherwise it has only been window shopping and a reconn trip to the big Mall. This is where we discovered the HIPERmercado. It is HUGE. It has a large section of gluten free products which are mostly Italian and very good! Ciabatta buns (par cooked), corn & rice pasta, Digestive biscuits with chocolate on top. Just a little excited! So with that and some great fresh produce we headed back to the boat with as much as we could carry.
La vida es buena.

Pink dogs Sangria, Carrot Soup & Gluten-Free Soda Bread

I am not sure how to edit. There is so much new and exciting! On the one hand there is the home-body boat cleaning galley wench, then there is the traveler seeing Spain for the first time. Before leaving the Caribbean I bought an immersion blender! and was anxious to start making soups. There wasn't much desire to eat soup in the hot Caribbean.

Too many carrots? Curried carrot soup turned out delicious (though too much cayenne for me). The KitchenAid blender worked like a hot damn. My piping skills need work! I also had some left-over Glutenfree pancake/muffin mix that wasn't so great tasting as either suggested option. So...with Nana's soda bread recipe slightly modified it turned out great. The best GF bread I've had so far!
Next up is seafood chowder. How can I use the blender in that recipe?

We've been busy sanding, varnishing, airing out the giant spinnaker (?) that was used for 5 minutes on the Crossing, then trying to stuff it back in the sail locker ("Putting 10 pounds of ** into a 5 pound bag" as someone described it), scrubbing cockpit cushions, fridge shelves, still trying to sort out internet on the boat. Seems we are in a black hole.

Sunday was a spectacularly sunny day with not a cloud in the sky. After carrot soup :) for lunch we headed out to see what all the fuss was about at the marina - bright umbrellas and very loud music (big band!). It was some sort of fair but with our limited Spanish we had no idea what was going on! May have been a political rally. There were signs of a Cometa (kite) Festival at the beach next door so headed in that direction. Only saw 3 kites but the beach and boardwalk were packed with folks.

We found ourselves a table at one of the cafes and ordered a "leeetle" pitcher of sangria. Super people watching ! Pink and blue dogs, lots of tattoos, little old ladies in their Sunday best to gals in almost nada, Charles Atlas' (before and after the sand kicking), 'knock off' sellers always on the lookout for the cop on his BMW motorcycle, bikes, strollers, wheelchairs, scooters. Wonderful afternoon 'at the beach'.

En Alicante por un mes.

We arrived at the Alicante Marina after an "unpleasant" passage from Cartagena. We are getting to know the city. The Castillo (Santa Barbara Castle) which is a back drop to the marina makes for a good hike in the morning. One photo is a view from the top of the castle of the boat in the marina. The photo with the flower pots is us trying to find one of the many steps/roads that lead to the stone wall or steps.

The other photo... is the free elevator! that goes through the middle of the mountain. We took it Down on our first visit.

Sorry if this is not very well laid out. I still can't get the photos to place where I want them.

More next time on Paella. What's the deal with Paella? as Jerry Seinfeld would say.

San Pedro to Cartagena

I will admit to anyone who reads this that I did not know that there was a Cartagena in Spain! Life is an education. What a pleasant surprise it was too. Lovely city with so much history. Five hours was hardly enough to experience it but we did get to see some ruins of roman theatres, the Antigua Cathedral (see photo), have a glass of wine and people watch. Stopped for tapas and had to just guess at what we were ordering and it all turned out well. Had to resist all the shoe stores! There will be time for that later on.

The photo of the beach and castillo (castle) ruin is Cala de San Pedro. The only night we anchored and had bbq'd steak on board. IT was such an unusual spot that had no roads to it, only a long hiking path along the hill. The naked jugglers kept us entertained for some time. Michel, Ginny and Angie went in for a "swim" (dunk).

Photos on picasaweb.

Culture Shock?

From a late April snow storm in eastern Canada to fashionable southern Spain in two days. Puerto Banus is quite something. So many shops, a steady stream of people walking the waterfront and the most incredible array of expensive exotic cars in one spot. I haven't had much time to explore though we did have one quiet night in a little hotel in downtown Marbella (still struggling to drop the LLs). Two great meals out with the crew.

The boat wasn't in as bad shape as I'd expected though it needs cleaning and repairs. Slowly but surely. We've seen four of the men off and have had three ladies join up.

It is quite strange to be wearing long pants, sweaters and socks aboard the boat! No AC required! Temps in low teens C at night, and low 20s during the day. Nice.

Signs of Easter: Chocolate motorcycles!

Plan to head towards Alicante on Monday morning. It looks like a beautiful city.

Happy Easter. xo

Spring??

IT is about time to REVIVE the blog. Spring in NB, then off to Europe. This should mean lots of new adventures and great photo opportunities. The challenge will be the time and internet connections.

Last week my aunt mentioned how much she loved pussywillows so Nicole and I went on a hunt to get a bouquet for her. It ended up that the only ones we saw were right across the street from her house! How often what we want/need is right in front of our eyes. :-)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salix_discolor

So...hope to have some updates for you along the way.

Twenty Ten

It would appear that I simply do not have the time to keep up the blog. Sorry! The schedule is too uncertain, the internet is slow or non-existent and days very full.

So I'll be sailing around St. Martin, Anguilla, St. Barthelemy...then the BVI until the end of April. Thanks for checking in.

