After returning our hire car in Cádiz, we take the ferry back to Rota. The day is set to get even hotter, so we first put up our foredeck awning. To provide more ventilation, we also roll up part of our cockpit cake stand. Both together ensure extremely pleasant temperatures on board. We continue with typical everyday tasks on board: Washing up, doing the laundry, washing the boat, cleaning and taking a siesta. In the evening, Sonja and Stefan come over for another barbecue. This time we have delicious grilled gyros, tzaziki, grilled feta and salad. We also baked flatbread in our hot air fryer for the first time. Very successful and very tasty!
Since we chatted until midnight again, the next morning starts late. The night was also quite restless, as wind and waves caused a lot of movement and noise in the harbor. In the morning, everything is quiet again and our sun sail, which we had left up, has weathered the wind well. The day is hot and the next few days will be even hotter. The forecast is for 35°C, but it feels like 40°C according to the weather report. Did we complain too much about the cool weather? Now we’re paying the price. After a rainy March and a cool April, we are now experiencing the warmest May since 1950. But we’re not going to complain. The wind blows cool through the shady cockpit and we are very comfortable on board. Only leaving the boat is very sweaty and exhausting. So we are limiting ourselves to a few excursions and prefer to stay on board. A permanent siesta, so to speak. Interrupted now and then by meals and shopping trips. And drinking, of course! Not wine, champagne, and beer, but water. We try to drink at least 2-3 liters of water per day, which is easy to do at the moment and is quickly sweated out again. However, as the humidity here is only around 20% at the moment, you don’t even notice that you are sweating. Our bath thermometer must have a slight sunstroke! It shows a water temperature of v
Just as we are finally ready to set sail again, the weather decides to remind us of its unpredictability. Instead of sunshine and 25°C with a nice breeze from aft, we are greeted on our planned departure day by gray skies, strong winds, and temperatures that feel like freezing. So we decide to stay in Rota a little longer, with our sweaters on. To warm up, we do a little vacuuming and cleaning. It helps! And luckily, it’s warmer again the next day. Although not uncomfortably hot. So we take the opportunity to stroll through the city and buy gifts for the upcoming weddings. Otherwise, the day passes very quietly and uneventfully. The next day is much the same. Shopping by bike at Lidl, filling up the water tanks, doing laundry. Just everyday tasks. I go back into the city center and discover a nice shop with pretty flamenco-style dresses. Three very fast-speaking Spanish ladies rush towards me in the approximately 15 square meter shop, and I look so helpless due to the barrage of words that they quickly switch to English. For half an hour, I enjoy VIP status in the shop. The ladies discuss heatedly which dresses would suit me and fit me best. Finally, I stand in the changing room with a selection and try them on. Each dress I try on is thoroughly evaluated by my ladies, and more dresses are handed into the changing room. Finally, we are all happy with the selection.
