September 25 - 27, 2018 Agadir Morocco

Pictures for this blog coming a few days later when we get back to the laptop.

We arrived safe and sound into Agadir Marina around 4:45 P.M. as we nosed into the entrance a very rambunctious group of young men dove into the water racing to try to swim across our bow to the other side. We weren’t going for it. Frank idled Destiny until they got the hint and switched to dog-paddling in place about 10 feet from the front quarter. As soon as he started up again, they went for it for all they were worth, laughing and waving hello as they passed us to the outer jetty.

Frank had been hailing the marina for quite a while but getting no response so he decided just to enter knowing someone would come out to direct us. Sure enough, a young man appeared waving and pointing to a pontoon. He helped secure our docklines and told us to sit tight, Customs officials were coming soon. Before Frank could enjoy his first arrival beer two friendly officials arrived, first asking us if we had anything to declare; weapons, animals, drones. Drones cannot be brought into the country and will be confiscated but returned on your departure. This is the first that we have been asked that question. If you have no weapons they give you one...ha ha, just kidding. They did not board to inspect the boat, rather they took Frank to the office for check-in. They told me to stay onboard...Captain Only. It was so easy. They kept our passports for a few hours, probably checking to see if we voted Democrat or Republican, and meanwhile sent Frank back to the boat.

First impressions of Agadir: beautiful golden colored beach, clean marina surrounded by upscale shops and restaurants, modern, friendly people, very French, safe. The predominant languages are Moroccan Arabic and French. 

The landscape is very similar to Baja California, Turkey or Greece in that it is rocky and barren but interspersed with olive trees that thrive in this environment. Morocco is 99% Muslim. Many in Agadir are a bit more modern like those we see in America but then it seems the older women are the more traditionally dressed. We’ve only seen one wearing full burka with just eye slits. The restaurants and cafes within the well guarded marina complex do not serve alcohol. Our first night out, Frank tried to order a beer with dinner, and the waiter gushed, almost embarrassedly, “We do not serve alcohol it is against the law!” Everyone was drinking tea, Coke or water. We went with water. We were so exhausted that we could hardly stay awake to finish our tagine.

We slept so well and awoke ready to explore. We walked a fair bit to the CTM bus substation to purchase bus tickets to Marrakech and then headed for the Suq. It was another mile or so but being out walking was wonderful after being cooped up on the passage. While walking we strolled Ave. President Kennedy. That was unexpected. The Suq is the big market place not at all dissimilar to those in Turkey. We were in Heaven. The fresh foods, teas, olives, spices, nuts, baked goods were abundant. You can buy anything and everything here, including housewares, furniture, decor, clothing, linens and of course the local made crafts. We only purchased some snacks and nuts to take on the bus ride. This was mostly recon to compare prices here to the Marrakech market. After that adventure, we went to Moroc Telecom to purchase wifi and were really surprised to find that 1 Gigabyte only costs 10 Dirhams which is roughly $1. We splurged and bought 10 Gigs.

For dinner we walked over to a complex called the fish market where hawkers lure you into their “restaurant”, which is simply a long table lined with benches leading out from a small counter filled with a variety of seafood on ice. A man was behind the counter, but the hawkers did the work. First thing, Frank asked if he could get a beer. “Yes, we have beer!” was the eager response. They brought out some small loaves of flat bread and some diced up tomatoes and onion for us to begin and then showed us a large platter of fresh seafood from which we thought we were picking what we wanted to order. There were lobster, shrimp, 4 or 5 kinds of fish, calamari. We picked one lobster and one fish but they brought us the entire plate fully cooked of all the fish, 2 lobsters, the calamari and the shrimp. I think they sucker punched us. Of course there was no way we could eat it all and although we protested that we didn’t order the whole platter, they suddenly could no longer speak English shaking their heads, ignoring our pleas. Better to go along and not get arrested or something worse, so we smiled and thanked them as we tackled the mass. It sure was good and fresh, all grilled except a couple fried pieces. Frank eventually got his beer. It was very discreetly slipped to him in a small glass, completely wrapped in a paper napkin, obscuring the contents completely. Ok, now we know it can be done. We had no idea what we were spending and wondered if we had enough cash to cover it. The bill came to exactly 888 dh.

