Barcelo Punta Umbria

... I do for a blog! Our wifi on the ship is a bit pricey, $.38 a minute with a package deal or $.55 a minute without a package. Since it is a satellite connection it can be slow and sporadic at best so if I don’t post daily for the next 6 days it’s because of the weak connection but I will continue to write something every day and post when I can.

Going to sign out now, here’s to a safe and fun Atlantic crossing!

Ciao,

David

... small trenches around each encampment. Another fascinating insight into the diversity that is the European Comminity.

The beach was lovely with fine golden sand and huge dead jellyfish. We sat and drank beer and watched the sunset and only laughed a little when we thought of family and friends in the cold wet November days at home. The security at the campsite was interesting in that both of us and the car ...

We woke to a beautiful sunny morning and left camp by 9:30, heading over to Loule. It was a bit of backtracking but we had kept putting off buying artisan souvenirs; we were almost out of Portugal and Loule was supposed to be a good market town. We found a parking spot near the market in Loule and headed into the market - there were a lot of fresh veggies and fruit and a lot of fresh fish. There were also a couple of stalls that looked like they were pushed out of ...

... timely gap in the traffic gave me time to hurry across). Then came another turn, this time heading due west to Ayamonte, complete with signs announcing 'Portugal'! Another helpful sign alerted me to the half-hourly running of the trans-Rio Guadiana ferry and a glance at my computer showed me it was 10.11 am with the next ferry sailing at 10.30. The incredibly helpful kilometre markers that can be found on all Spanish roads told me that 5 km remained to ...

... found a nice corner bar. I sat outside and sipped a couple of glasses of Rioja until disaster: I hadn't quite finished the second glass when I accidentally tipped it over and spilt the remaining contents. Before I could move a waitress appeared and wiped it up, before reappearing seconds later with the bottle and refilling my glass at no cost! Now THAT's what I call service! DISTANCE FOR THE DAY: 87 km TOTAL SO FAR: 2223 km

... partial. This was a far more professional tour, with a little road-train to take us through the gardens (filled with South American specimen trees brought to the site by one of the earlier Mrs Gonzales), past a small vineyard to the distillery, where their brandy is made, to the main Bodega. The process is identical to all the others, so other gimmicks are used to keep the visitor focussed on the brand. Here there is the ...

ARRIVED from Huelva ariived here kinda late (no train to lisbon until morning) so, sleep outside the train station with the gypsy family right next to it and get a train in the morning, or spend most of my dwindling funds on a night bus to Lisbon? i had ...

... for now. This past weekend, my host family and I went to Puente Umbril to their beach apartment. Yeah, I am ridiculously lucky. I may have won the host family lottery. I was really nervous before we left. Was there even a beach? Would it be near water? Spanish, for the whole weekend, oh gosh. It was grerat though. This super cute apartment that had a view of the Atlantic from the patio. We brought the two dogs- troqui, and trufa. Trufa means truffle ...

... theatre, broadcasting live from backstage all over Spain. The TV reporter and cameraman are sweet, passably literate, and working ******* their comprehensive report from the festival that will run on Monday. Mark and I take the stage at just after 9:00 pm and lay down a tight, fast-moving, truly impassioned set of material from our new CD, criss cross. The producers have engaged a young woman to translate my texts into Spanish and project them onto a ...

... requiring them to put nets above to catch the falling limestone. Carmen, who has been a tour guide for 14 years said she was giving a tour to architects who were studying the area. The architects wanted to the see the crypt below the cathedral first. The cathedral architect designed the crypt to support the cathedral without a center support. Because of this he had to calculate the exact dimensions each block of stone that supported the cathedral. We then ...