With his new Spanish nationality, Toby (El Tobos) has taken it upon himself to convert to Spanish as the language of choice. Commands such as ‘Sit’, ‘Stay’ and ‘Here’ and so on, which are clearly standard doggie language in English and working are no longer, or certainly no longer heeded. Some might say that El Tobos is taking European integration too far, but it is a requirement of Spanish nationalisation to have a working knowledge of the lingo, so try as we might, he ignores all these words. Luckily, we have ordered a Spanish phrase book … so smarter than the average Jack Russell, or so we hope – more on this one later. Strangely when there is the promise of food around, his English language skills return , but they are short lived. We are still trying to figure this out.
For the last few years, we have got into the party mood in the summer with a pilgrimage to Glastonbury, which is so much more than just a music festival and more a festival of summer and arts and crafts from years gone by. It is all consuming and great fun. The only problem for those of us of a certain age, is the lack of sleep. A 3 day party without any real sleep can be a challenge. The summer is also Fiesta time in Spain, but unlike Glastonbury, Fiestas here seem to be in every town. Each town along the coast of Spain and probably elsewhere too has its own justification for a Fiesta such as the transportation of bulls to the bull ring in Pamplona (this happens in other towns too) or maybe to commemorate the return of local boy who went to America in the 18th century with nothing more that the clothes he stood up in and returned a millionaire and a survivor of the English fleets with his tobacco or sugar fortune with which he rebuilt the town, or even, in the absence of a local hero or a bull ring, just because the local priest decided to revere a certain saint back in the 14th century. 
Whatever the reason Northern Spain is awash with Fiestas and with the correct planning, you can sail from Fiesta to Fiesta for 2-3 months without a break, as no two fiestas seem to happen at the same time. They can take you by surprise as you can find yourself moored in the perfect spot overlooking a peaceful bay with a lovely village as a backdrop when all of a sudden, the peace is broken by the brass band, a troop of bagpipes and innumerable firecrackers and you are right in the middle of a Fiesta which lasts well into the night with Euro-pop blasting until 4AM. Fiestas are big events here. There is no pilgrimage to a field in Somerset, rather, one by one whole towns shut down and the entire population dons the required costume and comes out into the streets for singing and dancing. These are all very much family affairs with grandparents and grandchildren, aunts and uncles … As this is a Glastonbury fall year, this is a great option for those suffering Glasto-withdrawl … no U2, Dolly Parton or Stevie Wonder to bring star appeal, but a similar atmosphere of fun and community spirit but with sailing intervals. Actually really nice.
The Spanish are late starters in the evenings. Even when there is no Fiesta, many restaurants do not open until 9PM and you even find families turning up to eat after 11PM with kids, so when the Fiesta revelry gets going it will be well into the wee hours. You would have thought that this would put a strain on the metabolism of 50/60 somethings on a boat, but the Spanish have an answer for this. A good lunch in 25oC dappled shade with a bottle of wine results in a productivity drop in the afternoon, so unlike the puritanical North Europeans with a high work ethic, they do not try to power through the laws of nature, rather they go to bed for a kip. Perhaps doing anything productive is something the folk in these parts think about after the summer and summer is just the time for Fiestas? But not much seems to get done around here in terms of productive work; it seems to be either Fiesta or Siesta preparing for Fiesta. 
Everything in Spain shuts down from 2PM to at least 5PM and restarts later in the day. Some of you may be familiar with a similar retirement to bed culture in France, or at least Paris, in the late afternoon. The French “Cinq a Sept” may appear similar to the Spanish Siesta, but I understand is more energetic and does not re-energise for Fiesta, but rather exhausts for a early night. I somehow think that suggesting a Siesta in the middle of a working day at Dell will not get full management support, but it is very civilised and permits revelry (or indeed work) until the early hours, even for the kids .. it allows lunch to be digested without the stress of account reviews to give you heartburn, or worse and certainly after a bottle of wine in a for lunch is almost unavoidable …
Sea Star goes South 