One aspect that we’ve noticed is conspicuously missing are the many mosques such as we saw in Turkey and Indonesia. We aren’t awakened by surround sound and competing mullahs announcing morning prayer, or the other 4 prayer times of the day. We heard the big mosque gearing up for the midday prayer while about walking but no one whipped out a rug or dropped to their knees. Perhaps because this is a seaside tourist city they are more relaxed and we will experience more of that in Marrakech. We shall see.

Right now we are on a very nice coach bus on the road to Marrakech. In my mind I’m thrown back to the song about the Marrakesh Express. But we’re not on a train. The landscape is exactly what we anticipated, dry and brown with occasional lush green areas of crops and tree farms that are irrigated. The roads are nice and well maintained. From time to time we spy a lone elongated, flat top dwelling and what we think are villages with walls. We just hit a large rest stop that serves delicious looking pastries and cooked meals. Everyone is piling out, headed for the counter. Low and behold there is a small Starbucks kiosk to where most of the women hastened.

More later after we get into the Marrakech groove.

September 22 - 25, 2018 Gibraltar to Agadir

Queensway Quay took care of our Customs paperwork in Gibraltar. Documentation was was handed to us when we settled the bill at the marina. The first stop we made on the way out was the duty free fuel dock were we took on 450 liters (Baja filtered this time). Although the tank holds much more that’s all we needed to top up. We finished refueling around 3:30 but didn’t want to leave until 4:30, so we fiddled around at the fuel dock, cleaning up spilled diesel and finding time wasting chores to do before casting off.

The Rock of Gibraltar shrouded in clouds as we left

Almost across the Strait, and closer to Morocco's northern coast (N. Africa)

Right on time we aimed the bow for the Straight and immediately a large pod of dolphins joined the foray, bringing on the party as they escorted us out of and across the bay, shooting the bow wake and dancing high into the air. They stayed with us for hours, making us feel as though they brought good fortune to us on our little passage.

Many yachts hug the Spanish coast and then shoot across farther along, but Frank wanted to get across to the African side and out to the point, past the high commercial traffic zone before dark. Although we had great wind astern and had caught the flow of the outgoing tide just right, he augmented that with the iron jib and we briskly motor-sailed across among mountains of container ships, freighters and massive ferries that resembled small cruise ships. It was a beautifully executed ballet. Three cheers to the Captain! He had planned this so well it felt like a cakewalk. After passing the midpoint, we encountered a slight countercurrent but nothing to get excited about. All the while, a Royal Navy warship patrolled the international boundary between the two continents sending warnings and alerts to potential territorial waters violators. We arrived at the head and made our left turn into the Atlantic with a few breaths of daylight to spare. Again, I turned to Frank and praised his fastidious planning.

the British war ship

Passage Notes:

Saturday, 9/22/18

The first night out was nearly sheer bliss. We had prepared for a very rough ride but instead enjoyed a comfortable downwind sail for nearly 26 hours with little turbulence. Nonetheless we both only snacked lightly because a full stomach can become our worst enemy if the ride gets rough. We settled into 4-hour daytime watches and then switched to 3-hour shifts at night. We were making good time and hitting speeds of 8 & sometimes 9 knots which is good for our gal. The moon was nearly full and the night was clear and lovely. This is what we live for.

Sunday, 9/23/18

The wind began to lighten around 3:00 AM, while Frank was on watch. When I came up, we had slowed to about 5 knots. He really didn’t want to use the engine if at all possible but by 6:30, we had dropped to 3.9 boat speed, and just 4.0 SOG. The sails were flogging and I couldn’t take it anymore, so I cranked up the engine, furled in the genoa, shortened the main and brought out the staysail for stability. The big gentle rollers we had been surfing were beginning to get uncomfortable and I wanted Frank to continue sleeping and this helped.

The wind refused to keep the promise of a great 3-day downwind sail for us. We stayed offshore to try to catch and keep it, but also to avoid the dangers of the many unlit and poorly marked fishing nets we’d been warned about along the coastline that are reportedly laid as far out as 15 miles offshore. Too many yachts have gotten tangled up in them for us not to heed the warnings. Additionally, there are small, unmarked fishing boats that don’t show up on AIS or radar. 

