Circling the Sherry Triangle

The title of today's blog might explain why I failed 'O' level maths more than once, achieving the lowest grade possible at my final attempt. You can't really circumnavigate a triangle, well apart from the one here. The vertices of the so called 'sherry triangle' are the town's of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto del Santa Maria and Sanlúcar de Barrameda, though if you feeling particularly pedantic you might point out that the fortified wine from the latter place's bodegas is called Manzanilla, not Sherry.

Apart from wine, Sanlúcar de Barrameda's other claim to fame is it was from here that Ferdinand Magellan's small flotilla departed in 1519 to search for a westerly route to the Spice Islands. Magellan died in the attempt, and only one of the five ships made it back to Spain three years later. Of the original 270 crew members only 18 sailors returned. Though the expedition was ill-fated it was the first circumnavigation of the Earth, one of humanity's great leaps forward in understanding our place in the universe, analogous to the 'overview' effect created by NASA's images of earth from space. Not that the primary purpose of Magellan's voyage was scientific, it was geopolitical and mercantile. By finding a westward route to the Spice Islands Spain could circumvent the Treaty of Tordisillas, which in 1494 had split the world in half down using a line of longitude in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, to the west Spain's sphere of influence, to the east Portugal's. 

Last year we visited Tordisillas, the Spanish town in the upper valley of the Duero where the treaty was agreed. The town museum has a replica of a late fifteenth century map showing the world as someone from the 1490s understood it. Drawn on a flat piece of parchment it looks perfectly possible to divide the world in two with a single line. Re-imagined on a globe, however, you would need an anti-meridian, a second line at the opposite side of the world to truly slice the planet in half. Magellan's voyage prompted the diplomats of Spain and Portugal to go back to the drawing board in an attempt to resolve the 'Moluccas issue' by the 'Treaty of Zaragoza' signed in 1529. This first example of 'thinking globally' was required because at the time spices were as valuable by weight as gold. The 'Victoria' the single surviving ship from Magellan's fleet was carrying 26 tonnes of cinnamon and cloves when it finally docked in Spain. Soon skirmishes broke out in the East Indies between Spain and Portugal until the 1529 treaty ceded the Philippines to Spain and the Spice Islands to Portugal.

The story is fascinating because so much of what was to become the driving force behind the modern world can be seen here - how European power was given global reach through technological advance

and science and how the the control of scarce and valuable commodities fuelled geopolitics for the first time on a global scale. 

Though the motivation may have been political and economic the voyage did provoke scientific advances too. The voyagers kept careful logbooks, but discovered on arrival that their records were one day adrift compared those back in Spain, it was the first time the need for an International Date Line became apparent and led to a better understanding of how the rotation of the Earth affects the measurement of time. It resulted in a delegation being sent to Rome to explain this to the Pope. This can't have been a straightforward conversation given that the notion that God had created the universe in six days was regarded not merely as a fact but as a matter of doctrinal orthodoxy, and a decade previously Michaelangelo, in the Sistine chapel, had depicted the Creator with a long white beard sitting on a cloud. I love these moments when simple human observation confounds superstition.

So, Sanlúcar de Barrameda - an ordinary looking place with an extraordinary story to tell - which is one of the delights of travel. Still, although the place does not have any outstanding monuments it is worthwhile making the trip. It was a a Sunday when we were here last, the town centre was full of families having a meal out in the many restaurants and tapas places in the centre. It's clearly a very affable, sociable place. It was Saturday this time and the same scene unfolded, so much so we gave up trying to find a table in the central area and headed for the string of famous fish restaurants on the riverside.

It's an attractive spot overlooking the Donana National Park across the broad estuary. It was tricky to choose a restaurant as most did not display a menu outside. We did not want a full lunch, just tapas but places seemed set for a three course feast. In the end we found somewhere that advertised half 'rationes'. It was an entertaining experience, the quality of the seafood lived up to the reputation of the area as having some of the best fish restaurants in Andalucia, however the service was comically chaotic. It did not really matter, we were in no hurry.

Gill chose tuna in tomato - it looked delicious. I made the wrong choice - fried squid, these places are famed for their fried fish. When my plate arrived it was piled high with battered squid and nothing else. Well I learned something, a little squid goes a long way. For some reason Gill declined my offer to share the meal .

Gill's delicious tuna

Pete's squid mountain

Manzanilla  - the driest of  the sherry family - best chilled, like this one.

The flat lands of the sherry triangle are famous for stunning sunsets. We are staying in la Jara, a village on the coast about 3kms east of Sanlúcar. The evening we arrived the sunset lived up to the area's reputation 

Since then conditions have deteriorated, grey and a bit gloomy in town yesterday, then heavy rain and thunder overnight and again this morning. The forecast looks distinctly mixed.

We keep consulting our weather apps trying to figure out a schedule which will allow us to see Cadiz, Jerez and El Puerto del Ste. Maria without getting wet. This may prove over optimistic.