Over 2500 Nautical Miles Later

After a long day on calm seas we pull into Porto Olympica. It is a port that was built for the Olympic games back in the 90’s. There are two towering skyscrapers that mark the port where the athletes were housed during the games. After the games, the units were sold off as apartments. The port doesn’t have a regular berth for us, but allow us to tie up across from the Capitainare as long as we promise to leave by 9am. And no, they don’t have any long-term spaces. So the next morning we go to the main port in Barcelona. It looks like there are a bunch of new berths and things look hopeful. We find an empty berth and head to the Capitainare. Sorry no room for long term berthing there either. I was hoping to spend the winter months in Barcelona. There is one last chance, Port Frovm. It is a new port and they might have a space for us. We do manage to find a place and report one more time to the Capitainare. It seems that they do have room, but there is a low bridge that is 16 meters high. Looks pretty tight. We try it, I get right up next to it, and it looks like my mast is about 6” too tall. Now what? We go back only to find that the only places they have are on the other side of the bridge. They encourage us to try again and to go up right next to the wall. So the next morning we attempt it again. With a little luck we hug the far seawall and squeeze under, bending the top VHF antenna as we pass. Wow that is close. Water is up a bit because of winter and a full moon. I just hope we can make it out when we need to. But we are here in Barcelona, safely tucked into a nice berth for a while. I have sailed over 2500 nautical miles before arriving in Barcelona. It has been a great adventure sharing with family and friends. I am ready to stay put for a while, and this looks like a great place to hang out during the winter months.

My friend Jun and I decide to explore the city a bit. There is a lot to see in this grand city. And the best way to see all of the highlights and get a feel for where everything is located is by taking a ride on the Bus Turistic. We have seen these busses in other ports. These double decker busses stop at all of the points of interest. A bus comes about every 10 minutes and can get on and off at any of the spots, spending as much time as you want each time. The first thing we head to is Goudi’s Art Nouveau masterpiece, the temple Expiatori de la Sagrada, church of the holy family. Breathtaking, spectacular, incredible, astounding, what ever you want to say, it doesn’t do this architecture sculpture justice. The church was started in 1883. Goudi spent a lifetime working on it including the last 16 years of his life living like a recluse until he died in 1926. The church is still unfinished and probably will not be completed in my lifetime. With 12 spires for each of the apostles, 4 more for the gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, one for Mary and then the crowning spire for Christ, it is unique in all the world. Even more interesting is the concept for this art nouveau church. All the religious symbols are on the outside of the building. Words shouting Hosanna, Peace and Glory to God wrap around the spires along with depicting the life, death and resurrection of Christ. The inside of the church is stripped of all religious symbols. Instead, the supporting pillars resemble tall trees, creating a ceiling of forest leaves. When finished, stain glass ceilings will filter colored light through the naïve. Goudi’s concept is to make you feel like you are worshiping in a forest of trees rather than a man-made church. I love Art Nouveau. Claiming to have the greatest collection of Art Nouveau buildings, Barcelona has them generously sprinkled throughout the city, and Expiatori de la Sagrada is the crowning jewel.

After two days double deckering it, we only scratch the surface of what this city has to offer. It is going to take me a while to do all of the exploring that I am excited to do. I hope to get a lot of bike riding in, and learning to speak Spanish. We check out the gay part of town. Lot’s of rainbow flags and gay friendly hotels. This is a very gay friendly city. I hear it has the third biggest gay population in Europe. They all seem friendly to me. I am looking forward to getting to know these hot Spaniards with their mops of raven hair, easy smiles and coffee colored skin.

A couple of days later, I meet up with a guy I have been talking to for about a year on the internet. Kevin is Canadian, but travels to Barcelona often for work. We hoped to cross paths somewhere along the way and finally connect in Barcelona. He is a nice guy and fills me in on where to go and what to do while I am over here. He belongs to a gay swim club and invites me to one of their weekly workouts. I am not the strongest swimmer, but always up for some fun. It turns out to be quite a work out. The guys are very friendly and make me feel a part of the group. Everyone is kind enough to not point out my struggling to keep up during the freestyle portion of the workout. I do better on the crawl and kicking part. Those biking muscles are paying off. Afterwards we all shower together. Humm so hot. I can’t help but check out all those uncut dicks and wonderful swimming physics. Afterwards Kevin and I go to a nearby restaurant for a quick dinner. He tells me all the guys were checking me out in the shower as well. Guess gay guys are the same all over.

My friend Lance emails me and wonders where in Europe I am. He is headed to Barcelona for a couple of days. We are both delighted to connect. I haven’t seen him in about a year. He is curating a big art project for the Chinese government in connection with this summers Olympics. He is also putting together a project in Bali. So most of the time on the other side of the globe from where I am. During the day Lance is in meetings all day but we manage to get together in the evenings. The last night he is here, I am invited to a big art opening. Afterwards we go to a local Tapa restaurant with a bunch of other curators. They are from all over the world, Japan, Belgium, Sweden, etc. The food is delicious and the conversation rich. It is fun hearing a perspective of their passions, dreams and politics that can only come from such a wide group of people. You walk away wondering how is it that this world just can’t seem to get along better. I mean we solved most of the worlds problems starting with kicking Bush out of office.