Sunday passed uneventfully under a brilliant blue sky and calm seas...wind pathetically dropped to under 6 knots sometimes gusting to 9-ish. By evening, the temperature dropped dramatically and the moon rose full and majestic giving us a gorgeously backlit night. As night wore on, however, a dense fog set in, obscuring the moon along with our visibility drenching us and the inside of the boat in heavy moisture. Our friends on Sabbatical III had already ventured to the Canaries a month or so ago and had mentioned the temperature drop, saying they just could not get warm at night. We can certainly second that and add that the moisture is deeply penetrating causing us to feel we were sitting in wet diapers all night long. The windshield was so wet and fogged up we would have to frequently unzip the clears (strataglas windows), and lean out to get a peek into the foggy nothingness in case those unlit fishing boats were bobbing around.

Monday, 9/24/18

I could pretty much say “ditto” to yesterday except that by early evening we were able to turn off the motor. We enjoyed a nice 20-ish knots of true wind on the beam, with large and easy following seas. We had another few hours of “Oh yea, this is why we do this” sailing. We didn’t break into song or dance. I actually leaned over to Frank and whispered, “I’m afraid to exhale”. He laughed and told me to just enjoy it and quit always waiting for the other shoe to drop. At the risk of sounding Cliché, I must’ve exhaled because the shoe dropped as did the wind, the temp and visibility. Damnation! This night was colder than before and the fog and damp so thick I muttered and complained to myself all through my watches. My rear end was sore, damp and cramped. My hands felt raw from dickering with the sheets and lines. During night watches I  frequently get up and try to do squats or some kind of bending routine to shake off the sleep and cobwebs. This night I was just miserable. To make things worse, some complete idiot was singing silly little, nasty songs over the VHF, and calling himself “Baby Monkey”. From time to time, another voice would break in to shout, “Shut the bloody hell up Baby Monkey!”  Well, this just egged Baby Monkey on and he got more degenerate by the minute. I thought if my watch didn’t end soon I would slowly go stark raving mad. Somehow, Frank always seems nonplussed in these situations. I tried to channel my inner Frank, but he’s much more Zen than I. Finally, at the end of my watch Baby Monkey must’ve gone out of range because I no longer heard him, and happily turned the watch over to Frank. I went down below to fix something warm to drink and a snack before hitting the sack. Then I heard Frank talking. I popped my head up to see what he wanted but he was speaking into the VHF asking someone what were his intentions. He said we nearly collided with a large fishing vessel that appeared out of the fog and he was trying to figure out who would do what. Then suddenly Destiny began to loop in a tight circle. The autopilot had just turned off. Frank was trying to secure the helm and couldn’t find the big boat in the dense fog, so I stayed up and spotted for him. What terrible timing! We located the vessel behind us, then Frank told me to run down to the Nav desk and reset the instruments. Meanwhile Frank had memorized the compass heading and was attempting to put us back in the right direction but with no way to see where we actually were. Thank God the reset worked and we got the autopilot back. We thought it was extremely odd and coincidental that when we bore close to the other vessel our instruments went crazy and then quit. We got out of there as quickly as we dared both feeling slightly unnerved but I was so tired I stumbled to the bed and was immediately out with a prayer still on my lips for the Good Lord to get us safely through this passage.

Tuesday, 9/25/18

We survived the night but were wetter than ever. Everything is soggy. Eventually the marine haze began to lift and we have been hanging bedding and clothing out to dry in the hot sun. Now we see fishing nets and boats as we near Agadir. We are so relieved to finally be close and not to be approaching this place by night. The wind came up once again allowing us to turn off the engine for a while. Unfortunately, after just a few hours the wind began to wane and the speed dropped to 4.5 SOG. We are only an hour out of Agadir so Frank cranked on the engine but it sputtered and died. Come on! What now!? He told me to turn off the key and try it again while he looked around in the engine room. We tried to crank it again but nothing this time. Really. Starter battery maybe? He turned on the generator and the engine choked to life. Now we are cruising on a wing and a prayer hoping to make it into the marina without the engine going out again. It’s 3:50 pm. We are both holding our breath.

Approaching Agadir - finally blue skies.

