Map of World - Click a place Brad's been

End of September 2018 - Huelva and Sailing Round 2

Left the Portugal capital and returned to Spain to check out a less visited Huelva then back with Los Paranauticos close to Cadiz to sail through the Straits of Gibraltar enjoying spectacular views of Africa.

Europe meet Africa...

Back on the road, but this time in a Bla Bla Car from Lisbon to Huelva.  Bla Bla Car is an intercity ride share like Uber and usually cheaper than any other transportation. And itès great fun as well due to the people you join for the journey.

Enjoyed two days in Huelva and may return in the near future.  Very friendly place.

quick homemade / fast food lunch 7eu

Goodbye Portugal

Hello Spain...de nuevo

Costa la Luz, the most sun in Spain

At Flecha Del Roompido just before Huelva - Cleane, Sonia (driver) and Jo

Room with Private bath and A/C at the charming little Vega Hotel, family owned and managed.  I was a little sad when they didn't offer me some pasta lunch as it smelled great!

Hotel Vega, 30 euros


Punta Umbria,
 no shorted of beach here 





Tapas with the girls at Tapeito

Monumento a la Fe Descubridora
because of Chris Columbus

One of the older University buildings, of course with a church

WTF??? Where is the rubber dude?

Excellent and Highly recommended La Teja

Love that Whiskey Beef

It's a quiet town

Quiet until you find some Futbolin, (Spanish version of Foosball) which is quite a bit different from what I played in University.

"El Agujero del Topo"
"The Hole of the Mole"
Sounds better in English


With a chance to sail again and to sail through the Straits of Gibraltar I was happy to chase down SV Dr Feelgood somewhere near Cadiz, a town I was hoping to see a little more of this time.

Unfortunately Puerto Sherry is about 20 km away by train once you walk the 5 km to the train station...boo. Special thanks to my Bla Bla Car driver Jose Maria for going out of his way to help me find Simon and Sally at the remote marina.  Hey...at least there was a beach near by.

Hanging out waiting for my Bla Bla Car pick up

Excited to be back

Lord Dinky...?

Fancy Hotel with no one there 200 eu

Lots of boats stored here coz it's cheaper

Very windy day

This oldie looks ok from far, but...

Cadiz very far away

Playa de la Muralla, nice bay

That's too swallow for boats and this
is a marina!

What a turnstile to the beach

I appreciate her commitment to
not having tan lines on her butt

Alright.  3 days was good enough.

Up at 4:30 am to sail to the midpoint of the trip, Barbate, a small town 25-30 nautical miles south of Cadiz.  Not sure I love sailing in the dark just yet, but Los Paranauticos follow the mantra of sailing with soft seas and little wind which is definitely more comfortable. I think the truth is it takes years to really be comfortable at sea and I'm not there yet either. 

Not looking too bad for
an early morning start

Cadiz bridge

More Cadiz

Cadiz bridge at Sunrise

Coastguard? Or North Korean Spies?

Doing a little actual sailing until the "back stay shackle" snapped!  

Photo of Serious vs less Serious
Enjoy it man!

Lord Nelson Point, the site of many sea battles

A little cliffs of Dover feel

Long day

Over 12 hours at sea due to taking the "safest course"

Napoleonic Watch Tower

Another marina far from anything, although you can see the town as you come in and could swim to it in 10 minutes, but by foot it's about 30 minutes.  Hey, one night in the bars, why not!

Huge 60' Sloop from Nederlands

Not a job I ever want!

Snapped shackle pin

At sea quick fix.  Imagine the stress we had...uffffff



That's a lot of anchors

Just about there after 20 min walk

Nice little Boardwalk

Futbolin with Drug Dealers

Sad to see the group in front of me
discard their bottle on the beach
when a garbage can was beside them!

Nice row of fishing boats

Always sad to see in marinas

Closest place to get Wifi, nice spot

What the hell is that

Cool


And finally the Straits of Gibraltar!  An area of the world which can have lots of complications navigating; current, tides, obstructions, winds and lots of shipping traffic.  This was truly a marvelous moment in my life, which was followed by a horrible moment in my life...

To be continued in the next installment of The Life Of Brad ...

For now enjoy this amazing passage

Here we are...passing Tarifa, Spain

Africa to the right

Couldn't stop shooting!

Happy Chappy





Hi Africa!!!




Dolphins and Africa, that's pretty awesome. This video has it all.

Hiya Dolphins


15 km from Africa

The Rock (again, but from the sea this time)

Only our perspective...
The boat is not as big as the Rock

Amazing view of the Gibraltar run way

Gibraltar Marina - cheaper
than the Spanish one across the way.
(Paranauticos moved 1 day later)

Love these photos!!!

Bonus: In a dive bar in Barbate the bartender gave me the bottle and said whatever you want.  The first drink I pour 3 fingers and he charged me 2.50 euros.  I went over 4 fingers on the second drink and it only cost me 3.50 euros.  Check it out.
A few fingers











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