Velella Cruising Log

We decided at the last minute to make a brief trip to Spain to visit friends, Vicky MacFeidh and Antoine Bonnaveau, who are living in Valencia, Spain, working with America's Cup teams there. Vicky had visited us here in Hong Kong and we had a blast showing her around our most recent stomping grounds and taking some cultural classes together. We had mused about spending Thanksgiving together, as we had while we were all in New Zealand together during the last America's Cup. We knew that anything could happen with the Cup by July, and where Vicky and Antoine might be in a year's time is anyone's guess. And during that same period, Antoine would be "on vacation" from the Luna Rossa campaign, although we soon learned just how little down time that really meant for him. We figured this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit Spain with good friends, though not something that's exactly in line with our usual cruising budget.

No, we didn't go to Spain by boat, but by airplane like most people. As they say, "Nothing goes to weather like a 747!" We traveled about 9,000 miles in a matter of hours, drinking and dining well while catching up on the latest movies, something otherwise that might take us 6-8 months of rushing by sailboat, or longer the way we've been traveling lately. We had a safe spot to leave the boat unattended without undue worry. Securing cheap flights meant flying through London and after airport transfers and security, I can now guess why fares are lower through there. We took great care to locate and transport 2 cans of cranberry sauce - a rare find in Valencia, for our Thanksgiving feast, but got it taken in airport security due to the risk it posed to other passengers in carry on luggage. Carried it almost all the way before it got confiscated. Ah well. I guess packing light no longer pays off.

Valencia:

Valencia lies 220 miles east of Madrid and 200 miles south of Barcelona along the eastern Mediterranean coast of Spain just north of several popular British holiday resorts. Though Valencia is Spain's third largest city, the population is fairly small with only 780,000 people. The city may be more known today for its Paella, Valencian oranges and the Lladro porcelain figurines or its recent status as America’s Cup host than for anything else, but Valencia also has a rich history. The city had its heyday when it was a major center for European trade throughout the Mediterranean. The Silk Exchange was a building where most European silk was traded until the local industry was wiped out by a mulberry tree disease.

Evidence remains from centuries of Moorish occupation, and the Valencian dialect remains distinct from Spanish, a product of Catalan and its Moorish invaders. When the Moors were driven out, Valencia lost a significant amount of their expertise and the city suffered. The tightfisted rule of Franco beginning in the 1930's restricted economic prosperity further until his death in 1975. While Valencia is situated along the Mediterranean with a long white sandy beach and a busy port, the city seems inwardly focused with its back to the sea and the area along the water was seedy until very recently. Joining the European Union has offered Spain significant assistance in economic development and Valencia has also benefited from that development. Spain is no longer one of the cheapest places in Europe as it once was. City officials bent over backwards to entice the America's Cup organizers to choose Valencia, and, as a result of that choice, a significant amount of redevelopment and construction has engulfed the city since, much to the inconvenience of its inhabitants. But some of the more positive aspects of the modernization have made the city more attractive in many ways. Valencia has tree lined avenues, wide boulevards and circles, pleasant squares with fountains, narrow streets, and traditional spanish architecture as you might expect from a Spanish city, but the classic architecture in the old city center sits not far from Modern, angular apartment buildings and a futuristic cultural center.

Valencia is situated on a floodplane of the Turia River, which was diverted to prevent further death and destruction after a severe flood in 1957. The original riverbed has been turned into a fantastic 87 acre metropolitan park, with a cultural center, pedestrian walkways, bike lanes and play fields. The park has become an integral part of many people's lives in Valencia and a popular social gathering place for evening strolls and weekend outings. We began our tour of the city on bikes in the river park on a beautiful Sunday, where it was filled with families out for a walk, children playing in the grounds, and people enjoying the fountains and reflecting pools. Bicycling along the flat recess of the riverbed gave us an interesting overview of the city, as we passed under historical bridges that stretched over land and we looked up at classic towers in the distance. We headed towards old town, exiting the park and passing through the old city gates, called "Torres des Sarranos", 2 imposing twin towered stone gates are nearly all that remain of the old city walls, which the city outgrew.

