• Home
  • About
    • About Julie and Colin
    • In the Media
  • Expeditions
    • Race to Alaska
    • Yukon Gold Rush Row
    • Olive Odyssey Expedition
    • Rowing Around Vancouver Island
    • Rowed Trip – Scotland to Syria by Oar
    • Around the World by Human Power
    • The First Descent of the Yenisey River
    • Running the Amazon
    • Five Years Offshore Sailing
  • Books & Films
    • On Writing and Filming
    • Olive Odyssey
    • Rowed Trip
    • Rowboat in a Hurricane
    • Beyond the Horizon
    • Lost in Mongolia
    • Amazon Extreme
  • Keynote Speakers
    • Selecting a Speaker
    • Keynote Topics
    • Testimonials
    • Clients
    • Colin Angus Bio
    • Julie Angus Bio
  • Adventurer’s Handbook
    • Featured Expeditions
    • Crossing the Bering Strait & Beringian Gap
    • Arctic Survival
      • Arctic Tents
      • Cooking, Food, and Water
      • Clothing
      • Sleeping Bags
      • Sleeping Pads
      • Condensation and Vapour Barriers
    • Ocean Rowing
      • What Time of Year to Row
      • Understanding the Principles of Seaworthiness
      • Equipment
      • Safety Equipment
      • Electrical System
      • Food
      • Ocean Rowboats
      • Miscellaneous Information
      • Ocean Rowing Records
    • R2AK
      • R2AK Records 2015
      • R2AK blog posts
    • Touring Rowboats
    • Cycle Touring
      • The Bike
      • Tires
      • Water
      • Seat
      • Panniers and Trailers
      • Equipment
      • Camping
      • Cycling Destinations
    • Cold Weather Cycling
    • Bike Trailers
    • About Global Circumnavigations
    • Yenisey River
    • Amazon River
    • The Broken Islands Group
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Adventurers, Writers, and Professional Speakers

team@angusadventures.com
Login

Login
Angus Adventures
  • Home
  • About
    • About Julie and Colin
    • In the Media
  • Expeditions
    • Race to Alaska
    • Yukon Gold Rush Row
    • Olive Odyssey Expedition
    • Rowing Around Vancouver Island
    • Rowed Trip – Scotland to Syria by Oar
    • Around the World by Human Power
    • The First Descent of the Yenisey River
    • Running the Amazon
    • Five Years Offshore Sailing
  • Books & Films
    • On Writing and Filming
    • Olive Odyssey
    • Rowed Trip
    • Rowboat in a Hurricane
    • Beyond the Horizon
    • Lost in Mongolia
    • Amazon Extreme
  • Keynote Speakers
    • Selecting a Speaker
    • Keynote Topics
    • Testimonials
    • Clients
    • Colin Angus Bio
    • Julie Angus Bio
  • Adventurer’s Handbook
    • Featured Expeditions
    • Crossing the Bering Strait & Beringian Gap
    • Arctic Survival
      • Arctic Tents
      • Cooking, Food, and Water
      • Clothing
      • Sleeping Bags
      • Sleeping Pads
      • Condensation and Vapour Barriers
    • Ocean Rowing
      • What Time of Year to Row
      • Understanding the Principles of Seaworthiness
      • Equipment
      • Safety Equipment
      • Electrical System
      • Food
      • Ocean Rowboats
      • Miscellaneous Information
      • Ocean Rowing Records
    • R2AK
      • R2AK Records 2015
      • R2AK blog posts
    • Touring Rowboats
    • Cycle Touring
      • The Bike
      • Tires
      • Water
      • Seat
      • Panniers and Trailers
      • Equipment
      • Camping
      • Cycling Destinations
    • Cold Weather Cycling
    • Bike Trailers
    • About Global Circumnavigations
    • Yenisey River
    • Amazon River
    • The Broken Islands Group
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Sailboat Living and Ancient Olive Trees

Home Olive Odyssey ExpeditionSailboat Living and Ancient Olive Trees
Sailboat Living and Ancient Olive Trees

Sailboat Living and Ancient Olive Trees

August 15, 2011 Posted by Julie Olive Odyssey Expedition 6 Comments

The sun continues to bake in Barcelona as we ready for our upcoming voyaging.Colin, Leif, and I have fully moved into our sailboat, and are loving life on the water.Our boat is situated in Port Olimpic Marina right in the heart of Barcelona.Within walking distance are wide sandy beaches, numerous shops, and the winding narrow streets of the old quarter of Barcelona.The marina itself is a bustling hub with numerous eateries, bars and a waterfront promenade.You can sit on the breakwater wall and see our boat in one direction and bronzed glistening bodies worshipping the beach in the other.

