Lost in Barcelona

Barcelona? Barcelona! Because of the reduced off-season flight plan to and from Gran Canary, and the winter chaos at a few major Airports, my choice of affordable pre-Christmas flights to Germany was somewhat limited. The best option seemed to be a flight with Vueling to Barcelona, and then continue to Stuttgart with Germanwings. Unfortunately the vueling flight was 90 minutes late. With further delays at the baggage retrieval (40min) and transfer between the two terminals (20min) I missed my second flight by 10 minutes. And there was no other flight to Gemany that day. So ... a day in Barcelona. Could be worse I've been here a few times before, mostly on business. Walking again through the streets of my favorite city in Europe reminds me of tbe last time I was here, 51 weeks ago, on the way to Ibiza very early on in my voyage. I spent New Year here and incidentally met up with my friends Kym, Neil, George, Ville and Johanna. Celebrating with them took my mind of the two storms that I passed through on the way here. I remember, when I left La Escala for Bracelona another sailboat was coming into port, escorted by the marine rescue boat. Hehe, I'll never forget the look on their faces, though barely visible underneath the foul weather gear. Little did I know that I'd run into the worst storm of my life after leaving Barcelona! Only a year, but it seems a lifetime ago. So much has happened since then. The christmas holidays will be a time for reflection for sure. I'm very glad that the work on Gudrun V is done and that uncertainty and pressure is off my mind. And the financial strain off my wallet! Refitting a racing boat ... what a stupid idea .