Inside the city gate, we wound along narrow streets, and entered an open square where we saw traditional Spanish dancing in period costumes. We also saw the location of the Tribunal de Aguas (water tribunal) which governs water rights in Valencia province. The water tribunal is the oldest in Europe and has been meeting since 960AD outside Valencia Cathedral's (side) Gate of the Apostles; the tribunal still meets each Thursday when the Cathedral bell strikes noon. Representatives are farmers from each of the water districts, elected for 2 years by fellow farmers, and their decisions are final. Around the other side of the Cathedral, the front facade is ornately carved stone that caught the sunlight beautifully and was very picturesque. This Cathedral was begun in the 13th century, built on the ruins of an ancient mosque, and completed in 1482. The cathedral features numerous ancient relics, including the mummified severed arm of martyred St. Vincent (ew!) and the holy grail, the chalice that Jesus supposedly used at the last supper and the subject of much myth, sent to Valencia for safekeeping while Borgia was pope. The chalice was the simplest among a number of ornate ones on display inside the cathedral, but had a place of honor in its own chapel. Also inside the Cathedral was Francisco Goya's hauntingly dark painting of "St. Francis Borgia at the deathbed of an impenitent" depicting ghouls over the body of a dead sinner. An ornate bell tower hovers impressively above the Cathedral. Near the Cathedral lies an 18th century palace, which we later toured, Palacio del Marquises dos Aguas, which had a lovely carved alabaster doorway. We continued on to see more classic examples of architecture including the bullring, the post office and the railway station and several other beautiful churches and towers. (Unfortunately no bull fights were scheduled during our visit, so we didn’t get to see a bull fight. Vicky and Antoine have developed a love for the pageantry of it and filled us in on the gory details.) The old section of town covers a small area and we quickly covered many of the high points.

We meandered back south through the riverbed park, past Cuidad de las Artes y las Ciencias, the ultra modern cultural center designed by internationally renowned architect and native son Santiago Calatrua, including an umbracle, a covered garden promenade, and the Palau de las Artes, a concrete oval cleverly resembling a Trojan helmet. The strikingly modern design was beautiful with the sun catching the glass and reflecting the aquamarine of the surrounding pools. At night their attractive lighting creates a completely different effect. Near the south of the park we exited and made our way up to the road. As we travelled around the city we noticed the mild odor of excrement. The older sewer pipes were probably the cause.

We continued our way down the newly created bike paths along the road to the port where the America's Cup bases were located. Many of the teams were away for winter training elsewhere and many bases were closed up tight so there was little to see except the team stores. In the distance, specks on the horizon were evidently AC boats doing testing, but only a good set of binoculars would have made it possible to determine which boats were out. All the same, we appreciated the opportunity to see where our friends were spending most of their time and see the newest venue of this famous race. A number of America's Cup displays reviewed AC history from its beginning in 1851 when the boat "America" challenged and beat 14 British rivals in the 100 Guinea Cup by such an impressive margin that the cup was renamed after the famous vessel and was won by US vessels for the next 132 years. Also down at the port was a replica of La Nao Victoria, the first ship to sail around the world in the 16th century as part of Magellan's fleet, though he was killed in the Philippines before the end of that particular voyage. After a quick initial tour of the area, we headed for some paella at one of the restaurants along the beach. Spanish tradition features dinners at 9 or 10pm, so we often had a large late lunch and then made dinner at home closer to our usual dinner hour. Sometimes to make it until dinnertime, we stopped for a snack of pastry and hot chocolate (now I mean *Hot Chocolate*! Not the hot cocoa water that we usually call hot chocolate but something thick enough to be chocolate fondue). To complete the decadent experience, we’d dip a sweet fritter into the rich dark sweet mixture. Other great treats we appreciated in Spain were the fresh bread, fancy salamis, cheeses, wines and sangrias.

We visited the Mercado Central, the central market, a tiled domed art nouveau building of wrought iron and glass built in 1928. The market is the largest covered market in Europe, and there we ogled the vast array of olives, cheese, salami, fresh fruit, vegetables and meat and made purchases for snacking and also for our Thanksgiving feast. We searched everywhere for cranberry sauce to replace what we lost to airport security. We finally scored some on Thanksgiving Day at a specialty British store after days of searching. We spent much of Thanksgiving Day afternoon preparing our feast, though we didn't eat until 10pm, when our guests would be able to join us after the long work day typical of AC sailors. We shared Thanksgiving with the genoa trimmer from the Mescalzone Latino team, Lars Bergrstrom and his journalist wife, Rosella, Italians who were very excited to finally experience their first American Thanksgiving. We had to laugh when they told us they'd looked Thanksgiving up on the Internet so they could better understand this famous holiday. I'm not sure they fully understood the significance of this holiday to us, which amounts to a traditional family dinner still so common in Europe. They asked whether we were going to pray and about other rituals mentioned in the writeup they read. (It's embarrassing to think that outside the US, people think Americans are all a bunch of religious zealots.)