In our berth at Marina Agadir

Marina Agadir

4:45 PM we eased into the breakwater of Capitainerie du Port de Plaisance Agadir. Now I can truly say that we never, in a million years, thought we would sail to Morocco. We are kissing Destiny and thanking God and those carefree dolphins who tossed a bit of fairy dust on Destiny as they frolicked in her bow wake. Morocco 

September 11 - 20, 2018 Gibraltar

 I’m posting this from A café  where I don’t have access to our photos. Come back a little later and hopefully I will be able to have uploaded some...

No luck with the predicted downwind sail to Gibraltar, and yet we were grateful for an easy day. About 4 hours into the journey our engine began struggling not to stall and straining as though it could hardly breathe. I asked Frank to check the filter, because we didn’t want the engine to quit on us as we had just been through this a few days ago. He pulled the filter to find it completely gunked up after only about 40 engine hours. Uh oh! I Now we know without a doubt we got bad fuel in Sardegna when we topped up last season. We normally use the Baja filter but did not remember using it that time. I won’t get into what a colossal mistake that was. We get complacent. Thank goodness Frank brought back a few extra Racor filters from Texas. New filter in and we were good to go. 

With that eating at our insides we pushed the negative thoughts away as we came within sight of the Rock. The entire mass is much larger than what we’ve seen in pictures. Impressive and looming; it’s many faces revealed as we approached. We made several failed attempts to get a selfie with the famous peak at our backs, but the seas were pitching us so wildly, we dared not go out on deck. So we tried from inside the cockpit. 

This is another milestone, another “Wow” moment for us to have “Sailed to Gibraltar” on our own vessel. And what happened the very minute we made the turn into the massive bay? Massive winds darn near knocked us sideways, making entry into Queensway Quay a bit of a challenge. I guess we should have prayed to the god Eurus for that Easterly.

We were fortunate to get into Queensway - thank you Ute and Hans (Taimada) for the recommendation. It is small and very protected. Surrounded by lovely townhomes and condos on all sides, with secured floating pontoons and local restaurants - no bars - lining the quay, we felt the stress slide right off. The manager originally gave us three days but extended our stay to roughy 10. We needed every bit of that to sort things out before we go to sea from here. The alternative was Marina Bay/Ocean Village, where the docks are fixed concrete wharfs which would be a major challenge for us at low and high tides because the difference is about 1.6 meters.

Queensway Quay (Destiny at end on rt.) - note the formidable dock lines!

the dock we would have been moored to at Marina Bay almost at high tide

We have friends who came to Gibraltar but didn’t care for it. We have friends who came here and enjoyed it. We fell into the latter class. We were thrilled to hear and to speak English. We were very pleased to find Sheppards chandlery who employs the most skilled RayMarine tech we have yet to meet. He got our radar up and running in 5 hours. A record! We discovered Morrisons supermarket that has the largest supply of fresh prepared meals we’ve ever seen. We turned on the freezer and stocked it up. It was wonderful to shop without the translate App on my phone. Thanks to Gail from s/v D’ol Selene’s blogs we were able to source and stock up on Easi-yo packets. We found real ground coffee that hadn’t been pulverized to a powder for the first time since Oz in 2012. Frank was able to stock up on his favorite Scotch and to buy Cuban cigars. Then we became tourists.

We toured the Rock, inside and out. Outside is a monkey habitat (where if not careful, the monkeys will steal you blind and jump onto your backs), a glass skywalk viewing platform onto which we could walk to take photos of the base and beach below, several viewpoints from various points on the Rock where you could see north Africa and Spain from various angles. There were platforms above the caves and defense tunnels. The cave has been turned into a concert or stage arena, and is lighted in varying LED colors set to music. The tunnels were dug by the British and filled with artillery and canons, etc., used as a very strategic defense fortification.  At the base of the ocean-facing side of the Rock, caves have been explored revealing Neanderthal ruins and artifacts that were discovered therein, that are displayed in the Gibraltar Museum. 

Looking at the British side of Gibraltar

View of the airport from the Rock. Across the runway is Spain

A canon facing Spain

Frank in the tunnels of the Rock beside a canon

  
We walked across the famous runway that separates Gibraltar from Spain. We got our Gibraltar stamp on our passports. We visited the Gibraltar Museum, we toured the Gibraltar Botanical Gardens. We visited Ocean Village and O’Reilly’s where, according to Paul and Glor on s/v Scallywag, you can get the best Steak and Guinness Pie (so true we’ve had it time and again). We know this town and the cruise ship schedule better than most. We even did a few things that I can’t mention or it will ruin the surprise for our  friend and crew member who will be joining us in Lanzarote.

