Cartagena, Gibraltar, Andalucia

Our passage across from Ibiza to the Spanish coast took 3 days. We had a light easterly wind behind us, so we sailed most of the way. Once again we had some glorious sunsets, so I was busy with my camera.

Cartagena was a lovely old city on the SW coast of Spain 240 nm north of Gibraltar.  A long promenade ran along the harbour wall lined with parks, restaurants and an impressive museum. We stayed in a very posh marina built 6 years ago for super yachts but due to the recession have had to downgrade and off er berths to cruising yachts at a reasonable rate 60 euros a night 9cheap for that part of the Med; there are some marinas that charge 300+ euros a night!

We arrived at Gibraltar early in the morning on the 17th August. We had 3 days of good sailing in light winds however on the last day the wind died so we were made the decision to motor the last 24 hours as there was a 2 knot tide against us and we wanted to arrive at Gibraltar before the strong westerly winds forecast on Friday arrived .Thankfully we made the correct decision as some friends from Adelaide on Tralfamador were flattened by 50+ knot winds in the Bay of Gibraltar.It was mayhem as some of the big ships were dragging their anchors.

The last few miles we were juggling between large cargo ships which luckily we could see on our AIS as there was a heavy sea mist.

I took a photo of the AIS to show all the boats around us. Makok is the circle in the middle and the lines running near her show possible collissions. The cluster of boats on the top right hand side are all the boats anchored in the Bay of Gibraltar.

It was quite eerie to see the rock emerge from the mist in the early morning light. We had made it and had had a very comfortable passage so we felt very pleased with ourselves. Sailing into Gibraltar Harbour was amazing. Huge tankers and cargo ships were moored waiting to be refuelled by small tanker boats.

It was flat calm when we motored into the Ocean Village marina which is situated right next to the airport runway.

We thought that this may have been a real problem but  as there were only 5 flights a day and the noise was far from deafening it added some interest to our berthing.

We were intrigued to see this Hercules at the end of the runway being loaded with provisions(probably bombs).It was surrounded by a fire engine and big cargo tractors. After an hour it took off , we guessed to Libya to help with the disposal of Colonel Gaddifi.                                                                                                                          Our friends from Tassie Graeme and Jan Dineen joined us the day after we arrived. We did the circumnavigation of Tassie rally with them on their yacht Seaesta in February 2009

We spent the first few days organizing the various jobs we needed done on Makoko; a headsail repair, the generator and lifeboat checked, the water maker and Immsat phone reinstated, and the anchor chain counter repaired. We used a local guy Marcus Henshaw who is a jack of all trades to help us. We managed to get everything done except the fridge;the door had rusted and has fallen off a few times;  a new one has t come from the UK so it is being sent to Lanzarote. 

Gibralatar is so English; all the pubs and restaurants serve chips with everything and buffets and Sunday roasts are a big hit.The High Street is full of duty free shops selling electrical goods, jewellery, cheap spirits and cigarettes. Gibraltar Day is on the 10th September so the streets and buildings were decorated with red and white flags.

We were told that people dress up in red and white and march across the border into Spain to make a point and aggravate the locals.

As we were not inspierd by the local Gibraltan cuisine we walked across the border to La Linea to enjoy some tapas and typical Spanish food.

We had a fabulous meal at this seafood restaurant on the beach, the fish was cooked on a barbecue in a wooden dinghy filled with sand. A succulent squid entree was followed by a tasty paella. The meal including beer, 2 bottles of wine and desert was 110 euros for the 4 of us.

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 While the work was being done on the boat we rented a car for 3 days to explore the sights of Andalucia. We drove through the High Sierra to Ronda. On the way we stopped at some of the traditional villages with their sparkling white painted houses with black wrought iron verandas

  Ronda was spectacular sight set on top of a steep 120 metre gorge.

The buildings reflected the interesting history of the Muslim and Christian occupations.

We had an interesting afternoon exploring the old town, wandering the narrow cobbled streets, admiring the Arabic architecture intermingled with the European.

Alhambra at Granada was our last stop on our short trip. We arrived at lunch time and were mortified to find after standing in a long queue in the hot sun that there were no more tickets available to the palaces that day so we walked back down the hill and bought some tickets for the next morning, found a hostal to stay the night and then collapsed in a bar and had a long cold beer. Dave, Graeme and Jan went back to their rooms for a sleep but I went off exploring. It was very sad to see that the financial crisis had hit and many shops and restaurants were closed.

 Dave and I last visited Alhambra it in 1975 and were equally impressed; they are doing a lot of restoration work and in particular the fountain of the tigers in the central courtyard of the Alhambra. We were lucky to visit early in the morning as it was cool and the gardens were fragrant and the reflections in the water pools, gorgeous.

Tom and Claire arrived on Saturday for a long weekend; sadly Makoko was still in bits so we did not take her out. Luckily as there has been no summer to speak of in the UK they were happy to relax and soak up the sun so we walked a km to the beach on the eastern side of the rock; the water was surprisingly cold compared to the Baleriacs. It was thirst quenching work so we enjoyed a beer or two in the sports bars on the quay.

