Postcards from Arenys de Mar

Here I am in Spain on Granny Duty. Today, I’m not needed till 5.00, when I collect Anaïs from nursery. So I took myself off to Arenys de Mar, just up the coast from here. Once upon a time, it was an important ship-building town, and remnants still exist in the form of repairing and restyling yachts and other craft. And it’s still a fishing town, so off I went to the fishing port, where I had long since missed the daily fish auction. Oddly, this starts high and the bidding goes lower till it sticks. I can’t quite get my head round that.

The fishing port, the yachts, and the town

The boats here are small family-run craft. Industrial fishing it ain’t. So fishermen were out and about doing running repairs to their boats, and sitting down checking their nets and mending them. It all seemed time-honored and traditional.

Mending the nets

Who knew that fishing nets could all look so different?

Next time I go, I’ll be in time for the auction. Maybe.

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Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

52 thoughts on “Postcards from Arenys de Mar”

  4. I love visiting fishing villages. You reminded me of a Vincent Van Gogh quote:

    “The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.”

    Fishermen face the unpredictable elements of the sea, testing their abilities and resilience. They must possess a deep understanding of the water, weather patterns, and the behavior of different fish species. The thrill of the catch, the satisfaction of providing sustenance, and the sense of accomplishment from mastering their craft make the life of a fisherman truly compelling.

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    1. I suspect the Mediterranean may not be as tough a workplace as say, the North Sea. But it’s still not a life I’d willingly choose, whatever the thrills and satisfactions might be. Neither would I have been a wife. The ones round here did lace making, and the museum I saw this morning demonstrated just how painstaking a craft that is too.

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      1. I think it was a sense of community that they enjoyed. Whenever I hear my mother’s stories of farm life in Nebraska during the Great Depression, it was the community that kept them going during the most difficult of times. But I’m with you – it is not a life that is easily chosen.

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  15. I love this sort of place and you’ve captured the atmosphere very well! I love the shot of the man mending the net, and your gallery of fishing net close-ups reminded me of your recent sheep’s wool one, with its variety of shades and textures 🙂

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    1. Thanks so much. These are all phone images. We’ll see what the camera reveals later. Loving my grandparent duties, but am just a bit … tired.

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  20. I love the textures. The reverse auction idea is interesting – a ploy to inflate prices, perhaps? Does that mean the first bid always wins? It would also be possible to game the system, for everyone not to bid, assuming they all knew each other in a form of collective-not-bargaining.

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    2. I don’t understand the reverse auction at all. If bidding starts at say 100€, then you might bid 90€, and I’d maybe go for 80€ … I just don’t get it. But it clearly works for them.

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      2. It does seem very unusual for the lowest price to win, unless they are competing to supply at that price rather than to buy. I once took place in a series of reverse auctions with Argos – the suppliers competed to bid the lowest cost price to win the contract to supply a specified item. I remember it being extremely scary.

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