Sailing Flamenco

Just a coffee, please....

2012-01-18T10:43:00.000-08:00

January 18, 2012 Rota

If you just dropped in and are reading this post as the first thing, please go back to January 12 and start there. Then the next two will make sense.

So there I was in Bar Castillo, just across the plaza from my apartment, sitting at a table outside with my Kindle to entertain me, waiting for a woman that I had never seen before. I was pretty much alone at the sidewalk cafe because after all, it was January. But it was a nice day and at 4PM it is still pretty decent. So I was drinking my coffee and looking around - trying to look casual because I had no idea where she would be coming from. I was 15 minutes early because I didn't want her to have to wait for me. After a while a tall woman was approaching from the direction of the cathedral. Hmmm. There was nothing about her appearance that rang any bells. I might never have noticed her except that I was waiting for someone.

She didn't have to work too hard to figure out who I was. I was the only single person sitting outside and I was tall and looked like an American. So she walked right up to me. So both of us knew that we had made the connection. Now, attraction is a funny thing. All of us humans, admit it or not, have an image of our ideal mate - maybe several images, or a certain type that attracts us. And often that attraction - chemistry if you want to call it that - is the basis for starting a relationship. At some subconscious level we interpret that initial pull as an indication to go into action. Well, in this case, there was none of that on my end. She was pleasant looking. Her hair was sort of the same color as mine - faded red or dark blond. She was slim and shapely. At 62 years old, she had some wrinkles, but had a smile and an animation in her expressions that was what caught your attention. But I certainly couldn't say that I was swept off my feet. But, nice even though not my stereotype.

So here I was - my first date with a Spanish woman! She was really easy to talk to. Having been a teacher for so long, she was accustomed to speaking fairly slowly and enunciating. So I could understand her. That is the hardest part - I can say just about anything I want in Spanish if I just beat around the bush long enough to get the idea out. So we started talking and found it really easy.
Really easy - so we kept talking. One topic followed another effortlessly. Who knew it could be so easy. I usually have more trouble conversing in English.

After we finished our coffee, we stayed and talked for a while more. Then I suggested that we take a stroll along the Paseo Maritino - a sort of boardwalk along the beach that was only 100 yards away. So we did. After going way up the beach and then all the way back again, we sat down on a bench to watch the sun set. All this time, talking about everything under the sun, but at an amazing level of comfort. We agreed on all kinds of things and liked all the same things. Our values were amazingly alike. So the sun went down and we went on talking until it got cold. Four hours had passed!!!

Finally, I walked her back to her car and saw her off. I was pretty exuberant because it had gone so well and we had obviously gotten along extremely well. She wasn't looking for a pareja, but I think that she would probably like to talk some more. So I'll send her an email tomorrow and find out....

An anniversary....

2012-01-17T05:38:00.000-08:00

January 17, 2012 Rota
Yes, today is an anniversary. I year ago today I met someone special and today we are celebrating. But let me start at the beginning. You will remember that I had been looking on the internet for a companion. Well, after a few adventures with Americans and English living in Spain, I was still dissatisfied. It seemed like foreign women tended to run with packs of other foreigners and not mix very much with the Spanish. Even the flamenco aficionados were that way. That group did mix with the gypsies, but sort of ignored normal Spaniards. Well, I didn't much like that because my favorite thing about Spain and my reason for being here is that I love the people and their way of being, gypsies and non-gypsies.

So one afternoon, I was bored and decided to do a search limited to just Rota. That way I was sure to find someone that I didn't need to drive all day to visit. Well, in Rota I got about 50 hits. It was pretty easy to weed out the ones who weren't for me. Most of them smoked.... pass! And then a lot in my age group were sort of typical middle-aged Spanish women - sort of like fire-plugs - short and squat. Quite a few put phoney numbers for their weights, but it was pretty easy to read between the lines. There were a few Americans who had divorced their military spouses but for some reason were still here. But nothing attractive.

But, I did notice one woman who fit a lot of my criteria...non-smoker, tall, slim, and educated. She was a retired school teacher, having taught many years here in Rota. She didn't have a picture on her profile which always made me a little nervous. But the text showed a person of substance - so many of the women wrote things about themselves that were really superficial or showed off their lack of education. This one showed promise. So I sent off a few indications of interest and a message. And got a response in due course. So we started trading emails. After a while I invited her to join me for a coffee.

Well, on the other end, she was dealing with my emails with some concern. She wasn't really actively searching for anyone, but her kids made her put herself on the internet. As a divorced women, she had found that men were mostly looking for an "adventure" and even if they weren't, few of them held any interest for someone at her level of education. So she had decided that she just wanted a "friend", but not a "pareja" (lover). She was pretty conflicted about meeting me. She asked her youngest daughter what she should do. Her daughter knew me because she worked in the office of the marina where I had kept the boat. She told her mom, "Go ahead and meet him. He is a perfect gentleman". The pressure was mounting. But I had indicated in my profile that I was looking for a "pareja" and so she wrote to me turning down my invitation saying that since she wasn't looking for a "pareja" she would be wasting my time.

But by this time, I was getting really curious about her and so told her that it couldn't possibly hurt for us to have a coffee. I had never had a coffee with a Spanish woman and so it would be a unique experience. What did we have to lose? So she agreed to meet me at a restaurant close to my house, right next to the cathedral. And at 4PM, a year ago today - we shared a coffee.

The part I neglected to tell you....

2012-01-12T04:40:00.000-08:00

January 12, 2012 Rota, Spain

During the last several years, I have censored my posts to keep from upsetting Andrea who didn't want to know anything about my "personal" life. But I find that this blog has become a sort of diary and I can't just ignore things that were big parts of my life. So let's fill in the gaps....

After Andrea left, I sold the boat. And it sold almost immediately and long before I was emotionally ready I found myself standing on the dock with 15 cardboard boxes of personal effects, waving goodbye to the boat in which we had lived so many adventures. A double loss! And really sad! But being alone gave me the opportunity to reflect on my marriage - and I realized that we weren't really all that compatible... which is why she left me 4 times. Her idea of relationship was very different from mine. I finally was able so see what I didn't want to see when I was crazy in love. I finally realized that I couldn't ever go back to that marriage.

So, as reported previously, I rented an apartment and started putting together a new life. Well, as the months passed, I realized that flamenco and parties with the gypsies only went so far in satisfying my needs for a fulfilled life. I am not naturally a single person. I know many folks who prefer being single, but I'm not one of them. I like sharing life with someone special. And my way of dealing with grief is to look forward, not backward. So I decided to look for a new life companion as a way of coping. And it made me feel better to look forward to someone new.

Now, I didn't expect to find anyone all that special, but I wanted to relate to someone of the feminine persuasion a bit. The gypsies had their limitations. Here in Rota, I couldn't see any possibility of meeting anyone interesting. I met an Englishman living on his boat in the marina and he had been telling me of all the women he had been meeting on the internet. So I wrote down a list of the sites that he recommended and put myself on a few of them. Of course, that connected me with women who spoke English. But it was fun to spend time reading about all the women who wanted to meet someone. Matching someone with me isn't easy. She would have to be tall, non-smoker, politically liberal, and I preferred slim. Oh, and speaking Spanish with a willingness to be around flamenco would be an advantage.

At that point, I still considered the possibility that I would return to the US some day, so I searched for women around Santa Barbara, assuming that I might like to live there. There were lots of single, attractive women in my age group there. In due course, I found one that appealed to me and wrote to her. In short order, we were emailing daily. It looked pretty good. We were born in the same town and about the same age so we shared lots of cultural memories. She was smart and cute. So as time passed it seemed logical that we needed to meet. She had a lot of air miles saved up and so decided to come visit me here for a week. I put on my tourguide hat and picked her up at the airport. I gave her the quick tour of the best attractions in Andalucia.... Sevilla, Cádiz, Jerez. We had a great time, but I couldn't see a future there. In spite of getting along well, I couldn't imagine leaving Spain and going back to a plain-vanilla American life. And she was in the process of becoming a Catholic - and subscribed to a newsletter from Newt Gingrich. So she went back to the US and after a while the emails sort of dropped off.

Next, I tried searching for women already in Spain. There were quite a few ex-pats living here, both English and American. However, most of them smoked or were living a life totally removed from Spain - playing golf in Marbella, shopping, and drinking in bars along the coast. Nope.
Finally, I found an Englishwoman who was living in her own house in the country in the province of Malaga. She was in the small town of Iznajar between Cordoba and Malaga. I went to visit her one day (and played a benefit show in her town that same night). We got along pretty well, so we had some more visits in my town and in hers.
Then I found out that I was losing my apartment because the owner wanted to rent it to summer people. So she offered to rent me a spare room there and I moved my 15 cardboard boxes and me to Iznajar. There I discovered that living in the country is a lot more work than living in an apartment. She spent her life working on her place and socializing with English ex-pats. She spoke good Spanish, but only seemed to mix with the locals a little. There was a very tightknit ex-pat community there with lots of drinking - lots of drinking! But very little flamenco in the neighborhood. By the end of the summer, it was pretty obvious that we were too different in too many ways. And I missed my friends in Rota, so when the house on Calle Gravina showed up on the internet, I rented it.

I again buried myself in the flamenco life of Rota, taking a break only long enough to visit my son for Christmas - as shown in one of the posts below.... You will have to await the next chapter. I can't imagine anyone is reading this - it is becoming sort of a confessional, but I need to do that before the next chapter.

Let's talk about Spain...

2012-01-04T05:20:00.000-08:00

January 4, 2012 Rota, Spain

Rota is one of the warmer places in Spain during the winter. Spain is sort of like California - it is warm in the South and cold in the North. Spain has snow on the ground now up North, but I am almost as far South as you can get and on the ocean to boot. So today, it is supposed to get into the 70's. I think a walk on the beach may be coming up.

But first a bit more on the Spanish National Character. Since I have been in a 100% immersion program, I note keenly the differences between the Spanish and American characters. It's not a better or worse thing - just different.

Let's start with Prudishness. Americans have a huge streak of prudishness. They are just as interested as anyone else in sex and natural body functions, but have a tendency to peek through their fingers instead of just looking. I remember the scandal that followed Janet Jackson's breast in the Superbowl. Here in Spain, the body is just natural. Drugstores advertise skin-care products with huge posters of nude women on their store windows. Almost all beaches are topless if women so desire. On the Mediterranean coast, they mostly seem to so desire. And I remember a TV show recently where the camera was passing a group of cattle. There was a bull with balls that hung down amazingly far. So the camera zoomed in on the balls for 15 seconds or so. The commentator was talking about something else, so the balls weren't mentioned, but the visual was there. I had to laugh because to do that in America would cause the TV station to get calls and complaints. The commentators would talk about it for a week. Here, it's no big deal.
And in conversation among friends, there are few taboos. Bodily functions are discussed naturally. And in normal conversation, you will hear a surprising reference to "private parts" of the body. The word "coño" refers to the feminine part, but has become so common as an expletive that is is now sort of the way Americans might say "shit". The current slang for the female part is "cho-cho" and you actually hear young girls calling each other "cho-cho" - or husbands using that as an affectionate term with their wives. Seems incredible, no? And men will greet each other with the phrase "picha" which is slang for the male part. But the Spanish are great realists in their speaking. I was surprised to hear a friend call his wife "gordi" as an affectionate name. That would mean "chubby". Well, she was a little chubby and they just acknowledge it as a reality. Likewise, a person who is lame might be nicknamed "cojo" which means lame. And so it goes.
Actual cursing is equally bawdy - a common expletive is "me cago en la mar" which means "I shit in the sea". I won't elaborate on the cursing except to say that they seem to have more rich variations than the Americans.

The next topic is Tolerance and "vivo yo". Those two topics go together. Let me start with "vivo yo". That literally means "long live Me". To a foreigner, it shows up as a kind of insensitivity to others. For instance, if someone is driving and sees a friend on the sidewalk, he may just stop and start a conversation. The two of them will cheerfully talk for a while without much concern for the growing line of cars waiting to pass. Or the checkout girl at the supermarket may stop working to talk with a friend, ignoring the waiting line. Perhaps it's just in Andalucia, but here conversing seems to have the highest priority of all possible activities. Employees are expected to be working except when they are conversing. Then everything stops until they are done. Or mothers pushing a baby carriage will stop to talk, without concern that the carriage is blocking the entire sidewalk.
Another insensitivity is that people walking on the sidewalk will make no effort to move to one side to pass others coming from the opposite direction - resulting in a sort of game of "chicken" which is resolved by the minimum movement at the very last moment. This has sort of surprised me since the Spanish are so "gracioso" in so many ways that they would be so insensitive with strangers. As an American, I move to one side long before a collision on the sidewalk. I never even think about it - until I find it missing in others.
And Tolerance is the other side of the same coin. The Spanish tolerate quietly certain inconveniences brought on by the insensitivity of their fellow humans - perhaps because they also hope to have the same indulgence for their own behavior. I was always amazed in my old house on Calle Gravina that the drunk Americans from the Irish bar down the street lurching through the streets at 3AM, cursing and shouting never seemed to result in anyone calling the police. In the US, drunk foreigners in the streets making noise would produce cops in no time at all.

So those are some of the differences that I have noted. But the difference that I like the most is the warmth that exists between friends and family members. There is a lot of "touchy-feeley" and hugging/kissing. And people who are friends make time to stay in touch. I guess that their priorities are a bit more biased toward relationships.

Another small difference is the construction of buildings. In all my time in Spain, I have never been in a building made from wood. Everything is bricks or stone of some kind. I have had to learn to hang pictures into brick interior walls. I had to get used to using different tools here. Well, that also means that the walls have very little insulation. After a week of cold weather, the walls (and floors) are as cold as the mean temperature outside. You don't go barefoot very much. So your very own walls are radiating cold. You have to get aggressive with the heating because the house wants to be a refrigerator. That can be nice in the summer until there has been a week of 90+ degree temperatures to heat up the walls. But at least at night you can open the windows. A small benefit is that there seem to be a lot less bugs living in the house. No spiders either.

All of the above is from my own observations and may not be true in other parts of Spain. Spain has at least as many different regions as the US and there are strong regional characteristics. I have spent almost all my time in Andalucia - although next Spring I want to take a jaunt to the Rioja region to sample the wines and food - which is reportedly exceptional. Well, it isn't all that bad right here, so I am anticipating. I send my best wishes for a Happy New Year. Don't be afraid to write - same email as always.

I'm gonna start blogging again - starting NOW!

2011-12-21T10:48:00.000-08:00

December 21, 2011 Rota, Spain

OK, so it's be seven months since I've sent anything in. I couldn't seem to find any way to blog without discussing things in my current life that my soon-to-be ex-wife didn't want to hear about. Well, the divorce process is officially under way and more and more I'm going to be revealing what I am doing these days in Spain.

When I thought about writing this, my idea was to express my gratitude to the people of Andalucia and my friends here for the wonderful support I have felt while living here. But when I read my last post, I realized that I had already covered that. Well, it is still very present for me. I can't believe the things that I am doing now in my life, and I have the confidence to do them because of the way I am seen by the people around me. For some reason, my way of being works much better here than it did in America. I am quite bold these days, both artistically and socially. I've never felt like I had many social skills, but I am imitating the manners of those around me and find that I have become much more effusive and outgoing.

As an artist, I have been much more daring. When I can find someone else to play the guitar, I actually get up on my feet and dance buleria while singing it. No, I'm not any good and I have no idea what I am doing, but I just feel so turned-on that I risk it. And the people love it! My singing has become much more expressive. I really tune into the meaning of the words to the song and express them in the way I sing. When I sing, the spaniards stop talking. That is a big deal because spaniards almost never stop talking! So that is a huge compliment.

I have been the guitarist for the peña in Rota for some time now, but now they are starting to pay me when we have a show and I accompany the local singers. I have also started going to the peña in Chipiona, a neighboring beach town. This was initiated by our friends Manolo and Ana who are members of both Rota and Chipiona. And in Chipiona, they are starting to use me more and more. So with all that guitar playing, I decided that I would take guitar lessons - after 50 years of playing without lessons!!! There is a guitarist in Chipiona named Juan Gomez who owns a music store and also teaches. He's not a flashy guitarist, but plays very cleanly and tastefully. I figured that he could help me clean up my technique and could give me some new ideas. He doesn't play any jazz chords. Just good old-fashioned flamenco. Since I don't hang out with other guitarists, I needed some new input. I take what he teaches me and use it to invent five times more music. I am practicing 2-3 hours daily and the change is pretty obvious. Since I know the music and rhythms so well, my playing is really getting powerful. In a way, I'm playing like I always wanted.

All in all, I'm pretty darned happy. And so, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish the happiest possible Christmas and New Years to whomever is still following this. And thank you for that. Don't hesitate to write - still have the same email.

It's been quite a while......

2011-06-18T03:52:00.000-07:00

June 18, 2011 Rota, Spain

I've neglected my blog of late and am sorry for that. As you probably know, Andrea and I are going through a divorce and she told me that she preferred not to know anything about my personal life. So I didn't know how to write this blog without sharing that part of myself. But finally I decided to try to share that part which isn't my personal life.....

I'm still living in Rota, but decided to get a house in a different neighborhood. I was living in a tourist mecca - charming, but with no parking for guests and way too much noise from the streets. There was an Irish bar just down the street that served drinks called "chupitos" - which were nothing other than shots of mixed liquours. They had about 25 varieties of different colors and flavors. Kids from the military bases would come and drink there, but not understanding the Spanish practice of eating while drinking, they would toss down about 5 chupitos before the effect really hit. Then they were staggering through the streets, vomiting, cursing, and generally offending the whole town. I can't imagine a scenario in the US where drunk foreigners could stagger around in the streets, shouting and cursing at 4AM without the police arriving in short order. But the Spanish seem to be much more tolerant because the police never came. And just a few hours after the last drunk stopped shouting, the beach people started passing my bedroom window on the way to the beach. They were well behaved, but spoke loudly in the Spanish style. It became too much.

So I rented a duplex (not an apartment) in a quieter part of town. It is outside the old walled city, but still only about 3 blocks from the beach. It has lots of parking on the street and I still have a closed garage. The place is huge with 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and I have my office with computers all set up. To get to the old part of town is 10 minutes walking or by car and 5 minutes by bike. I can visit my old neighborhood by taking a stroll down the beach. As you can see, rent money goes a lot further in Spain than in the US. To rent a duplex like this in Santa Barbara would cost 100% of my monthly income. My half of this duplex is on the right side....

Here is the new house.

Other than the new house, life is about the same. I continue to make new friends here and am an active and full member of the Peña (flamenco club). I play guitar for the local singers every saturday afternoon and often for performances as well. My accompaniment skills have grown considerably and my guitar playing has also grown nicely. I am totally at home with the people from the peña. They don't treat me like a foreigner, but as a respected fellow aficionado. I feel more welcome there than any place I can remember in my life. One of the older members told me that I was the "alegria" (happiness) of the peña!
I don't know why exactly, but my way of being seems to really work for me here in Spain. People really seem to like me. In the US, I always felt a little like an outsider. I never felt like I totally fit in. With the "artists" I was always too square - too much of a businessman. With the business people, I was better accepted, but always as a sort of bohemian. Here people I don't know greet me on the streets. And people I do know treat me with such warmth. I have been accepted into a group of artists (painters) and poets here - who are also important figures in one of the political parties. So I'm not on the margins of society.
I am still close to the local gypsy community, but have pulled back a little and don't try to spend all my time with them. In that way, I am different from most American flamenco enthusiasts. Most of them come here to study; live in little groups of other foreigners; and try to get close to gypsy artists whenever possible. I have gotten away from that. I love Andalucia (the part of Spain in which I live) more than flamenco. I love the annual rituals of Semana Santa (Holy Week), Feria (the spring fair), the pilgrimage to Rocio and all the other events which make Andalucia special. I love the warmth of the people and their values. So I don't run around with foreigners. I have one American friend who is here from time to time, but the rest of the time I am 100% with the locals. I see the gypsies and consider some of them to be friends. But I have begun to avoid some of those who who don't control their drinking or otherwise behave poorly in public. I apply the rule: Would I be friends with this person if they didn't do flamenco? If the answer is No, then I am a bit more reserved with them. I have begun to cherish my own space. For a while, my old house was becoming Club Quijote - a place where you could sing all night with free drinks. This new house has become more private and I like it that way.
I see my whole attitude about flamenco going through a change. The great artists who I grew up with are mostly dead. Those who remain are not at the same level and just don't excite me much. Most of the young artists are trying to make a living with Flamenkito - pop flamenco mixed with whatever they can imagine. It might be interesting music, but it's not flamenco. And none of it will be remembered in 20 years. So I am a confirmed dinosaur. I like the old stuff and prefer to be with the few artists who still do it. But I don't go to very much trouble to go looking for action. I get all the satisfaction I want with the locals. My current favorite is Paco Peña, a torero who also sings. I believe you can hear him on some of the earlier posts or on my new webpage www.cantejondo.com. He is a great guy and really fun to be with.
OK, time to get dressed for the regular Saturday tertulia at the peña.
Don't be afraid to write.....

Christmas with the family....

2010-12-31T08:07:00.000-08:00

December 31, 2010 Rota, Spain

I'll interrupt my discourse on Spanish living for a visit to North Carolina to see my son, Tony and his wife, Annette, and the special star, Akilah - celebrity granddaughter. Christmas for me is the most fun seen through the eyes of a small child. Akilah is almost 3 and now old enough to be dazzled by the Christmas pageant. But she is still young enough to be completely un-material. When asked what she wanted for Xmas, she didn't know. I'd be surprised if that were the case next year....

I had two weeks in North Carolina and the kids fixed me up with a bedroom down in Tony's music studio. Great!

While I was there, I was Tony's roadie for a few gigs that he had. One of them was with Woody Wood and Artimus Pyle (formerly of Lynryd Skynryd). They took their last names and called themselves Black Wood Pyle.

Here we all were after the gig, L to R, Woody, Artimus, me, and Tony. Turns out that I am Artimus' landlord as well. Great getting to meet him.

