Wow. Wow! This is so cool!

Sunday night during our passage from Cascais, Portugal to Sevilla, Spain, I had about 12 dolphin keep me company on my midnight to 2am watch.  You could see them because of the phosphorescence, jumping and blowing right next to me in the middle of the boat. They were cool, but the 30 fishing, container and shrimping boats anchored outside the river mouth were not.  It was hard to figure out who was moving, who wasn't and who had little tiny boats out picking up nets!  Jim got no sleep but got us through safely.

Monday am, we are working our way up the Guadalquivir River to Seville. It's going to be about 50 miles, with a stop for a lock and a draw bridge.  The river  looks just like the Petaluma river with the Sierra in the distance.  You cruise along land that looks exactly like San Diego. Eucalyptus, Jacaranda, oleander, bougainvillea, cotton wood, sycamore, pine, etc.  It is getting hotter by the moment. Yeah!  The coast looked like Del Mar with the red sand stone cliffs and beaches below.  Absolutely looked like Where I grew up riding. 

It's all farm land along the river bank.  I know I saw a field of sunflowers, but couldn't see what else they had growing since we were a little low.  There are also toms of animals. I've seen Spanish Torros!  Man they are huge.  Bigger than CA cows!  Wood Storks, herons, egrets, terns, osprey, (going to have to keep an eye on Ita) and I think 3 flamingos flew by. Sheep, with a shepherd (no crook) and Border Collie. Also lots of fish boats and old abandoned churches, farms and monasteries?  Also some very cool houses/rancheros that clearly have Moorish influence.

AND HORSES!!!  A WHOLE HERD OF ANDALUSIAN HORSES!!  WITH FOALS!!!

The lock was very straight forward.  Thank goodness the container ship behind us spoke English and translated between the lock operator and us!

We are now pulled into a small marina just short of Seville, waiting until 10 pm for the draw bridge to open.

Later that Night...

Made it through the draw bridge and into the slip with inches to spare!  Our view for the next month is the Alcázar, which was the "residence of many generations of Kings and Caliphs." *Lonely Planet.  (I am sure they film Game of Thrones here!)

Off to explore.  More later.  Sorry for any time and tense changes. This was a 3 day post.

Deb