It wasn't all play;Tom and I hoisted Dave up the mast so he could replace put a LED globe on the mast head

Today the 4^th September we left Gibraltar 3 hours after high tide (10.30am) and motored in a light westerly  through the tidal eddies of the Straits to Tarifa, the southern most bit of Spain, a half hour ferry ride to Tangiers in Morocco. The wind was on the nose and so we didn’t sail as we wanted to get to Tarifa before the tide turned; at one stage we were only making 3 knots as there is always a strong current flowing into the Med from the Atlantic; interestingly the Atlantic ocean is one and a half metres higher than the Med. We are now in a marina at Barbate, enjoying our last night on land before we set off to Madeira

Mahon, Menorca to Puerto Soller, Mallorca

GIBRALTAR

 We arrived at Gibraltar early in the morning on Thursday 18th August after a long 3 night, 4 day passage. Light SE winds blew us along til the last 24 hours when they petered out completely. The 2 knot current was against us so if we continued sailing we would go backwards; also we were aware of a gale forecast to blow up the next day, so we motored to get to Gibraltar in the calm and just as well; some friends who decided to keep sailing arrived in the midst of the storm and were flattened by 50 + knot winds as they motored into the bay; even the large tankers and cargo ships at anchor were having problems.

We didn't stop at Ibiza as we were running out of time and the thought of beer swilling drunken Brits didn't inspire us much. We had good winds behind us and sailed all the 120nm to Cartegena in 36 hours.

We stayed in a fancy marina (60 euros a night) at Cartegena which was a pleasant change after all our anchoring. The old town was very pretty with a lovely walking street which turned into a tapas bars and restaurants at night.

Menorca to Mallorca


Miss Molly sailing along the NW coast of Mallorca


The scenery along the North Coast of Mallorca was spectacular with sheer, rugged cliffs plunging into the sea; nestled in between were tiny sandy and pebbly calas (coves). A lot of this coast is inaccessible by road. In fact much of it is a world heritage site of biosphere and cultural interest. All the vilaages are built of stone and tone walls hold the terraces in place on the steep hillsides. 

Puerto Soller is the only harbour on the north coast offering a protected anchorage, so very crowded in summer. Makoko was surrounded by boats which was a bit of a problem; in flat calm because of the currents and the differing  weights of boats we had yachts drifting into us as well as anchors dragging when a gale blew up and the wind was piping in at 30+ knots, creating a very uncomfortable swell; so it was fun and games the first few days til the weather settled down.



Despite being a tourist town, Puerto Soller still has its traditions. The little harbour is full of these fishing boats which brave the swell and at times inhospitable seas.



Puerto Soller harbour




Until the tourists moved in Puerto Soller was an idyllic, small fishing village. Now the old historic town with colourful buldings and narrow cobbled streets is completely over whelmed by hotels, apartments, restaurants and shops. The sandy beaches around the harbour were packed with umbrellas and sunburnt, overweight Poms and Germans.                                                                

Tourist train from the port to the old town of Soller



To get away from the beach scene we decided to take a trip inland over to Palma, the capital on the south coast of Mallorca. We caught a little tourist tram which chuffed 4 kms uphill to the old medieval town of Soller built inland from the port to protect it from pirates. A large cathedral dominated the leafy square which had a real old worldly feeling about it. From there we caught a traditional old victorian train to Palma. For an hour we lapped up the luxury of sitting in a small carraige with old leather high backed seats; the scenery was stunning as we climbed up the mountain pass,deciduos forests and lower down the slopes,stone walled terraces of olive trees.

Enjoying the trip tp Palma on old Victorian train



Street scene Palma


Palma was an exciting place to visit. It was very atmospheric with lots of buskers, musicians, artists all competing for your attention and money. We enjoyed expolring the old medieval part with its narrow cobbled streets, brightly painted buildings and historic churches. The Cathedral was very impressive with its cream white washed walls, soaring vaulted ceilings and little chapels. The chandelier over the altar and the wrought iron balustrades were designed by Gaudi and gave the Cathedral a unique modern feeling.

Even in Church Dave has to play with his eyepad!



Magnificent Gaudi chandelier in Palma Cathedral



The spires of Palma Cathedral



The young model was beautifull but painfully thin

Model shoot in Palma near the old harbour

Friday 21th July: Early morning start  to sail 53 nm from Mallorca to NE Ibiza
in light winds

Monday 8th July: We are now at Puerto Soller on Mallorca anchored with lots of boats riding out a 7 knot gale. So we have been on the boat all day, watching others drag their anchors; it has been mayhem as it is so crowded. Luckily Makoko is rock solid.

Town Hall, Es Castells, Mahon, Menorca

 On our last day before leaving Mahon we dinghied across the bay to the quaint small fishing village of Es Castells formerly known as Georgetown when the British occupied thtis area in the 18th century The main buildings around the big squar, once military barracks, are Georgian in style and painted British miliitary red. The town has a distinctive English feel about it and many of the buidings have English architectural details such as bow and sash windows.

 Restaurants and little boutique shops lined the old fishing harbour; the quay was closed to traffic and so it was very relaxed and peacefull except for the local lads jumping of the quay into the water.