But the real fun was just the daily living and playing with Akilah. She is at the age where she is the center of her universe, which is a good thing when you can get her to perform. Here we were having some breakfast...and being silly.

Christmas morning rolled around and when we came out to the tree, it was snowing outside. How perfect. Akilah was a little new to the Christmas thing so she opened her presents v-e-r-y carefully, trying not to rip the paper and when she did finally rip it, she took each handful to the trash before making the next rip.

This was the fun part for me. I wasn't feeling very much Christmas spirit - didn't do presents and cards this year - not even a newsletter. The news wasn't cheerful enough to send out. But this turned out to be theraputic for me. I ended up enjoying the holidays completely.

Here is the front yard after a few hours of snow. It eventually reached about 8 inches. If you click on these pictures, they get bigger.

Here are Nettie, Akilah, Tony and dog Annabelle romping in the snow.

This was a really good picture of Tony and I eating the worlds biggest breakfast burritos

And I thought Nettie deserved her own picture, no?

All too soon it was time to fly home again. Here you can see the snowy fields in the East. I had some airplane adventures. As normal, I always ask for seats in the exit aisle to get room for my long legs. The agent in Asheville mananged to get me good seats for the first two flights, but there was nothing available for the long transatlantic flight. That is the critical one, so I figured that I would stand on my tip-toes and look pitiful at the boarding gate while begging for a seat change. So I was the first one in line at the gate. But I began to get worried when the staff arrived. There was a little wizened black man who didn't look like the kind of person who could work a computer (I know - stereotyping - but we DO think that way). His companion was a Latina who walked in like she was carrying the troubles of the world on her shoulders. Not a happy appearing person. She took her post directly in front of me and shuffled papers for a about 10 minutes in a desultory way. Finally she looked up and asked what I wanted. I explained about the "tall-man seats". She checked the computer and gave me the answer that I was expecting - that the flight was full and there were no other options. I asked if she could give me a window seat so that I could try to sleep leaning against the wall since my head is too high for the cushions. Then she suddenly had a change of mood and broke out in a big smile. She went to the computer and printed out a new boarding pass. She passed it to me with a smile, saying "try this one".
She had put me in seat 1-H. Hmm, that sounds like the very front of the plane. When I got back to my luggage, I noticed that the pass had the word "Envoy". Isn't that what they call First Class? Yup! When they called boarding, I got in line with the Envoy crowd and in we went. As I passed the agent, I had a chance to thank her again. I'd like to send her a card! That was a $500 upgrade!!!
When I got to my seat, the stu took my coat and gave me a glass of champagne. I was in the best seat in the plane. A front row window seat with as much room as 6 seats in coach. There was nobody next to me. Lots of vacancies in First Class. I've never flown 1st class before so I was dazzled. Instead of eating the sushi and vegetable wrap that I had put in my luggage, I chowed down on some decent food. It was so artfully presented that I should have taken pictures. A linen tablecloth, no less!
After dinner, I put the electric seat into sleep mode and it got completely horizontal at which point I slept my way all the way across the Atlantic. What a treat.
On arriving in Madrid, I got my car and drove back to Rota. I'm making lentil soup today for our old family tradition on New Years. But I also bought some grapes to celebrate the Spanish way, too. And I bought myself a good ham to get the year off to a good start. On the first, I'll go up to Sevilla and have dinner with the assembled Hernandez family - well, almost all of them.

I'm sure there are parties tonight, but nobody knows I'm here. I'm going to stay home and enjoy just being home again. Feel free to write......

So what's so different about Spain? Part 1

2010-12-05T03:48:00.000-08:00

December 2, 2010 Rota, Spain
I've been living here for a few years now and visiting for 25 more. So I decided to contribute some thoughts about the differences between Spain and the United States. I am writing primarily about Andalucia, the southern-most province. Northern Spain can be quite different although there are many similarities. I'll start with the physical differences first....

The Countryside: Spaniards tend to live in cities; even farmers live in little villages and go out to their fields during the day, but return to the village at night. Living in a house all alone out in the country is just starting to become fashionable now that so many foreigners are building villas in the "campo". But for most Spaniards, town is where they live. Well, that means that the countryside is generally pretty empty - miles and miles of rolling fields, or olive groves, or oak trees with pigs grazing under them. And the government doesn't really allow billboards, so there is nothing to mar the beauty other than electrical wires. So driving through the Spanish countryside is very pleasing to the eye generally. Close to big cities, you run into industrial buildings as you approach and those are as ugly as they are anywhere else.

Because people don't live out in the country all that much, driving in the country is pretty relaxed with very little traffic. Generally Spain has a good highway system with large freeways and lots of little rural roads. While it is easy and pleasant to drive in the country, it is harder to say that about the cities. In the old parts of the cities, the streets were laid out in the time of horses and pedestrians - my street is probably 1000 years old - so they are very narrow. That means only one lane per street. So one way streets are very common. I've found my GPS indispensable for getting around in the older neighborhoods. Another big difference is the use of "glorietas" or what the English call roundabouts and we call traffic circles. But I have come to appreciate those - you get around a lot quicker because intersections are a monentary delay at worst instead of a 2 minute wait. Usually you just blaze on through.

Spanish drivers are generally very good. Rules for getting a license are very strict and too many tickets will get the license taken for a while. That said, there are very few traffic cops around. They use radar-cameras on the highways and if you are speeding, a ticket will arrive in your mailbox. But the Spanish tend to follow the rules that make sense without big brother watching over their shoulders. For a tourist, it is easy to rent a car and use your foreign drivers license. The traffic rules aren't that different although you will probably want to drive in cities during the siesta hours or late at night. Driving in the country is a delight.

There is a big difference in the kind of cars that you find here. With the prices of fuel in the $5/gallon range, you don't find very many SUVs. The average car is very small, light, and often with a small diesel engine. My car, which is a small van, has a 1.3 liter turbocharged diesel engine that is very zippy while getting 40 -50 MPG. It does that without any visible exhaust smoke or odor!

One thing that you can't miss here is the incredible sense of history. Rota was an old city when Christ was born. For a very long time, folks didn't have much respect for their own history. The Moors tore down Roman buildings and used the columns and stonework to make new Moorish buildings. And the Christians reconquered and tore down the Moorish buildings to make new Christian ones. Finally they are starting to preserve things a bit more. Spain has some fabulously well preserved Roman ruins. Here you see a Temple of Diana in Mérida - just a small sample of the Roman sites in this town.

And of course, Spain is famous for it's castles. I was surprised to discover that Spanish castles were rarely homes of the powerful like they were in England or Germany. They were walled enclosures built on hilltops and were intended to allow all the residents of a town to camp out in the castle while fighting off some invading group. So the castles were walls with ports for archers and ramps for soldiers, but most of the center was open space for people and animals.

So, I'll leave room for another chapter or two in which I can discuss the food, the bureaucracy, and the people and their culture.

But I should probably update the news. Life has been about creating a new webpage and flamenco adventures. My son-in-law Isaac very wisely grabbed the domain name http://www.cantejondo.com/ many years ago, thinking of me I suspect. Well, now it is a site in development and I've actually made good progress with many pages in 2 languages. And this weekend, the flamenco just overflowed. Friday, I was typing away on a webpage when the phone rang and it was the local gypsies, wanting me to come to a party nearby. It was in the dance studio of Manuela Lopez (who also sings very well). There was food and drink aplenty and in short order I was accompanying all comers por buleria (the fast, bouncy rhythm). Miguel and his brother Eduardo started a mano-a-mano singdown that got things really cooking. There was plenty of whiskey. Now normally, I don't get drunk - because I have to drive and because I am too busy playing the guitar - but this time I must have had one or two too many because I literally staggered home. But what fun!!!
And then the next day, Manuel Agujetas invited me to a matanza - that is where a pig goes to meet his maker and a lot of humans eat pork. It was held at a small private bodega where some wealthy folks made wine for themselves and their friends - nice wine, too. I already knew some of the folks and so was very comfortable. Little by little the music started and they got me singing. We all took turns. Many of the people had done the pilgrimage to Rocio and liked to sing sevillanas about that. They sang as a group and lots of folks danced. Now that is not really what the gypsies like all that well, so they went outside and drank. After lots of food, we got down to the flamenco. Manuel Agujetas doesn't much sing in public unless he is getting paid and this night was no exception, but Eduardo did his share. But most of it was me. I had ladies dancing buleria and the group was doing palmas and screaming. A big burly drunk guy kept hugging and kissing me after each song. All in all, I couldn't have felt more accepted, personally and artistically. It was just plain wonderful. But the best part came today - Agujetas came over for lunch and we were listening to some of my private music collection. He commented on one very well-known singer, "well, his cante no llega (it doesn't arrive - meaning that it doesn't move you - you don't feel anything) unlike the little things that YOU sing which do arrive" (!) Agujetas is moved by MY singing. Now that has got to be the best compliment, ever!

Well, you've been so good to wade through all this text so I have a reward for you:

The One Tomato Meal
Take a nice tomato and slice it into thin rings and then cut those into quarters so you have bite-size bits. Put your tomato pieces on a large plate in such a way that no piece is on top of another. Mince one tooth of garlic and sprinkle over your tomato pieces, trying to get a little garlic on each piece. Then sprinkle a generous pinch of coarse salt over the whole plate (regular salt OK) and then pour a little premium olive oil over the whole thing. No need to cover the tomatos, but they need to all be swimming in the oil. An optional extra is to sprinkle a little basil or oregano over everything. Let it sit for an hour and then eat with slices from a good baguette or some other kind of real bread. In the US, french or italian bread is best. Dip the bread in the oil. A meal for one or a side dish for many. Spaniards would just put the plate in the middle and everyone would spear pieces of tomato with their fork.

A Date with Destiny....

2010-10-21T08:49:00.000-07:00

October 21, 2010 Rota

When your world turns upside down and you find that you are no longer doing what you had planned to do with the rest of your life, it is easy to sink into a kind of depression. We humans like goals and looking forward to the future. And so I took a look at my life and discovered that I didn't really have any goals anymore. That will never do!

I looked around in my world to see what I wanted to do next and the only thing that I could find was to expand my career as a flamenco artist. I've been fooling around with this for 50 years and now I'm in Spain. Duhhhhh. So I decided that I would get serious about it. Now every morning, I get up and go to work. I play guitar, sing, work on my recording studio, study and listen to new material I want to learn. All of a sudden I'm so busy that the laundry is starting to pile up. But I'm having fun.

And the funny thing is that, this thing wants to happen whether or not I get better. If I did nothing, it would still happen - but if I'm going to be a celebrity (and I am!), then I should get really good so that I can be proud of myself. I can't rush this because the thing I am most lacking is real fluency with the language. I get better every day, but fluency is a ways off yet. I don't want to be in the public eye making grammatical errors or misunderstanding questions. So part of my job is to practice my Spanish.

Sometimes it is hard to get any work done, because flamenco keeps getting in the way. Manuel Agujetas continues to have me over almost daily to play for the singing lessons he is giving to Miguel's brother, Eduardo and to Negro Agujetas. Eduardo is a great cook of Andalucian country cuisine and I've been eating there more often than not. (Picked up some good receipes, too) I've taken Manuel to medical appointments several times and am getting to hear a lot of stories. Fascinating. They are talking about a fiesta with the neighbors in which a pig will go to meet his maker - and then play a key role in a feast. I'm looking forward to that. I'll take some pictures.

I've been invited to go back to La Unión in Murcia for a flamenco weekend with friends of my consuegro (and now mine). They have an ambitious weekend planned out with a number of other singers. And tomorrow there is a really good show in Jerez. I rarely go to shows because most of them are so disappointing compared to what I experience live. But tomorrow is all artists that I like and respect.

I've put up a recording studio in my living room and am learning how to do multi-track recordings. Part of my new job....

A little bit about Rota

2010-10-14T04:42:00.000-07:00

October 14, 2010 Rota
I thought that it might be nice to share a little of the history of my little town. Well, not that little I guess. There are 30,000 inhabitants. The following two paragraphs are from Wikipedia:

(Begin Quote) Archaeological evidence suggests that there was a Bronze Age settlement on the present site of Rota. The current town was founded by the Phoenicians at approximately the same time as Cádiz. Rota is assumed to be the same city known as Astaroth of the Tartesian empire. It later passed to the Romans, who knew the town as Speculum Rotae.

Following the arrival of the Moors in Spain, the city became known as Rabita Rutta ("watchtower of Rota"), from which it derives its present name. From 1248 onwards, the Moors were gradually expelled from Spain, and the city became Christian. In 1297, Sancho IV awarded the town to Alonso Pérez de Guzmán in honour of his defence of Tarifa. Later, Pérez de Guzmán gave it to his daughter, Isabel, as a wedding present when she married Fermin Ponce de León, Maestre of Alcántara and First Lord of Marchena.

Construction of the Castillo de la Luna (Castle of the Moon - right outside my bedroom window) had begun in 1295, two years prior to the bequest to Pérez de Guzmán, as part of Sancho IV's effort to develop strong coastal defenses, especially near the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. During the Middle Ages, the town was an important port for trading with North Africa. In 1780 the 11th Duke of Arcos died without issue, and the city was rendered to the Duke of Osuna. (end of quote)

Today the town is heavily dependant on tourism and on the military bases of the US and Spain in the harbor. The tourists are almost exclusively Spanish, mostly from inland. They use Rota to escape the summer heat and so the town more than doubles in population during the summer. The rest of the year, it is pretty quiet except for those who know where to look for action.

Below you see the whole town and the air base at the top. My house is out on the point, at the red dot. The "casco antiguo" or the old walled city was actually quite small and that is the part where I live.

The town is remarkably crime-free and is very safe. There are lots of restaurants, generally standard Andalucian cuisine, because that is what the tourists like. Andalucian cooking is not particularly elaborate - lots of fried fish, stews, and aliños (chopped up vegetables in oil and vinegar to preserve them, often with shrimp, tuna, or octopus). I am getting good at cooking in this style.

Since I was playing with Google Earth, here is my neighborhood. Not far from the beach, so few bugs and it stays temperate throughout the seasons. This is one of the Southern-most parts of Spain, about 36 degrees North - about the same latitude as Oriental, NC or San Luis Obispo, CA. The North part of Spain gets real winters with lots of snow. Here, we almost never get that cold.

And here to give you a musical travelogue, here is a little video of Rota with Gordo Agujetas singing. He is the father of Negro Agujetas of whom you have read quite a bit in these pages, Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVL037B2g5o&feature=share

So, like always, I invite you to write and will even provide a link to make it easy for you: saeta@sailingflamenco.com Have a great day!

Los Altibajos

2010-10-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, October 12, 2010 Rota
Altibajos is a Spanish word for "highs and lows". We use it as a joke when Negro Agujetas and I do a show together because he is so short and I am so tall that we are sort of ridiculous if we are both standing up on stage. I try to stay seated.
But I am using it here to describe my life. Highs and Lows. I'm not sure if anyone is reading this anymore, so it is becoming more of a personal journal - perhaps of interest to my family some day.
The Lows: When someone suffers a loss, there are some predictable emotional stages that one passes through. I read about this when my wife, Kathy, died at the age of 39. First comes shock, anger, denial, perhaps an attempt to distract oneself to avoid feelings; but finally there comes a phase of acceptance. In that one, you just get it - this is the way it is and the way it is going to be. I have now reached that stage and all there is left to do is to grieve about the loss. There is no changing it, you just have to mourn the loss.
So I am doing that. I miss the life I used to have and I miss You-Know-Who.. And I can see clearly that, as much as I don't like to live alone, that is my future. I can't imagine any woman who would chose to be a part of the odd life I have chosen. So alone it will be - and that is the Low.

The Highs: well, that is pretty much everything else. In many respects, I have a fabulous life. I belong to a community. For the first time in my life, I actually feel like a part of my community. I know so many people here in Rota. And so many recognize me and greet me on the street. I truly can't even go for a short walk without running into someone for a chat. After 4 TV shows and that two-page article in the local paper, I am becoming a junior celebrity of sorts.
The other day, I was having dinner at the bar right next to my house (best tapas in Rota) with some friends when a lady from Rota who I had seen at the peña asked to take a picture of us. She was making such a fuss over us that the other diners got curious and started asking the barmen who I was. I turned out that across the room was a table with the president of the Peña Luis de la Pica from Jerez. They asked if I would play and sing something for them. Well, the guitar was only 50 feet away, so I went and got it. And we had a little mini-fiesta there in the bar. Maybe it will turn into work, who knows?

I feel comparatively wealthy here. I have a deluxe apartment, a great car, and can generally afford to live. I couldn't begin to live this well in Calfornia on my Social Security and a little pension. Not even close. The bill for the dinner I mentioned above for 4 people with many drinks and all that we wanted to eat came to 30 euros.

And the flamenco! I keep having the experience of not believing what is actually happening to me. In addition to all that is happening at the peña and with a growing circle of artist friends (3 of whom speak English), I am now playing the guitar for Manuel Agujetas almost every day. He is giving lessons to Negro and Miguel's brother, Eduardo. He likes me to play for the lessons, so every day he calls and invites me to lunch. Eduardo is a great cook. We eat and then there is a cante lesson. I'm supposed to be playing the guitar, but I'm not deaf. I'm learning a lot - and from the best singer alive today! Last week I ate at Manuel's house 6 times and went to two fiestas with them. He has been showing me off to some of his more obscure relatives in Puerto de Santa Maria. That's what I mean about not believing what is happening. I am getting into things that I never dreamed I would see.

Like the day in the following link where I sang in the Peña Tio José de la Paula in Jerez, surrounded by famous artists and accompanied by the guitar of Antonio Higuera: Here is one of the most exciting days I ever had here. And the audience seemed to eat it up!

A few weeks ago, Bobby and Adam Marcowitz, came to visit from Santa Cruz, CA. They are a father/son team of guitarists that I have known for years. I put them in one of my spare bedrooms and took them to the peña to see one of the best Saturday afternoon sessions we have had this year. Some artists came down from Jerez to join us and brought a mariquita with them. That is an effeminate gay guy who plays on his own gayness as a comedy routine. He had us peeing our pants, he was so funny. And there was excellent singing that day. So Bobby and Adam had a great adventure. What a delight to be able to offer that.
Otherwise, life has it's little satisfactions. Like I got my first ham:

And here it is. Jamón Serrano is a huge delicacy, sort of a richer version of Italian Prosciutto. It comes as a whole leg and you slice little pieces off to serve as a special treat.
Of course when you are alone with a ham, there is nobody to tell on you if you cut a little slice every time you pass the ham. Delicious!

And I am nearly ready to take the written exam to get a Spanish drivers license. Tomorrow I get a medical checkup and take the photos and then the driving school will schedule the test. Yes - driving school. It is much harder to get a license here and the other drivers are generally pretty competent. I did about 60 practice exams (in Spanish) to prepare myself. You can only miss 3 out of 30 questions. Once I have my license, I will feel really permanent. Having my "residencia" means that I can stay here forever. I can't imagine having a life in the US anywhere that could compare to this.

And I have two spare bedrooms for family and friends. And the same bedrooms for others as part of a Flamenco Tour package that I am offering for folks who want to see some real flamenco when they come to Spain - not just the canned tourist stuff or the shows that they could see in the US.

NEW GUITAR!!!!!!!

2010-10-10T07:39:00.000-07:00

Sunday, October 10, 2010 - Rota

I have my new guitar! And what a dream it is.

I actually had no intention of buying a new guitar. I already had a fabulous Faustino Conde 1983 that made other guitarists insanely jealous every time they saw it. But by chance, I took in for repairs my student model Conde that I use for fiestas and situations where the guitar might suffer damage. I wanted to clean up some damage to the finish. I was recommended to a guitar maker in Jerez, Andrew Smith. This guy is half English and half Spanish - equally comfortable in either culture.

So I took my old guitar to Andrew and was immediately impressed by the depth of his knowledge about things guitaristic. He had a few guitars around that he had made and I tried them out. I was very impressed by how easy they were to play; better than anything I had played before. And the sound was very decent. I left my guitar with him and went home. When I came back to pick it up, I played his guitars again - and took with me Steve Kahn, an excellent player and old friend. Both of us played Andrew's guitars again and I was more impressed than ever.

Then as fate would have it, an old guitar that I had owned since the 60's finally found a buyer and I had a chunk of cash. More than it would take to buy one of Andrew's guitars. I wanted to save my good Conde just for concerts, so I wanted a guitar to play everyday and to take out at night. And I figured that a new guitar would improve my outlook on life. So I ordered one to be built to my specifications.

It started from pieces, everything created from scratch by Andrew. But good pieces - cypress back and sides and a top of 1st quality Engleman Spruce.

Here is the top - as you can see, you can see light right through it.

Here is Andrew removing the cord that he uses to hold the bindings together while the glue is drying. He is a traditionalist and uses hide glue and varnishes with French Polish, which is very labor intensive.

So here I am, getting a first look at my baby, mostly assembled. You'll notice that it is nearly white because color is added during the varnishing phase.

And here it is all done, in my patio. The workmanship was beautiful and Andrew wanted me to let it sit for a month or two for the varnish to continue to harden. But there was no way I could do that! The guitar is a total dream. I enjoy playing it so much that I leave it sitting out on a chair and everytime I pass it, I have to play for a half-hour or more. I've never played so much in my life and it has made an amazing difference it the way I play - with more improvement sure to come along.

To actually hear the guitar in action, here is a video recorded at the Saturday tertulia at our Peña - click on the link below and it will take you to YouTube.....
First Fiesta with the New Guitar

So, this has given my spirits a real boost. In it's first 3 weeks of life, I went through a set of strings - even though I turned them end-for-end, a string broke. The video above was shot just before the strings gave up. I have never played so much to wear out strings so fast. Everyone who hears it marvels at the sound. And the guitar invites me play with more sentivity because it wants to sing.

A new chapter - back to Rota for good.....

