The Parador restaurant and bar was on the top level of the hotel with the bedrooms going down the hillside towards the river, leaving us with the strange sensation of going down to our room and up to reception each time. The view from the top was magnificent and the buffet breakfast with optional cooked eggs and other items equally enjoyable.
After I’d completed a short photo excursion we took a stroll along the water front almost as far as the motorway bridge, stopping for a coffee at the Nautica café and bar – 2 coffees, 2 mini croissants and a tapa, with good marina views, all for €4.80. Returning to the hotel we continued in the opposite direction down to a small harbour, then back for lunch.
Our large, reserved table was in prime position and we found good choices without resort to anything off-menu. Having lunch at 15:00 was a slightly odd experience, but after a short siesta and more obligatory log watching in the wharf below we set off to the old town centre in search for the perfect bar and mythical tapas. As often happens, we ended up in the same bar that had no food available the previous evening, but this being after 20:00 our beer was served up with a small plate of hot mushy pease and a little ham. Struggling for the words to say that this was good apart from the ham we just went along with it, found a raciones menu on the table and ordered what we thought was fired eggs, chips and pickled vegetables only to discover that the last of these was minced chorizo. The waitress could not understand why we had left this pile aside and said ‘lo siento’ when she found out why. Nevertheless, our stomachs seemed settled for the day.