Chipiona, Spain

Force 7!

Force 7!
Originally uploaded by Yacht Susannah

TUESDAY 20 - THURSDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2007

Chipiona is in a bay near the Rio Guadalquivir, which is the river we will need to navigate in order to get to Seville. We are staying here until Friday until the weather improves and the tides are right for getting up the river. It is 55 miles to Seville, and it is important to set off about an hour before low water in order to arrive on one tide.

The weather on Tuesday was very bad with a strong Force 7 and thunder and lightning. The Province of Seville had over 110 litres of rain per square meter in 24 hours – the wettest on record – and many houses and businesses were flooded. In one area, a tornado had destroyed 5 houses and uprooted over 300 trees! We were extremely pleased to be tucked up safely in the marina!

We wandered around Chipiona and it was wonderful to see the trees full of oranges. Roger tried one that had fallen on the ground, but said it was very bitter and decided road kill did not taste so good! We were able to buy a chart of the river which, aside from merchant shipping, appears relatively free of hazards. There are two restaurants in the Marina. Pacos is recommended in the Pilot Book but was closed for November, so we went to the other one. The food was reasonable and the translations in their menu I found very funny – ‘cuttlefish on a sink’ should have read ‘cuttlefish in it’s ink’! while Roger was somewhat amused by the ‘aged cheese’.

The 226 foot lighthouse in Chipiona is the tallest in Spain and the third highest in the world. Guided visits are held every Thursday, so Roger and I booked. We turned up at the appointed time with about a dozen Spanish visitors, but were told we could not go up as it was raining. Although there was only a fine drizzle, the lightening conductor is at the top of the lighthouse and they were concerned about the possibility of a lightening strike wiping out a few tourists. Such health and safety concerns almost made one feel one was back in Britain!