Rota – Río Guadalquivir/Bonanza 20,2 nm
After more than three weeks, we finally leave Rota. We really liked the place and fell in love with the Andalusian Tranquilo way of life. But at some point it’s time to move on. The weather is pleasantly warm and, according to the forecast, the wind is just right. So we not only let Lucky wake us up at 6:30 a.m., we also get up. Shower, breakfast and clearing up. Then it’s time to check out at the marina office and say goodbye to Sonja and Stefan. Let’s see when and where we’ll see them again sometime. Surprisingly, we haven’t forgotten how to cast off yet, even though Axel manages to tangle the stern line around the jetty cleat. No problem with zero wind and so we are quickly cast off and on our way north. Having not anchored in the Río Guadalquivir on the way there, we now want to make up for it. The route takes us past the long sandy beach and the corralles of Rota. We turn off at Chipiona and get a nice push. Unfortunately, the wind doesn’t suit us again. Instead of westerly, it’s northerly, i.e. directly against us. Not bad at 5-8 knots, but there is an old sea that rocks us well. Despite the rocking, Lucky decides to sail along lying in the cockpit this time and seems to be happy with it. After 2 1/2 hours we finally reach our anchorage off the small village of Bonanza. Of course there is no sign of Ben, Adam, Hoss, Little Jo and HopSing (the older ones of us may remember the Cartwright family and their Chinese cook…), but there is a huge salt mountain on one side and the Doñana nature reserve on the other side of the cat. And a wonderful silence. Even though large parts of the nature park cannot be entered without permission, we want to explore the shore area and a small museum village over the next few days. In the evening, we have delicious chicken breast strips from the pita bread with yogurt dip. We actually wanted to grill whole chicken breast, but instead of filete de pollo we stupidly got pollo filetado. So, chicken breast cut into thin slices. But it still tasted good. The evening spoils us with a pleasant breeze, a beautiful sunset and a flock of flamingos on their way to their roosts. On land, we can hear wild boars squealing. That’s exactly how we imagined it here.After more than three weeks, we finally leave Rota. We really liked the place and fell in love with the Andalusian Tranquilo way of life. But at some point it’s time to move on. The weather is pleasantly warm and, according to the forecast, the wind is just right. So we not only let Lucky wake us up at 6:30 a.m., we also get up. Shower, breakfast and clearing up. Then it’s time to check out at the marina office and say goodbye to Sonja and Stefan. Let’s see when and where we’ll see them again sometime. Surprisingly, we haven’t forgotten how to cast off yet, even though Axel manages to tangle the stern line around the jetty cleat. No problem with zero wind and so we are quickly cast off and on our way north. Having not anchored in the Río Guadalquivir on the way there, we now want to make up for it. The route takes us past the long sandy beach and the corralles of Rota. We turn off at Chipiona and get a nice push. Unfortunately, the wind doesn’t suit us again. Instead of westerly, it’s northerly, i.e. directly against us. Not bad at 5-8 knots, but there is an old sea that rocks us well. Despite the rocking, Lucky decides to sail along lying in the cockpit this time and seems to be happy with it. After 2 1/2 hours we finally reach our anchorage off the small village of Bonanza. Of course there is no sign of Ben, Adam, Hoss, Little Jo and HopSing (the older ones of us may remember the Cartwright family and their Chinese cook…), but there is a huge salt mountain on one side and the Doñana nature reserve on the other side of the cat. And a wonderful silence. Even though large parts of the nature park cannot be entered without permission, we want to explore the shore area and a small museum village over the next few days. In the evening, we have delicious chicken breast strips from the pita bread with yogurt dip. We actually wanted to grill whole chicken breast, but instead of filete de pollo we stupidly got pollo filetado. So, chicken breast cut into thin slices. But it still tasted good. The evening spoils us with a pleasant breeze, a beautiful sunset and a flock of flamingos on their way to their roosts. On land, we can hear wild boars squealing. That’s exactly how we imagined it here.
