29th to 31st August

We've spent the last 3 days here in Valencia. On Friday we took the tram and metro to the old town. The highlight was a visit to the cathedral and the 207 steps to the top of the bell tower. On Saturday we went to La Lonja, the old silk exchange. This is a stunning world heritage site. We visited the Art Deco Market and stocked up on ham and trinkets. Next to be visited was the museum of modern art. The river that ran through the centre of the town was diverted back in the late 1950s and is now a stunning linear park. We walked some way along that before getting the metro back to the boat. Today we decided to walk to the futuristic collection of buildings known as the city of arts and sciences. Carefully following the map we ended up lost in the fences surrounding the old F1 track. The only way out was across a railway line. We retraced our steps and eventually reached our destination. We were faced with a collection of extraordinary buildings resembling a futuristic, if somewhat soulless, vision of a city of the future. The science museum was a marvel of architecture with rather mundane exhibits failing to fill the overwhelming space. We viewed the other buildings from the walkways and then took a taxi back to the marina. In the evenings we spent some time with Karen and Jonathan who are here on Farfelu. They were joined this evening by Ken who had travelled up by bus from where he had left Unleashed.

28th August

We were 6 mikes out of Valencia and I was mentally composing a blog to say how uneventful the day had been. There was a soft thump followed by a judder and the port engine groaned a protest. Something was wrong, again. An underwater video showed something large and blue was wrapped round the propeller. There was only one thing for it; send Paul over the side. So in mid ocean he bravely entered the water in mask and snorkel clutching a pair of scissors. While Lucinda and I lazed on deck he worked away. The photo shows about half of what he freed up. The rest floated away and we hope it doesn't snare anyone else. Anyway we are now safely in Valencia where we ran into Jonathan and Karen on Farrfelu. Our hero Paul sadly has to leave to the airport. We will stay here 2 or 3 days.

27th August

No problems today, so far anyway. There was a lovely following breeze for the first couple of hours which faded away so we eventually had to motor. We are in a new marina in Burriana just north of Valencia. It's desolate, deserted and dreary. This is meant to be the height of the season. Where is everyone?

26th August

We had a relaxed start South from Sant Carles. We have obviously lost our sea legs. Although there was no wind the slight swell made us feel a little queasy. We motored the 27 miles to berth in Las Fuentes. That was when the fun began. A couple of hours before we arrived it became impossible to flush our heads. Two hours later, covered in sweat and other substances I had managed to clear the blockage. I'll spare you the details but a thorough shower was necessary followed by a few beers.

20th to 25th August.

We took the ferry overnight from Portsmouth to Bilbao. It was a mini cruise. I watched 2 movies, had a mediocre meal and a good night in our outside cabin. We drive down to visit Max in the foothills of the Pyrenees. The have restored a wonderful stone cottage into a comfortable home. The views were stunning. We stayed overnight and after a walk with the dogs headed South to Sant Carles. The boat was fine but shortly after we arrived a big storm blew through with string winds and torrential rain. At least it scoured the red dust off the boat. We spent a couple of days doing jobs and exploring the area. Paul arrived by train in the evening of the 24th. This morning I had to speak to someone in the boat yard and strange for work to be done when we returned. At 11;30 we were ready to leave. We slipped the lines, cleared the pontoons and them I pushed forward on the throttles. The boat juddered and we barely moved forward. This was serious trouble. It was a problem with both engines. In neutral the engines were fine. It must be a problem with the propellers. I called my new best friend in the boatyard. Tomasz was really helpful and agreed to lift Imagine out if the water. As anticipated both props were heavily encrusted with marine life. We had to wait until after lunch and siesta but a thorough pressure wash cleaned the underside of the boat. By now it was nearly 5pm so we went for a sail, practiced man overboard, came back to the marina for supper, had a beer in town and went to bed.