Galeón Andalucía

After a little time watching Paralympic judo, we went into town to confirm some final details about the carpet. Then, we had to walk to the bus stop and decide between a two-bus journey to Cowes or the direct bus to East Cowes and the chain ferry. They appeared similar when we compared arrival times, so we opted for the direct journey.

A guy barged to the front of the queue and sat downstairs. Before we'd left the bus stop, he was arguing at full volume with somebody at the other end of a phone call. By the time we departed, he'd been on and off the bus once. And, when we reached the roundabout, he decided he wanted off again. I suspect the driver was delighted to let him off when we came to a stop.

As we approached the chain ferry, it was just pulling away. We had a bit of a wait for it to return. The indirect bus would have been faster but not as interesting. We sat inside for the short crossing as the rain fell quite hard. On board, we read about the first-ever hovercraft making its maiden flight from East Cowes in 1959. It's a shame none are on this side of The Island now.

Whenever I visit a place, I think of it as 'touristy', and I am always surprised when I find cafés closing at about 3 pm. In Cowes, this was the case, but we found The Garden, which was serving, and we enjoyed a burger lunch.

We'd come to look at Galeón Andalucía, a replica of the type of Spanish galleon that sailed from the 16th to the 18th centuries. We opted not to pay the £12 fee to board. Instead, we walked up the pier to look closer at the boat and the masts. It's a more impressive view of the full 55 m from the seafront. As we walked away, somebody in a boat was blasting the Pirates of the Caribbean theme, which was great to watch and, I assume, planned.

We shopped for dinner in the Waitrose beside the bus stop when we returned to East Cowes.

And, although I'd thought I'd have to buy an umbrella, I managed to get through the showers without one.