Until we meet again.... ljb

'Twas the week before Christmas...

It doesn't FEEL like the week before Christmas. 30C, palm trees and pelicans.

It was a busy week but not in the way it has been for most of our friends and families. Monday was our big adventure of going into San Juan to do some shopping. The lady at car rental agency told us we wouldn't know that there was a recession happening. She was right! Plaza Las Americas was completely insane - people shopping up a storm. It was good to get back to the boat and quiet Palmas.

There was a commercial being shot in the parking lot at the marina. Squealing tires of a Mustang. The Producer and I chatted a while and he had lots of suggestions of places to eat here in PR as well as St. Barths, St. Martin AND Montreal. :-)

I started a journal for myself using up different papers, bags and labels from the last few months. Also put my handmade nutmeg paper to use finally! I've sewn it twice already and haven't been happy with it. Try and try again.

Happy Solstice. Feliz Navidad and Ano Nuevo. xo

FOUR iguanas on the dock this morning! And we saw some sort of eel in the marina too - could have been a moray. I forgot to bring my camera with me on our walk to the plaza for a coffee - gorgeous orchids and a really amazing 4 inch caterpillar. Maybe next time! Excellent cappuccino.

No Soup For You!

Despite the mush burning a little on the bottom the soup turned out delicious as usual. Very thick like baby food so quite filling. Mmmm.

And in other news... I GOT A NEW CAMERA. Big deal and I'm thrilled with it. The iguanas and pelicans haven't been cooperating but I did mange to get a shot of one of the dudes that lives near the boat.

How do you say 'Yam' in Twi?

I was in the middle of making Sue's African Yam Soup when it occured to me that I CAN take a photo. My reliable little Macbook! So here's the early stages of the soup in progress. I'm making it in honour of Scott heading off on his adventure to Ghana today.

Feliz Navidad...not quite.

Day 6 in PR. Still decompressing from November. Getting some rest but still lots to do on the boat. Had another long walk on the beach nearby - which I feel in my calves! Thankfully a breeze has come up so it isn't quite as stifling.

We had a rental car for the first two days and did some exploring. Discovered that you can't get to the El Yunque National Rainforest from here; have to approach it from the north. Found a MALL which we thoroughly investigated. :-) Also found Ralph's Food Warehouse! Wow...big and friendly. I'm already dreaming of PLAZAS LAS AMERICAS..... Biggest mall in the Caribbean. Hey, I have to buy a new camera.

So back to cleaning! There are Christmas decorations up at the marina but none aboard. Hope to have photos of our lizard friends....soon. Thanks for checking in. xo

School of Hard Knocks

When do we graduate from that school? Been a long week. After two hectic days in the BVI's we had a flat motor to Culebra. I had only been once before (with BFB) and loved it. Quaint beautiful little island 30 miles (?) east of Puerto Rico. We have friends (a couple) who usually spend their winters there & managed to make contact with her. It was a bittersweet reunion with them as he is quite ill and hardly remembers his sailing days. Then as we left after a visit there, I realized I didn't have my camera. I'd left it in the taxi van...black bag on black seat. I called the driver but he or his last fares were not honest.

That was my baby....but in an attempt to 'get over it' I am thinking about the NEW one I will get. And to add to this tragedy Michel's camera died a few days ago. What's up with that?

Palmas del Mar is lovely and it looks like a great place to spend December. Sorry...no photos. Sigh.

Quick Stop "home"

A short visit in Tortola - minor boat repairs, banking, bills, etc. Busy and not much to say. Great to catch up with folks.

St. Martin was good but looking forward to returning to really find some good shopping and dining.

Off to Culebra and Puerto Rico next.

Saintes & St. Barts

Glimpses at Iles des Saintes - a sign at the end of the runway on Terre D'en Haut and some laundry. :-)

West Indian building in St. Barths (St. Barthelemy).

And they ate...Et ils ont mange

Heading north but it isn’t getting any cooler! Nor is the wind improving - doing a lot of motoring.

Iles des Saintes was wonderful as usual. This is one of my favorite spots - a super combination of West Indies and France. We ate pain au chocolat, bagettes, fresh fish and veggies. La Triangle on Terre D’en Haut is a tiny place right on the beach that you enter by a long 24” alley. I had the best plaintains ever! Also tried a new place called L’Insolente - excellent tapas. Pushed the envelope and ordered Chatroux bourguignon...that would be octopus. I’m glad I did it...once. :-)

Speaking of food, since this seems to be the theme. We were meant to BBQ chicken while at anchor in Roseau. We had torrential rain all evening which made bbq’ing impossible. It also meant closed hatches, two ovens on at 375F. Oh the joys of yachting. Dinner was a little late but all’s well that ends well (they say). My first time cooking christophenes was a success (delicious white onion sauce with cheese on top).

Last night was sheep leg, or is it leg of lamb. It was difficult to get excited about this as I don’t eat lamb. Had lots of help with cooking it. Made Aunt Eleanor’s Apple Pie Bavaroise which turned out great too.

Well, turns out we’ve got wind for sailing and it is difficult to type at this angle.

(Internet connections too pathetic to upload photos at this time)

PS Mom informs me the pie recipe was D. Hache's! Oops.