Apart from the occasional passing freighter, which gives us a good shake, the night at anchor is quiet. The next day starts with sunshine and already mummelike warm temperatures. The wind is almost asleep, so the air is still and there is no cooling draught in the cat. Numerous insects take advantage of the calm to visit us. Even though we actually like having visitors on board, we could happily do without them. Especially as some of the creatures are extremely keen to bite. So we apply a generous amount of anti-mosquito spray as well as sunscreen. In the late morning, we launch our rubber dinghy and set off on a short excursion. We drive upstream close to the riverbank. Our destination is the museum village of El Poblado de La Plancha. Our route takes us past a wreck lying on the riverbank. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for drug gangs to use the uninhabited banks of the national park to transport drugs and then unfortunately leave the means of transportation behind. When we arrive at the museum village, we unfortunately realize that it is not possible for us to visit. The jetty is closed with a large door and it is forbidden to land on the beach. Too bad, as we would have liked to explore the open-air museum and the adjoining hiking trail. So we drive on without having achieved anything and downriver to Bonanza. We don’t land here either, however, as the place has a rather desolate (Wild West) feel to it. Numerous fishing boats are moored in the harbor, the riverbank is lined with dozens of wrecks. We had imagined Bonanaza to be nicer. So back on board and a small lunch snack. After that, the world looks brighter again. As there seems to be little to discover from our anchorage, we plan the next few days and the rest of our journey. We bring together the weather forecast, tide and chart information. It looks like we could call at the port of Chipiona just around the corner next, then go to El Rompido on Monday and drop anchor again. So, contact the marina and see if there’s a berth for us. If there’s no berth available, we’ll go to Mazagon instead and from there to El Rompido. Let’s see… Our plans have never actually worked out so far. In the evening, we have a delicious tuna salad with homemade flatbread. Afterwards, we watch the sunset in the outdoor movie theater on the big screen. The „movie“ never gets boring, even though we must have watched it several hundred times! Even Lucky is thrilled and looks for a box seat on the rooftop terrace.Apart from the occasional passing freighter, which gives us a good shake, the night at anchor is quiet. The next day starts with sunshine and already mummelike warm temperatures. The wind is almost asleep, so the air is still and there is no cooling draught in the cat. Numerous insects take advantage of the calm to visit us. Even though we actually like having visitors on board, we could happily do without them. Especially as some of the creatures are extremely keen to bite. So we apply a generous amount of anti-mosquito spray as well as sunscreen. In the late morning, we launch our rubber dinghy and set off on a short excursion. We drive upstream close to the riverbank. Our destination is the museum village of El Poblado de La Plancha. Our route takes us past a wreck lying on the riverbank. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for drug gangs to use the uninhabited banks of the national park to transport drugs and then unfortunately leave the means of transportation behind. When we arrive at the museum village, we unfortunately realize that it is not possible for us to visit. The jetty is closed with a large door and it is forbidden to land on the beach. Too bad, as we would have liked to explore the open-air museum and the adjoining hiking trail. So we drive on without having achieved anything and downriver to Bonanza. We don’t land here either, however, as the place has a rather desolate (Wild West) feel to it. Numerous fishing boats are moored in the harbor, the riverbank is lined with dozens of wrecks. We had imagined Bonanaza to be nicer. So back on board and a small lunch snack. After that, the world looks brighter again. As there seems to be little to discover from our anchorage, we plan the next few days and the rest of our journey. We bring together the weather forecast, tide and chart information. It looks like we could call at the port of Chipiona just around the corner next, then go to El Rompido on Monday and drop anchor again. So, contact the marina and see if there’s a berth for us. If there’s no berth available, we’ll go to Mazagon instead and from there to El Rompido. Let’s see… Our plans have never actually worked out so far. In the evening, we have a delicious tuna salad with homemade flatbread. Afterwards, we watch the sunset in the outdoor movie theater on the big screen. The „movie“ never gets boring, even though we must have watched it several hundred times! Even Lucky is thrilled and looks for a box seat on the rooftop terrace.
