June and into July, Watersports here and in Spain!

 Ian and Elaine came over for a few days in June and the weather played nicely so we got out on the paddle boards and the dinghy.

Time to get out of the way!

This was taken just before we tacked and Ian rolled out of the dinghy for a swim!

And a decent walk up Bowscales too

Further opening up after the latest COVID lockdown also meant we could get out more too, Carole got to see her "Girls Night In"  crowd more and I got to drive the safety boat and sail more at Arnside Sailing club too.

 Waiting for the tide

Just some of the GNI (outside!) crowd at Levens Hall Cafe.

By mid June we were able to fly to the boat, what a relief, so we jumped on a virtually empty plane and went to Alicante.  Still a good many restrictions in Spain but it felt very safe and it was great to be back on the boat.

Late night arrival at the boat lead to a true luxury treat - takeaway pizza on a boat!

After being parked for so long the boat needed a good scrub.

Carole was keen to help the divers with her new mask and snorkel!

First BBQ of the trip - anchored off Albufereta

After a night anchored in the bay of Albufereta we headed off north, towards Altea for a couple of nights.  

On the way, Carole put out the fishing lines and caught this ugly critter!

We then realised it was a weaver fish and has the nattiest of stings....

They are bottom dwellers, so what it was doing in 15ms of water is a mystery.

Carole suffering from the severe pain of the sting and bathing her hand in very hot water to lessen the pain - not nice at all!

Lovely sea colour while Carole recovered though - anchored off the beach at Albir.

Once Carole had recovered we sailed up into the marina at Altea for a couple of days recovery. The beach was quiet and even I got in the sea for a swim.  After a few days enjoying the restaurants and cycling along the beach front at Altea we went further north to Moraira and one of our favourite anchorages.  We usually anchor here when we're about to sail over to the Balearics but this time we simply enjoyed our time here.  

 

Anchored off Moraira

Fabulously clear water (and proof that I do get wet sometimes!)

Lovely evening paddle in El Portet, Moraira

Half Moon

Our friend Dave from Quinta Estrella joined us in the anchorage and we had breakfast at one of the beach cafes - our boats in the background.

Last evening sunset before we decided to head back towards Alicante

Heading back past Benidrom's cliffs, Henry the autopilot in charge

I love being on the bow when we're sailing

First sight of Caba de l'Horta nearly back at Alicante, 10 miles to go.

Helping our friends Danny and Libby with their rigging.

Party time at Tabarca, three boats turned up and we had a great day swimming, paddle boarding and BBQing.The cockpit just fits 9!

Very busy anchorage at the weekend.  Rescueing an escaped ring - to a round of applause from the beach!

The effects of covid were still being felt in the tourist trade in Spain which meant that hotels and car hire were very reasonably priced despite it being early July by now.  We hired a car for a week and headed for the hills to explore inland. Rachel, our Padel Tenis buddy, had recommended Alcala del Jucar as a stop on the way to Cuenca.  Good suggestion, its a very pretty Roman era town based around a Roman bridge over a river, complete with a swimming beach. Cold water and Carole slid gracefully into the water whilst I bit my lip to avoid whimpering at the temperature in front of hardy locals.

Alcala del Jucar

River Swimming

Hot shower and wine to recover from the swim!

View over the village.

After Jucar we carried on north to Cuenca, a magnificent castle and cathedral town with an equally magnificent Parador! Which was doing a deal for the over 55's. Bargain! Sometimes it's good to be 55+.

The Cuenca Parador, a converted convent

Open air restaurant in the old cloister

Fab food1

View of Cuenca town from the hotel

Town square

Inside the cathedral

This bridge was the shortcut from the hotel to town, sadly closed for repair, so we had to walk down the gorge and back up, we did cheat once and get a taxi.

There was some great walking from the hotel too

Another Rachel recommendation was the Cuidad Encontada, a strange other worldly landscape of huge eroded limestone, with some formations given weird names.....

The Face

The Bear

And my personal favourite, the Crocodile fighting an Elephant....

The Convent

I think this was the best rock formation and it didn't have name!

Sadly, by mid July our time was up and we headed home for the COVID tests and then summer in the Lakes.

May 2021 and Quincey arrives

 We picked Quincey up on the first of May and promptly tried to walk his legs off and get some training in.  I think he had a baptism of fire coming from a household where his previous owner was bed bound, but he loved it.

Betty arrived as Quincey got out of the van - don't think it was love at first sight!

Candlestick Moss walk with Sally and John; Q's first long walk - second day he was with us!

Fire pit and BBQ time - first of the year

The start of the tennis ball fetish

Gimme!

Quincey came on his first Boys walk - Pen-Y-Ghent - it was steep!

At the top!

It was a tough day!

The Boss comes to visit.

And took him for a walk - Coniston shore and Torver

Another Boys walk this time over Finsthwaite - trying to get them all to sit and look at the camera at the same time was like herding cats - and that was just the lads!

Witherslack Woods walk

Arnside

And back on Rocky Common and the regular walk

Time for school - gundog classes 

And finally in Mungrisdale and on Bowscales Fell.

We also managed a camper van trip to Devon, a mix of lovely and horrendous weather! We dropped Quincey off at Jen's on the way down.

Quincey's first walk in the fabulous Sutton Park, a huge old hunting forest a few minutes from Jen's new house in Sutton Coldfield.

  Slapton Sands, just a short way from the campsite. this is where there was a huge loss of life in WW2 when a landing craft training exercise went wrong and 946 American soldiers died practising for D-Day. It was completely hushed up until well after the war ended.

Slapton campsite

Blackpool Beach, a short cycle ride from the campsite, with a name like that we had to go, and Carole quite rightly had to have a swim.

What every cyclist needs and after Carole's swim; local cider and scones!

Waiting for the ferry to Salcombe, the home of sailing in the South West, full of expensive yachty shops.

Time for a G&T overlooking the Salcombe estuary at the Salcombe Harbour hotel - very nice!  And a great view of boats sailing u and down the estuary.

We'd parked the van on the opposite side of the estuary to Salcomb, (free parking) and walked down the the ferry and back, but this was the view from our car park!