2010-08-25T10:28:00.000-07:00

Wednesday August 25, 2010 - Rota

A week ago I signed a lease for the apartment of my dreams in the best building in the best neighborhood in Rota. I had always dreamed of living in this building because it has a subterranean garage and there are very few garages in the older, classsic part of town. So I was sitting in exile out in Cordoba checking rentals in Rota when this one popped up. Wow. I moved fast and got it.

I had fun out in Iznájar, Cordoba - but discovered some things that have proven most valuable. Most important, at my age it doesn't work to live out in the country. I want to be able to walk to cafes, shopping, or just go out and meet people in the streets. (I could never do that in the US, but here people walk and meet one another). It was good to learn that. In Iznajár I got to do a show (success) and turned down two more when I moved back to Rota. I met the Iznájar flamenco locals (both of them) and had fun, but it's good to be home.

Here is the central patio of my new piso - 4 apartments on each floor. It looks classic with the marble columns, but it is only about 15 years old. Old buildings don't have garages in the basement and elevators.

Here's the living room - marble floors in every room. 3 BR/ 2 BA. means that I have plenty of room for guests and grandchildren.

Here is a typical bedroom, before sheets and bedspreads. All of the bedrooms have big closets which isn't all that typical in Spain.

And here is a view from the roof of the plaza Bartolomé Pérez taken from the roof terrace. This plaza is right outside my bedroom window. Bar La Concha (best tapas in Rota) is on the left, the Castillo in the center, and the cathedral on the right.

And below is my neighborhood - double click to make larger.

As you see, I am right next to a terrific beach!

I have an idea that I could run flamenco tours from here. 1200€ would get the guest(s) a week's lodging and tour guide services all week, visiting whatever flamenco attractions are the most interesting in Cádiz, Sevilla, Jerez.... Included in the price is a private fiesta with the local gypsies from the Agujetas dynasty. Frankly, only the very most experienced flamenco travellers would be able to get even close to as much action as I can provide. When I first came to Spain in 1983, I brought a knowlegeable friend to get me started. It took years off the process of learning how to get around in the world of flamenco. And even when things are slow, my brain is available to be picked.

Otherwise, I've fallen back into my Rota friend group; am playing Saturdays at the peña; and will be coming out in the local newspaper this week - a 2 page interview. So things are going pretty well. I still miss You-Know-Who, of course, but am getting used to the idea that this is the way the rest of my life is going to look. I think I can handle it. Lately doing a lot of cooking and reading - living quietly between intense social life.

And the other exciting thing happening is a new guitar, made especially for me. I met the guitar maker, Andrew Smith, (half English- half Spanish) in Jerez when I took my cheap guitar in for repairs. While there, I tried a few guitars that he had in process of being finished and was amazed at the quality - and how easy they were to play. After several visits, I ordered one. They are very affordable for the quality. As I write this, he is varnishing it and it should be ready by the end of the month. Very excited!!!

Don't be afraid to write - same email as always.

Things DO get better....

2010-06-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Rota, Spain

Just when you think that things couldn't possibly get worse..... sometimes they get better. That seems to be happening around here.

Little by little, I have been coming to the conclusion that I should stay here in Spain. I love the people and their way of life. It is inexpensive to live here - a beer costs $1.20 to $1.50 and sometimes comes with a tapa. The people do not have crazy political ideas. And there is a lot of fun to be had, both with flamenco and just being with people.

So, I have been putting down roots. I got a permanent cell phone contact that now gives me internet all the time, wherever I am. Then I bought my own car and insurance. This has been wonderful.

This is a 2005 Opel Meriva with a 1.3 turbo diesel engine. It is zippy and gets 56 MPG on the road and in the 40's in town. It is quiet, big inside, and all around delightful. Why can't we have cars like this in the US?

The next thing has been to try to find a more permanent home. My piso (apartment) is a summer rental and I have to vacate it at the end of June so the summer people can move in. Rota becomes a zoo in summer because the people in Sevilla all want to live at the beach during the heat. So everything is crowded and there is no place to park. So I decided to live away from Rota for the summer. But where?

Well, as luck would have it, I made some friends in a little town in Cordoba province - a town called Iznájar. If you've never heard of it, don't feel bad. Neither had I. But I went to visit there and had a chance to play and sing in a benefit for some kids who needed medical care. So on my first day, I got introduced to the whole town. My performance went well and I have been asked to come back for a paying gig in July. Imagine! This little town is on a peninsula projecting out into a big lake. Here it is from a distance:

Walking in the old part of town can get pretty steep, but this place is really scenic. The surrounding country is all olive groves for miles and miles.

The community is a mixture of Spaniards and a surprisingly large English Ex-pat group. But these are not the kind of Brits that one finds on the Costa del Sol, sitting by the pool, or playing golf. No, these folks speak Spanish and love the the Spanish way of life. They are a more adventurous group than the coastal Brits. And they like to hear flamenco. Well, OK...

There is not as much interest in flamenco from the local Spaniards, but there are flamenco peñas in many surrounding towns and I have already met some singing gypsy families that look promising. It is a new venue for me and like Rota, not overpopulated with flamenco students from abroad. Here is a panoramic view of the town from part way up it's hill. Double-click on the image to make it bigger.

It was serendipity that I met someone who introduced me to this town - but often wonderful opportunities come out of chance events if one is willing to pursue them.

I'll continue to stay related to my friends in Rota and come back for fiestas and special events. In fact, Negro Agujetas and I are going back to Vejer to compete in a singing contest this Saturday. We'll see what happens in the fall. I have the same phone numbers and emails.

Well, things don't seem to stand still, do they?

2010-05-13T02:05:00.000-07:00

Thursday, May 13, 2010 Rota, Spain

There is little danger of boredom around here. Things are too dynamic.

The big news items are pretty sad. Andrea won't be back. And worse, after leaving, she was diagnosed with cancer. It turned out to be on a tonsil and they removed it. They think they got it all, but it will be a year before they are sure. But we are now doing a divorce. She had things she wanted to do with her life that weren't happening with me.

I sold the boat. I couldn't imagine sailing around alone. Some folks like that sort of thing. I'm not one of them. I listed the boat and two weeks later, it was gone! Damn. I wasn't really ready for that, but I quickly rented a piso (flat) here in Rota and am now all moved in. It could be worse. I am on top of the building with a huge outside terrace - with views of the ocean and castle right next door. Next thing is to buy my own car.

So all of a sudden I am having to figure out what to do with the rest of my life - and here I thought that it was all planned out. Silly me! Well, one thing that is still working for me is that I love Spain and things are going wonderfully here. People are so friendly and they really seem to like my music.

Funny, the flamenco fans in the US are mostly all performers of flamenco in some way. And when they go to parties, they are all waiting for a chance to perform. I'm not criticizing - I was one of them when I was there. It's a competetive scene and I am competetive. But here - there are listeners - people who just love the music and know how to listen to it. Wow, what a difference. It is wonderful to really feel heard!

So that's the news from here. I have a spare bedroom and would enjoy visitors.... or emails.

Still more of the same, but with some changes

2010-01-28T07:04:00.000-08:00

January 28, 2010 Rota, Spain
This is sort of a good news/bad news report. The good news is that I continue to have an artistic success here. Famous artists like Luis el Zambo and Manuel Agujetas are dropping by the boat to visit and sing.

The bad news is that Andrea has gone back to California. If you read the last post, you saw that she wasn't having as much fun as I. She finally decided that she just wasn't happy here and couldn't see things getting much better. She has gone back to CA to regroup and create a life that she finds rewarding. So I remain here, not the cheeriest that I have ever been, but getting along OK. I'm devoting myself more to my writing and guitar to stay busy.

I have decided to sell the boat since this was a venture for the two of us and I have no real desire to sail around alone. I'm going to give it a few weeks and then list it with a broker. It will probably take a long time to sell in the current market and so I will just continue to live here and do what I am doing. If and when it sells, then I will have to decide whether or not to return to the States.

In the meanwhile, I remain here and would enjoys guests for a few days (if you have a wild urge to visit Spain). The emails are the same and I'd love some conversations in English.

More of the same - ain't it great???

2009-10-31T05:01:00.000-07:00

October 31, 2009 Saturday
Again, I must apologize for the infrequent entries. I did add some ideas to the other blog - Essays from the Heart (see link at right), but basically we have gotten used to life here and things that once seemed marvelous now seem sort of normal. We divide our time between living quietly on the boat to intense social life and lots of fiestas. I continue to be the "house guitarist" at the local peña and in fact will be going there very soon for the regular saturday afternoon session. There have been some awesome fiestas lately - one of the high points being a fiesta in Utrera with about 30 singers, most of them pretty good. They sang buleria until daybreak with Steve Kahn, Isidro de Morón, and I sharing guitar duties.

The number 1 singer still living, Manuel Agujetas, came over to our boat the other day and left the spaniards on the dock with their mouths hanging open. He showed up on a motor scooter, bored because his wife was out of town, and looking for some socialization. Wow!

We went and picked olives yesterday with Miguel and are now curing them. Can't ever seem to get enough olives. I get it from my mom, I think.

Andrea and I are having sort of different experiences. My spanish is now to the point where I can participate socially pretty much all the time. She is where I used to be a few years ago (and can clearly remember) where after a while your brain gets exhausted trying to translate and you just space out and let it all go over your head. This of course separates you from the action and pretty soon you are bored. There is no quick fix for this, but she is studying hard and has found a fabulous tool, at least for her learning style. Friends gave us the program Rosetta Stone with spanish I, II, and III. This program doesn't ask you to conjugate verbs or memorize rules of grammar. It teaches language the way we learn it as children - by showing pictures and asking questions - everything in spanish. She is doing really well with this and is now starting conversations with me in spanish, just to practice. Yay!

The other thing that is hard for her is that there are lots and lots of foreign dance students over here (although not in Rota). The locals have no real interest is dazzling choreography, no matter how good. They welcome a very brief dance exhibition once or twice in a fiesta, placing value on personality and self-expression rather than on technique. In the fiesta in Utrera, there were about 7 spanish ladies who got up and did a few steps (over the course of 5 hours)and it was welcome. When Andrea got up, she kicked butt and got a warm response. But, here singing is what is prized and dance is just an occasional extra. That is the opposite of the situation in the USA and so she gets to sit around a lot listening to old farts singing and talking andalucian spanish - which is about as bad as Yorkshire english.

I on the other hand continue to get fussed over - an amazing number of people have seen us on television. When we applied for our Residencia at the Consulate in LA, the lady behind the counter recognized us because she had come back to Spain for the holidays and saw us on TV! So I try to compromise and when I see her eyes glazed over, we get up and leave. I'm now pretty blase and I don't worry that I will miss something since most of the really great singers are now dead and the younger generation isn't nearly as good. We can always see more flamenco.

What I really love is being with the people, and amazingly fitting in. Our email is the same - write and give us the news....

Back in España

2009-09-25T11:21:00.000-07:00

Friday, September 25, 2009
Sorry to have virtually abandoned blogging while in the USA. Things were so ordinary that I didn't feel like writing about them. That said, it was wonderful to see so many family members and friends and to share time with them. Our big thanks to the many who provided spare bedrooms for us while we were there.
I came away a few impressions that I will share.
1) The pace of life in the US is pretty intense. Here in Andalucia, we have grown accustomed to a more leisurely pace and, being retired, we take full advantage of it. We found many Americans to be super-busy and had to carefully plan get-togethers around their hectic schedules.
2) Prices have gone up since we left. Three and four dollar beers (or more)!!! Yikes! And it was hard to find a burrito and a drink for lunch for less than $10.
3) Ideology seems to dominate political conversations - folks seem to have their minds made up and are not asking the important questions of the day. (I will list some of those on the other blog one of these days).

But now we are back in Spain. We visited the family in Madrid for a few days and then drove down to Rota where we relaunched the boat the same day. We are back in the same slip we had last year and started into massive cleaning and repairing of things. I brought back a new inverter/battery charger and replaced the one that died. Then our refrigerator/freezer wouldn't get cold because all the refrigerant had leaked out. This happens when the box is turned off because when the compressor doesn't turn, the seals dry out and the freon leaks. (This is why you should run your car AC every few weeks). But I had new refrigerant stored away and so was able to recharge the system and voila, ice cubes! The worst part was the dirt and grime. We continue to work on it.

But tonight, we are off for some social life at last. More later. And don't be afraid to write. We love to hear from y'all.

In the good old USA

2009-08-12T12:10:00.000-07:00

Santa Cruz, California - August 12, 2009

We've been back for quite a while and I apologize for the lack of blogging. I've been busy writing essays on my other blog - Essays from the Heart - reached by clicking the link on the right side of this blog. This contains my ideas on Prison Reform and a lengthy essay on Parenting.

So we went through culture shock on getting back to the states. Everything moves sooooo fast and things have gotten noticeably more expensive. But we have been thriving thanks to the generosity of our friends. Ellen Troelszch was kind enough to loan us a car - a Lexus no less - during our stay and we are delighted to be travelling in such luxury. Many other friends have offered us a spare bedroom along the way. Thanks to all of you.

This is the Lexus. Cool, huh?

We have been busy performing and opportunities just keep showing up. We did shows in Big Sur and Fresno so far and have one coming up next weekend here in Santa Cruz. It looks like it will be sold out well in advance. We didn't notice the improvement in our art since it happened gradually, but folks who haven't seen us for a while could tell the difference. After Santa Cruz, we will be going down to Southern California to visit more family and friends.

Here we were at the big Fin de Verano Fiesta at the house of Pilar Moreno - I'm singing to the guitar of Ethan Margolis with Marisol Fuentes looking on. I had a horrid cold and this was the only time I sang.

Finally, before returning to Spain, we'll stop in North Carolina to visit even more family and friends. If you are reading this, I hope we got to spend time with you!

We stopped in Asheville, NC to visit son Tony, his wife Annette, and new grand-daughter Akilah.

We had so much fun with her!

But we miss Spain and are looking forward to reconnecting with our friends there as well. So far, not many friends have come to take advantage of our tour guide services in Spain. Maybe next year??

Our schedule in the USA....

2009-06-15T14:37:00.000-07:00

June 15, 2009 Madrid
We are just about to fly back to the States and would like to catch up with as many of our old friends as possible (even some of our young ones).

Here's what we have so far:
June 20 -22 ..Sister Carol, Tucson AZ
June 23 - 25 .Brother Tom, Mojave, CA
End of June ..Santa Cruz storage unit, Doctors & Dentists
July 1...... .set up personal camp at Sweets Mill
July 4 .......Fresno, Sister Nancy
July 5......."work week" begins at Sweets Mill - Fresno area
July 10.......Sweets Mill begins
July 20- 22...Santa Cruz storage unit unload & hang posters in SC for show
July 26 ......Richard's Birthday in and around Northern CA
Aug 1.........Berkeley Daughter Elinore's Birthday
Aug 3........ Dermatologist - Santa Cruz
Aug 4 ........Fresno - sister Nancy?
Aug 15........Flamenco Show in Santa Cruz (The show on 16th is pending)
Aug 17 - 20 ..teach workshop in Santa Cruz
Aug 21 -23 ...Santa Cruz?
August 24 - Sept 8 ( Labor Day)..... Santa Barbara, LA, etc.
Sept 10 -18 visit son Tony & Nettie & Oriental, NC folks
Sept 19 arrive in Madrid

All or some of this may change if we get gig offers. We don't have time to organize them ourselves, but will happily jump into something that is ready to go. We're looking forward to seeing y'all!

Closing out Spain Chapter One.....

2009-06-08T04:03:00.000-07:00

June 8, 2009 Monday
This will be our last posting from Rota this spring. We are in the process of packing our things and getting ready to leave the boat in the boatyard for the summer.

But some wonderful things have happened recently. Probably you would have to be us to really appreciate it, but we are just marvelling at the kindness and warmth we have received in Spain ever since we got here. Everywhere we go, we are welcomed like family. I almost can't believe it. Sure, we can do a surprising amount of flamenco - essentially a very arcane and private artform. But still, for whatever reason, we are truly grateful. I think they like that we love their culture so much.

One of the high points of my artistic career has been the presentation of a bronze plaque from our peña in appreciation of our contribution to the artistic life there - I played guitar for the saturday sessions and accompanied local and visiting artists during shows. Andrea danced in fiestas and on the stage. We were treated like equals.

Here is the plaque that they gave us.

Here is the president of the peña, Antonio "Bergalo", making a little speech.

From L to R, Miguel, his wife Pilar, us, Bernardo (who put us on local TV), and Juan Rizo, the first aficionado who opened up to us when we arrived.

Then yesterday we went on a Romeria in Chipiona. Romerias have become very big - they are essentially a pilgrimage, but unlike the big one to Rocío, these local ones don't go very far because they are for working folks who can't take a week off work. Like the one in Rota, they leave the downtown church on Saturday morning and go to a small chapel in the pines or on the beach. The devout walk or ride horses or travel in carriages. The trip takes and hour or so, then they arrive and have a little mass in the trees and then it is party time. (This must be a consolation prize for those who don't go on Rocío, which is truly special - we've been 7 times).

Strangely enough, the local virgin (every town should have one) is black, but the baby is white. I have no idea......

Here is the procession of pilgrims coming through the pines.

Then it was partytime. Here are Miguel, his sister, Maria and her husband who is singing a fandango.

Here is Juan "el Moro" from Sanlúcar, singing from his carriage. I get to accompany everyone who wants to sing and never know exactly what they are going to sing, only the basic rhythm.

And here are the two of us....

Better than dreams coming true....

2009-05-17T06:28:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 17, 2009
Sometimes dreams come true and that is a wonderful experience, but what is beyond that is when things you never dared to dream about come true as well. I've been going through that of late.

Yesterday was a prime example. We were scorched after being at the Feria de Jerez until 5AM, but we had to get up for a communion celebration that was being held at the peña. We got there and discovered that we were in the midst of a gathering of the Agujetas clan (this is a dynasty of gypsy singers that is one of the most important remaining). There were Diego, Luis, and Negro Agujetas as well as Miguel, el gitano de bronce. As soon as I got there, a guitar was shoved into my hand and from that point on it was full-on flamenco. This was the first time I had ever seen Diego other than videos. In no time I was accompanying his bulerias and then the singers just rotated. From time to time I threw in a verse or two. What was amazing was that I got away with it. It was totally accepted - who knows, it might have been enjoyed. This is where the dreams come true part comes in. All afternoon I got to play for some of the best flamenco singers alive and they were totally happy with my playing. I hadn't played for Luis in many years and previously he didn't much like to sing with me. Well, I guess I learned a bit and things are now different. In fact, I had to turn down an offer to do a paying TV show with all of them in August because we will be in California. Now does that go beyond a dream come true?

Here we all were. Hopefully the labels show.

Sometimes fiesta pix come out blurry, but the content is more important than the technology. Here is Luís, with Miguel looking on.

Then, to keep the day from being dull, we jumped in the car with Manolo, Ana, Negro, Andi and I and drove to Vejer where Negro and I sang in a concurso (singing contest).
Here we all were when we got out of the car. Right to left, Manolo, Ana, Andrea, me, and Negro (whose real name is Angél).

The streets were so narrow that had to park outside and walk in. Vejer is a walled city on top of a mountain, although there has been a lot of building outside the walls now. This part of it is the old section laid out by the Moors - narrow, eh?

Negro was terrific and I wasn't the worst by any means. I was the first to sing and the peña was packed because it was still early. My soleá and siguiriya came off very well, judging from the video and the audience response. Then I invited Andi up to the stage to dance with my alegria. She rocked them! She's been in dance deprivation because there are few opportunities for dancers here and much competition for whatever there is. (Spain is all about the singing - dance is reserved for a few little steps at parties or full-on theater productions). But we have been rehearsing and she has a lot of new things worked out. Manolo did palmas, Andi tore up the floor, and the audience went nuts.

Some days, life is very, very good......

Videos are now on YouTube - there is a link on the right side of the page for all of our 17 videos - pick the ones from Vejer..

Zamora and the Feria of Rota

2009-05-07T03:17:00.001-07:00

May 2, 2009
Miguel and I took off on a long road trip to perform in Zamora at a festival there. 8 hours on the road is what we got paid for; the singing and playing was fun. We were thoroughly saddlesore by the time we arrived. But we chilled in the hotel and soon felt much better.
The show went well. I opened with some of my usual schtick and then welcomed Miguel to the stage. Can you believe that I actually served as the announcer? He sang beautifully and the both of us got really cranked up. (Sorry no pix or video, but the camera operator wasn't there) After the show, the peña hosted a dinner party for us and since we were so pumped up, we kept the flamenco coming and the peña really got their money's worth.
After all that, we went back to the hotel, but neither of us could sleep and so we started telling stories and laughing (it reminded me of a slumber party complete with giggles) until finally the neighbors banged on the wall. We were just talking - what was the problem? Thin walls I guess.
The next day was another 8 hours on the road, but we ended up happy enough. We took a nap and then escorted the ladies to the feria. They had already gone without us the previous day and so had their own adventures to relate. The daughters of Manolo and Ana really liked to dance the sevillana, so Andi got lots of exercise. They they ran into Jose Merce, who M and A know well.

Here is the entrance to the Rota Feria at night.

Although nothing to compare to the horsey scene in Sevilla, Rota still has plenty of horses and carriages. To my eye, the horses here are the most beautiful in the world (although they can't equal the women!).

Here is Andi with Manolo and Ana and their daughters in the caseta of the Socialist Party PSOE (the one in power at the moment).

Here are Andi and Ana with flamenco superstar Jose Merce.

The parents, if they can afford it, love to dress the muppets up for feria. They start learning to dance at this age.

Some of the casetas are just bars and tables for socializing. Others, like this one, have a full on stage for entertainers.

After Miguel and I got back from Zamora we jumped into feria with both feet.

Feria de Sevilla

2009-05-05T09:29:00.001-07:00

Here we are at the traditional April Fair that happens two weeks after Semana Santa. It is probably the biggest fair in Spain. All of these ferias date back to the middle ages when travelling merchants would camp outside the city walls for a week and allow the residents to trade for exotic items not available in the local shops - silks, spices, and craft goods. There was also a lively trade in livestock at these times. Almost all Andalucian towns have a feria and each one has it's unique flavor. The one in Jerez (that we'll go to next week) has lots of flamenco, but most just have recorded sevillanas and rumba. We went once to one that was like a disco festival - you had to look hard to find sevillanas, normally the traditional music for feria.