After Lucky was so enthusiastic about yesterday’s evening program, he thinks I should definitely watch episode 2 – Sunrise again. So I get out of bed before 7am. The hangover is right, even the second part never loses its charm! The atmosphere on the river is particularly special early on a Saturday morning. The crowing of roosters blows in from the countryside. It smells of wood fire and smoke. A shy deer appears on the bank of the Doñana. Meanwhile, the Guadalquivir gurgles under La Ola’s hulls and dances small whirlpools in its waters. The calm is interrupted by a freighter using the ebb current to sail downstream. While it is still pleasantly cool and fresh in the morning, the weather forecast predicts the hottest day of the year so far. Here in Spain we use a traffic light system to warn of extreme weather. A yellow warning level has been issued for the Huelva region today as temperatures are expected to reach 38° C. Further inland, temperatures are even forecast to reach 41° C. We actually wanted to go to Sanlucar for lunch today, but with the hot prospects we’d rather stay in the shady cockpit during the day! Due to the lack of wind, it gets miserably warm there too from midday. Lucky, the clever cat, therefore takes refuge in the owner’s hull under my office chair. It’s still coolest there. Meanwhile, Axel and I oil up outside and are annoyed by pesky flies. Despite a fresh shower in the morning. Just wanted to point out again how hard the sailing life is! Equally annoying are the numerous leisure motorboats and jet skis that whizz around us and circle us as closely as possible. Otherwise you can’t see exactly what’s on the cockpit table at a speed of 20 knots. Apart from that, NDR2 is broadcasting 80s day today and the dance floor in the cockpit is open. In addition, the weather forecast (16° C and rain in Bremen) and the traffic jam reports (45km!!! in Bavaria to the south) from Germany cool us down a little (I know, I can be really stupid!!!). We while away the day, put up the awning on the foredeck, enjoy the slightly cooler breeze and watch the jet skies do their rounds. We even spot a wild boar with four young boars on the banks of the Doñana. Unfortunately, they’re too far away for good photos and before I’ve got the telephoto lens out, they’ve already disappeared back into the forest. In the evening, there’s actually a knock on the side of the boat and the Guardia Civil wants to see our papers. No problem, we have them to hand and the friendly gentlemen are quickly satisfied. However, we are informed that we are not actually allowed to anchor here! Because of the nature reserve! This is not indicated on the nautical chart, but we don’t want to argue. We politely ask if we can stay another night and are promptly granted permission. We don’t ask whether the extremely loud jet skies are much more damaging to the nature reserve than us peaceful anchormen, but we think we’ll do our bit. Fortunately, after the sun has set red-hot again, it cools down noticeably. All right, from 35-36° C to 29° C. But still! The air conditioning is turned on anyway and so we can spend the night at a cool 22° C.
Río Guadalquivir/Bonanza – Mazagon 34,8 nm
Lucky wakes me up again at 6:30 a.m. and I get up straight away. The temperatures are still reasonably bearable, but the forecast for today is 41° C, even on the coast. We have reached stage orange. This is due to a low cloud layer under which the heat is building up. As a result, the sun is also quite obscured when it rises today. As we have to leave the anchorage and the marina in Chipiona hasn’t got back to us, we decide to go to Mazagon today. But first we have a delicious Sunday breakfast with eggs. Then the anchor is raised and we head out of the Río Guadalquivir with residual current. After reaching the mouth of the river, we turn to the northwest. Unfortunately, there is once again too little sailing wind, so we have to keep motoring. Despite a fresher breeze, which we enjoy in the front cockpit, it gets hotter and hotter. The onboard thermometer in the „cool“ saloon reads 34° C. It’s much warmer outside without the wind. We finally reach Mazagon and get a real heat stroke. Not a breath of air and the heat is on. After the mooring maneuver and the corresponding line and fender work, we are completely drenched in sweat. Phew! Mazagon beach has filled up drastically since our last visit. You can barely see the sand for all the parasols and beach towels. And this time we are not alone on „our“ L-shaped jetty either. A yacht moors right next to us and „wows“ us with the skipper shouting at his wife, even though he almost rams the jetty when reversing. We put up our awning and sit down in the shade with a fan and a cold drink. Once we have acclimatized to some extent, we have a delicious Wagyu burger with chips for dinner. Then it’s back to relaxing in the front cockpit and moving as little as possible. Meanwhile, the air conditioning in the owner’s cabin cools our bedroom down nicely so that it is pleasantly cool again at night.
After a calm, cool night, the temperature is a little cooler again in the morning. The next few days are also forecast to be a little cooler, „only“ 20-27° C. It won’t be over 30 again until the weekend. We enjoy the fresh wind and spend the morning lazing around. Then we walk to Las Dunas for lunch. The paella was simply too good last time not to eat it again. We are not disappointed this time either and return on board full to the brim. On the way there, we have a quick chat with the Australian Bobby, who has been traveling from Australia on his Tayana for a few years and has been stuck in Europe since Covid. While I clean up on board, Axel goes shopping on his bike in the late afternoon. After a few days at anchor, we need to stock up on fresh food again. We then go for a short walk around the marina and have a new neighbor when we return to our jetty. We quickly get talking to Barbara and Peter from the Cataleya catamaran and sit together in their cockpit in the evening. As luck would have it, we will also be dock neighbors in Huelva. So it probably won’t be our last evening together.
