MARINA SEVILLA

The Club Nautico Sevilla Marina
on the River Guadalquivir is quite small with only 10 boats presently berthed here although it it can squeeze in about 40. The club (Club Nautica Sevilla) has about 8000 (mostly social) members who pay huge annual dues for the privilege and have to keep their boats down at the coast. It is not cheap for us to be here (about 17 Euros per night - $25 CAD - based on a 3 monthly discounted rate, but worth every penny to us for the three winter months.
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Almost right downtown – a short walk and an even shorter bike ride to an absolutely beautiful city – without a doubt one of the most beautiful cities either of us has ever been in. Historical, well kept, with many parks and monuments, the third largest cathedral in the world. (More on the city itself on another blog).
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Laden orange and lemon trees are everywhere around the marina grounds for the picking, set among sub-tropical vegetation and large trees. The club has three swimming pools (an indoor one which we use often), gymnasium, tennis courts, soccer grounds, active rowing and junior sailing programs (even in the winter), a weight room, a 10 Km bike path nearby along the river and a restaurant and bar with a big-screen TV for those well-attended soccer games. And we have full use of all of the facilities. Putting up with cool nights (4-5 degrees C) and sunny days of 15 – 18 degrees is not difficult. An electric heater is employed at night and the duvet cover was stuffed with another sleeping bag. We joined the new (nearby) Biblioteca Publica as it has a fair selection of English language books, CD’s and DVD’s.
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Our “neighbours” include British (Primareta), Belgians (Pamina), Irish (Island Life), two American boats Gandalf and Voyageur, a German/Portugese couple (Woodwind). The other Canadian boat Masala, stayed 3 weeks and headed into the Med. Other neighbours include a fleet of ducks and flocks of pigeons. We socialise and attend events together and eat with the ducks and pigeons. It’s a busy life…