The wind was blowing at 25 knots in the early part of the morning and Trilogy departed L'Ampolla by 10:00. The first part of the sail was following a sand spit on the northern side of the Rui Ebre which jutted out to sea for several miles. The water was shallow all the way due to the eons of silting and the sea was dotted with the ubiquitous fishing buoys that were exceedingly difficult to spot, even in daylight. Eventually we turned at the cardinal mark but the fishing buoys continued for many miles down the coast. We are happy to report that so far we have not hit any, but we have came mighty close, in spite of being vigilant.
The fishing boats also multiplied tenfold in this region. We think that the sea must be nutrient rich at the mouth of Riu Ebre. This therefore must be fisherman's basket territory, for we have never seen so many fishing trawlers clustered together. The trawling nets are a worry for us as well, so we kept vigilant all day. Come 17:00 there was a virtual stampede of trawlers back to port, with their catch making sweet pickings for the seagulls.
Trilogy reached her destination at the Puerto de Benicarlo after a fast sail of 42 NM and we were hopeful of a berth in the marina. I say 'hopeful' because the English from our end and the Spanish from the other did not have common ground. All was well however and the attendant was beckoning Trilogy from the pontoon as we entered. However, in spite of all our lines and fenders ready and in position we were thrown into chaos when the man insisted on tying off the stern lines prior to lifting a bow mooring line to allow us to quickly tie off the bow before the 25 knots of wind got us again. That happened, but as we had plenty of space either side and clever manoeuvres by the skipper tensioned the port mooring line by several metres subsequently, Trilogy came square to the pontoon allowing the paseralle to be lowered and shore water and power to be connected.
No sooner had we tidied up than we were off to visit the Castle of Peñiscola, erected by the knights Templár and later completed by the Montesianos in the 14 century, which crowns the old city on top of a rocky crag. Peñiscola has been the crossroads of all the Mediterranean civilisations because of the city's advantageous location, it's security as an unyielding stronghold and it's ideal conditions as a place to live. The castle has managed to resist all manner of sieges, attacks and bombardments over the centuries, including the War of Spanish Succession in the 18th century, the Peninsula War against the French in the 19th century and more recently the Spanish Civil War in the 20th century. The Templár knights were warrior monks who were involved in the Crusades. I think the day started with prayer but ended in battle far too often! The castle was also the residence of Pope Benedicto X111, when he was forced into exile. The views over land and sea were spectacular and well worth the steep climb to the ramparts.
Ros and Garth were celebrating a wedding anniversary so a special meal was on the agenda. Garth chose Casa Vicent in the old city, as it had a wonderful view from terrazzo al mar. No sooner had we settled to our GNTs, than two Spanish families with multiple young children, including two babies in prams, arrived to sit right behind us....so much for the romantic evening! The restaurant promoted itself as a fish restaurant but after the starters we found it astonishing to be told there was only one fish available and it was 600 gms per serve and cost 44 euros. Needless to say, we all chose the same tender steak with a good variety of chargrilled vegetables, all washed down with a good local red and topped off with a Bailey's.
Down the hill to bed we thought, but we encountered a large temporary steel framed arena which turned out to be for a mock bull fight, starting at 23:00. The crowd gathered in every possible spot and the truck containing the concealed bucking bull was positioned close to the arena. Various wooden structures were positioned within the arena and a large group of men gathered in the arena, mostly spectators. The bull was revving itself up in the rear of the enclosed truck by kicking the walls and then was released to the waiting crowd with large flames shooting from its horns...no wonder it had been kicking with anger! Then, the bull started to release his anger on the men who taunted him and whenever he charged, the spectator men dashed for cover by darting between the steel poles.....so, so brave!!! We all felt sorry for the bull and left well before the spectacle finished. We noticed that a large section of beach had been fenced off and it was our hope that the bull was going to be finally released to the sand and allowed to recover from the ordeal with dignity. Never a dull moment in Spain, it seems!