Mad dogs and ship spotters

This morning we drove to Velez-Malaga for the celebration of the Eucharist with a congregation of seventeen people. I was please to have an opportunity for Clare to meet the congregation here, in such a different environment from Malaga, yet with the same open, warm welcoming spirit. After, we joined the majority of worshippers for coffee and churros at Cafe el Tomate just along the street, before driving back to Malaga for lunch at the apartment.

On the last stretch of the drive along the Paseo Maritime, I noticed three large cruise ships docked in the port, as well as the usual Malaga-Melilla ferry. While Clare had a siesta, I walked out along the eastern quay to take photos. TUI Discovery 2 was docked at Terminal One, she's visited Malaga several times during my stay so far. At Terminal Two, Celebrity Reflection was docked - nearly a quarter of a mile long with 2300 passengers and 1200 crew. It's one of the giants of Mediterranean cruise ships.The area was a hive of activity with shuttle buses plying to and fro, taking visitors into the city.  

Moored at the quay further away from the terminals, in isolation and apparent inactivity behind locked security gates was Europa 2. I think it may be in between cruises, changing crew, re-stocking for its next voyage. This is one of the newest, most luxurious vessels of German Hapag Lloyd Line, taking just over five hundred passengers, all over the world. I think I may have seen it docked here before.

I got back to the apartment just as Clare was waking from her siesta, so then we went down to the beach for her afternoon swim. By suppertime, I was beginning to feel a little over-cooked. Although I am quite used to being outdoors in a hot and sunny climate, I have to be very careful, and avoid as much direct sun as possible. Already, I have an embarrassingly well tanned face, for someone who always wears a sun hat and stays in the shadows as much as possible.

Ship watching refined

This morning it was a few degrees warmer than it has been lately, so I did some washing, and it dried much quicker than usual. I walked out to the bridge over the rio Aguas before lunch to try a powerful telescope for bird watching I've been loaned. Powerful indeed, but it needed its tripod stand provided for stability, and this wasn't practicable in the open air. I'll have to try on a table out on the balcony and see what results I can get. There are plenty of birds in our neighbourhood. On the way out, I saw a pair of white wagtails for the first time here.

While I was photographing birds on the bridge, I saw another large bulk carrier heading out to sea after leaving Puerto Garrucha. This one had the words 'Pacific Basin' on the side in large letters. Later I googled this and found that the Pacific Basin Shipping Limited is another global shipping company. Looking on the Marine Traffic website's Garrucha page, I learned it's named 'Alex A' and that tonight it's anchored off Gibraltar. 

When out walking in the afternoon, I saw another smaller cargo ship heading out, similar to the one I spotted yesterday, but with the letters ISB on the side, and close enough to reveal that it was named the Christina. Another google search revealed this to be one of the International Shipping Bureau's fleet. The name speaks for itself. It's fascinating to realise the variety of foreign companies operating cargo ships using Puerto Garrucha. Even so, 51% of reported maritime traffic is local fishing boats, to be seen and heard early morning and afternoons, coming and going. Such a wealth of up to date information freely available on-line to anyone who is curious enough, like me, to bother to look.

Sister in law Ann emailed me to say that a neighbour had seen pictures of Eddie on Google Street View of all places, so I tracked them down and sent her the screen shots that I retrieved. They were dated August 2011. Funnily enough, I remember Eddie mentioning that he'd seen the camera car pass through the village. I wonder if he knew he was caught on camera chatting to a neighbour?