Category Archives: Spain

Day 3 of the Water Pump Saga

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We are happy to report that today was sunny with calm winds. The marina is calmer, which is nice. We like calm days.

Eric went to the marina office as soon as it opened, where a Spanish speaker was on duty and happy to help. Yay. He called and found out that the distributor did carry the part, but absolutely would not sell to us direct. We had to go through a retail store, and they didn’t volunteer any information as to what store we might be able to find their product in. Our nice translator didn’t seem to want to call back to press them on the retail store locations.

Yesterday, the clerk at the Gibraltar chandlery suggested that we go to a nearby chandlery in Spain, just a 15 minute away, and ask them to order it for us. They would be able to get it sent from Barcelona via overnight express with no customs issues. Now that we knew the distributor had the part in stock, we were happy to make the trip. We got directions, which were go out to the road, turn left, walk over the airstrip and you are at the border. Catch a taxi to the chandlery on the other side. We were kind of dubious, but the directions were accurate. You really do walk across the airstrip. Or drive across, if you are in a car. When a plane needs to land or take off, they just close the road for a few minutes. Seeing the wide open strip explains why the other day, we heard several announcements over a loudspeaker demanding that the car parked on the runway be moved now.

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One more block from the runway is the border. Crossing the border was Continue reading →

Start of the Passage to Gibraltar

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Yesterday was a nice day in terms of weather. It was a little bit warmer than it has been, and there was no rain or wind. As soon as we got up we started our “get ready to go to sea” routine. We planned to leave shortly before sunset. Eric worked at getting things ready to go on board while he waited for the Simrad repair guy. Christi went to pick up fresh fruit and bread for the passage. Conveniently enough, there is a supermarket directly across the street, right next to the restaurant we like. And, from the fancy awning and red carpet, it looks like a nice one.

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It wasn’t open. Odd, since it is normal business hours on a weekday. She went and peeked into the windows and realized it is a nightclub, named “Supermarket”. Oops. She set off Continue reading →

More Chores in Palma

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This morning the wind had pretty much died and the marina was, for the most part, calm. Praise the Lord! We slept great and woke up full of energy, determined to get a lot done to make up for all the wasted days last week when we were too lethargic from the rocking to do much. It was ominously gray and cloudy all day, but it never really rained.

Eric set out to find a gasket and shaft packing tool. He went to two chandleries. The second chandlery sent him to a machine shop to have a gasket made. Eric arrived at the shop holding his home made gasket and the leftover gasket material we had gotten in Greece. The machine shop guys dropped what they were doing to make a gasket for him right then and there. And they only charged him $12 USD! Eric gave them Continue reading →

The Train to Soller

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Last night the marina wasn’t nearly as rocky as it has been. Yes, we were moving, but we felt like we were in an anchorage, not at sea. The lines weren’t making the horrific noises. So, we actually slept soundly and woke up feeling rested. We had planned to take the old train to the other side of the island today if the weather was nice. We were so happy to see that the sky was blue and the wind was relatively light. Awesome! We were taking a train ride.

We took the downtown bus to the train station, which is across the street from the main town square, and got tickets. We had about 45 minutes to kill, so we found a restaurant that serves breakfast nearby. We now consider breakfast a high luxury, and are always excited to find it. Actually, in Mallorca we have seen quite a few places advertise breakfast.

The train takes you from Palma due north to a town called Soller, which is about halfway along the northwest coast of the island. The line started in 1912, and the brochure gives the impression they are still using the same trains as back then. They are electric.

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We noticed that Continue reading →