I don't think these 2 Italians and the lone Frenchman understood our obsession with cranberry sauce either! We sure enjoyed sharing our holiday with them. When we resumed our sightseeing, we visited the Museum of Enlightenment, a fascinating experiential review of the evolution of thought from the Medieval teachings of the Church through the renaissance and various philosophers who paved the way for the evolution of Western scientific thought and inventions, bringing to light their positive as well as negative implications.

Not only did we appreciate the historical perspective it offered, but also the review of philosophies we learned about in school and had just read about in the novel "Sophie's World", and respected how the museum brought into question the way we define "progress". We also visted the History Museum of Valencia, which was also cleverly designed, offering not only historical artifacts but film clips which provided a glimpse of what life was like during various periods and major events in history. The museum is housed inside the building where the first water tank of the city was built in 1850.

We got a glimpse at another Valencian tradition as well: Falla. Each year, Valencia hosts a festival in celebration of St. Joseph's day, the patron saint of carpenters. We learned that this festival evolved from a tradition when carpenters would burn the sweepings from their workshops. Artisans create these satirical monuments of flammable materials that are torched at the close of the festival on St. Joseph’s Day. While we were not in Valencia during the festival, a museum displayed a small section of each year’s winner preserved from the fire. The artistic talent and humor captured in these monuments is impressive and it is a shame that all but the winner are destroyed by fire. Some figurines were bawdy and suggestive, some were political statements, but nearly all featured exaggerated expressions and included a touch of humor. And the portions we were able to see were but a small part of the winning entry, which tower over the streets when they are displayed.

Barcelona:

We spent 4 days in Barcelona and could have easily spent much longer or even live there to enjoy it more fully. The old city of Barcelona is famous for its historic monuments, narrow pedestrian streets and bohemian atmosphere. We were completely taken by the architecture, the art, the history and the general pulse of the city. We are fortunate that so much of history remains preserved in the many buildings that escaped damage during war. Whereas Valencia has the feel of a city that time has forgotten until recently, Barcelona's history remains preserved yet the city has evolved along with history and is vibrant today. While the vast selection of the museums alone could keep one busy for months, we spent most of our time just strolling around gazing at the astounding architecture. Walking around the city was so pleasant, with its combination of narrow alleyways and wide boulevards and circles and squares, with incredible architecture at every turn. I couldn't seem to take enough photographs of the city's classical beauty. While walking was delightful around the city, an extensive subway also made travelling the longer distances incredibly convenient. Vicky and Antoine dropped us off on their way to France and we began our visit under the statue of Christopher Columbus pointing out to sea. This is the port to which he returned to meet with his benefactors, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, who financed his famous voyage in 1492. Actually we were amused to notice that the Columbus Statue, Monumento a Colon, points to north Africa instead of the new world which he is recognized for discovering. We wandered around Port Vell, the old port, appreciating the stately Aduana (Customs) building, and the old Paseo Nacional which now houses the Museum of Catalan History. We enjoyed the views of the water and the many pretty boats docked there. As we promenaded along the water near the fisherman's quarter (Barceloneta) across from some enticing seafood restaurants, we noticed a group of lit numbers embedded into the pavement in odd groupings; we had come upon it backwards, so it took us a while to realize that the numbers and spacing mimicked the Fibunacci sequence (1,1,2,3,5,8,13, etc). We were curious to see where the Olympic sailing occured during the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 though could see little evidence of the competition remained in this area. We walked along the modern promenade bridge that stretches out over the water past numerous docked sailboats to the new Aquarium, shops and restaurants on the modern oasis built into the central harbour. We made our way away from the water up the famous Ramblas pedestrian walkway where countless street perfomers entertain visitors. People in fully body paint and clothing of all gold or silver or other combinations would hold poses as statues for extended periods. Most amusing was watching these folks in full body paint taking a break, smoking a cigarette and chatting with friends. One "statue" would perch himself upsidedown amidst monchromatic garbage and hold the most unlikely poses for long periods of time, capturing the attention of countless tourists. Along the busy Ramblas, flowers, birds, post cards and other souvenirs were available in vendor stalls placed along the walkway. Yes, you could purchase a pigeon there while on vacation! On either side of the walkway, trees and buildings from the early 20th century lined the street, making an attractive backdrop. We got a bite to eat and then found a nice hotel back down near the port to serve as our base during our stay. We dropped off our bags and ventured back out to explore the quieter streets unencumbered.