The next morning, we are woken up by rolling thunder. I quickly get up and close all the hatches and our conservatory. However, the expected rain turns out to be quite light. As thunderstorms are forecast for the whole day, we decide not to continue today but to stay in Mazagon for another day. This way we can use the time to do some laundry and clean off the salt and dust from La Ola. And what a lot of dirt has collected in a very short time! Fine red dust, blown over from the Sahara, has settled in every crack. A brown sludge washes off the deck, followed by more brown sludge. After three hours, La Ola is clean again. Let’s just hope that it doesn’t rain now and that reddish-brown dirt is spread over the deck again. In the afternoon it gets stiflingly warm and the air is stagnant once again. Time for a siesta! At some point, a fresher wind comes over and we can get moving again. I practise the ukulele and Axel catches up on global economics and politics. Evil tongues claim that you could hear snoring noises… In the evening we have a delicious chicken wok with broccoli, peppers, coconut milk and crunchy peanut butter. One of our standard recipes and, as always, very tasty. Then it’s time to relax in the cockpit again. It actually rains a few drops, but fortunately they hardly bring any dirt with them.
We also spend the next day in Mazagon, as Axel unfortunately hurt his back while scrubbing. After lying alone on the jetty again yesterday, a whole bunch of yachts arrive this afternoon and we have no fewer than three guests, two German yachts and a Chilean who is on his way to the shipyard in Denmark with his X-Yacht. In the evening we fire up the barbecue again and spend the rest of the evening relaxing in the cockpit.
Mazagon – Huelva 10,7 nm
Now that Axel’s back is feeling a little better again, we’re going a little further today. In view of the wind forecast of 30 knots for the next few evenings, we have abandoned our plan to anchor in Punta Umbria or El Rompido and decided to head for Huelva instead. Our mooring, which we have rented since July, is still occupied, but they have another, albeit not quite as nice, place available for us. Before heading up the Río Odiel, we first check out of the marina in Mazagon and top up our diesel tanks. Then we head upriver. The route is short, but very different. On the starboard side, we pass huge harbor and industrial facilities. To port, on the other hand, endless beaches, marshes and dunes. We finally reach the Marina del Odiel in Huelva and are greeted happily by Louisa on the jetty. She helps us moor up, brings us the access card for the jetty gate, hands us a map of the city and gives us a warm welcome to Huelva. We’ve rarely had such a nice welcome before! After La Ola is well moored, we venture ashore for the first time and try out the Marina Restaurant. We are quickly served in the cool shade and enjoy an Ensalada de Marina and Pulpo al Ajillo as well as a cool Cerveza. Both very tasty and good. Marina manager Manuel also comes by our table and gives us a warm welcome. On the way back, we stop off at Barbara and Peter’s on the Cataleya and have an espresso for dessert. So the start in the Marina del Odiel is already going very well. Even though it’s Friday the thirteenth! Later, I quickly cycle to Lidl around the corner for a few groceries and in the evening Barbara and Peter drop by for a sundowner and snacks. The sun sets glistening red and a pleasant breeze blows across the river. As promised, the wind finally picks up and we prefer to take down our awning again. Fortunately, it’s quick and easy.
La Ola will now stay in Huelva for a while. Axel and I will be flying to Germany over the next few months. We hope that we’ll be able to take a trip or two in between, both with a rental car and a cat. If the weather and the orca situation allow it, we want to take a little leap into the Mediterranean in September/October and take part in the Ocean Posse party in Cartagena. We will then return to Huelva for the winter.