Entering Gibraltar across the runway from Spain

Delicious steak and Guinness pie

beautiful park in the center of Gib

Walking across the runway back into Gibraltar from the Spain side

Gibraltar center

Leaving here on a sailboat is a scientific feat. Timing tides, wind and current correctly are paramount. We listened to a lot of sage advice. We have downloaded all applicable Apps and references and The Captain has studied them until he is feeling confident that our day and time of departure will be Saturday, September 22nd at approximately 4:30 PM. Now we sit back, read books, shop and pray.

Monday, September 10, 2018 – A Bizarre Overnight Passage & Our Final Night in Spain

The night of September 6^th, we checked the weather for about the dozenth time in order to determine what time to make our departure from Cartagena on Friday. Our original plan was to make day hops along the Costa Blanca to Garrucha, then down around the cape to Almerimar where we would liked to have spent a few days exploring inland. We had taken a day drive down to Garrucha to check out the marina and had made a reservation for arrival on Thursday, which obviously didn’t happen.  Our Thursday window had come and gone due to weather. Although forecast changes are an integral part of a cruiser’s life, we just can’t get over how quickly and dramatically they change in the Med. Surprise weather seems to be the only constant. We had stayed longer than our intended week in Cartagena and knew that if we didn’t make a move now, we would be stuck here for several more days. We were conflicted about what time to leave and how far to travel, knowing that an overnight at this point was unavoidable. We decided on a noon departure, heading for Almerimar.  Frank awoke early on Friday, bothered by this changing forecast and checked one more time. We were definitely going to get some showers in the middle of the night – around 2 AM – but should have a good push and a downwind run to the cape if we left NOW. We quickly readied ourselves and secured the boat for a bumpy ride, casting the dock lines at 8:30, the soonest the marina could close our bill. I had food prepared and other than putting together the long unpacked ditch bag, we were ready to face what we hoped would be a 20-hour trip.

Once again the forecast played dirty with us for 14 hours, giving us seriously lumpy seas and no wind to alleviate the uncomfortable swell.  YES, we know we should be used to this so we didn’t whinge about it we just carried on. I had tried several times to go below to get some rest early on because I am the night owl, and I needed to be ready to take on the late night shift. Try as I might, I couldn’t catch even 20 winks. Frank dropped down below around 9:30 to nap for a bit, and finally at around 10:30, a beautiful freshening wind literally swept in. I eased off the throttle and was thrilled to finally shut the engine off. Frank popped up like a Meerkat, asking what was happening.  I told him, with a silly grin on my face that we were SAILING! Hooray! We enjoyed a great downwind sail for several hours. I tried again to catch some shut-eye between 11PM – 12:30 AM and then relieved Frank. He let me know that he had been watching some thunderstorm activity and to wake him if things got ugly and then he fell into the bed like a sack of lead weights.  I really enjoyed my shift, but strained my eyes nearly out of their sockets watching the distant light show. Far off to port but ahead of us was a strange and erratic electrical storm that we seemed to be racing toward. Land was a few miles off our starboard; so veering that direction wasn’t an option in the dark. AIS showed no targets and very few ships and yet Frank had already told me our radar wouldn’t engage so I couldn’t track the darn thing but continued to watch it with some trepidation.  I’ve watched too many Sci-Fi movies I guess because it looked like some kind of galactic Star Wars battle was happening out there, with flashes rising from the horizon and then glowing brighter and then dimming, almost undulating in the sky. Occasionally, there would be a brilliant flash, and a lightening streak that tracked all the way from the sky down to the earth (or sea). Suddenly around 3:00 AM it disappeared and the night fell into an inky blackness that seemed to swallow us. I kept wishing, as I have many times since we have been sailing, that I’d learned something from Frank’s father before his dementia had taken his mind. He had been a meteorologist with the National Weather Bureau in Washington. He could’ve explained this strange phenomenon that I had been observing. Then I thought perhaps I’m better off remaining ignorant. Nonetheless, by 4:30, I could no longer fight the fatigue and went below to shake Frank out of his deep sleep. I told him about the weird sightings but that it had stopped and then I passed out cold.

