ChaliGram 15-3: The last one....
11 July 2015 | Gibraltar
Alison
…. written from the Mediterranean!
[For those friends who saw my recent posting on Facebook, this is partially duplicate info, but this one DOES have a link to photos!]
Since my last ChaliGram written on Jun 9th, we managed to finally leave Cartagena, with a new toilet and all new plumbing and Chuck’s muscles not protesting too much. We converted our harbor-queen back into a sailing vessel and off we went. Our first day out sailing since last August 12 was superb. Amazingly, we remembered how to do everything…. no major screw ups, and the windgods even allowed us to pure-sail for several hours (as opposed to motor-sailing). *sigh.* We remembered why we liked sailing! We headed south, and then rounded the Cape of the Cat (Cabo de Gata) at the southeast corner of Spain. We stopped in marinas that we’d been to 9 years ago in 2006 when we were first entering the Med, plus a couple of new ones. We treated ourselves to a stay at the Malaga Yacht Club so we could re-visit that lovely city. It was a bit of a hike into town, but we 3 managed. Zoey mostly rode in her rolling tote bag. And then suddenly, we were in Gibraltar. ALREADY! That place with the big rock! This was to be our hopping off point to go to Morocco for visa renewal stuff, which is just a few miles away across the Straits.
So, why is this the last ChaliGram from the Med, you ask? After all, my last email said our boat would get loaded on the BIG SHIP in October in Palma de Mallorca! Well! As it happens our shipping company just announced a July sailing from, of all places, GIBRALTAR! And there’s a rather unusual disembarkation in Chester, PA on the Delaware River (just between Wilmington and Philadelphia). Well HELL! That’s a mere daysail from the Chesapeake Bay... OUR HOME WATERS until 10 years ago. PLUS, it’s hopefully a better place to land than West Palm, FL during hurricane season! (Although the Delaware River is really a really pretty awful area! One that we'll want to get away from as soon as possible!) We will load our boat in about a week or so. At this point, the arrival date of the ship is still a little wiggly. And then Chuck, Zoey and I will fly back to Washington, DC and wait a couple of weeks before going to Chester to meet Madame ChaliVentures. This is really a much better option for us since we don’t have to sail east again for 500 miles to get to expensive, crowded Palma. Plus it gets us back home with plenty of time to get ready (i.e., find a DRESS!!! etc) and help out for our daughter Sammy’s October wedding. The only negative thing about this itinerary change is that we won’t be traveling up the Intercoastal waterway in November-December and seeing our friends in FL, GA and SC…. But…. there’s always next year. We don’t know if we’ll head to warmer climes this winter or not. TBD.
So, instead of having 2-3 more months here, we have about a week. We’ve started the heavy work of removing all the sails and basically preparing ChaliVentures to be cargo on a big ship.
I feel compelled to say that this is a HAPPY event. Several of our friends thought it was sad that we were leaving the Med. We’ve had 10 years, and it’s been great!! It’s probably 7-8 years longer than we had initially thought we’d spend here. We’ve sailed from Portugal to Syria/Lebanon/Israel and back and visited most countries in between. We spent 2 fabulous years in Turkey and Greece with Crete being a real high point in Greece; 3 seasons cruising along the gorgeous coast of France and Corsica; Mainland Italy plus Sicily and Sardinia were also favorites; Can’t forget about Croatia, Montenegro, Tunisia and Morocco either! We’ve spent the last year in Spain. WE’VE LOVED IT ALL! And now it’s time for a change. We’re both excited at the prospect of eating Chesapeake Bay jimmy blue crabs, steamed and spiced in that ever so special way. We’re looking forward to cruising in an area that has a zillion anchorages, and lots of trees. We’re especially happy to be closer to our family and friends and to not have to cram all our visits into 3 months during the winter. And….. as my sister Dori pointed out, we'll have new and different adventures for the next 10 years! Things we’re already thinking about are: renting a canal boat in France and/or Holland for a couple of months; Taking land trips to Central Europe and staying in good old airbnb apartments in various cities for 6-8 weeks. Living onboard Chaliventures in marinas in Boston or Baltimore or Beaufort, SC for a while. So, we’ll continue to scratch our travel itch, just in a new and different way…..and for maybe 2 months at a time, instead of 8 or 9 months. Right now, we’ll just be relieved to get into our boat on the other side. We’re sort of at the bottom of the mountain looking up, with LOTS of logistical issues yet to resolve.
So, that’s our story for the day! Look forward to seeing a lot of you soon!!
Love, Alison, Chuck and Zoey
A few pictures this time:
https://picasaweb.google.com/chaliventures/ChaliGram153LastOneFromTheMed?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLXZ9qTR6qKQ6gE&feat=directlink
Alison Spinney
Onboard s/y ChaliVentures III …along the Costa del Sol, Spain