The 'Plastic Coast'!Over 14,000 Ha of Greenhouses!!



With good NE-E winds forecast for the next few days we set off from Cartagena just before dawn, further south down the coast to Port Garrucha en route to Almerimar our final destination for the season. The steep cliff faces along the coast are quite majestic, but what struck us more were the acres and acres of plastic sheeting that were obviously green houses. The further we travelled along the coast the more concentrated are these green houses. Apparently they supply a lot of Europe with vegetables.
This part of the coast is referred to as the Costa Blanco and then it becomes the Costa Sol. In places the rock faces along the coast line with the sun shining reflect a whitish colour, but one wonders if it hasn’t been named for all the white holiday apartment blocks that crowd the coastline all the way down to Almerimar. The information in the Pilot Guide tells that these resorts are popular all year round with Scandinavians and Germans. Some are tastefully built, with their domed roofs and Palm trees they look quite North African. However, many are not and remind us of all the ‘concrete box’ holiday apartments that have destroyed the look of the Turkish coastline.
With light winds we motor all the way to Port Garrucha. On our approach we look for the masts that will indicate the marina and how popular it is, and if there would be room for us for an overnight stay. Using the binoculars Bern finally spots one or two in the northern part. We carefully navigate the shallow entrance and as our calls on the radio are ignored we spot a guy waving us in and then realize he is the Marineiro! We need not have been concerned, the marina is almost empty. It is brand new and has the air of not being finished, and compared to the marina in Cartagena, it certainly lacks character. It is a working harbour and loads of Gypsum, which is mined nearby, are loaded onto ships and taken away. We are a little put off when we find that it is more expensive to stay here than back at lovely Cartagena, so we are glad it is just for the night. We are even more grateful that our stay is short when the local fishing boats return at night and come charging into the harbour at speed, sending a huge wash straight into the marina. As well, the marina is open to the S- SE so any bad weather from that direction can send in a swell. All obvious reasons why there is hardly anyone staying here!
After a quiet night we leave on dawn and head off on the last 60nm for the season to Puerto Almerimar. Bern’s plans to head across the Atlantic have been put on hold for the moment due to his health problems at the beginning of the season. So we have decided to winter the boat in a marina in Almerimar and consider our options for next season, while we are back home.
We enjoy another light sailing day and flat water!! With the strong currents in this area it takes a long time to get around Cabo Gato with its significant white piece of rock in the middle of the dark surrounds, and even longer to make progress towards Almerimar. We finally arrive at the marina early evening and after check-in are given what seems like a good safe berth for the winter. It is a popular place to winter boats and there is an active live aboard community here throughout the winter. The marina holds about 1000 boats and about 400 on the hard stand so is quite large. It is surrounded by restaurants and apartment blocks which seem mostly empty -someone’s vision not fulfilled. There is a great supermarket within walking distance so will be useful while we are here packing up and putting First Light III to bed.