Empuriabrava

Sunday October 11th

Breakfast was coffee and granola with milk. Around 8:30 Phillipe stopped by with a friend to say hello and they offered us some fresh croissants- how could we refuse?..They seemed jovial but tired. Phillipe's face, neck and eyes were all red from drinking. His short pudgey companion looked like a pony-tailed, Rolling Stone t-shirt wearing version of Timothy Spall. They didn't stay long. They spoke with my father, joked with me (I have no idea what they said) and then bid us au revoir.
At around 9am we packed up and left for another trip over the Spanish border. This time our destination was the port village of Roses where my father's boat is docked. We drove south over the coastal mountain roads, winding up and around a ww2 memorial to all those who perished trynig to escape Vichy and the Nazis.
We entered Spain and descended from the mountains into a valley of farmland. For miles and miles, the stench of pig shit compost hung in the air, even in heavy wind. Eventually this passed and we came to the coastal region near Roses. We stopped at an airstrip outside Empuriabrava used exclusively for skydiving and had lunch while we watched jumpers sailing into the tarmac from the cloudless blue sky(http://www.skydiveempuriabrava.com/). I haven't decided yet, but I may go back and jump before my trip ends in November.
After lunch we drove through Empuriabrava and Santa Margarida on the way to the boat. Empuriabrava and Santa Margarida are both port towns that have incorporated a system of Venice-like canals in between their 2-3 story housing. Everything there is beautiful and despite the proximity to the water the breeze was comfortably dry. We arrived at the marina in Roses by late afternoon. We parked the car, tied up the dogs and then climbed up the stern and into the boat for a tour. Steel cables fastened to the deck, rose to meet sail and mast. A large flag bearing the name "Holy Smoke" flapped in the light wind. My father unlocked the fore cabin and showed me in. I took a quick look at the bathroom and living quarters while he emptied the place of tools and supplies. Sylvie followed and they laughed together telling me about the roundtrip transatlantic voyage and how they managed to not kill each other while confined to 33 ft of sailboat. The day grew late, we locked up the boat and headed home. On the return trip we took an inland route that brought us through the duty free zone and we bought some veal for the blanquette de veau I'm supposed to make on saturday. We arrived back at the house near dusk and ate a simple spagetti & meatball dinner before heading to bed.