At 6:30 AM, I heard banging and got jostled out of the bed. I looked up to see the sky flashing brightly and realized we were in the big middle of that electrical storm. I shot up the companionway to find Frank furling in the sails and fighting the wheel. He had turned off the autopilot and was hand steering us through hell. I grabbed our portable electronics and tossed them into the oven to protect them from a strike should we be hit and then dashed back up to the cockpit to helplessly and prayerfully watch the terrifying demon that threatened to devour us. As one bright flash lit up the sky, I noticed there was another vessel not far off our port bow. I said to Frank – “OMG, look! There is another fool out here with us!” Frank had been watching it intermittently appear and disappear from the AIS and couldn’t get a fix, so I lit us up from stern to bow, turning on every mast and deck light we had. He tried to steer us not only away from the other vessel but also as far from the rocky shoreline as he was able. We couldn’t hove-to, so he had the engine going at about 2600 RPM, into the very strong current that the storm was pushing at us, and yet our SOG was a mere 1.6 knots. It was strange how calm we both remained throughout this ordeal. Experience and faith just kick in and you automatically do what comes next. This bizarre star-wars assault seemed to last for hours on end when in fact, it finally ended around 7:45 AM, leaving the seas a mess and drenching us with rain. Light came late – around 8:45, so we got back on course and felt another thunderstorm hit. They marched at us like dutiful soldiers one after another for several hours until, as though a miracle quieted the sea and sky in time for us to arrive into Marina del Este 29 hours after our departure from Cartagena. Strangely, as soon as we secured the boat into what we were told was the last available berth, the skies started up again.

We didn’t enjoy Marina del Este.  It was rolly, and expensive. We were charged for a 20-meter berth and side tied on a public wharf with no laid mooring to keep our fenders from constantly scraping against the concrete.  We were so exhausted after getting in, however, that we each laid down in the salon and were immediately asleep.  I was awakened to someone’s presence on the deck above me. I shot up the companionway to find a man hefting his young son onto our boat and he was just putting his leg over the lifeline to jump aboard himself. I yelled, “What are you doing? This is our home!” the man grabbed his kid and jumped off, scrabbling to the wharf while the wife shot me a nasty look as she stood poised with her smart phone ready to snap a picture. I was stunned at their brazenness. Several times people approached Destiny and looked eager to hop aboard. While I was showering, I turned around to find a face staring at me through the port-light. Another woman asked Frank if her child could come aboard. We felt like animals in a zoo. Frank spoke to the marina about this but it had no affect. We left at first light for Benalmadena. Below are a few photos taken before and after putting the phones, cameras and tablets into safe-keeping.

Greenhouses along the hillside. Note the cloud that looks like a crown or castle keep

"Fingers of God" Sunday morning

Smaller Sunday storms coming at us again

A panorama from stern to bow as skies lighten on Sunday

We wish we had come here sooner. This is a place like none other. Benalmadena is a massive marina that literally winds through a resort whose condos and apartments look like something out of a Disney film. It is so loaded with really good restaurants and shops that one could spend a month just eating and shopping and going to the beach, which is about 100 meters from our berth. The boardwalks are literally crammed with African immigrants peddling their knock-off designer wares laid out on large sheets along the ground. The entire atmosphere is festive and has an energy that we haven’t felt since the island of Mallorca. I suppose some folks wouldn’t care for this but we have had a great time strolling, eating, people watching and just feeling the vibe. There is so much money here that I swear it seeps out of the pores of some of these rich vacationers. Too bad we have a timeline because we only got two nights here. Tomorrow morning we are off to Gibraltar!!

Street vendors in Benalmadena

Purses, shoes, clothes, even knockoff underwear!

August 28 - September 7, Cartagena, Alicante and Lorca, Spain

Thanks to an introductory letter from our home club, Lakewood Yacht Club, we were able to secure a berth at the RCNC, arriving around 5:30 PM. Real Club Nautico Cartagena sits at the main port terminal, and right downtown. It boasts a nice pool, great restaurant and bar and offers a variety of water sports. We were happy to get a side-tie berth, and although there were security cameras and a marinerio who patrolled here, we were not secure. Pedestrians could stroll by and with a fair leap could be down on our wharf. I did inquire about the security of our berth but was assured that there would be no problem. Passersby from a large British cruise ship did stop by to snap a photo of our old gal and to ask about our travels and marveled that we had actually sailed here from the west coast of the US. 