Here are our consuegros, Enrique and Maru in front of the entrance - (the parents of our son-in-law - we don't have an English word for that). They invited us to join them here. It is always better to go to Feria as an insider. Otherwise, you just walk around and look, but you don't get into things.

Here we are with one of Enrique's childhood friends, Alberto. He's a doctor and father of several doctors. Visiting his family was our first stop.

One of the most amazing things about all Spanish Ferias is the horse and mule scene. They have these impeccable carriages with matching horses and everyone dresses in elegant riding outfits. There were more than 500 carriages in the Feria so there has to be a thriving carriage trade and buggy whips are still being made.

And there are thousands of individual riders. This woman was so elegant that Andi had to grab a photo.

This group was particularly well-dressed, wouldn't you say?

Some really nice horses and the rider in full Spanish cowboy mode. I have an outfit like this which is appropriate to wear on the pilgrimage to Rocio, but at Feria you only dress this way if you are truly on a horse.

Almost all the women dress in flamenco dresses - that's what they call them - while the men wear sport coats and ties.

Here were a group of sweet young things dancing the sevillana to a brass band.

Springtime Musings.....

2009-04-21T03:22:00.000-07:00

April 21, 2009
Hi all, Spring has arrived and is gorgeous. We went on a mini-pilgrimage last weekend with Miguel and Pilar. Unlike the pilgrimage to Rocio which lasts 3 days on the road with camping out, this one went about a kilometer from the church to the pine grove on the beach. There the priest said a few appropriate words for San Isadoro Labrador, the saint for whom the pilgrimage was made. Then, it was party time, full speed ahead. We were invited for good food and many drinks. Andi ended up demonstrating who was the best dancer of Sevillanas and I ended up playing and singing in the center of a big circle until a TV camera showed up and someone shoved a microphone in my face. Really fun!

Here are some of the carretas parted in front of the fiesta.

Here is a handsome horse with a funny look in his eye.

The cutest thing all day was Negro's brother Manuel, who had gotten babysitting duty, with a matched team of little kids all roped together so they couldn't get separated. They were all so well behaved.

Other than that, the flamenco has been pretty intense. I am rehearsing regularly with Miguel for our show in Zamora and last weekend at the Peña, I played for many hours. In the afternoon, there was a really good session with some visiting singers from Sevilla including Isabel, the presidenta of the Peña la Fragua. I played about 4 hours. Then the same evening, there was a dinner for people from a Peña in Malaga who had invited the Roteños to a dinner in Malaga earlier in the year. They showed up with several good singers. The Malaga people had their own guitarist, but the Peña asked me to accompany the Sevilla people and the Rota people - so I spent a long time on stage. Andi and I finished off the show with some bulerias.

It is quite a change from when we first arrived and all the men in the peña were very wary about who is this American who keeps wanting to play the guitar. Now they scream encouragement and treat us like dignitaries. This is beyond a dream come true because in my wildest dreams I couldn't imagine this. Maybe I imagined being able to play and sing a little without people being rude, but I never imagined having a place of honor at the table.

Misc. thoughts - Olives: do you like Olives? Well we LIKE olives! Here, there is an olive lady at the market who has different kinds of olives in a variety of marinades. Olives are never refrigerated, but kept in flavored brines sort of like pickles in the days before refrigeration. We really like the "gordales", which are really big, meaty olives. We spend about $40/month on olives and I can't imagine being without them. In the US, we had to make our own. The olives that go in martinis are so-o-o-o-oooo boring. But the upscale markets are starting to have Sicilian varieties that may help us get along.

Speaking of foods you don't get in the USA, how about octopus?

Our US visit - we will be in the USA all summer (We need to rent a car from somebody - borrow is even better, but we would pay for the insurance to cover us. We let our insurance lapse when we sailed away, so need to piggyback on someone else's). Anyway, we are looking forward to reconnecting with old friends....

Here is a photo from Semana Santa here in Rota. This is one of the pasos from the church here, carried by about 20 young men (hidden under the skirts of the paso).

BTW, in the sidebar at the right is a new entry "All Our Videos" that takes you to a list of all our videos including new ones with Miguel and Negro.

Here is a video of Semana Santa....

Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Sevilla - and Rota

2009-04-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

Friday, April 10, 2009
After getting back from Zamora, we rested for a day and then went to Sevilla for Holy Week. Steve and Robin Kahn joined us for the first few days and it was a delight to show Robin (new in Spain) all the fleshpots of Sevilla and then the first Holy Week activities on Palm Sunday.

Here are Steve and Robin in front of El Toboso, a good place to be found.

Here is Columbus' tomb in the cathedral of Sevilla.

Here is the cathedral itself - it is much too big to fit into a picture. All the processions of Semana Santa come through this cathedral.

For those of you who don't know about this, Semana Santa is a huge event in Spain, but especially Sevilla. Many families are on vacation all week and some bury themselves in religious activities and others go to the beach. For the former group, there is plenty to do. There are 72 cofradias in Sevilla - that would be a group from a specific parish that will actively work in the church activities. There are 3 cofradias in Rota, so you can see the difference in scale. The main activity, besides masses, is a procession in which they carry these huge floats (pasos) weighing sometimes more than a ton around the city. The wealthy churches may have a variety of pasos, some for Palm Sunday, some for Good Friday, etc. The poor churches usually just have two, one of Christ carrying his cross and another of the Virgin Mother. These pasos are usually hundreds of years old and are covered in silver or gold, carved from dark hardwoods, and covered with candles and flowers.

Here is one with lots of carved hardwoods.

They slowly wind their way through the streets to the big cathedral in Sevilla and then back to the church. They are accompanied by many (often more than a 1000 per church) Nazarenos (those guys with the Ku-klux-klan outfits - the idea stolen from them by some bigot). The Nazarenos carry huge candles through the streets and each church has their own color scheme for the outfits.

Here is my cosuegro, Enrique looking down on the littlest Nazareno, who retired to her stroller and took off her capilote (pointy hat).

Here is a proud dad helping junior with some detail of his outfit.

And here one of the Nazarenos is giving candy to kids (which they do during informal moments when the pasos are stopped)

And there is a band with every group too, that plays special holy week music and plays drums in between. The pasos are carried by 40-60 men who shuffle through the streets with a synchronized step that they practice the week before carrying loads of bricks or metal. Since they need to rest from time to time (their route may be several miles through streets so narrow that the pasos can barely fit through), they lower the paso for a break. At that time, singers on balconies will sing Saetas to the Christ or Virgin on the pasos. Ah, Saeta - that's the name of our boat! Saetas are impassioned moorish sounding songs done without accompaniment that are only done during Semana Santa. They are chilling.

Here is the church next to the house with the paso of Christ coming out of the door.

After the Cristo comes out, then the Virgin comes out with 400 Nazarenos and a band of musicians between them.

Here is the paso of Jesus coming back by the house at 2AM with the streets much more empty than when they left at 6PM.

You can see all this much better on TV, but TV can never capture the emotion that you feel when a paso comes by you in the middle of the night with the smell of incense, the thousands of candles, the hushed crowd, the beat of the drums that you feel in your stomach, and the awesome spectacle of the pasos and Nazarenos. One group had a choir of tiny children - really young - who sang so sweetly it made me cry. You have to be in this to really get it, but I try to give you a hint. There are so many cofradias in Sevilla that they all have defined arrival and departure times and colored routes on a map so that you know where to meet them. The problem is trying to get around on foot during this time. It is very difficult because somewhere between here and there you will probably have to cross 3 processions, 1/4 mile long, which takes lots of time. Yesterday there were a million people on the streets!!!! Luckily everything is made of stone because the fire trucks could never get through.

Here is the Virgin coming back to the church at 2:30AM.

We spent 5 days in the house of our wonderful Spanish relatives and then retreated to the relative calm of Rota to see Semana Santa in a small town. It's nice to be surrounded by people we know.

Zamora and back again.....

2009-04-02T07:01:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

As mentioned in the last entry, I was contracted to perform at the Peña Amigos del Cante in Zamora. So at 4 AM last Saturday, we started off to drive almost the entire length of Spain. Zamora is way north - the farthest we've ever been.

We arrived at midday and checked into our hotel. Soon Eduardo Abríl, the president of the peña came to join us and escorted us to lunch with his family and Alberto, another officer of the peña. Then, after the traditional nap (of which I am uncommonly fond), we went to a bullfight. We had seen lots of bullfights on TV, but never in person. The 5 toreros (of which there are usually 3) had donated their performances to a benefit for AA. It started to rain and then hail during the first bull, but cleared up in 10 minutes. There were some great performances from most of the toreros and bulls. One torero got tossed (which is unusual), but continued with his bull even though in considerable pain. He had a very difficult time of it. But several of the other toreros were awarded ears for good work. Bulls relatively small, but appropriately fierce.

This guy did a very nice job.

Later, we did the show. I was the whole thing, so I had to fill the entire evening... and did so. Andi danced the buleria on the stone floor. Nice review for both of us in the local paper and on the blog on the peña website - http://www.amigosdelcante.es/ - same text for both. Click on "Blog" at the top of page and then scroll down the blog for the article.

Here I am again. I can't believe this!

The next day, we started off to spend our earnings on tourism in a quest to see the best castles in Castilla. It turns out that most of the Spanish castles were just intended to be forts and watchtowers. Very few people lived in them, unlike the castles in Germany and England. As a result, they were mostly fortified walls around a central plaza in which the army and local civilians camped during a battle or siege. The castles were modified every time the region changed hands in the long struggle between Christians and Islam (700 years long!).

Here is the castle at Peñafiel, one of the biggest, built on a ridgetop. It is long and narrow like a boat. You can see Richard Parker's little blue car.
Here is the "pointy end" of the castle. You can see that the walls are made for fighting and the rest of the space is for camping out by soldiers and civilians.
Here is the town of Peñafiel as seen from the castle.

Yet another view from below.

We visited the castles at Peñafiel, Istar, Cuellar, Coca, Medina del Campo, and Barca del Ávila and then polished off the tour by seeing the Roman aqueduct, temple, forum, theater, and coliseum at Mérida. That last was truly amazing - some of the best preserved Roman ruins in existence. One of the things we found was that Castilla-Leon is spectacular in the Spring. We took mostly back roads and came down a mountain pass near the Sierra de Gredos, driving through little villages with tile roofs and rock walls, cherry trees in bloom, and a river in the bottom of the canyons. 20 spectacular miles that might just be the prettiest place I've ever been.

Travel expenses - we found very nice hotels for 45 Euros per night, ate well, and figure we spent 100 E or less per day for everything including gas for the car. That's about $133... just in case you were wondering if you wanted to visit Spain. Another thought - there are a lot of villages in Spain with declining populations. The young folks go to the cities and the old folks die off. That leaves quite a few abandoned houses. Groups of foreigners could go and find a village with abandoned housing in decent condition and buy houses for very little $. Sure it means living in a village, but what a beautiful life style once you learn to slow down. The people are wonderful. Now we're back in Rota to rest for a few days and then it's off to Holy Week (Semana Santa) in Sevilla. More castle pictures follow this post.

Castles in Spain....

2009-04-02T06:54:00.000-07:00

April 1, 2009
In Cuellar, in fact all over in this region, they like to train the trees to make arches of shade.

Hre is the castle at Cuellar. It has been refurbished and is now used as a school. We spent the night in this town.

Here is the moat and drawbridge of the castle at Coca, one of the best restored castles.

Here is the Coca castle frow afar.

Here is the castle as Iscar, really just an elaborate watchtower. They had towers placed on high places so that they could see any troop movements and signal the other castles.

Then we went to the castle at Medina del Campo.

This castle has also been used as a school.

Castles and a Roman City.....

2009-04-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

April 1, 2009
Welcome to Merida in Extremadura, formerly an important Roman city.

Here is the Forum..
This is the aqueduct.
This is called the Gate of Trajan, but it was probably built earlier, during the time of Seneca.
Here is the temple of Diana, right down the street from the Forum.
Here is the Anpitheatre, where the gladiators came to play.
And finally, the Theater for plays and music.
This was a very large city in the time of the Romans, a trading crossroad. These pictures show only the smallest part of the actual remaining structures. Very impressive to sit in the theater and think of what might have been happening more than 2000 years ago in that same spot.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Feliz Cumpleaños to Andi.....

2009-03-26T05:52:00.000-07:00

March 24, 2009
I pulled off a series of surprises today which provided our princess with a birthday to remember. Normally, we don't make that much of a fuss over birthdays and so she was expecting the usual. It started off pretty much as usual with a birthday card along with coffee in bed.

Then I took her shopping in Jerez. I am pretty hopeless when it comes to shopping for her, and with little available space, everything needs to be special. However, I do seem to have some kind of magic in that she finds the things she has been looking for as soon as I walk into the store. But if she goes alone, she comes back empty-handed. So the magic worked and she found a few things that she really liked. Then I took her to lunch at the best restaurant in Jerez and when we walked in, surprise - there were Estela Zatania and Brook and Kristin Zern - with presents, no less!
So she figured that was it for surprises. We went home around dark and went to the library to read all her email greetings and the ones on Facebook. (Thanks to all of you for your good wishes)

Then I suggested that we go up to the Peña to rehearse some dancing. She agreed. Surprise!!!! When we got there, all our Spanish friends were there, about 20 people including our old friend, Pepe Haro, a guitarist that we got to know when he was touring through California several years ago. We hadn't seen him since, but we contacted via Facebook and I invited him for the party.

Here we are getting started. She took the picture, so isn't in it.

Here is Pepe, playing for her (and the rest of us)

Manolo and Ana brought cake. Here she is wearing her new top from this morning.

We proceeded to have hours of flamenco, food, drink, and birthday cake. She was pretty happy. She even stood up on a chair and made a speech in Spanish!!!! Happy wives are much fun.

Here is the boat, flying the "bandera gitana" (gypsy flag - also known as laundry).

Tomorrow we are leaving for Zamora where the local Peña is hosting a lunch with some toreros and us. Then we go to a bullfight and finally in the evening, I sing and play. With the money we are raising thereby we are going to take ourselves for some tourism, maybe to the Rioja country to try the wines and young spring lamb - or maybe to Galicia and Santiago. Who knows? Stay tuned - video at 11.

Deep Jondo, no exit......

2009-03-18T04:31:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Hello friends and family,
Sorry we've been away for a while. We are now in recovery from intense flamenco and social events. Whew!
Our friend Gopal, flamenco guitarist from music camp (Sweets Mill) came to see Rota. Unfortunately it was a Carnaval weekend and we couldn't show him all the fun we have at our local peña. The best we could show him was a rehearsal with Negro Agujetas and all the local Rota sights.
We ran into him again at the show in Jerez with Pilar Ogalla dancing. This time he was joined by another Sweets Mill friend, Wendy (the sparkle bunny), who came back to the boat to spend a day with us and gave Andi a chance to catch up on girl talk.
Then Negro sang at the Peña with me accompanying him. Negro's uncle, Manuel Agujetas, came down to see him perform. I hadn't seen Manuel for quite a few years, so that was a high point. And of course, Miguel and all the rest of Negro's family were there. Steve Kahn managed to get down for that show and we spent a day with him.
After the performance, there was a bit of a fiesta around a table. (Steve's photo). Next to me is Miguel - across the table is Negro's mom - next to him is his brother Manolo.

Then we went back to Jerez for another big show with Mercedes Ruiz dancing. All of these trips to Jerez involved a lot of collateral socializing, of course, with folks like Sir Brook (knighted by the king) and Kristin Zern.
Before we even recovered from that, we went off to Morón de la Frontera with our friends Manolo and Ana from Chipiona. We visited a retired guitarist, Manolo Morilla, and then went to the peña in Morón for some fiesta with Steve Kahn and one of the guys from the group, Son de la Frontera, and other Morón singers. Steve came back to Rota with us for another day.
Here we are having a copa in Morón.

During all of this time, whenever not otherwise occupied, we were rehearsing with Negro since we were both going to a singing contest (concurso) in the mountain town of Ubrique. Finally it was time to go to the contest. On the way we stopped in Arcos, a spectacular spot with a moorish castle on top of a steep hill. Right around the corner from the castle was a little flamenco bar. We went in and there were only a few people in there so we decided to rehearse a bit more. But in no time, the bar was packed and all of a sudden there was a French video crew there shooting video of us all. The bar gave us free drinks and we continued on to the beautiful city of Ubrique.
There we hung around until it was time for the concurso to start.

Again we were joined by Manuel Agujetas and Miguel. The people at the peña were blown away that Manuel was there because he is probably reckoned to be the number one singer alive today (although he is what is described as "raro" - peculiar). The regular guitarist for the peña failed to show up and so I was asked to accompany another singer, a young man from Malaga. That meant I played for 3 of the 4 singers that night. But it went well, even though I had never heard him sing before. He seemed happy.

Then Negro and I were last. I have his performance on video, but none of my own. It seemed like I did pretty well, but have no evidence to confirm it. Negro sang the best I have ever seen him sing in public.

After we got back to Rota, our old friends from Santa Cruz, Charles and Roberta Sutton, came to join us for a few days and we were able to show them a fabulous session at the regular Saturday "tertulia" at the peña - followed by a few mini-fiestas in Rota bars.
And yesterday we went for dinner with Negro at the house of Manolo and Ana from Chipiona. So of course we did more flamenco. My guitar needs new strings and it looks like, for a few days at least we are going to be able to rest. And so I get to blog a bit and write on Facebook. We still have no regular internet, but can get through by using the library. I have more photos and videos to upload, but the system at the library is too slow.
Feel free to write....

Videos of Carnaval de Cadiz

2009-02-25T07:15:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The following post has the lead story for Carnaval and we just added this one to be able to put up some additional videos.
We got back to Rota and I squeezed some video so that I could upload it and then - no internet. The business that sends a free wifi signal out to the harbor for some reason turned it off. So we are back to hiking up to a restaurant or the library. This will cramp our Facebook activities quite a bit. Expect a little more time lag in our response to emails. Here is a video of the crowd in Plaza Mina. By this time it was early morning and we had gotten some exposure by playing flamenco for some of the groups. Then they all wanted to sing!!! We found that different groups were competing to have us in their group by feeding us drinks. Oh well, maybe one more..... Here they are:
Here is an earlier video of the Plaza before we had "introduced ourselves". Some of the costumes are store-bought and others are hand made. There is a big tendency for groups to dress all alike rather than to a theme with each creating their own costume....reflecting Spain's bigger emphasis on groups.

Notice that lots of fun is being had. Lots of drinking going on, but no problems. Here are some mug shots:

See the next post for more detail....

Carnaval en Cadiz

2009-02-22T07:51:00.000-08:00

Sunday, February 22, 2009
If you've been to Mardi Gras or Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, then you know what this is all about. Many Spanish cities have Carnaval, but few would dispute that Cadiz is the biggest and best. Carnaval activities go on for about a month, but it all comes to a head this weekend. So we reserved a slip for 4 days in Puerto America, the yacht harbor in Cadiz. We sailed over, giving the boat a chance to be a boat for a change and not just a floating apartment. Happy to say, everything worked just fine. It isn't much of a sail - about 6 miles across the bay! But the winds were good and here we are.
We went out Friday night with absolutely no idea what we were going to find. Surprising, the streets were not too crowded and we walked around town until we found ourselves in Plaza Mina. We had been before. Some young people were in costumes and we felt a little self-conscious without one. Since we were hungry, we went to a restaurant, el Madrileño that is highly regarded. While eating, we got to talking with the young owner and he found out about our flamenco connection. So we had to sing and dance a bit and then the party kept getting more exciting as they stopped treating us like tourists and started treating us like honored guests. Our song and dance number really does open doors. We spent hours there and only escaped by promising to return the remaining days of carnaval.
On the way home we passed by the Peña Flamenco Enrique el Mellizo, which we had visited years before. Since there were people inside, we stopped in for a last drink. Well, the last drink lasted several hours more since they had a guitar there and about 8 young people who wanted to sing. We got home at 3:30.

Saturday night we went out again, expecting it to be a little bigger than Friday night. Wrong, it was 10-20 times bigger and EVERYONE was in costume - fancy, creative ones in many cases. Some were purchased, but many were originals. Spaniards are different in that whole groups dress up in the same theme, often with exactly the same outfits. It was hard to get up and down the streets with all the crowds. We wandered around and eventually found our way back to Plaza Mina again. We stopped in the restaurant and the owner telephoned a little old man who used to be a singer. He soon showed up and although he didn't have a big voice, he was still a capable singer. We did a few things with him and then left to see what was going on in the square because things were jumping. The restaurant was so busy that it was better to leave them to fend with the crowds.
Once out in the Plaza, we two were the only folks without costumes, but I had the guitar case slung over my shoulder and a bunch of Hari Krishnas shouted out that I should play something. Oh well, why not? So I played some buleria and Andi danced. The crowd went wild and at the end were screaming and then started chanting "Torero, torero" which is done at the end of a good bullfight. So once we got comfortable, we hung out in the plaza for hours with people feeding us drinks to keep us in their little circle. Photos and videos will follow when we get back to the internet.
I have to comment on the drinking part. Everyone was drinking. It seems the young folks don't much care for beer or wine. They like mixed drinks - generally anything strong mixed with Coke. Everyone had a plastic glass with a drink. As the evening progressed, they were all in high spirits - in various stages of drunkenness. But here is the amazing part. All night long, we never heard one "discouraging word", no fights, no police presence whatsoever. There were 250 police on duty that night, but with 300,000 revelers on the streets, you couldn't find any police. The crowds, while very animated, never departed from friendly fun. When they got good and drunk, they wanted to sing. There were little groups all over the plaza singing in chorus at the top of their lungs. I was thinking, wow, try to get Americans to sing in public! And it seems like in the States, public drinking brings out hooliganism which soon erupts into fights. What a refreshing change.
We eventually made it back to the boat at 3:30 after passing through large drunk but happy crowds and stopping to play guitar for several groups. They love to sing and the guitar just gets them going. So we are feeling very included in Carnaval. Now it's time to go out again.
OK, we're back again. We went out to see public performances of the winners of the big singing competition. A feature of carnaval is the competition for best singing group. These are choruses, usually of men but sometimes mixed, who sing the most fabulous harmonies. The songs are specially written for this event and are topical and witty - sometimes wet your pants funny. All the group members wear the same elaborate costume. Here is one group of maybe 40 or so:

This is an example of store-bought costumes - note built in udders! This is the way we got acquainted. Although we had little costume material on board, we went as Guiri Flamencos and were enthusiastically accepted. This was about the nicest costume we saw anywhere.

