June already

We’ve been sailing, traveling, experiencing, working … and not posting. We rely on a dongle for Internet and if we’re in out-of-the-way places we don’t get a very good signal. The frustration of a slow and intermittent connection means we get important emails done and check the weather but not too much else, preferring a lie  in the hammock to a wrestle with technology. So apologies to anyone who might have had a thought to calling the coastguard.

Some years ago a shop in the West Indies  stocked our hand-crafted door wedges. They always sold well and now we’re in the Med we’re reviving this line with a Mediterranean flavour. Beach combing is a long-standing passion and looking for the right driftwood for the wedges makes for an even more interesting walk along the shoreline. Of course the next thing is to find the right outlet – and we do hate marketing … so will gird our loins, stiffen our upper lips and get on with it … maybe next week!

(Update – all sold to a fabulous shop the very next day.)

TRADITIONAL SPANISH CRAFT

‘SALINAS’ 1912

The traditional Mediterranean fishing boat with her lateen rig and sweet lines  is a delight to come across along the coast. The working fishing boat of choice nowadays is a smelly-pot; the old-fashioned sailing fisher is confined to her berth except for festivals or a holiday day-sail. We found a flotilla of these beautiful craft in Xabia and were told that the Associació de Barques Tradicionals is active in the area so that explained the well-preserved and cared-for boats.