Big discussion on what to do this morning… lots of options. People were going to El Mont and we talked to Nicky about going back to Berga, but couldn’t face the drive two days in a row (so we are going tomorrow instead). In the end we went for the lazy option and went to the beach and then flying.

When we got to Roses, there was a cold on-shore breeze, and being east, there is no shelter. Reading in the sun wasn’t much fun, so we went for an amble to the end of the bay to look at the fish. When we got to the marina, the place was full of army vehicles and people getting into wet suits. They were the least likely looking army blokes, most of them looked as if they spent more time in the mess hall than on the training ground. Some where also a little old and one was bearded! There was a lot of groaning and stretching going on as they squeezed bits of themselves into neoprene. Then came the helmets (amazingly, since the words ‘health’ and ‘safety’ are never used in the same sentence here), so by this time we had forgotten about the fish and were intrigued to see what they might be up to. They lined up in pairs and then staggered (they seemed to think it was jogging, but you could have fooled me) about 30m to the edge of the marina. I expected a manly jump into the water, but they sat down and carefully lowered themselves into the water! After 1 minute the instructor got out of the water and then helped the rest out by pulling people back up whilst two or three others would push the more portly ones up.

Throughout this spectacle, Geoff and I were discussing if they could really be in the army and what the UME logo on their wet suits could possibly stand for. Turns out they were the Military Emergency Unit. But trust me, you’d only call them if the emergency involved running out of sticky tape or you needed a light bulb changing.

We headed up to Sant Pere de Rodes at 3pm to see if I could get a fly. Although it was east at the coast, and the forecast was south for the day, it was actually north when we got to the launch. It promptly dropped to nothing as I was getting ready and then started switching from one side of the hill to the other. The wind then played musical take off with me while I carried my gear from one take off to the other in the heat. At 5pm a dust devil came through and Geoff jumped on the glider while I tried to pull the lines in quick. In the end I had enough and decided pack up and carry down.

The day ended with us having a beer watching the sunset over the bay at Port de la Selva. I’ll miss that view when we leave in 10 days.

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