At home in Rota!!!

Sunday, August 31, 2008

We came to Rota from Sanlucar on Friday, with the intent of sizing up the marina and town for our winter stay here. So we showed up and took a slip for a few days. Then the lady at the marina told me that, if we wanted, we could start our winter stay on September 1 instead of October 1 - for the same reduced price of the winter stay. Well, yes, we'd like that very much, thank you. So here we are in our permanent home. We have a mailing address: Richard and Andrea Black, S/V Saeta, Puerto de Rota, Rota, Cadiz 11520, España.

Having become temporary Roteños, we went out the check out the town. It is very nice - cute and charming and pleasantly small. We found the public market and the flamenco peña right away. We went to the Peña in the afternoon and found it quiet, few people there and nothing going on. We came back later in the evening to see if anything more was going on. The place was jumping. We started to walk in and then realized that the crowds inside were not watching flamenco - they were playing BINGO! After several days, we are concluding that they play BINGO every night. El Viejo Agujetas, the gypsy for whom the peña was named must be rolling over in his grave! Last night we went there again with some friends who know the group well. They introduced us around a bit and we met one of the local singers. He and I had to sing in the smallest possible voices to avoid being shushed so as to not bother the bingueros. But we connected and will do some flamenco together soon. On occasion, the Peña actually does flamenco.

The rest of Rota is terrific. The climate is very mild - this is where people in Sevilla come in the summer to escape the heat. There are some great restaurants - really a lot of them - and also some charming hotels where visiting friends may want to stay. I'll find out the prices. My only complaint is that there is no internet available on the boat. We'll have to go to the library or internet cafes to upload pictures - so we will in due course. We also got some phones so that we have local phone numbers. I am going to get internet access on the phone which will then allow us to plug the phone into the computer and connect that way.

We have been assisted in getting to know Rota by connecting with Richard Parker and his wife Alicia. They have given us the guided tour and we've had a ball. They are getting ready to fly back to the US, but it looks like they will rent us their car while they are gone which means that we will be mobile! What a wonderful turn of events.

We still have email, especial via Sailmail, so don't be afraid to write. We'll answer.

Here is one of the pedestrian streets in Rota - nice of them to put up awnings for shade.

Here I am "putting on" Richard Parker's car. I wish we had little cars like this in the US.

They built a new lighthouse, so they took the light from the old lighthouse and put it over the arch that leads into town.

The city is well-lit and everyone stays out late.

Here we are with Richard and Alicia Parker. Going out for dinner is much cheaper than in the states. Filling up on tapas and drinks costs us in the $30 range (4 people).