Leif seems to be enjoying this new lifestyle.He can clamber freely within the confines of the boat, and is forever making new friends with his big smile and constantly waving right hand.

Two days ago, we commenced our research on the olive by visiting Spanish researchers from the IRTA institute.They are involved in many aspects of the Spanish olive industry including running a program to preserve trees that are more than a thousand years old (millennium trees).This region of Spain has the greatest concentrations of millennium trees in the world, with over 4,000 of these behemoths in this area. As Catalonia, the province we are in, does not have laws regarding their preservation, many ancient trees find themselves dug up and moved onto wealthy manicured estates (olive trees transplant remarkably well).

The disappearance of the olive trees is a loss for the people of Spain.As with heritage buildings, these organic remnants of past civilizations are a connection to the past and are irreplaceable.Fortunately, the IRTA has come up with a strategy to save these trees without creating financial loss for the farmers.In conjunction with the farmers they have begun marketing millennium olive oil – oil that is made exclusively from trees that are over 1000 years old.The oil has proven to be very popular, and is sold at a higher price than younger oil, offsetting the lower yields.

We were taken to see some of Spain’s ancient olive trees, and were awed by the massive girth of the gnarled twisted trees.We wandered amidst their twisted and reaching limbs, green drubs hanging off their branches and blackened olives from last season scattered on the baked earth below.They looked like trees from a child’s fairy tale.

We’ll be exploring some other aspects of the olive over the next few days, and then will begin sailing towards France on our maiden voyage.Meanwhile, we’ll be enjoying a few bottles of millennium olive oil with some of the tasty Mediterranean foods we’re currently packing into our boat.

Tags: expeditionsolive odysseyolive oilsailing
6 Comments
0
Share

You also might be interested in

R2AK Day 7 – Goodbye Vancouver Island

R2AK Day 7 – Goodbye Vancouver Island

Jul 2, 2016

Well sadly Colin is out of cell phone reception and[...]

Boats, Olive trees and Pickpockets

Boats, Olive trees and Pickpockets

Aug 10, 2011

It's been ten days since Julie, Leif and I left[...]

David de Rothschild on the Plastiki

David de Rothschild on the Plastiki

Jun 20, 2010

Ninety three days ago eco-adventurer David de Rothschild along with a[...]

6 Comments

Leave your reply.
  • Rosalia H Bohonis
    · Reply

    August 15, 2011 at 10:05 AM

    Mon 15 2011 1:55 eastern time
    Peter and I will on the boat with you three helping along the way.Just love your adveturesome spirit.
    Tonight we are leaving for an adventure, but not that arduous as yours. It is 29 DAY CRUISE which 12 days will circumvent the Bristish Iles and then on to Iceland Greenland east coast of Canada and then disembark in New York City.
    My lips are smacking on the olive oil you will have acess to.

    Good sailing with the little guy and willcatch up on your adeventure when we come home on the 15 th of Sept.
    Cheerio
    Rosalia and Peter

  • David
    · Reply

    August 15, 2011 at 11:28 AM

    You are true adventurers. You “do” what many only dream of.
    Fare thee well.

  • Linda
    · Reply

    August 18, 2011 at 3:05 PM

    1000 year old olive trees…..this will be another fascinating adventure.

  • June
    · Reply

    August 21, 2011 at 1:29 PM

    Those ancient trees, so massive and gnarled, nice Leif is loving the life of his adventurous parents.
    I may have left another comment, I couldn’t tell if it went through or not. Safe sailing!

Leave a Reply

Your email is safe with us.
Cancel Reply

Find us on

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

* indicates required

search our site

Categories

  • Autonomous Boat
  • Boat Design
  • Book Excerpt
  • Events
  • Featured Expeditions
  • Insights & Musings
  • Keynote Speaking
  • Media
  • Olive Odyssey Expedition
  • Race to Alaska (R2AK)
  • Rowed Trip Expedition
  • Syrian Refugee Sponsorship
  • Uncategorized
  • Updates
  • Vancouver Island Circumnavigation
  • Yukon River Row

Tags

amazon river autonomous boat boat plans and kits book canoing cycling documentary education environment expeditions insights kayaking media motivational speaking newsletter olive odyssey olive oil public events R2AK refugee sponsorship rowed trip expedition rowing sailing syria travelling with kids trekking vancouver island yukon river

In the Media

Contact Us

Send us an email and we'll get back to you soon.

Send Message
Contact us to discover how we can deliver an energizing talk that will inspire you and your staff. Contact Us

© 2021 · Angus Adventures.

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
Prev Next