The peña just keeps getting better...

2009-02-16T14:04:00.000-08:00

Monday, February 16, 2009
As you probably know, we've been going to the local flamenco club (peña) every Saturday afternoon for a gathering of the local aficionados. They sing and I play guitar for them. It is much fun and just keeps getting better. We have now created enough of a scene that outsiders are starting to show up to participate. We had several families of gypsies come by this week. One of them from Puerto de Santa Maria had seen me on TV when I played for the flamenco "Oscars". This group had a dad, who played guitar and sang; a mom who sang; and a daughter who danced like you could hardly believe - except that I am going to show you a video.....

We don't even know their names and Negro Agujetas doesn't either. But they joined in on the fun and for the first time, I didn't have to play the guitar the whole time. Last week I played 7 hours out of 12, with the afternoon in the peña and a fiesta later in Chipiona. This flamenco stuff gets pretty tiring, but who's complaining. We all sang and carried on. Andi sang and then got up and danced. Unfortunately, as the guitarist, I can't run the camera too, so you will have to imagine that part. You're probably getting tired about reading about flamenco which I why I'm not writing about near as much as is happening.

We keep hearing about how devastating the economy is back in the States and are kinda glad we're here - at least from an economic standpoint. Of course we miss you all and will be there this summer. But still, don't be afraid to write.

I guess this must be my year....

2009-02-06T12:01:00.000-08:00

February 6, 2009
I was asked to perform at the flamenco "academy awards". Now flamenco being sort of a cult artform, these awards were not like something major in the mainstream like movies are. But, this was important enough to bring out a crowd of bigname artists - from far away came the ones who were receiving prizes, but also were present all the most famous artists from Jerez (which was where the awards were given out).

There were three acts selected to break up the speeches and presentation of awards. The first was a progressive dance number with a very talented Danish/Spanish dancer, singer, and guitarist doing a most modern dansish thing with smoke generators, etc. But it was very well done. Then came some Jaleos from Extremadura with 4 guys beating out the rhythm with canes while one of them sang. They were good, but nowhere as good as what they did backstage just fooling around. I had to wait until last and had a chance to get good and nervous. I won't even talk about the soundcheck because I know that at soundcheck I always am a disaster and the experience kills my confidence. So finally I came out and started playing a buleria. I started out with the verse I wrote - mas presumido no se ve, un guiri cantando flamenco, por la gente de Jerez - which got them in the mood. Although I had all kinds of technical problems - the 6th string slipped out of the cejilla and the guitar microphone drooped towards the floor - nevertheless the audience was very generous. In fact, Farruquito (a BIG star) was sitting up front and his cheering my on kept me going.

Here is a photo from the Diaro de Jerez, the local newspaper. I was also on Onda Jerez, the local TV station and am promised that I'll get a DVD. I'm not holding my breath.

This shows the room with it's many video screens. Andrea told me that the audience seemed relieved to get something that was just plain pure flamenco which explained their enthusiasm.

Here are the famous artists cheering me on. From left to right, Chicuelo, Farruquito, Farru, Diego Amador, and at the far right, Pele. At the end, the applause was generous and I'm told that some of the people were on their feet. I thought that I hadn't done very well and wasn't looking.

Afterwards there was a big reception with wine and tapas in which we got to smooze with the stars. Here is Andrea with Farruquito.

And here is me with Moraito, a famous Jerez guitarist.

At the end, I was congratulated by all kinds of artists that I had never even met formally, but knew of course very well including: Moraito, Paco Cepero, Fernando Moreno, Fernando el de la Morena, Manuel Morao, Pele, Farruquito, Jesus Mendez, Diego Amador plus a generous assortment of aficionados and journalists. Some were so complimentary that I was actually embarrassed. But a nice kind of embarrassed. Every artist lives for a moment like this, especially one from another country who has no right to be doing this music.

I was also honored that Miguel, his wife, and friends Manolo and Ana came over from Rota to share this with me.

I could put up a video, but I suspect that you've seen enough video of me doing my little thing. OK, due to a large public clamor (of one) - here is the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qKnc26xvF4

Recovering flamencos

2009-01-27T05:22:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, January 27, 2009
We are getting over the flu and are back into flamenco action again. Our first venture out was last Saturday when I got a call that the local aficionados were going to gather at the peña for some cante. Having a guitarist around seems to have generated some new energy and we carried on for around 4 hours. Great! Miguel and Negro were there to provide gypsy cante and the rest of the aficionados provided the payo side of things. Some of them are quite good.

Then we got a call that filmmaker Tao Ruspoli was around and was organizing a filming. He had Manuel Molina with him (if you've heard of Loli and Manuel - recording stars from the 80's, it was that Manuel) and they wanted to come by for a visit. So of course we said "yes". They came by and we played and sang for while.

Then we went over to visit with Miguel for a while since he and Manuel have known each other for years.

The next night we went up to a bar in Triana for the actual filming. We expected something on the modest side, but no. The artist list included Manuel Molina, Juan del Gastor, Juana la del Revuelo, her husband Martin, and her son Martin (an awesome guitarist), Angelita Vargas the dancer, Luis Peña, Javier, and several other young gypsies who I don't know.

Here is Manuel Molina accompanying himself as he often does. He is quite the bohemian and sings lots of original verses.

Then this morning I got a call and an invitation to sing at the "Flamenco Oscars", a gala event in which they present awards for best guitar solo, best accompaniment, best singer, etc. Naturally, I'm not in the running for any of these things, but as an Object of Curiosity, I am Number One at the moment and am enjoying every minute of it. That will be in a week - report to follow.... don't be afraid to write.

Christmas with family in Madrid & Sevilla

2009-01-09T14:22:00.000-08:00

Friday, January 9, 2009
We are back in Rota again after 2.5 weeks away. We went up to Madrid to see my daughter, Nancy; son-in-law Isaac; and grandchildren Diego and Quique. And of course, we saw Isaac's parents Enrique and Maru and all the related siblings and cousins. In short, a massive gathering of young and old. We mostly gathered at the family's country house outside Madrid since there was more space out there. After a few days, Andi's daughter, Elinore and boyfriend Robin flew in and we got an english-speaking group going. We managed to work in a day trip visit to Segovia.

Here is a small group of us. When everyone was there, it was three times this size.

Then we were invited to a contest of Christmas Carols held in a nearby community, Guadalajara. Now these are not the carols we all know from english - they are regional carols from the Province of Castilla. They are accompanied by a variety of instruments, the most wierd of which is called a Zambomba. This is a sort of crude drum with a smooth stick coming out of the middle of the head. You slide a wet hand up and down the stick and it makes a crude noise that would warm the cockles of a junior high school boy's heart. There was one band that had about 20 zambombas in it and the racket cannot be imagined. But they sing carols to it. You had to be there!
Here is one of the group playing a zambomba.

Then we went with Elinore and Robin down to the house in Sevilla so that we could show them a bunch of our favorite places.

While in Sevilla, we visited the Alcazar, the old moorish palace that has been converted into a home for the Spanish kings when they are in Sevilla. The moorish part of the palace has, IMO, the best preserved examples of moorish architecture and interior decoration. This room is a marvel from any angle.

Unfortunately, there is some kind of death-flu going around Spain and I got it. I spent a few days in bed with a fever of 39.5C (103.1 F) which is just short of delirious. This eventually abated enough for me to join the group for some simple activities, but the flu then turned into a nasty cold that has gone on right up to now. Andi got it, but not with the fever and it seemed like one virus after another just jumped aboard us. With the two of us coughing, it sounds like feeding time at the seal house. Anyway, we came back to Madrid for the big Christmas banquet. Elinore and Robin flew out on the 2nd and we came back to Rota a few days later, just before Madrid got snowed in. Glad to have missed that.

Beginning of Christmas Festivities

2008-12-16T04:51:00.000-08:00

December 16, 2008

The Christmas season is starting. Much of Northern Spain is covered with snow and the shops are all in Christmas mode. The streets are decorated and everywhere there are these parties called Zambombas which are a mixture of flamenco and Xmas carols. In addition to all of this, my old friend Steve Kahn showed up to do a flamenco photo exhibit in Jerez and so we got to hang out together for a while.

Here is a link to Steve's show for those of you interested in great flamenco pix.
http://www.flamencophotoproject.com

And here is Steve. We have been doing flamenco together for 40 some years - whew!
The local peña invited us to a big Christmas luncheon and seated us in a place of honor with Miguel and the gypsy family related to the guy the peña is named after. It was a great feed.
Here we all are singing Xmas carols.

After lunch, we were called up on stage where Steve played while I sang and then I played while Negro and Miguel sang. Here is Miguel.

And then after that, all the singers gathered at a table in the bar and I accompanied them for the next 5 hours. They sang just about everything including things that I'd never played before. But I just faked it and it came out fine. Just about as much fun as a person can have with their clothes on!

Next week we drive up to Madrid where we will get to visit with the family and will be joined by Elinore and Robin (Andi's daughter and boyfriend) and my daughter Nancy, her husband Isaac and sons Diego and Quique. They are all flying in for the holidays.

The cante festival in Puertollano - winter snows

2008-12-01T11:54:00.000-08:00

December 1, 2008
Last week we celebrated Thanksgiving at a huge feast hosted by Sir Brook Zern (knighted for his contribution to Spanish culture for his work on behalf of flamenco) and his wife Kirsten. Most of the crowd were english-speakers, so it was a most pleasant event.

The next day we drove up to Puertollano, a mining town North of Cordoba and not a place I would have thought about as a center of flamenco enthusiasm. But I was wrong about that. The folks from the Peña Fosforito put on an absolutely first-class flamenco festival and we were treated like royalty. We drove up there through a light rain that by Saturday had turned to snow although it didn't stick to the ground. It was seriously cold and long-johns were necessary the whole time. The coast is much warmer.

We checked into our hotel and went to the theater to see the finalists in the singing contests make their last offering to the judges. The judges did a good job and selected terrific talent. After that, we had a show by celebrity singer Carmen Linares. It's funny, she was at the same hotel as us and was in the lobby with us at check-in, but I didn't recognise her. As she went up the elevator, it suddenly dawned on me who she was. Andrea said, "You didn't know?" Duhhhh!

The next day, the peña organized a lunch with gastronomic delights from the La Mancha region. And Spanish television was all over us. We were videoed and interviewed until we were thoroughly tired of television people. It came out the next day on the biggest TV channel here TVE that is nationwide. They got most of the facts wrong and cut out most of the good stuff we recorded, but we got about three minutes of our obligatory 15 minutes of fame. The real high point of the lunch was that all the professional artists were there as well as the winners of the concurso. While we were waiting for food (but not waiting for drink), we started to do some flamenco. I ended up accompanying the winner of the concurso, el Rubio de Pruna and then played for Antonio Carrion. Antonio is arguably the best guitarist for accompaniment around, having played as the regular guitarist for Chocolate when he was alive as well as all the other famous singers. But I didn't know that Antonio is also a good singer. So when I was playing for him I was realizing that the best accompanist in Spain was counting on me to provide the right chord changes in the right places. I think that I did and Antonio gave us a copy of his new album of cante. Also there were Antonio Moya the guitarist from Utrera and Jose de la Tomasa, who was one of the judges (just to drop a few more names). I sat next to a famous flamencologo, Felix Grande, never realizing who he was until afterwards. That probably kept me from being inhibited.

I was very nervous and uncomfortable at the sound check. The guitar wouldn't stay in tune and I just felt off. But the show went much better. After surviving that, we got to relax and enjoy the rest of the show. For me, the highlight was fellow American dancer Lakshmi "La Chimi" who in my opinion is one of the best dancers working today, no matter what her nationality. I predict that within three years, she will be one of the top dancers here. You can't take your eyes off her and she is really moving. At one point my mind was saying "that is a crass commercial attempt to play on our emotions" while the rest of me was sobbing! That doesn't happen everyday. After the show, the peña put on yet another banquet with catered tapas, champagne, etc. A delightful event, beautifully done. Here is the video of my little contribution (cut off at 10 minutes):

Fiesta en el campo

2008-11-27T01:30:00.000-08:00

November 27, 2008 Thursday
It has gotten cold here. Winter has arrived with a bang. Sweaters and coats have been unpacked for the first time in a long time. It has been snowing in Northern Spain, but here on the South Coast, it is still just like California.

Last weekend, we were invited to a fiesta outside Jerez with 12, count'em, 12 singers! Unlike our gypsy fiestas, this one was all payos (non-gypsies). There is a difference between the way gypsies and payos do flamenco, but what is the very same is the level of enthusiasm that both groups have. They made a rabbit stew and we started in the afternoon. While we were singing and playing, a cook kept creating new items, so food breaks happened every little while.

In this fiesta, there were some well-known professional singers like Pepe Alconchel, who has a peña in Jerez named after him. Others were just good aficionados, but still great. There is an English guitarist here named Simon who plays really well and can accompany well. That meant that we shared the guitar duties and neither of us got burnt out. At one point, they had me playing Verdiales for half an hour and 4 or 5 singers were taking turns - as fast as one finished a verse, another jumped in.

Here we are in the afternoon with Pepe Alconchel singing and el Ruiseñor sitting next to me.

Here is a video of a singer called el Ruiseñor de Lebrija (mockingbird of Lebrija - a town near Jerez) singing a fandango of Gordito de Triana, a very simple, unadorned style - one of the first ones that I ever learned. He sings a lot of different styles, in fact his last verse is done in a different style. Fandango is his strong suite and he was a total delight.

We had a fabulous time with all of them and continued well on into the evening. Here we are around the campfire.

Tomorrow we drive up to Puertollano where I will be singing along with Carmen Linares (a very famous professional singer).

Another example of Miguel's cante

2008-11-21T04:06:00.000-08:00

November 21, 2008
I don't think that this program wants me to upload more than one video per entry, so I'm starting another new one to upload Miguel's siguiriya from the fiesta on the boat. It is interesting that, even his friends and relatives don't have any interest in listening to his siguiriya and they all went outside to smoke cigarettes and talk. Even his wife talked! In the good old days, a singer was measured by the quality of his siguiriya and now.....

But as you can see, Miguel is a fabulous singer. He was not at his best here - I think bothered by everybody talking outside. But he rallied and finished up with a beautiful siguiriya of Manuel Molino. You non-flamencos won't know what that is, but the way he sings is classic gypsy flamenco, rough, primitive, but with a certain something that us non-gypsies never master. He was recovering from a cold, so his voice was not as clear as it would be otherwise.

Nervous, no not me!!!!

2008-11-21T03:36:00.000-08:00

November 20, 2008
Last night, we went to a class we've been attending at the Peña Tio Jose de la Paula in the old gypsy barrio Santiago in Jerez. This is a relatively high-level class about the history of flamenco song. They provide a famous artist and guitarist to demonstrate the songs and then at the end, the members of the class are invited to get up and take a try at it. Well, last night they were talking about the Buleria. Jerez considers itself the home of the buleria, so they take it VERY seriously there and so, when I was called up to sing - well, I didn't wet my pants, but close.

Not only were the participants there, a bunch of gypsies had come over from the bar next door including Diego Carrasco (who was the lead singer/guitarist in that show that we showed your previously in Sanlucar a few months ago). So there was a wonderful opportunity to make a complete fool of myself.

But I had been thinking about it all day and had written a verse especially for the occasion:
Mas presumido no se ve
que un guiri cantando flamenco
por la gente de Jerez

More presumtuous there couldn't be
than a foreigner singing flamenco
for the people of Jerez

They loved it. I did that verse first to get it out of the way since I was afraid I'd forget part of it.

In short, it went very well and the audience was very good with me.

Who is Miguel, el gitanillo de bronce.....?

2008-11-19T05:28:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, November 19, 2008
I've been mentioning Miguel for a number of blog entries, but until now never had anything that I could show you of his art. For the moment, if you go back about three entries to the one called "Fiesta en Chipiona", you will find a sample of his singing por bulerias. He and others from his family have been several times to fiestas on our boat and finally we have some video footage from our own camera. In the meanwhile, you can see the other video.

But who is this Miguel? (This will be of interest to only the hard-core flamencos). Well, he is from one of the most famous gypsy families. There are a group of famous singers all decended from Agujetas el Viego (for whom the local peña is named) - they are Manuel, Gordo (father of Negro Agujetas who is featured in a previous blog), Diego, Luis, Juana and Anglica - the last two girls married US sailors from the base at Rota and now live in the States. All the family of Agujetas el Viejo have are named like Manuel de los Santos Pastor. Well, Miguel's mother was the sister of Agujetas el Viejo and she married into the Pastor family, so Miguel is Miguel Pastor de los Santos. The same two families, but married the other way. So Miguel is from famous bloodlines and has the same family background - gypsy singers learn most of what they know in the beginning from their families.

But not only is Miguel a fabulous singer, but a really fine person. He has lots of afición and is always learning new things. At this minute, he is in Japan where he will sing for 4 days and then come back. He is mostly retired from singing, but given the current economic conditions, is thinking of going back out onto the peña circuit. He has asked me to be his guitarist. Talk about died and gone to heaven!!! So check out the previous video and here are some new ones.

Concurso de Cante en Alcala (singing contest)

2008-11-10T01:47:00.000-08:00

November 7, 2008 Friday
Two nights ago, I had one of the best nights of my life and am still floating 2 inches above the ground. I went to sing in a flamenco contest in the town of Alcala de Guadaira. Now in that town, they sing a song called Solea that is famous in all the world of flamenco. When I first started singing some 40-something years ago, that was one of the first things I started to learn and over the years has become my best thing. I could sing that for more than 2 hours without repeating a verse. So when I read that the contest was awarding the biggest prize for the best singer of Solea de Alcala I knew that I had to go and give it a try.
I will digress for a second to note that, for almost 50 years I have been chasing this exotic art form pretty much on my own. Naturally, there was nobody around who could tell me whether or not I was doing it well or badly (other than to say they liked it or didn't). Because Americans naturally don't know the many intricate distinctions that comprise flamenco singing. So when I performed in public, there was applause, but when I executed a particularly difficult part of the song, nobody ever said "ole" because nobody ever knew what I had accomplished. With the exception of a few flamenco hard-core crazies, I never had anyone to even discuss flamenco with. But I had the disease and went on studying and learning for my own satisfaction. I mention all this to provide a context for the way I am feeling now.
So we arrived in Alcala. There were 10 other contestants and each could choose to sing songs in 3 categories. The first was the Solea de Alcala, which had the biggest prize. The second was a group of songs considered "cante jondo" - the serious and deep emotional songs; and the third was a group of everything else in flamenco. I elected to do one song from each group (to maximize my chances of winning something). I was scheduled to compete in the second half of the contest, so we got drinks and a good table and started to watch the show.
Well, some of the other singers were pretty impressive. None of them were gypsies (which means it was sort of like white people singing the blues), but they sang with lots of style, lots of little details and flourishes. It was obvious that they were very advanced singers. In fact, someone said that a lot of these folks follow the singing contest circuit as a way of making money.
Well some were very good, but in spite of all the apparent emotion on the stage, the audience was dead. One guy sang with an intensity that was amazing. He had complete control and amazing technique, but you would have thought that he was in the electric chair, they were turning up the voltage, he was about to die any minute and this was his last message to everyone. And the audience just sat there. Shakespeare's phrase went through my mind "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing".
When I saw all that I thought, "well if this is what wins concursos (contests), I don't have a chance because my singing is really primitive in comparison". My singing is primitive because I sing like the primitive singers I learned from. So I wasn't at all sure how the audience would respond to me. I was more nervous than usual. On top of it all, I was playing my own guitar. Some singers brought their favorite guitarist with them and others used the guitarist that was provided (who was excellent), but I am so used to playing for myself that I figured I might as well go with something predictable.
Finally, it was my turn. I climbed onto the stage and started the Solea. I was pleased because the guitar was working well and the first few verses came off perfectly. The second verse I had learned only that morning, so I was afraid that I could forget the words under pressure. So once I had finished that verse, I could coast to the finish line. So I started paying attention to the room. People were shouting jaleo (words of encouragement)! A lot! That hadn't happened all night. I finished the Solea to a big applause. I then sang a siguiriya and then a buleria (you flamenco folks will know what those are, but it doesn't matter). When I did the buleria, Andi, Estela Zatania, and Juan from Jerez got up to do palmas (handclapping). We got it cranked up and the audience started shouting. Andi said, "You rocked the room!" We finished to a huge applause with some people on their feet.
Afterwards, all kinds of folks came over to offer congratulations and praise. The most important praise that I got was from two gypsies who were from the family of Manolito el de la Maria, one of my heroes and someone who I most want to sing like. (My poor children had to grow up listening to Manolito when all the rest of their friends were listening to the Beatles). The gypsies were very happy and enthusiastic. One said that it had been years since he had heard the "eco" (sound) of Manolito sung like that. Both said that the amazing thing about my cante was that I was actually able to transmit the emotion and the audience really felt it. It went on until I was glowing pink to the bottoms of my feet. I don't know if I won anything - there are 4 more days of contest (71 competitors) before we know who the finalists are. But, as an expert on cante, I know that on that night, nobody sang a more pure Solea of Alcala than I did. And if quantity and warmth of applause - and the number of "oles" - is a measure of success, then I won.
This was to die and go to heaven for an artist - to have finally been heard by an audience that is qualified to judge good cante and to have been approved, even celebrated by that audience. If nothing else ever happens for me, this was enough!
I've rambled on and fear that telling all this is to be guilty of hubris, but to whom would I want to share this joy but my family and friends. Forgive me if I went on too long, but I am so happy! I've waited 50 years for this, never really daring to think that it could happen. For the younger folks, the moral of the story is - follow your dream and dare to dream big.