The evening lighting on the classical architecture of the Gothic Quarter was incredibly romantic and the quiet atmosphere of these ancient streets filled us with awe. We marvelled as we imagined the history that occured in these narrow streets. We watched a performer play Bach and Mozart beautifully on a glass harmonica, a series of glasses encompassing the musical scale, which were set on a table before him; He literally made the glasses sing by rubbing his wet fingers on the rims. We enjoyed the aria from Carmen sung by a woman using the accoustics next to the cathedral to best advantage. And the Cathedral made for a picturesque backdrop as well. We stopped to admire a beautifully lit Gothic bridge that linked two buildings over the street. We were surprised to learn later that the bridge had been built in 1928! We appreciated the talents of these and other musicians on several occasions as we made our way along the narrow cobbled passageways past aristocratic medieval townhouses.

Modern sidewalk cafes in the most ideal settings tempted us as well as street markets in the squares, selling beautiful original paintings and prints of the city's charms. Restaurants enticed us with fine food and wine. We especially enjoyed a Basque bar which offered glasses of wine along with a buffet selection of fresh sandwiches to graze upon until we were sated. We had sandwiches of smoked salmon, sausages, dried cod, anchovies and peppers, olives and various types of cheese and grilled vegetables, all unusual and delicious. At the end, the total number of toothpicks determined the cost.

We visited the throne room where Christopher Columbus was received by Ferdinand and Isabella upon his return from the new world, built over the ancient Roman ruins that form the foundation of the city. The City museum encompassed these ruins and the palace perched upon them. We toured the Maritime Museum, housed in the largest medieval shipyards built in the 13th century, with high arched ceilings, heavy ceiling beams, ramps, and open sections. Barcelona's seafaring heritage encompasses a rich history. Inside were maps and navigational equipment of the medieval period, as well as countless replicas of various famous vessels. Also featured was a life sized replica of the slave galley which led the battle that stopped the Turks progress into Europe and changed the course of European History. Out in the courtyard, was the world's oldest submarine from the mid 1800's, made of wood and designed for harvesting coral.

Countless gorgeous cathedrals captured our attention, offering examples of various styles of architecture during different periods of history. We visited Santa Maria del Mar, a Gothic cathedral from the 14th Century, impressive in its size and majestic simplicity. Sitting in one of the pews, we were dwarfed by its high arched ceilings and massive candelabra style chandeliers attempting to shed light on the dark grey stone interior. Its columns are the most widely spaced of any Gothic cathedral, testing the laws of physics.

We toured the Palau de la Musica Catalanya, an impressive and elaborately decorated concert hall designed by the father of the Modernisme architectural movement. We also visited many works of Antoni Gaudi, his protege, and one of the best known architects of Moderisme, including La Pedrera, La Sacra Familia and the Parc Guell. La Pedrera features novel architectural solutions and is a triumph of functional design. The Sacra Familia, bordering on the garish, is an incredibly ambitious project, the construction of which has and will continue to outlive its designer by many years. Only 8 of the 18 towers of this unifinished religious edifice currently exist and will continue to be built for another 30 years from his plans. We arrived at Parc Guell as it was getting dark. We found it eery walking around this unlit park after dark without a flashlight. A camera flash offered some enlightenment, but it was difficult to fully enjoy its beauty in the low light, but still appreciated its mosaic tiling and the creativity of the unusual buildings at the park entrance, inspired by the story of Hansel and Gretel. We also saw many other examples of Modernisme Architecture created by other architects around the city.

We hiked up to the hill fort that towers above the city, called Montjuic. The area served as the epicenter of the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. We toured the impressive Castillo De Montjuic, a fortified castle, built in the 18th century, complete with moat and drawbridge. We saw the pretty Palacio Nacional and the majestic fountains that sit at its foot. And we enjoyed Montjuic's spacious natural grounds and view overlooking the city. We attempted to visit the Picasso Museum, which houses the most important works of Picasso, but were disappointed to find it closed. We feel compelled to return to explore Barcelona more fully as we fit in as much as we could in 4 short days, but left with just a taste of its charm and mystery and a long list of places to return to. We finished our Barcelona visit with a walk through the parc de la Cuitadella, which occupies the site where the Citadel built by by Philip V following the Spanish War of Succession. We returned to Valencia by train, enjoying a picnic of wine, fresh bread, manchego cheese and salami. The smell was notable as we came close to the city.

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Cheers,
Wendy Hinman and Garth Wilcox
S/V Velella (Wylie 31)
http://yachtvelella.blogspot.com/