 

Cartagena Civic Bldg

view of Yacht Port form the castle in Cartagena

the promenade paved in marble

On Wednesday, we set off exploring this really interesting town. The ancient history is profound, and in your face. It is one of the oldest towns in Europe with a tri-millennial history, dating back to centuries before Christ. We would see very modern buildings next to completely dilapidated ones. If we strolled one street off the main drag we felt as though we had entered a deserted set being prepared for a horror movie. We couldn’t tell if there had been an earthquake, or war, or some other natural disaster that had semi demolished parts of the town. It’s very random. Eventually Frank found a waiter who spoke fair enough English to explain to us that after a building reaches the age of 100 years old it can be sold and demolished in order to rebuild new. However, if ancient ruins are discovered underneath during demolition then all work must cease and the land or property reverts back to the government. The owner completely loses out. Eminent domain to the extreme! This is so widespread in this town that there seem to be more semi demolished, unfinished areas than completed ones.

Our second night here brought us misfortune. An entire bag of scuba equipment was stolen from our boat while we were sleeping. We had both heard a loud noise that shook the boat and thought we heard footsteps on the deck around 3:00 AM. Frank got up to investigate but saw nothing amiss. The next day our neighbors reported their bike stolen, and when we checked around our boat we noted that our big Nautica bag with 4 sets of scuba gear (half of it brand new just brought back from home) was missing. Frank spent 5 hours that day at the police station filing the report, and I spent hours dealing with the marina and talking to local shops to see if anyone had tried to sell us our equipment. We have been assured nothing will come of it, that our items are long gone. We now have locks and chains on the dinghy motor, all lazarette lockers and the gas tank. 

We moved over to Yacht Port Cartagena where the security is much better. RCNC felt so badly about the theft they at least refunded our first two nights. Trying not to let this ruin our visit we explored the town and visited some of the museums and ancient sites. 

We rented a car for a few days, and on Saturday, drove back to Alicante to visit the Volvo Ocean Race Museum, which we had missed in our haste to flee the pricey marina. This museum is free and although small, packs a lot of history and information into the exhibits. Very impressive! Very informative. Very enlightening. We were able to tour Brazil 1, a former finisher. 

sleeping berths inside Brazil 1

Brazil 1

the galley

the head

Thanks to a referral from our friends Laura and Mark Pitt, s/v Sabbatical III, we drove inland up to a little town called Lorca, staying two 

nights in a wonderful spa hotel called Parador de Lorca at the top of the highest hill encased within the grounds of an ancient castle and built atop an ancient Jewish Synagogue that was discovered during the building of the hotel. It is apparently the oldest mediaeval synagogue in the Murcia region. Here is a link to the fascinating information: https://murciatoday.com/the-mediaeval-jewish-quarter-and-synagogue-in-lorca_14877-a.html

During our two days we spent a day in the town, and became enthralled at the Paso Blanca. It s a museum of the White Brotherhood of the Virgin Mary and Christ - NOT RACIAL - rather very religious. They are one of the largest participants of Semana Santa, and their group is focused on preserving the traditions of and depicting the Passion of Christ. Lorca’s holy week celebration is one of the most special in all of Spain, competing with the Blue Brotherhood (Paso Azul). Their capes and special horses are the big draw during Holy Week. The capes are all hand made of silk and velvet with each depicting a Biblical story or character going back to the Old Testament. IT is all played out and performed in a parade on horseback. It is very difficult to describe, and something that should be seen in person to appreciate and understand. The capes take from 1 – 10 years to made and are so detailed that you can see facial expressions of the characters. Frank and I were so impressed we have decided to put Easter in Lorca on our future travel plans. Here is a link to the Semana Santa in Lorca.

http://www.lorcaturismo.es/itinerarios-Semana-Santa/viernes-dolores.asp?id=8&lang=en

We returned to Cartagena in time to receive a shipment of parts for the boat and to await good weather for moving on. IT changes every day around here and generally not for the best. Today is Sept. 7^th, and we are ready to go, but can find no good anchorage or marina along the coast for landfall, so it looks like we are in for at least an overnight to either Almerimar or Marina del Este.