When artists reach some kind of summit, it is customary to give thanks to those who helped along the way. In my case, I owe absolutely everything to my lovely wife who give up a home in the redwoods, a garden, her cats, and her own career in dance, so that we could follow this dream of coming to Spain and sailing. Then she insisted that it was time for me to put my art in front of a real audience and has been a support every inch of the way. To her, the biggest of thanks. And the most moving thing about the contest was how happy and proud of me she was after it was over.

Here is the video of the soleá on YouTube:

And here is the Siguiriya - the singing is something that I have sung for years, but I was very proud of the guitar work since I made it all up in the moment except for the introduction":

Rain, colds, and lots of flamenco...

2008-11-04T10:01:00.000-08:00

November 4, 2008 Tuesday
And we are watching election results like the rest of you and all of Spain. The US elections are HUGE here and every channel is giving it major coverage. The final results won't be in until daybreak tomorrow here - 10PM in California. It being morning, we may not open a bottle of champagne on getting the results even though it seems like some kind of celebration would be appropriate.
It has rained in Spain and not just on the plain. This has been the wettest October ever and it has extended all the way through Europe. Even Yemen has had serious flooding. In the mountains there has already been snow. So October was a month of transition where I learned to put on clothing upon arising in the morning. And the sweaters got found and we even used the heater a few times. It hasn't really been cold. We are on the same latitude as Santa Maria, CA or North Carolina, and it has been in the 70's most days. The nights fell into the 60's. The shorts have been replaced by Levis.
We've been sharing a cold with our local flamenco community. It laid me low for about a week and now Andi has it. These are some germs that are new to our systems, so we have to build up some resistance. In the meanwhile, buy stock in Kleenex.
Flamenco gets busier and busier. That's good because we don't know any Americans here. We are in total Spanish immersion. A day ago, we had a recording session here on the boat with Negro (pronounced nay-gro, not nee-gro) Agujetas. He is the son of Gordo Agujetas and the grandson of Agujetas el Viejo, for whom the local peña is named. This is a very famous gypsy family and we have been hanging out with several of them. The other one is Miguel, el Gitanillo de Bronce. You will hear more about him later. But Negro has been getting serious about singing for the last year. Before that, he was like a lot of kids who want to grow up and be different from their parents. He liked pop music, but then something changed and now he is crazy for flamenco - maybe worse than me. We had a long video session and recorded quite a few things. I'll give you a sample at the end of a video that I edited.
Not only that, but last Friday we went to a peña in Jerez to see Mercedes Ruiz dance. She is one of Andrea's favorites. This Thursday, I have to accompany Miguel for a program on local TV. Friday, we drive up to Alcalá for a singing contest. I don't expect to win anything, but it's nice that I get to be there. Next week, Rota TV is going to do an hour-long program on us - part of which will be dancing and singing - the other part will be an interview about our adventures. The second part is way more intimidating because talking well is harder than singing well. Whew! So we are staying out of trouble - but still love it when we get emails from you.
Here is the video: use the controls to make it play - it may take a minute...

Fiesta en Chipiona

2008-10-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

Sunday, October 19, 2008
We just got back to Rota from our adventure in Sevilla. We came back because we had been invited to play at a fiesta in Chipiona, a seaside town just up the coast. We went with Miguel, el gitanillo de bronce, and Angél, his nephew. Here are Miguel and his wife, Pilar. After seeing him, I wished that I'd have dressed a little nicer. But what a great fiesta. There were just a few of us, which kept the distractions down to a minimum. With the exception for a little food break, they sang and kept me playing for about 5 hours. And what cante!! Angél would be great if he weren't in the company of Miguel. Miguel is just so great that everything else pales in comparison with him. They got pretty excited and for a while were singing mano a mano - as fast as one finished a verse, the other would jump in. I never even got to play a falseta (riff) - just one cante after another. But with that kind of cante, who cares if there is a falseta? There can't be 20 singers left on Planet Earth who can sing like Miguel. And last night, he didn't hold anything back. What fun! For me, this is the culmination of a dream - actually I never thought that I would actually ever get to participate at this level of fiesta - playing 5 hours straight.

Here we all are in Manolo's kitchen. My cante will never be a level with these guys, but getting to accompany them all night is plenty for me. They like the fact that I know cante so well that I always know the chord that is needed. And, they are more and more asking Andi to dance now that they know that she can fit into fiesta dancing so well. In the fiesta, you don't get to dance very long, but if you raise the energy level, then you have contributed to the fiesta and will be welcome. At one point, even Miguel danced - and, having spent plenty of time in tablaos, he dances very well. A few years ago, he decided to hang up professional singing and came home to Rota from Madrid. Now, he hardly works at all. But apparently he is content with the choice. But, he has a lot of pent-up flamenco that comes out in the fiesta. He is very knowledgeable about cante and it is evident that he continues to learn new things. He has tons of great stories about his adventures on tour.

On the way home from the fiesta, we were stopped by the Guardia Civíl at a roadblock where, as the driver, they made me blow into a drunk tester. That was very scary!!!! Because I had been drinking all night, although fortunately had been eating too. And, because I was playing the guitar, I didn't get to drink as much as the others. It saved my butt because I blew a test that didn't get me arrested. They let us go. Whew!!! Knowing that this can happen, I'm going to be more careful in the future. You should have seen 3 gypsies, the two of us, and a guitar in the little car! Packed is an understatement - but it worked.

I recently saw an announcement on the bulletin board at the peña, telling about a concurso de cante (singing contest)in Alcalá. They had a special interest in the soleá of Alcalá, which just happens to be my best cante and one which I could probably sing for 2 hours without repeating a verse. So I wrote them and they have invited me to participate. I'll be up there on November 7. And under the heading of "Cheap Thrills", here is a poster that went out to every Peña in Spain with the name of your author on it. Well, I was thrilled anyway.

Thanks to those of you who have written. We enjoy hearing from you. Keep using Sailmail if you know the address because we still don't have internet on the boat.

Here is a video from the fiesta. It's funny; in the old days the Americans did all the recording of the gypsies. Now the gypsies are doing the recording. They gave me this video. The sound goes out of sync at the end and starts looping - don't ask me why, but the video gives the feeling of the fiesta better than any words....no matter what its technical limitations.

Visit to Sevilla I

2008-10-17T08:54:00.001-07:00

October 17, 2008
We went up to Sevilla to visit friends and see some flamenco. We were fortunate enough to be able so stay at the house of our consuegros. English doesn't have a word for consuegros, but it is the parents in law of our daughter. Enrique and Maria, our consuegros normally live in Madrid, but have restored this beautiful 11th century home from a virtual ruin. The walls in places are almost 2 feet thick. It is an incredible luxury to be able to stay here. The guitar echoes up through the 3 story central patio with a sound that is delightful.

Here is the central patio on the ground floor.

And here it is looking the other way. You are looking at at a Roman column made by hand by some Roman 2000 years ago! These columns were left over when the dark ages fell and the Romans were evicted, but became a basic building material for the moors and later were used for all kinds of trivial purposes - like they would build them into the corner of a wall so that carriages wouldn't gouge up the plaster.

Up on the roof is the azotea, another patio with a view. In this case, you can see the Giralda peeking over the roof of the 11th century convent across the steet. We'll talk more about that in the next post.

Here is the first person I met when I first came to Spain a long time ago. His name is Antonio and he is with his wife, Mercedes. When I first met him, he was 16 years old and working in his father's bar. Now he is 41 and has his own bar. We've watched his children grow up.

And here are some more friends. On either side are Marianna and Federico, old friends from Santa Cruz. I have known Freddie for more than 40 years. In the middle is Lakshmi, a fabulous young dancer who will be appearing with me in the performance in Puertollano next month.

Visit to Sevilla II

2008-10-17T08:43:00.001-07:00

We went to Sevilla to see friends that we hadn't seen in a very long time, but couldn't resist walking around to see the sights.

Here is the cathedral as seen from the back side. We were fascinated by the ornate stonework. The cathedral itself is way to big to fit into a single picture - it is the 3rd largest cathedral in the world. It is spectacular. Columbus is buried there.

This tower is one of Sevilla's landmarks. It is called the Giralda and was built in the 11th century by the moors, who at that time occupied most of Spain and had the most literate society in Europe. The tower originally had a flat top on it. After the Christians retook the land in the 14th century, they built the cupola on top of the tower and added Christian details. The tower has ramps leading up inside it so that the lords and ladies could ride their horses to the top. As you climb it, you can't help thinking of all the people who have walked where you are placing your feet - from Columbus all the way up to John Kennedy.

Here is Andi at an archway leading into the Patio de las Banderas with the Giralda in the background. We can also see the Giralda from the roof of the Sevilla house.

Here is another view of the top of the cathedral with the Giralda right next to it.

And here is a building at the Plaza de España, showing a lot of "recycled" Roman columns and replicas thereof. They are white, so they are easy to see. This building was built in the early 1900's. We went out for a walk to see some touristic things and took this picture.

Visit to Jerez I

2008-10-09T02:35:00.001-07:00

October 9, 2008 Thursday
You can't imagine how much grief I've had to go through to upload these following pix. The internet access at the library is very touchy about uploads. I can only do one picture at a time and never a video. But I know that all text is boring so here they are!!!

A few weeks ago we went to Jerez for some flamenco and while we were waiting went and did some touristic stuff - we visited the cathedral and the Alcazar (old Moorish fortress). Here are the pix:

Here is the front of the cathedral. The stonework and carving is exceptional.

Here is the cathedral as seen from the Alcazar. Jerez is a smaller town, so this is a big cathedral for a small town, but nothing like the one in Sevilla.

Here is a closer view of the fascade.

Visit to Jerez II

2008-10-07T04:24:00.001-07:00

We went to Jerez for some flamenco and while there decided to do some tourist stuff - so we visited the Alcazar (old moorish citadel) and the cathedral.

Here is a gargoyle outside the cathedral - have you ever woke up feeling like this?

Here is the interior of the cathedral. This is a relatively recent cathedral - I think it was finished in the 1700's.

You could put 3 of these cathedrals in the big one in Sevilla.

Still, it's very impressive.

Here is Andi in the Alcazar in a moorish doorway.

Life as usual...

2008-10-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

October 5, 2008 Sunday
Life has settled into a quiet domestic routine punctuated by wild moments of flamenco - which seem to occur in the strangest places. The other night, we were barbecuing some pinchitos de pollo when we heard palmas (handclapping) coming from a power boat two docks over. But these were not ordinary palmas - they were GOOD palmas (which we don't often hear, even in places where there is flamenco). We turned off dinner and rushed over to the other boat, guitar in hard. Now that was what was called "presumido" - overly bold, presumptuous - but we didn't care. When the people saw the guitar they asked if I knew how to play it and I assured them that I did. They invited us aboard and we soon had drinks in hand. In short order the guitar was out and we began to rock. They were mostly younger folk, in their mid to late 20s, but they had uncle Juan with them. He liked to sing the older stuff, but the kids could sing Jerez buleria like crazy... they were all from Jerez, but rich enough to have a fancy powerboat. It was a fun night and we'd put pictures and videos up but for some reason the internet at the library balks at uploads, so nothing for the moment.

Happy domestic life revolves a lot around good food. It is so amazing to open the refrig to find that our cheese is Manchego (a kind that we bought on rare and special occasions in the US - when it could be found); our olives are hand-cured and bought at the open air market from the olive-lady who is always there; lots of great seafood and sausages.

We just love our little town. Clean, no crime, everything close at hand. This weekend, Rota is celebrating a fiesta that is going on for 5 days. It will have a little flamenco in it, but of the pop variety that can be consumed by the average Spaniard - flamenco is a cult artform and not well understood, even here. Most don't care for it all that much, although like Americans with Blues, they all pretend to be experts.

It turns out that we got to be famous without even expecting it. When we were anchored off Sanlucar last month, the Guardia Civil came by our boat to check our papers. We showed the papers and the man left after about 5 minutes, a pleasant enough visit. The next morning, at sun-up, two Guardia Civil boats appeared and the smaller began banging on our hull. We were asleep, but I threw on some pants. By that time, one of the officers was already in our cockpit. Now that is the first time that anyone has ever come on board without permission. Normally they request to board (and everyone knows that the answer must be "yes"), but it is a formality and a courtesy to request permission. I opened the hatch and the officer began by complaining that we were not showing our flag as is required. True, I took it down the previous evening because the wind was so strong that it was tearing the flag. I quickly put the flag up and produced our papers again wondering why these guys don't share information from one shift to another. He gave a cursory look at the papers and then said he wanted to inspect the boat. THAT hadn't happened since Mexico, but sure, go ahead and look. He took a quick walk through the cabin to see if we had any bales of marijuana, I guess. In less than two minutes he was back on deck. The people on the larger boat then called him to leave and he prepared to get back into his boat. At that point, I noticed a girl running a small video camera on the deck or the larger boat. I waved and asked the officer, "What is that about?". He didn't answer - just left. Just the other day, we heard from our family that Channel 3 had done a report on drug busts and had a video of our boat and the boarding. Now I don't know if they were trying to claim that it was a bust or whether they just said it was a search for drugs. But whatever they said, our Spanish family was bothered by it and are investigating further. I would certainly be upset if we were on national TV and our boat name was associated with running drugs. But it was probably just a training exercise and hopefully said so plainly. We shall see. If they neglected that last, there will be consequences.

Just because we don't blog as often doesn't mean that we don't like to get emails - use Sailmail!

Getting used to it - quite happily

2008-09-17T03:48:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 1PM
Sometimes I have to pinch myself to realize that this is actually happening. I look around the boat and everything looks the same and then the phone rings and it is a gypsy wanting to party. Our disappointment with the local peña has been replaced with the delight of finding an enthusiastic clan of gypsies who are crazy for flamenco as we are. The major singer is Miguel - Gitano de Bronce, who has some CDs and sang for a year in New York. Second most enthusiastic is Angél, also known as Negro. All these folks are from the Agujetas family, coming from both sides of it. This is a very famous gypsy family that has produced some of the finest and purest flamenco singers. Miguel and Angél are solidly in that tradition - just what I like!

Here they are, Miguel on my left and Angél on my right.

Here is Angél singing - he is the son of the late Gordo Agujetas and sounds very much like a recording we have of Gordo.

Miguel invited us to his house and when we got there, we found that he had arranged a big party with lots of wonderful guests, great tapas, everything. I was the only guitarist and apparently they don't often have access to a guitarist because they kept me playing all night. When it got too late for the neighbors, we went off to a nearby bar. Could it get any better? Yes, the next night when we were at the Fiesta de la Buleria in Jerez, Miguel called to see if we could come to a BBQ that night. Well, unless Newton was wrong, we couldn't be in two places at the same time, but were certainly gratified to be asked back so quickly.

A constant source of pleasure is the food. Andrea makes a wonderful tortilla and we've got some of my gazpacho in the refrigerator. We have two kinds of olives to try and 4 different kinds of chorizo. In the store, we walk right by spices that we would have hoarded before because we know that we can always get them. Andrea just made an ensaladia rusa (sort of a potato salad) that was sooooo good that she could go into business selling it to every bar in town. (they all have it). Hers is so good that they would just throw theirs away if they tried hers.

We still don't have internet, so I have to go to the library to send these posts in. You can reach us via sailmail instantly, however. Hope this isn't boring. If you read this for the sailing, I'm afraid the slant will be heavily flamenco for a while.

Happy to be here......

2008-09-09T04:30:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, September 9, 2008
We've been settling in to regular life in the marina and in Rota. Except for the feeble flamenco scene, we are loving it here. One of the high points has been the cuisine. We've been shopping in the local markets, especially the open-air market and with all the right ingredients, the food really tastes right. Andrea just keeps coming up with one delight after another. It's wonderful. And of course, going out to eat is fabulous.

One of the things that has been pleasing is that shopping here is probably less expensive than in the US. I didn't expect that, but even the Euro has been dropping against the dollar, ($1.41 to the Euro this morning) so we may not be quite as worried about money as it seemed before. With a little care, restaurants won't kill the budget either. When I filled the gas tank the other day, it took 26 Euros. that's about $38 which is a lot less than I spent filling the tank of the van in North Carolina.

We took a road trip the other day to the Feria de Utrera. A feria is an annual fair. Almost every city has one. They go back to the old days when traders and caravans would come and set up outside the city. Animals and goods got traded; there was food and entertainment. In the last few centuries, the Feria has become a unique part of the Andalucian (the southernmost "state" in Spain)tradition and gives opportunities for socializing and for the "horse people" to show off their horses and riding outfits - both of which are gorgeous.

Here is a carriage and driver. Notice how beautifully turned out the carriage is.

Here is a typical feria street. It is early in the evening still - by 11PM there will hardly be room to pass through the streets. On either side of the street are "casetas" which are basically tents with bars and kitchens. Some of the food they generate in simple kitchens is amazing. The casetas all have loud sound systems and play sevillanas at a deafening level. If you want to talk, you have to find a quiet one.

In this particular feria, we visited the caseta of Inez and Luis, gypsies from the same family as Fernanda and Bernarda de Utrera, two legendary singers who we had the good fortune to know. Most casetas are all about Sevillanas, but this one is all about flamenco. They had a regular performance set up as well as the unofficial "fooling around" that we participated in. We're including a little video here that shows a few seconds of the performance. Unfortunately the singer wasn't singing at the moment. The artists were singer/dancers Javier Heredia and his wife Fabiola, and guitarist Antonio Moya. Unfortunately, Blogger seems to be constipated today and I can't upload the video. I'll try again. (After 4 days of trying, here is a still)

At home in Rota!!!

2008-08-31T00:28:00.000-07:00

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).

Still in Sanlucar

2008-08-28T04:01:00.000-07:00

Thursday, August 28, 2008 The fiesta the other night was very fun. The MC and lead singer was Diego Carrasco. He was later joined in a guest set by Fernando el de la Morena, an older serious gypsy singer. All of these folks are from Barrio Santiago in Jerez. There was a trio of girls who sang backup vocals to support the flamenco-rock of Diego Carrasco. These young girls were the daughters of famous women singers. It's the unfortunate fact that flamenco-rock appeals to a paying audience. The beach bar was packed! Pure flamenco appeals to a very limited audience. But quibbles about purity aside, Diego Carrasco puts on a great show and has a lot of fun doing it. He can do wonderful pure flamenco when he wants, but he is having a big success with rock.

The highlight was when they invited Israel Galvan up to dance. And he was jointed by his sister (beautifully slim again) Pastora Galvan. Andrea studied with Pastora and her father, Jose. This was all great fun and very flamenco.

So now we are just hanging out in the free anchorage, going into town to start arranging to get cell phones and grocery shopping. Tonight we'll go back and visit the fine folks at the Pen~a.

Here is Fernando el de la Morena singing for Israel and Pastora Galvan with jaleo by Diego Carrasco!

Anchored in Sanlucar

2008-08-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, August 26, 2008
We have been anchored in Sanlucar de Barrameda, Spain for two days now. This is at the mouth of the Rio Guadalquivir, the river that runs through Sevilla. In fact, if we wanted, we could go all the way to Sevilla. But Sevilla is very hot just now and we're thinking that we can go by car later in the fall.
We've moved our anchorage several times and now have a place that seems satisfactory. It's a bit like our anchorage in the Hudson River where the current goes one way for 6 hours and then turns around and goes the other way. That means that the pull on the anchor keeps changing direction and could cause the anchor to drag (not dig into the bottom correctly). But we are in a good spot now.
Today we went into town and visited a Flamenco Peña. (I hope special Spanish characters like the tilde come through intact). We met the president of the peña and his wife. They were most gracious and presented us with baseball caps that said "Peña Cultural Flamenco Puerto Lucero". I'm very pleased that my spanish has gotten good enough to relate easily. I need to get a spanish phone number, but by the time we got back to the phone store, they were closed for siesta. Maybe tomorrow. Tonight, there is a fiesta in a beach bar nearby. I'll report back on that one.
It is so good to be here - a dream come true.

On the Spanish Atlantic Coast....

2008-08-24T10:01:00.001-07:00

August 24, 2008 Sunday
I know that I never really appreciated the fact that Spain has a lot of coastline on the Atlantic between Portugal and Gibraltar. Well, we've been sailing along it. We stayed two days in Ayamonte because it was a really charming little town with friendly people who acted Spanish. You'd think that acting Spanish would be natural, but there are places on the tourist coastline (Costa Brava, Costa del Sol) where the Spaniards that you meet are used to waiting on Brits, Arabs, Swedes, and other miscellaneous tourists. To do this, they have lost the qualities that we love in Spain. Of course, even on these horrible coastlines with their high-rise hotels - go a few miles inland and you are back in Spain again. Anyway, Ayamonte was very nice, but we needed to move along because we found about some flamenco happenings on Tuesday in Sanlucar de Barrameda. We are going to try to connect with some friends there for what will be the beginning of real flamenco activity.

We went to a flamenco show in Ayamonte, but it turned out to be two young men who sang very nice rumbas, but all night - nothing but rumba. To this old dog, that is not quite flamenco!

So today, we travelled from Ayamonte to Mazagón. Light winds made us use the motor again. Instead of going into the marina, we anchored outside it in the Rio Tinto that leads up to Huelva. If we had gone into the marina, we would have spent 31 Euros there and then, because we were close to the town, we'd have gone out for tapas and drinks and spent another 15 or so. But, we just defrosted the freezer and are eating up some food that we bought in North Carolina. We really need to get through all these foods so that we can buy some new freezer food. We have having a baked chicken tonight and saving a bunch of money anchored out in the river. Tomorrow early we will start for Sanlucar - only 34 miles. We'll anchor there if possible. Sanlucar has some of the best seafood in Spain and that is where we'll spend the bucks.