 On our last night in Mahon we decided to go out to dinner at Es Castells. Monica and I decided to sport a new look in life jackets rather than the cumbersome, hot, heavy sea worthy ones!

We had a fantastic meal at Restaurant Irene; 18 euros for a 4 course meal including wine, plate of local olives and bread. Not only was it good value but of Michelin quality. Starters of dates wrapped in proscuito were followed by shrimp, mussels and roasted pepepper in a light consommecold soup; then  the girls had wonderfully succulent lamb shanks and the boys TB steaks from Argentina, the size of a dinner plate. To end with strawberries and lemon sorbet.

We had a wonderful 6 day stay exploring Mahon

and its surrounds.

The anchorage was delightful but at times very

crowded, hence the fenders out on the side of

Makoko. But it was time to move on as there was a good weather forecast for sailing along the NW coast.

We were interested to see the huge Vickers Gun camouflaged on top of the cliff.

We had a great afternoon sail in light SE winds; for 22 nautical miles the wind was behind us so we had a mizzen stay sail which we call Claudie ( a name inherited from the previous owners) and the head sail poled out the other side ( a uniques Amel design). Unfortunatley there was no one around to take a photo.

We spent the night in Cala Rotja a big bay with a lovely long red/golden sandy beach.

Next morning an early start for the 34nm passage to Mallorca. again the gods were with us and we had a good sail, although at times a bit rolly polly withl a SE wind pushing us along at 7+ knots.

 

 We arrived at Cala Figuera, a spectacular small cove surrounded by high cliffs just inside the headland of Cabo de Formentor.

Our friends Phil and Monica on Good Golly Miss Molly sailed around from Pollensa to join us and we celebrated with a wonderful shrimp curry cooked by Phil as the moon rose behind the cliffs; unfortunatley I didn't have my camera with me to record such an amazing sight.

The wonderful scenery inspired us to have an early morning exercise session. We climbed the steep path to the saddle and then ran along the road to the summit.

I wasn't as energetic as Dave as I stopped to take lots of photos.

Dave trying to race the cyclist through the tunnel in the cliff

 

Spectacular sunrise at Cala Figuera



Mountain goats grazing in the saddle and lovely pine forests in the background

After climbing the mountain, I had a lovely long swim out to Makoko in crystal clear water.

we then set off to sail 25 nm to Puerto Soller.

 The coastal scenery was spectacular; sheer cliffs and rugged mountains interspersed by the occassional little sandy Cala.

Again the wind was behind us so we had Claudie and the poled headsail to move us along.

   Cala de la Calobra one of the iconic scenes on Mallorca. We are unlucky that we are here in August as most of the calas are very crowded with Spanish and French boats.

We arrived at Puerto Soller late in the afternoon to find the bay very crowded; we managed to squeeze in and anchor next to a big gin palace.

 



Crowded anchorage in Puerto Soller harbour





                                                        

                                                                          





Crowded anchorage in Puerto Soller harbour







Voyage from Sardinia to Mahon,Menorca, 28th July 2011

We left Sardinia early in the morning to face a strong NW wind; we avaeraged 7+knots for the first 24 hours and then the wind died away; so we had 2 options; use the motor and arrive at Mahon in the middle of the night (not recommended) or sail at 0-3 knots and spend another night at sea. So we chose the latter although must admit the lack of wind and the rocking and rolling in the swell was a bit frustrating and at times made us feel a bit seasick. However the spectacular sunset and sunrise  made it all worthwhile. Luckily on my sunrise watch the wind strenghtened to 15 knots.

 We arrived early in the morning at Capo Teleura a small cove inside the narrow entrance to Mahon Harbour  which the locals say is the second biggest after Sydney Harbour. Luckily we managed to find an achorage amongst the 30+ boats; it is August and the locals are on holiday and they love this bayas do the cruising yachts as it is very sheltered from all winds, so it is quite a playground and a great place to people watch; yesterdaywhen a strong SE blew some of  boats dragged thier anchors and one of the motor launches ran aground and had to be hauled off by the water police.

It is  2km dinghy ride in to the old town of Mahon then a 100 + step climb up from the port. It is a very picturesque town with narrow windy cobbled streets, colourfully painted medieval buildings and treelined placas (piazzas).

Dave as always fiddling with his eye pod trying to get wifi; at least it keeps him happy while I go shopping and exploring.

Dave enjoying the views



Yesterday we spent many hours wandering around La Mola a huge fortress spread over 80 acres, built in 1850 on a headland at entrance to the port of Mahon to protect the Baleriacs and Spain from the British and the French. It was used by the military until 1975 and sadly  most of the buildings are now in a state of ruin.Dave was fascinated by design and workings of  the 15" Vickers gun which were brought from England and put in place in 1930. They are manily used on battleships and weigh 250 tons, have a 17 metre barrell and a range of 35 kms. 

Dave was fascinated by design and workings of  the 15" Vickers gun which were brought from England and put in place in 1930. They are manily used on battleships and weigh 250 tons, have a 17 metre barrell and a range of 35 kms.