It started when the flight landed at Girona airport and we alighted the airplane steps onto the tarmac. I just love tarmac boarding - so 1960's jet set. I always want to stop on the stairs and give a little wave.
We drove up the Spanish north coast to the massive Empuriabrava marina where Jan & Dave have their boat, Arion, moored. Arion was the son of Poisiden and he enjoyed the finer things in life, good food, clothes and music. He incurred the wrath of a sea captain who threatened to throw him into the sea. Arion convinced the evil sea captain to let him jump into the sea instead, and when he did so the dolphins sprang from the water and rescued him.
So now we are on the boat, nestled in a little cove and I feel that all I need is the Hermes scarf and the big glasses and I would be Jackie.
Costa Brava is Spanish for rugged coast, and parts of the coast are indeed very rugged, which means that the area is full of remote coves and isolated beaches. The Mediterranean is still pleasant and the water was a swimmable 21 degrees, mild enough for a swim and snorkel off the boat, followed up by picnic lunch onboard.
Bananas
Jan & Dave do not follow what I had thought was a universal nautical rule of banning bananas on boats. In fact, they had never heard of this fisherman's superstition, and they often enjoy a banana on their boat. Fishermen hold the belief that bananas on boats are bad luck and no fish will be caught if a banana is present on board. I have heard of some who go so far as to ban Banana Boat sunscreen. Where does this strange superstition stem from ? There are many stories, but the most credible is that in the 1700s the boats bringing bananas to market had to travel very fast, before the cargo deteriorated. The crew threw lines overboard but the boats were travelling too fast to catch any fish - hence the belief that the bananas brought bad luck. And by the way, Dave reports he never catches any fish - time to ban the bananas ?
No comments:
Post a Comment