For those of you who wrote, thanks. It was good to hear from you!

Spain - at last!!!

2008-08-23T04:55:00.000-07:00

Friday, August 22, 2008
We arrived in Ayamonte in the Rio Guadiana today and took a slip in the marina. We just love it here. It is a charming little town and best of all, Spanish. We can talk to them and they have Cruzcampo beer and jamón and all the things we love. This is so good I can barely stand it.

Yes, I am glad to be here!

Here is Saeta in her first Spanish marina, flying the Spanish courtesy flag upside down (oops).

Here is the main plaza in Ayamonte.

And from a different angle.

A typical street.

On our way to Faro/Olhao....

2008-08-21T12:26:00.001-07:00

Thursday, August 21, 2008
We left Portimao this morning after a day in the marina in which we took on water, charged the batteries all the way up, washed all the salt crust off the boat, and hopefully fixed the genset (we'll know more tonight when I have to use it). For the first time, we washed the boat and found that last night's southerly winds had brought some of the red dust of Africa. We have heard that boats in this part of the world are accustomed to getting red dust in their lines (ropes).

And we managed to do a little sightseeing as well. But I came away with the same reaction that I get on most tourist coastlines - there are too many tourists and too few locals not involved in the tourist business. All the sleepy little villages have become condos and high-rise hotels. If we had a car, Portugal is just a few miles inland. But we didn't.

Spain is the same. I have no love for coastal Spain (for the most part). But at least there I can talk to people and that makes a very big difference.

We are headed for a salt marsh that has rivers through it leading to the two towns Faro and Olhao. Each of them has a different channel leading to it. We are going to anchor since it is getting late in the day. Perhaps we'll take the dinghy up and explore one or the other - stay tuned. At the very least, this anchorage is only 24 miles from Spain!!!

Late flash: We are anchored at Olhao among a very large group of European sailboats - no Americans and only one Canadian. It is mellow here. Since it is high tide, it looks like we are in the midst of a very large body of water, but I understand that much of it will be exposed when the tide goes out. We won't know until tomorrow because the sun is going down. We could stay and explore the local cities, but we are so close to Spain that I don't think that I can restrain myself.

Here we are in Portimao...

2008-08-19T07:28:00.000-07:00

August 19, 2008 Tuesday - Portimao, Portugal
We still don't have regular internet so you still don't get any pictures. And you are missing the ones from Lagos where we took our dinghy and explored the sea grottos. There were about 20 caves that we could take the boat into. Apparently many of the local fisherman have given up fishing and are now using their boats to take loads of tourists into the caves - so it was a bit like a freeway out there. On the other hand, we could tell where all the good caves were just by following the other boats. One of them got grumpy that we weren't paying to see the caves, but the rest were fine. This trip was better than Disneyland and at some point we'll have pix and video.

We hung around Lagos for 3 days and although it is a historic city, it seemed a bit ordinary and dirty after the Azores. The wind hooted every afternoon which kept us on the boat for a while. Finally we decided to move along toward Spain - only about 80 miles more to the border. For 3 days, we tried to check in with the officials. Nada! We couldn't find any bureaucrats. I guess that on the mainland, the government employee to civilian population is much lower than the Azores. If we had stayed at the marina, the marina staff would have filled out the papers, but since we didn't it didn't get done. They told us not to worry about it - we were officially in Portugal once we hit the Azores. I hope they are right, but we'll stay at the marina in Portimao for a day to get the papers filled out (assuming that it is less expensive than Lagos). The Lagos marina is priced like the West coast of Italy - the megayachts have spoiled it for us working folks (or former working folks).

This entire coast has lots of sailboats because it is a sailors dream - flat seas and good winds on the beam. This morning when we decided to come to Portimao, we just unrolled the jib since the trip was only 7 miles. We are getting SOOOO lazy! In short order, we were here. We'll go into the marina tomorrow to go shopping, take on water, and use their electricity. Hopefully they will have free wifi so that we can put up the pictures. For now, we are anchored. Since this is a river, there is a tidal flow up and down the river and when the tide is against the wind, the tide often wins which results in the boat pointing in some strange angles - not into the wind like usual. Life is good.

Lagos, Portugal

2008-08-17T02:20:00.001-07:00

Sunday, August 17, 2008
We are anchored in Lagos Bay, just outside the marina. We wanted to go into the marina to wash the crusted salt off the boat (in places it was sort of like a pretzel). But the marina charges 53 euros in high season plus tax, all of which would have brought a night there up to around $90. I'm sorry, but for those kind of prices, I expect a change of bed linens and a chocolate on the pillow. So Andi threw buckets of salt water over the boat to get the salt crust off and finished up with a fresh water wipedown, so who needs them.
I meanwhile am engaged with trying to find an air leak on the supply side of the fuel for the genset. It hasn't worked for 3 days and so we are having to use the big engine to charge batteries. Not good for the engine and it uses a lot of fuel.
It is much cooler here than it was in the Azores (which were as close to perfect weather is I've ever seen). As we approached the Portuguese Coast, we noticed a change in the water color from the indigo blue of the gulf stream to a kind of brownish-green. We had sailed into the Portuguese Current that comes down from Northern Europe just like the California Current comes down from Alaska and keeps the California coast cool. So the water here is cold and I'm not looking forward to swimming in it. Andi is though because she has become a dedicated snorkeller.
So today we are going to take the dinghy and explore some caves and beautiful rock formations along the cliffs nearby. Then we'll go into town and report to the authorities and do some shopping. Sorry to have no pictures, but we have no internet still. This is coming to you by radio through Belgium.

Here is the point of land that shelters Lagos. You can see where the sea caves are.

We took our dinghy and went out to the grottos. There were a lot of tourist boats doing the same thing so we just followed them.

And here is a video of the caves. We really loved this.

We made it!!!

2008-08-15T05:19:00.001-07:00

Friday, August 15, 2008

Yesterday evening at 5:30 we anchored in the lee of Sagres point. The wind was blowing a lusty 25 knots when we came in, but the anchor dug right in and we celebrated the completion of our voyage of discovery. I suppose now we should claim these lands in the name of George Bush and introduce the inhabitants to the joys of flamenco. Well, maybe not.

It is nice to be level again and tidying up after our crossing. We celebrated breakfast with crepes filled with Azorean cream cheese and topped with Jeff's North Carolina blueberry moonshine jam.

We came from the Azores in 5 1/2 days, not at all shabby for a 41 foot boat, especially considering the light winds the first day. We don't yet have internet, but when we do, we'll put up some pictures and write more. For the time being, we are safe and content. Hope you are too.

Here is the computer screen when we were crossing the traffic zone where all the shipping in the Med comes around the corner of Portugal. It gets crowded out there. This is our AIS system showing about 14 ships. It tells us their exact speed and heading so we know if there is a danger. Cool, huh? The little red boat headed for the point is us.

And here is Cabo Sao Vicente - our first part of continental Europe.

Here is the fort at Henry the Navigator's lookout at Sagres. The square building is the chapel that is about the only part that may go back to Henry's time.

Here are the happy couple sitting on the steps of the chapel.

And here is the interior - very simple.

Here is Henry's compass rose laid out on the ground. Or then again, it might be the compass rose of anyone with some rocks and a day's hard labor...

This is a replica of a caravel - the kind of ship that Columbus used for his smaller vessels. They haul tourists around.

Almost there - and glad of it!

2008-08-14T02:58:00.000-07:00

August 14, 2008 Thursday Day 6 37d10.6'N 10d14.5'W
For the past 2 days, we've been riding in a washing machine - and it wasn't always on the gentle cycle either. The winds were just forward of the beam (about 60 degrees off the bow) which is a fast point of sail. And we have been going fast. For two days we have averaged more than 171 miles per day - that is not at all shabby for a 41' boat. The cost to all that speed has been discomfort. It's not as bad as if we were going upwind - there the boat slams into every wave and slows down on each impact. Our course takes us across the waves at a gentle angle; sloping up the face of a wave and then sliding down the back side. But with the strong winds, the waves were up to 8 feet high. The waves weren't so bad, but the wind chop on top of them was really a nuisance. The crests of the chop would break from time to time and if one of those breaking tops happened to occur just as we passed, it broke against the boat, throwing water all over the place. Now this boat is better than decently watertight, but days of flying water can start to show places where the water forgets it's place - outside!
But we only have 60 miles to go and are tearing along at almost 8 knots, so we are enduring the punishment. We could have reduced sail and gotten the speed down into the 6's at which time the motion and spray would have been much nicer. But we want to be there! We've just been sleeping and reading - moving around has been an effort. Andi gets high marks for cranking out good food under these conditions.
For those of you who thought we were crazy to be out here, the last two days are your "I told you so". For land folks, its like a very bad dirt road.
We've been seeing some ships that you don't see at the Panama Canal or normal harbors - the supertankers. These guys run from Ghana or the Red Sea up the Atlantic. They are huge! One passed us that was 250 meters long - that is 1/4 of a kilometer!
With luck we'll be anchored at Sagres before sunset. Send mail. Here is a video that Andi shot before the waves got too big. These were nice conditions.

Life on the slopes....

2008-08-13T01:48:00.000-07:00

August 13, 2008 Wednesday Day 5 6AM 37d25.9'N 14d8.14'W
Well, up until now we have had the wind generally behind us, which meant that we were sailing along pretty flat - which meant that life was pretty normal. Now we have reached the Portuguese Trades (so named because the old Portuguese navigators could rely on these steady winds blowing down the coast of Portugal). These winds are coming from the front of us which means that the sails are sheeted in close and the boat is heeling. So now life is on a 20 degree angle. Hmmm, this could aid weight reduction - having to jungle-gym your way UP to the refrigerator is something of a deterrent.
On the other hand, we are moving along rather smartly. We only have 250 miles left to go with 550 behind us. We should arrive sometime tomorrow. For the sailors among you, we are finding that GRIB files have proven quite accurate in this part of the world. GRIB files are highly compressed weather data files that we can download and then overlay right onto our electronic charts and see little arrows showing predicted wind strength and direction.
This part of the ocean seems like a desert. We haven't seen fish or birds working - no dolphins - no seaweed - nada!
Every once in a while we see shipping. When we do, we are on our toes until they are safely past. But when we reach the lower corner of Europe at Cabo Sao Vicente, all the worlds' shipping is rounding the corner there bound for the Med or upcoast to England or France. It will get busy for a while. Fortunately, we have AIS which shows each ship on our electronic chart with it's true course and speed (and a lot of other interesting facts).
So we are well and decently rested, so now that the sun is up I am going to wedge myself back into a corner and go back to Tom Clancy.
As always, we love hearing news from YOU when we are out on passage. Use our Sailmail address.

About half way to Portugal

2008-08-12T00:11:00.001-07:00

August 12, 2008 Tuesday 7AM 37d43'N 17d27'W
The winds are behaving as predicted and have have swung around so that they are slightly in front of us. This is good because it is faster. We are doing more than 7 knots and eating up the miles. We have 407 miles to go.

Andi keeps worrying that I am not getting enough rest, so last night she took a 6 hour watch and let me sleep. I was grateful, but really am getting enough rest anyway. In addition to my sleeping, I finished another book yesterday. Glad I brought a good supply.

All is going well for us - hope it is for you too!

Day 3 - roaring along....

2008-08-10T19:48:00.001-07:00

August 11, 2008 Monday - Day 3 - 1 AM - 37d49.2'N 21d25.18'W

The winds have steadily increased until they are between 14 - 17 knots now and that is giving us a speed of close to 7 knots. We are sailing almost a direct course for Cabo Sao Vicente, the lower corner of Portugal. Since there is a current running down the coast, we are aiming more for Lisbon at the moment to keep from getting swept right past our destination. We only have about 596 miles to go now.

Andi was a bit worried about making this part of the passage without extra crew. But it has been totally mellow with small waves and good progress. Both of us are well rested and doing a lot of reading. Ocean passages are actually a lot more relaxing than coastal passages. And in the middle of the ocean, the winds are very steady. You set up the sails and then leave them for days at a time. So I think that she is reassured. This is delightful sailing! Much nicer than the first leg.

We've seen a few ships - in plenty of time to miss them. But there has been very little sea life. No dolphins, no fish boiling on the surface, few birds. It is kinda lonely out here. Every once in a while, a jet passes overhead. Tonight there are clouds and so we can't see the stars. Last night the milky way was so bright that it left a "path" in the water.

At times I am just amazed at how well this boat works - charging through the night, holding a course that keeps the sails trimmed. All kinds of mechanisms and systems are working together to make this miracle possible. I'm sitting here typing away while it all goes on around me. We are both very glad to have the boat we do. At the moment we've gone 11,629 miles in her!

At sea again....

2008-08-10T02:17:00.000-07:00

August 10, 2008 Sunday 37degrees 51.16' N 23degrees 26.16' W

We left Ponta Delgada yesterday morning and it was absolutely windless outside. So we motored the entire length of the island since we were in the lee of it. When we got out beyond the end, we turned off the motor although the wind was barely making ripples on the water. We drifted along and for a while 3 knots was grounds for celebration. As the day progressed, it very gradually increased until by sunset we were doing 4+ knots. Of course, the seas were completely smooth and so it was certainly mellow. A few nights ago I saw a shooting star and wished for a mellow and safe voyage. Sure can't deny the mellow part. We are reading and of course, eating really well.

This morning our speed is up to 5+ knots and we made 100 miles in the last 24 hours. That is really slow for us, but we only used about 4 hours of fuel, so thanks for the wind anyway. Today should be better. We have the jib out on the spinnaker pole and the boat is steering dead downwind. Portugal is 695 miles away. We slept well last night. For me, the first day is always the hardest because I am too keyed up to sleep. As the routine of standing watches settles in, we get more rest. All the weather faxes suggest light winds for the whole passage, around 10 knots much of the time. But mellow is OK. Who ever got scared by mellow? This is really pretty nice!

You can write by using our Sailmail email address.

Last pictures from the Azores - we're off!

2008-08-08T08:50:00.001-07:00

August 8, 2008 Friday
In Ponta Delgada, we went to visit a cave of lava tubes. Lava flowed through these underground pipelines to the sea. There we quite a few separate flows, each one modifying the cave a bit.

There are "stalagmites", but not the usual kind. These result from hot lava dripping from the ceiling.

Here is one of the big churches.

We went out to dinner with a fellow Santa Cruzan, Moose (right behind Andi)and his friends from the Caribbean. They were delivering a catamaran to Portugal and will probably leave in a day or so.

Here were two bus drivers having a major argument about "right-of-way" because they couldn't get their buses past each other. They finally stopped yelling, started driving, and soon got it worked out.

We will write you from the high seas.

Last pictures from Praia da Vitoria

2008-08-08T08:40:00.000-07:00

August 8, 2008 Friday
Here is the guy who made us the best Pina Colada we have every had. Ever since Mexico, we've been on a search for the best one. It's dirty work but someone's gotta do it!

Here we are enjoying them - made with Azorean pineapples, just juiced in the blender.

The kids were playing soccer on the beach and every once in a while, really got into it.

This is a public bathroom - shows the amazing cleanliness and the fact that nobody bothers to steal the wastebackets and chair!

American culture can be found everywhere!

Quick report from Sao Miguel

2008-08-07T10:31:00.000-07:00

August 7, 2008 Thursday Hi folks, We haven't had internet on the boat here and so have had to walk over to a bar with free internet. So far we haven't got our photos organized for an upload and hopefully we'll have that done tomorrow. But, there is a weather window opening up for Saturday and it looks like we will be heading off for the Portuguese mainland. It is pretty much due East to Cabo Sao Vicente for some 800 miles. Along the Portuguese coast the Portuguese trade winds blow (down the coast just like California). Here in the Azores, the winds will be westerly and hopefully there will be no holes in the wind as we transition from one wind field to the other. In the good old days, we would just turn on the motor, but since continental prices are over $6/gallon, we will be reluctant to do that. We will continue to send text to the blog over the radio and can still receive email the same way, assuming you know our Sailmail address. It comes through a station in Belgium and is very reliable. Tomorrow we will be provisioning, so I can't guarantee how much I will write, but at sea, I always have lots of time. Write back - we love to hear from you. OK, it is now tomorrow and here is a video for you. We went to a folkdancing performance on the 3rd day of the Praia festival. We shot a lot of video, but we liked these guys the best. See previous post for instructions for loading video.
We never saw Portuguese or Azorean dancing until this trip. Folk dance experts will probably see lots of distinctions that go right over me.

On the way to Sao Miguel....

2008-08-05T15:52:00.001-07:00

August 5, 2008 Tuesday
It is dark outside and we are half-way to Sao Miguel. This is just a totally fabulous sail; not a drop of water on the decks, no waves, and we are averaging better than 6 knots. Of course, that is not an accident. These days sailors have the ability to plan their passages to maximize comfort and speed and minimize wet and scared. Let's see how that is done: first, we have so much weather information at our fingertips now. In addition to weather FAX charts of the whole North Atlantic, the internet has staggering amounts of weather data. To make this trip, I used a webpage called WeatherGURU that gives wind speed and direction for all the islands in the Azores (as well as everywhere else in Europe). So I was able to see what the predicted winds were at our departure and at our projected arrival. For the last 3 days, we've had winds so strong that at times we were unable to go ashore, so finally it lightened up and we saw that, if we left today, we would have winds of the perfect speed and direction. And so we are! We're loving it.

It wasn't always like this. My first boat was made of wood and had little electricity aboard. You cranked up the diesel by hand; you lit the kerosene navigation lights after dark; you figured out where you were by keeping track of how far you had gone and on what course by the compass. Right now I am sitting at my desk typing this out and the boat is steering itself - the autopilot is heading for a waypoint that I set off Ponta Delgada. If a current comes along that carries us off course, the autopilot automatically corrects for that. When we arrive at the waypoint, an alarm sounds. All I have to do is be sure that the sails are trimmed to the winds and make sure that we don't hit anything hard. So I'll go up and look around now.

OK, I'm back. A little adjustment to the sails and the speed is up 2 tenths of a knot. Great. So I was talking about how planning and modern equipment have made voyaging safer and more comfortable. But there are still some old salts out there - the "arghh, matey" kind who like to sail just like they did in the old days. You throw some groceries in the boat and when you are done with that, you cast off and go out to take what the sea dishes out.

I ran into a guy in Horta who had done just that. He had lovingly rebuilt and old classic boat and when he was done, he drew a line on his chart from the Chesapeake to Bantry Bay, Ireland and started out. Unfortunately, a straight line took him directly over the Grand Banks, an area where the cold Labrador Current meets the warm Gulf Stream with exciting meteorological consequences. In other words, there are lots of storms up there. This guy got beat up for days and days. He finally decided that he couldn't take it any longer and headed South for the Azores. It took him 40 days to reach Horta. When he got in, he was so exhausted that he had to have the marina staff move his boat into a slip. He learned that a little route planning and weather research makes a big difference.

We have a lot of pictures that we took in Praia da Vitoria and we'll put them up when we have internet in Ponto Delgada, our harbor on Sao Miguel. This will come to you via ship-to-shore radio. Cheers.

Festas in Praia da Vitoria

2008-08-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

August 2, 2008 Saturday We arrived in Praia just in time for an 11 day series of fiestas. There are some big pavilions near the marina where the leading restaurants here and in Portugal are competing in a competition of "Gastronomy of the Atlantic". We have yet to visit one of them because we eat so very well here on the boat. My feeling about restaurant food so far is that chefs here (and in North Carolina) should be required to spend a month in San Francisco to see the level that average cuisine can reach. There is a lot of average food around here. But it's nice for a change. I mean - who wants to pound an octopus at home?

So we went out to see the big opening day parade. Unfortunately, the camera batteries hadn't been charged and we shot the following video and then discovered that we were out of business. Click on the video and then wait for it to load itself on your computer.

These folks were singing together and dancing while leading the parade through the streets. After them came 5 floats celebrating various aspects of Praia's history and culture. After the parade, we all drifted back to the waterfront where there was a Dixieland Band and rock bands for the young folks. We came back to the boat at 1AM and the locals were just getting started. The whole town was on the streets. We loved the people-watching. It's hard to generalize because the people are very diverse genetically, so there is no standard look.
We'll put up more pictures later. Don't be afraid to write.

Goodby Angra, Hello Praia da Vitoria

2008-07-31T06:02:00.000-07:00

July 31, 2008 Thursday

Today we just finished the most delightful light-air sail down to the main commercial port on the island of Terceira. It is Praia da Vitoria, so named because it has the best beaches on the island (praia) and sometime back in the old days the town picked the winner of some political conflict and became the "vitoria".

We have lots of pictures to put up from Angra, but just wanted to write a little something to show that we are still here. We've been lazy until we finally got bored with Angra and had to move on. It's a great town though and all of the Azores are a great vacation destination unless you like casinos and discos. I'll take beautiful, pastoral, charming, inexpensive, and crime-free, thank you. I can't help it, I'm old.

This has been a mixed week emotionally, having lost both family and friends to old age. I get little satisfaction from the realization that I am now the oldest man in my family and the next up to bat. Oh well, got to go out in a blaze of glory. Speaking of which, I had a huge compliment this week. It seems that there is a flamenco club in Puertollano, Spain that has a bi-annual singing contest. Well, this year they want to honor American aficionados (don't ask me why - I just work here). They saw the YouTube video of me singing and playing and want me to perform. They sent word through a friend and I have tentatively accepted, pending the financial arrangements. They sent back word that they were delighted. I've been involved with this odd art form for almost half-a-century and it is nice to be recognized by those who know what I am doing.

OK, so we are going to row in and report to the authorities and have a look at the town. Our efforts at towing a lure did not produce a fish and so we will see if a fish market can fill the void. Here are the last pix of Angra.

Here is one of Angra's main cathedrals.

The architecture is just what I like.

The streets at night are well lit and completely without members of the underclass (which don't seem to be here anywhere)

Nice, huh?

This was a sidewalk cafe that we favored. Great sandwiches for little $.

