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| CALPE////MOON RISING |
We headed to Denia and even managed to sail a few hours as the wind was in our favor. Bob had mentioned to turn right after the Denia harbour entrance Marina El Portet. Lively place, good facilities and 27 Euro is very reasonable price {the sangria wasn’t bad either}. Again, the heat prevented us from going to dinner until 9:30 and even that was pushing it. Now I finally understanding why most Spaniards don’t eat until 10 pm. Al Furno must be the most popular place in town. All tables were taken outside and there was a lineup to get in. Inside was slightly air conditioned so our choice was easy. We ordered 5 different tapas and even took one home.
The morning took us to the anchorage just outside of Denia harbour so we could put on our snorkeling gear and check out the water intake that cools the engine. Just as the skipper had suspected, the covering was closed with barnacle growth and the propeller didn’t look great either. Since the salt water makes a person very buoyant we strapped an extra fifty pounds of weights around my waist. I managed to scrape off most of the little crusties and clear the intake, but the propeller would be a different issue. We decided to stay the day and night in the anchorage, this would allow us to pull out all our diving equipment, incl. air tank to see if everything works the way it’s meant to work.
Decked out in full diving gear the skipper cleaned the propeller, but was happy to be finished.
The evening brought a lightening storm and wind gusts up to 27 knots.
Stopped in Calpe, Torrevieja, and Cartagena with high heat and humidity. Can’t really do much before sun goes down. Now we are moving on to the area called Costa Blanca due to the white coastline of hotel resorts. A new stop for us was the town of Garrucha, the “Mecca” of fish and a 1.5 km white marble balustrade lined with restaurants overlooking the wide beach. Docking in 17 knot winds was made even more difficult because the marinero was inexperienced, let’s just leave it at that.
September 14th we arrived in Almerimar. Everything seemed familiar, even docked almost in the very same slip as on our previous visit April, 2011.
Stayed 6 days in Almerimar at which time we changed the V-berth mattresses and had new sheets made; had extra piece welded on to solar panel carrier..
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EL TONEL////1st EVENING IN ALMERIMAR
Unfortunately our very dear friend Anni past away Sept. 14/2014 from lung cancer, but fortunately we had a last visit with her in August. She is still often in out thoughts and we will remember her always.
Squeezed between a Scot and a Brit directly in front of the washrooms and marina office we spent 12 days in expensive Gibraltar before heading across to the other side of the airport runway to La Lenia.
 Thanksgiving weekend we got together with Bob and Martha (Canadian couple from Licata) who were now at Marina Bay on the Gibraltar side. They walked across the border into Spain and we had a great night eating tapas and drinking great spanish wine known as the best tapas bar in La Lenia, Chimenea. Didn't get home until 12:30. Our Moroccan destination was Rabat, 2 days and one night of travel. Unfortunately the harbour was closed due to the extra large swell directly facing the entrance, so our only choice was to continue on to Mohammendia, 40 nm south. We encountered many fishing boats and a lot of heavy fog as a result of the colder water from the Canary Current.   While docking the skipper noticed that the boat wasn't steering as it should so the next day it was time to put on a snorkel and mask to check out the propeller. Look what was wrapped around the blades in the propeller. The stench in this port was starting to become a problem so we headed a little farther down the coast to another large resort town, Agadir. The check-in procedure is somewhat lengthy but easy. Police, customs and immigration officers come on board and leave with your passport and ship's papers to be returned upon departure.  In Agadir you can soak up some sun on the wide,clean beaches or cool off at one of the many the beachfront bars and cafes that line the palm lined boulevards. If a little action is called for you can ride a camel, rent a beach buggy or check out the local market.   Wanting to experience the local cuisine we headed towards the fish market. On our way we met a man who's English was clearly better than our French who led us thru several fish stall to a friend of his restaurant stall #20. We made our fish selection from the choices behind the glass partition and asked to please take our seat at the table. Moroccans are famous for their hospitality, and it is moroccan etiquette to offer tea to any visitors. The tea is prepared with a generous amount of spearmint leaves and a very large piece of cubed sugar and ceremoniously prepared in front of guests. The leaves and sugar are placed into the tea pot with the boiling water and then poured into small glasses, holding the pot about 30cm above the glasses. Then it is put back into the pot and poured again. Mint tea is Morocco's nation beverage and favourite pastime. GREAT EXPERIENCE!!!! Our seafood platter of prawns, sardines, sea beam, squid and mackerel arrived quickly. Although eating utensils were on the table, the locals were not making use of them; so we threw our inhibitions to the wind and enjoyed our meal. With Morocco being the only north African country without oil they must take advantage of other resources. The ocean off Morocco's Atlantic coast is one of the richest fishing grounds in the world.  After a week in Agadir the wind forecast seemed favourable so we decided to make the jump across to Lanzarote, one of the 7 Canary Islands. We had our sails up 80% of the time during the 2 days and 2 nights. |
