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Victoria Rose alongside a pontoon at Gelves near Seville |
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Victoria Rose - update - 6th June 2010
We received suitable admonishments from Peter and Ann for lack of reports on our travels in 2009 from the East Coast to the Western Mediterranean and had promised to do better this year.
Son Joe who accompanied me last year is now at university but finding time for sailing in Scottish waters. Sue retired at Christmas so for the moment it is just the two of us.
We flew back to Spain just before Easter to attend our eldest son Phil's graduation from flying school at Jerez, then on to Gelves, the marina outside Seville where Victoria Rose wintered. Very relieved to find her all ok but looking rather neglected after one of the wettest winters the area has had for many years. We spent a couple of enjoyable weeks washing, polishing, antifouling, varnishing etc - so much more pleasant in temperatures upwards of 25C and interspersed with occasional visits to the local bar.
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We took some time off to enjoy the Easter festivities in Seville, impressive candlelit religious processions - very different to the C of E with strange costumes resembling Klu Klux Clan but are assured they are not connected! The centre piece of each procession are the amazingly ornate gold encrusted floats with huge effigies of Christ or the Virgin Mary.
With Victoria Rose finally ready we then had to wait for the top of the spring tide to launch as the marina basin had silted up over winter and local authorities had insufficient funds to dredge. We slid over the mud with inches to spare to the deep water pontoon outside on the river.
We finally left Seville on the 21st April. We had Phil with us, as he was unable to get a flight home due to the volcanic ash disruption. Never an enthusiastic sailor joining us was still preferable to a deserted flying school. Phil finally returned home from Cadiz leaving us to shelter from the levante that blew for the next week. We used the opportunity to explore the city; amazing architecture and nowhere near as touristy as Seville dispite the frequent arrival of cruise liners.
After Cadiz we headed to Gibraltar in time to meet our friend Alan. The marina is literally alongside the runway so we could watch his plane land and take a leisurely stroll to the airport arrivals to wait for him to clear customs. Gib is a charicature of England in the 60/70s with traditional British bobbies, red telephone boxes and a typical UK high street with all the usual names interspersed with off-licences selling incredibly cheap booze. The buildings are a contrast of new expensive developments and decaying structures from its earlier importance as a naval and military outpost of the empire. After the mandatory visit to the top of the rock and encounter with numerous barbary apes we set off across the narrow straits to Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on the northern tip of Morocco. Like Gib, Ceuta has had a colourful history and has much to explore. We had now come to expect strong winds and rough seas as the Atlantic tries to push it's way into the Mediterranean and this passage didn't disappoint. We retraced our steps from last year visiting the Moroccan port of Smir and then taking a bus to Tetouan to visit the local market. According to the Sunday papers Morocco is now an upmarket tourist target but not in this area which retains all its local charm and is still a little intimidating to the European visitor. From Morocco we had a windy crossing to Estepona on the Costa del Sol and from there back to Gibraltar for Alan's flight home. During his stay we, or more accurately he, had repaired our outboard and changed a weeping gearbox seal.
A week later Sue flew home from Almeria to take part in the Moonwalk, a 26 mile night walk around London in aid of breast cancer. We berthed at Almerimar a little west of Almeria, a popular marina for English live-a-boards. Sue completed the walk but returned with a small injury that needed resting. That and more gales kept us in Almerimar for a total of sixteen days. Tourism and agriculture have competed in devastating the surrounding area. The landscape is littered with unfinished apartment blocks intended primarly for Brits. The Spanish building industry has collapsed and presumably the same fate awaits these buildings. Any remaining space is covered by plastic structures for crop production which have at least provided some economic benefit for a traditionally poor area. Only a few miles inland you can see the snowcapped Sierra Nevada mountains and we spent two wonderful days exploring in our hired "Ferrari" (Fiat) Panda. Amazing landscape and unspoilt villages. Winter landslides made the journey even more interesting as we reguarly rounded tight turns on the mountain passes to find half the road missing!
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We eventually left Almerimar on the 27th May with the first favourable forecast and are making our way towards Denia from where we plan to cross to the Balearics.It is great to be sailing again after so many days in port and as the weather improves we are able to make better progress. The coasts of Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca have much to be avoided but there are still some amazingly beautiful sections to the coastline. We celebrated the first year of my retirement anchored in an especially beautiful bay a few miles west of Cartagena surrounded by mountainous cliffs rising straight out of the water. The sun was shining and we could see the anchor eight meters below us through wonderfully clear water.
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Approaching the anchorage of Cala de la Salitrona |
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The Amphitheatre at Cartagena |
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Following recommendations from Caladh's log we visited Cartagena and can only confirm their view that it is "an attractive city where real people live and work". We spent a cultural day visiting the Roman amphitheatre, the castle and a sombering museum of the Spanish civil war. Cartagena is a major naval port and our departure coincided wirth the start of a NATO excercise; we left harbour accompanied by a submarine, destroyer and various ribs.
Joe will be joining us in mid July so for now we are making the most of a leisurely life style befoe we return to early morning departures and overnight passages.
Happy sailing to you all.
David and Sue
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