Lazy times in Angra

2008-07-27T07:46:00.001-07:00

July 27, 2008 Sunday
It is the day after my birthday and we are just laying around, taking it easy. Yesterday we hiked around the city again.
Here is a shot of the botanical garden - it is much bigger than this, but this gives an idea.

Here is yet another sidewalk mosaic. Nearly all the downtown sidewalks are like this and the patterns are all different - the workers get to be artisans. Cool huh?

You'll remember that I mentioned the clarity of the water. Here you can see some rocks below the surface, giving a hint of that clarity.

We hiked over to the fort on the East side of the harbor. It has been converted to a parador, but they let you explore the old parts.

Then I made a panoramic shot of the West side of the harbor, showing the other fort all along the waterfront. Double-click to make it bigger.

After seeing the fort, we walked around shopping (or looking at things). We passed through a neighborhood where there were all the car agencies. Nearly every Japanese, Korean, and European make was represented, but only Ford from the US. Most of the cars were smaller than the same brand in the US. I wish we could buy them there!

This is a pretty big city. We were amazed at the number of boutiques and sporting clothing stores. In the evening, we went out to dinner to celebrate my birthday. A good time was had by all and I got everything that I wanted.

The Azores are a terrific place to have a vacation. It could cost a bit to get here because you probably would need to fly into Lisbon and then catch a hop to one of the islands. Then there are ferries to inexpensively move between islands. Hotels are very reasonable, especially if you don't need the 5 star kind. Food is pretty cheap - about 10-12 Euros each for a dinner - wine is more. You can find a fixed price meal with drinks and dessert for 5 to 7 Euros. Hamburgers and sandwiches are around 3 - 4 Euros. Car rentals - 30 Euros per day - fuel same as the US. This is probably one of the cheapest places in all Europe and virtually no crime or other tourist hassles. Almost everyone speaks English.

It can be noisy in the marina. There are two big churches that ring bells on the hour and half-hour. Then someone shoots off rockets all through the day at random times, continuing right up to midnight. Not the fireworks kind of rockets; the kind that go up in the sky and make a big bang. Then there are a few goats and roosters for the domestic touch. And then the local ducks and geese pick the most inopportune times to express themselves under our window.

Andi was feeding some stale bread to the ducks yesterday and started a fish feeding frenzy. There are so many fish in the marina that the ducks lost most of the bread to the swarming fish. There were at least 10 varieties including some big ones who would shoot up from the deep and eat one of the small fry. That caused a shock wave to run through the swarm, but then the fish returned to the feeding again. Never seen anything like it. It takes me a long time to get to the boat because I fish-watch all the way down the docks.

Walking through Angra

2008-07-25T01:12:00.000-07:00

July 24, 2008 Thursday
We went hiking around town today and were impressed that this is a real city. Horta is just a big town in comparison. Angra has a downtown with lots of modern shopping, big city squares with benches and tables and restaurant kiosks for outside dining, and a most amazing municipal garden, several city blocks in size. We took a quick look at the garden, but Andi is planning on going back for a long visit. We had lunch and then hiked up the hill to the fortress on the West side of the harbor.

In the 1500's, the Spanish temporarily held the Azores instead of the Portuguese. The Spanish wanted to use this harbor to replentish the gold ships on their way home from the new world, but to do that they had to fortify the harbor against the raiding English, French, and stray pirates. The fort stretches along the coast looking down on our anchorage.

We started up the hill heading West...

And we looked down on a nice beach and the marina.

We passed through a very typical residential street.

As we walked along the walls of the fort, we looked out a cannon port and saw our boat.

I glued a few photos together and made this panoramic. You may have to double-click to make it big enough. We were high above the walls of the fort here. We'll visit again when it is sunny to get even more pix.

Angra do Heroismo

2008-07-24T10:08:00.000-07:00

July 23, 2008 Wednesday
Today we had an utterly fabulous sail to the island of Terceira and the harbor town of Angra do Heroismo. We left Vila das Velas, Sao Jorge at around 8:30AM with a nice westerly wind. Since we were going East, for once Black's Law was not in effect ("Everything is Upwind from Here"). Shortly after we left, we were followed by a catamaran who quickly put up a spinnaker. I thought, "well, he'll be blowing by us in no time". The old racer in me thought of getting serious about more sail - the new lazy cruiser said "Nah". We jibed downwind in 15 to 17 knot winds and sailed along the most beautiful island - waterfalls coursing down the cliffs in spots. To my surprise, the cat wasn't beating us. When he went way inshore and we went out, we gained quite a bit of ground on him. When we got to the end of the island, the wind came dead aft and got stronger. Did I set the pole? Nah - just took down the jib and sailed on the main alone - doing 6.5 knots anyway. The cat just kept falling behind. When we cleared the end of the island and came into the stronger winds in the channel between Sao Jorge and Terciera, the winds came forward, blowing directly across the boat. Up went the jib and we took off like a rocket. We looked back and the cat seemed to be struggling with his spinnaker. Of course, it was way too much wind. All he needed was a jib - but no, he set another, probably heavier spinnaker and continued wallowing. By the time we got to Terceira, he was almost out of sight astern. I thought those things were supposed to be fast.

The whole time we were having this non-race, there were no waves, the sun was shining, Andi cooked a fabulous lunch, the beers were cold. We were at Terceira by 4:30 and chose to anchor instead of using the marina. It is a very modern and comfortable marina, but we save money by anchoring for free and have lots of privacy. I'd rather spend my money in restaurants!

I want to mention the water here - it is crystal clear. The snorkling is very nice and there are loads of fish. We caught some grey triggerfish. I didn't know if they were edible, so I looked them up on the web. They were considered one of the most delicious small fish - taste like lobster. So we grilled them and wow, were they great. There are lots of fish in the marina - it is like an aquarium. Strange, but there is little marine growth - no mussels or barnacles on the pilings or rocks (or on our hull). There is a little slime on the pilings, but otherwise nothing. Amazing, but I like it.

We were sailing along Sao Jorge and there were little villages along the shore with terraced grazing on the hills above. Imagine the work to carve out fields like that!

As we sailed along, we passed some waterfalls. One is easy to see - can you find the second?

This is the East end of Sao Jorge, but you can also see the volcano on Pico just to the left of it. You may have to double-click to make it bigger.

Here is the view of Angra do Heroismo as seen from our boat in the anchorage.

Here is the church by the waterfront. It looks sort of bluish in the photos, but in real life it is heliotrope. Imagine the meeting of church elders the night they decided on that paint job!

Almost ready to leave Sao Jorge

2008-07-22T00:35:00.001-07:00

July 22, 2008 - Tuesday

Here we are on the little pedestrian street, people watching (and being watched), enjoying a cold one and the mosaic sidewalk.

At the uphill end of the street they built this cute little park, beautifully maintained.

Here is a volcanic arch that Andi spotted when we were sailing in. So we walked over and took this photo.

Here is the same arch taken from the water inside an ancient volcanic caldera. All the walls of the caldera are almost vertical and made of cooled lava. Andi was driving the dinghy.

Here is Andi snorkling under the arch.

OK, so I have been wondering how the Azoreans manage to have such beautiful streets and parks with no evidence of an economic basis for their wealth. You may remember the old WPA programs of the Roosevelt administration - intended to pump money into the economy to lift us out of the depression. That appears to be what is happening here. The European Community pumps money into the poorer areas of Europe - and this is one of them. They obviously spend it on public works - in Horta, the garbage trucks emptied the garbage in the marina 4 times a day! There are lots of folks hired to trim the grass and maintain the parks. Those folks spend their paychecks and the money trickles down through the markets, restaurants and service economy. There is very little tourism here although every little bit helps. Selling meat and cheese couldn't support this island at the level we are seeing. Based on their own economic activity, this would be a third-world place and would look a lot more like Mexico in terms of maintenance. But the way it is currently done, it is a wonderland with residents who take obvious pride in the beauty of their world.

Today we were supposed to sail the 50 miles to Terceira, but there is no wind so I think we will stay another day. Don't be afraid to email - we'll get it.

Sao Jorge

2008-07-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

July 17, 2008 Thursday
Yesterday we sailed over here and it was more sailing than we have done in a long time - by that I mean we actually did things with the boat instead of just riding on it. You see, Vila das Velas harbor was directly upwind from Horta.

For those of you who haven't completed Sailing 1A, I'll point out that sailboats cannot sail directly into the wind. On a good day with everything working perfectly, we can probably sail at a 45 degree angle towards the wind, meaning that by zig-zagging back and forth, we eventually arrive at a destination that was directly upwind. But good days are rare - usually there are currents and other problems that give us more like a 50 degree angle. And that makes the trip take longer.

So when I said we did a lot of sailing, all that tacking upwind means pulling the jib from one side of the boat to the other every half-hour or so. So we did more tacking yesterday than we did to cross the entire Atlantic Ocean (on the passage, sometimes we didn't touch any of the lines for several days). I guess I'm complaining because my hands are sore. Some folks wear gloves, but not us machos!

So here we are! Yet another lovely Azorean harbor. This one has some commercial stuff because it is the main harbor for the whole island. These islands are about the same size as Catalina and its sisters. All their supplies have to come by ship and then they send back to the mainland the legendary Sao Jorge cheeses. Sorry we can't share some electronically. Here is a video of the harbor - if you just see a white space, wait a while; then you will see a picture of Andi - click on the play button and you will see the word "buffering" - that means it is putting the video into your computer's memory - if your computer is fast it will only take a minute, otherwise go make a drink. Once it is buffered in you can replay it at will:

Tomorrow I'll put up some pictures. I guess you have already figured out that we still have internet access. There is wi-fi in the harbor. I'll digress just long enough to talk about the officials here. We have been dazzled at the courtesy and cooperative spirit we have found here. There are quite a few officals, but when they come to the boat, they help plug in the electricity. Usually we go see them in an office close to the harbor - they fill out a few forms and off we go. They usually have good advice for things to do and see or good places to shop. The officials in Central America were officious and unpredictable... and not very helpful. The officials in the US are bored, uninterested, officious and unpredictable. Generalities I know, but the overall impression. Just another plus for the Azores.

Here is Saeta at home in Sao Jorge

Here is the main church featuring the ornate stone mosaic on all the sidewalks.

Here is the sidewalk in front of the church. Friends told us that this is all new work - it wasn't here last year.
Here is a little shopping street (no cars) with the mosaic sidewalk. The next entry will have my comments on how they can afford to do all this.

We have a lot of pix of the volcano on Pico - here it is as seen from Sao Jorge. These islands in the middle group are pretty close together.

Off to Sao Jorge....

2008-07-16T00:51:00.000-07:00

July 16, 2008 Wednesday
Today we are off to Sao Jorge, a quick little sail of 21 miles. I don't know if we will have internet over there, so I am putting up a few more pictures. I can always send text over the radio.

Here is another, better shot of the volcano on Pico as seen from the marina in Horta.

Andi spent 2 days painting on the wall, during which time she was photographed and interviewed by tourists repeatedly. She got to meet all kinds of interesting people.

Here is how our wall painting came out.

Here is a replica of a 16th century caravel that was a part of a reinactment last weekend of the arrival of Flemish settlers in the 1500's. Faial was not just settled by the Portuguese, but also the Flemish.

Here is a road sign that we saw in Flores. Would somebody please explain exactly what kind of danger it is warning us about?

A day trip to Pico

2008-07-10T06:09:00.000-07:00

July 10, 2008 Thursday
Hello again,
Yesterday, we took the ferry over to Pico, 20 minutes away, and rented a car with some of the other cruisers (Merritt, and John and Shirlee from Solstice). It was a Mitsubishi Colt and decently comfortable for 5. Of course, the mountain required an aggressive use of the gears, given the load. I think we only got into top gear for about 2 minutes all day. Cool little car though - why can't we have cars like this in the States? We drove up to the top of the mountain and all around the perimeter of the island - in the car all day and used 6.7 liters of fuel - for which we paid $10 Euros!

Here is the volcano on Pico as seen from the marina in Horta - most of time it is shrouded in clouds. You can see some of the paintings that the cruisers put on the seawall. We will be adding ours in due course.

The ferry pulled into the harbor at Madalena, one of the bigger towns.

Then we drove all the way to the other end of the island - took a few hours - where we stopped for lunch. Pico is one of the wine growing regions of the Azores and grapes never had to work harder to survive. Here is a sparse vineyard near the lighthouse.

There is little level ground, so they pile up some volcanic rock and throw a little dirt behind the wall and call it a vineyard. You gotta really want some wine, I guess!

Here you see the grapes lying directly on the volcanic soil (more like crushed rock). I suppose there must be some dirt around somewhere because a few of these wines are decent. A lot are pretty rough. Most of the better wines are imported from Portugal (as are most things). A drinkable wine can be had for as little as 2.60 Euros and that would be better than 2-buck Chuck. As a result, the cruisers are having a lot of wine tastings. There is a lot of socializing here among all the boat people, but there is quite a gulf between them and the locals. The locals pretty much keep to themselves and given that few of us speak Portuguese, there is little common ground. A lot of the locals that provide tourist services speak excellent English so getting business done is easy enough.
We are going to stay in Horta maybe another 5 days of so and then start working our way East through the islands. August is the big European holiday month so everything is crowded, expensive, and crazy during that month. Therefore, there is little reason to rush to Portugal until the bedlam settles down. We just need to start before the Portuguese Trade Winds start getting light in September.

Still catching up on old pictures for you....

2008-07-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

Mick Roberts in Oriental, NC plotted our daily positions on a chart to see our progress. You can see how our weather guru, Herb, had us zig-zagging around bad weather.
Here is Faial and it's neighbor, the volcano Pico rising through the dawn clouds.
This is the "White Castle" rock formation.
Here is a bit of the coastline that I also show you in a video later - but this should be much sharper, especially if you double-click it.
Here we are in Peter's "Cafe Sport", a world famous watering hole in Horta. Peter Azevedo, the owner, was a genial host for sailors for many years and just died last year. It is still a center for the cruisers and there are boat flags all over the walls.

Left over pictures from Flores - just couldn't leave them out.

2008-07-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

These two guys motored by in their dinghy and we did a double-take. They had a white cat in the bow, acting as if it was a dog. Every time they went by, the cat was up in the bow, ready to go ashore. Amazing!!!
Andi grabbed a shot of this exotic palm tree in front of the Cathedral.
They don't call this place Flores for nothing.
Here is the harbor from high on the hill.
And who can resist a really bad billy goat?

I suppose you remember that you can double click on a photo and it will double in size? You did remember that, right?

We arrive in Horta - what a delight!

2008-07-05T09:06:00.000-07:00

July 4, 2008 Friday Let's see - I believe I left you yesterday afternoon part way to Faial. Well, it soon became obvious that we were going to get there much too early since we didn't really want to enter a new harbor in the dark (although we could have if necessary). So we took down the jib. Well, that helped I suppose. We dropped to 6.5 knots from 8.5 knots. It was a lot easier sailing because we were nearly dead downwind which meant that the jib was getting blanketed by the mailsail and would flap around in the turbulent air - causing unnecessary wear and noise. Taking it down solved all that, but we were still making good time. We passed an easy enough night, but the seas were nasty. Not big, but coming from several directions producing a washing machine experience. We ate dinner out of bowls held very close to the mouth. Sleeping was a challenge. However, the island of Faial appeared in the dawn and it was a beautiful sight. The following video is a weak attempt to show you the beauty. The motion of the boat made the video a bit rolly and the resolution doesn't really show the cute little towns.

I don't know how the Azoreans do it. How do you maintain an island free of clutter and overcommercialization? Horta is much more developed than Flores. It's a real city with lots of cars and shops. But it still manages to have a purity and simplicity that boggles my California mind. These guys really have it together and I don't know how they do it! Human greed is always there (I cynically assume), but someone is holding the reins and saying "no".

So we arrived at Horta Harbor at about 8:30 and pulled up to the reception dock. The officials had an office right there so we got in line and soon were done with the official paperwork. We bought fuel for a Euro per liter. That is about 4 Euros per gallon or about 6$/gallon. Not that much worse than the States. It's probably the cheapest fuel we will buy for years.

Soon we were assigned to a slip and I got to satisfy my curiosity about European electricity. It is 220 volt, 50 cycle. A long time a ago I had a transformer custom-made that would convert 220V or 250V to American 110V. But I never got to try it out until today. It worked! We have electric everything again and are living in the lap of luxury. We have a slip right in the front of the marina, 200 feet from the bar. Here we are:

Then we walked into town to do some shopping and took some street shots. I won't narrate further.... just enjoy.

On our way to Horta on the island of Faial

2008-07-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

July 3, 2008 Thursday
It is 135 miles to Horta and we have 82 left to go. We left Lajes Harbor around 11:30. We weren't in too great a hurry to leave because we didn't want to get to Horta before daybreak. However, there is about 20 knots of wind and so we are just tearing along - kinda rolly, but fast.

It is trying to rain a little. I might comment on the climate a bit. It seems to average in the 70's during the day. In the winter, they say it gets down into the 50's. Overall, it is very mild. There is enough rain for the greenery and the flowers. BTW, locals tell us that the flowers haven't really even happened yet. They max out in late July and August. Anyway, the climate - I haven't worn a jacket in a really long time, or even a sweater. It's overcast so I have on a shirt. On the other hand, it isn't hot either. Just perfect for light clothes.

So tomorrow AM we get to the fleshpots of Horta. Hardware stores so I can buy a cord to connect European electricity to the boat; European hoses, some electrical goodies to replace things that broke. Not much broke, but the genset needed a new salt water pump impeller. Lucky I had a few! There is a marina that charges 16 Euros a night including water and electricity. Not too bad. It will be nice to be able to walk into town without having to get in the dinghy. Flores didn't have much in the way of restaurants - cheap, but not high cuisine. I suspect Horta will have more to offer. And markets with plenty of fresh vegetables would be welcome, too.

I'm starting to play the guitar again - I feel like I am playing with my toes - I am so rusty!

Horta is the crossroads of the atlantic. During June, July, and August, hundreds of yachts pass through it - and they all paint their names on the harbor wall for good luck (or to avoid bad luck). We have brought paints for that purpose. It will be cool to see so many yachts from so many places. In Lajes, there were about 10 boats and many were from France; one from Denmark, 2 from England, 1 from Spain, and we were the only American after Solstice left.

If one were into tranquil living and didn't need a lot of stimulation, living on Flores would have been a dream. I'm sure that you can buy a nice house with ocean view for $100,000. There were no "for sale" signs, but if you knew the local, opportunities would emerge. A lot of Azoreans go to the States, primarily Massachusetts, to earn money and then retire back in the Azores. We knew a fisherman in Santa Cruz that was planning to go back for good when he got old. But Portuguese is a very complicated language - at least to pronounce and to hear. We need a good grammar book. I hate not being able to talk "local".

Well, I'm on watch and I better get back to it. Feel free to write - we love to hear from you. There is wifi in Horta courtesy of the city and so you can use saeta@sailingflamenco.com - there, now you have no excuses.

BTW, here are Merritt and I putting up the spinnaker pole - click on it to play the video....

Farewell to Flores (and a video)

2008-07-02T03:46:00.000-07:00

July 2, 2008
Hi, I stole some text that Andi wrote:

We rented a car with some other cruisers & took 2 days to tour the island. There's a reason it's called Flores. It looks like it's groomed everyday by happy gardeners! It is absolutely like OZ. Definitely one of the most beautiful places on the planet. What makes it so beautiful is how clean it is & the tranquil life of the people. Everyone, even those in town have a garden, a milk cow & chickens. It's all winding paths and rock walls, stairs & houses. Then when you get to the country it's all green terraced meadows & fields & ancient rock walls covered in wild pink roses & purple hydrangeas & lilies, with rolling lanes lined in cedar trees passing moss sculptures and waterfalls among stone houses with red tile roofs and brightly painted doors & windows. It has grandiose canyons & volcanic lakes (caldeiras)with green, aqua, & black waters. The weather is feels like Santa Barbara, no mosquitoes!

And I'll add a bit. We were pleasantly pleased by the prices here. Beer is a Euro ($1.57). Gas is 1.33 Euros per liter or about $5 a gallon - not too much worse than the States. We'll fill our tanks with diesel before we get to the continent and $8 fuel. Dinner out is about 10 Euros and then wine adds some more, so figure $20 apiece. And there isn't much to spend money on. The car was 30 Euros per day. This is the most marvelous place I've ever been. But, tomorrow we will sail to Horta - 130 miles - about 20 hours with the predicted winds. Horta will be much more of a big city with a marina, electricity, slips, and wifi on the docks. But if you look at it with Google Earth, you will see that it is still spectacular.

If we have any luck uploading it, here is a video taken off the "back porch" in the mid-Atlantic. Very typical.

And still more pix from Flores....

2008-06-30T04:43:00.000-07:00

These pix are in sort of random order, but here they are anyway.
Here are the two Sceptres in Lajes Harbor - Solstice on the left and Saeta on the right.
Most of the fields here are used for grazing. The farming is done closer to town. This island must have the worlds happiest cows. They are usually belly deep in green grass and have no barbed wire. There is a lot of cheese production and they are yummy!
Lajes Harbor as seen from town.
Typical hillside over hydrangeas over a stone wall.
Here is that festival in Santa Cruz with free fish, wine, and bread. Sorry to be so poorly organized.
We've been here a week now and are starting to think of moving on to Horta. But I've never seen a place so immaculate and well tended, so lacking in tourist stuff and development - just remarkable.

The West side of Flores

2008-06-27T05:38:00.001-07:00

We drove to the West side of the island where there are lakes in "calderas" or volcanic craters.
We had a picnic at one of them. Here are us, Merritt and John and Shirlee from San Francisco, owners of Solstice, another Sceptre 41.
Enjoying the picnic.
Terracing on the hillsides. It must have taken generations to have piled up all the rocks that they use to separate fields, control erosion, and create level grazing. Most of the land is used for grazing. The cultivation is closer to the cities and there isn't all that much of it. The vegetables here in the stores are not too impressive.
Here is a rock formation that must have had volcanic origins. This part of the island is the most Western point of Europe.