We woke to glassy smooth water and blue skies.....it seems the weather forecast is never right in this part of the world, not that we were complaining for breakfast weather. We had a swim in the refreshing but pleasant temperature water before departing and felt the benefit of the swim, as always.
The passage was on a beam reach with Trilogy performing well. The wind peaked at 25 knots and Trilogy charged along at 9 knots, making for an exhilarating time. Colin and Amelia were in the swing of the crew routines and enjoyed the challenges of the sail, learning to work the cockpit and foredeck.
The coast line is even more continuously developed with high rise apartments along this stretch of coast called Costa Blanca. The highlight of the day was passing by Benedorm, which is rated as no. 8 in The Lonely Planet as a 'must do' destination. There was a lot of banter on board because the much travelled Colin had previously been to Benedorm and could not find a kind word to say for it. Colin is an experienced motor car journalist and test drives cars all over Europe. In the Sierra Mariolas that form the hinterland of this section of Spanish coast, Colin talks of zooming through the mountains and suddenly having a disappointing visual of ugly high rise between himself and the sea! Peter on the other hand was talking Benedorm up and as the passage planner and navigator he was keen for us to spend the night in the marina. Benedorm was truly a visual disappointment and we opted for a late lunch at the south end of the long sweeping beach with the possibility for a swim. Alas, the anchor chain jammed in the capstan as we were lowering it the last 5 metres, so after the usual delicious meat and salad bread roll was enjoyed, there was no swimming. Perhaps the anchor chain jamming was telling us Benedorm was equally a jammed destination.
We motor sailed a little further down the coast to the Villajoyosa marina that offered us protection from the predicted 20 knot southerly followed by a 20 knot northerly overnight, which left us no bay to safely anchor in. Villajoyosa was a smallish residential community that seemed to be home for the Spanish locals who provided the service for the British Benedormers! The boys sorted out all 150 metres of anchor chain that had twisted and turned on itself over the last four sailing seasons, requiring Colin to undo the hinges on the anchor locker door in order to shift the piled up chain that prevented the door from opening. Meanwhile the girls descended (or rather ascended) on the MasyMas supermarket to restock and pack-horsed the heavy load down the hill. With everyone's tongues hanging out for GNTs after such strenuous duties, we relaxed together as the sun set.
Since we were in a marina, the destination for an evening meal was the next decision. When feeling tired, it is quite tempting to go to the closest marina restaurant. However, the two restaurants nearby both had no-one seated and a quick check of the menus was not inspiring. Peter saved the day by turning on his Trip Advisor App which revealed a highly recommended restaurant called La Caravelle, thankfully close enough to the marina. From the moment we met the wife and owner, we knew it was going to be good, let alone the number of others guests already seated. The menu was most interesting and the food simply delicious. We were seated outside in the balmy evening and finished our meal with a complimentary limoncello...yum!
When another new day of adventure dawned, we sailed in a light breeze on a beam reach further south to Puerto de Alicante, stopping for lunch along the way. Alicante was founded by the Carthaginians and was the centre of the Punic empire. The Romans and Moors followed but the British didn't take note of Alicante until the early 18th century when it became the seat of a British mercantile colony and was occupied by the British during the Peninsula War. Apart from the history and elegant architecture, the highlight of Alicante is a castle, which offers spectacular views both inland and up and down the coast. The climb was around 165 metres, but as luck would have it, an elevator ride at the end of a long tunnel took us close to the top of the castle. In the afternoon light, we got the cameras working overtime, forever trying to capture the perfect photos. We descended on foot down a steep incline along a castle wall akin to the Great Wall of China through the hillside gardens, which at lower levels provided close up views of the rooftops in the old city. By the time we reached the old city it was 20:30 and our GNT thirst was gripping us. We settled for beers and Mojhitos before heading for another nearby Trip Advisor recommended restaurant. At first we were very impressed by the downstairs tapas bar and the architecture of the restaurant which appeared frequented only by locals. Most of the meals were delicious eg roast suckling pig served with compote of fruit, seared tuna served with guacamole and grapefruit, but things deteriorated when a shared main meal of 1kg of roasted veal was very undercooked and sinewy. It was very difficult to communicate what the problem was and so in spite of the meal disappearing for a little more cooking, the meat was inedible. However, dessert for Sue and Garth made up for the disappointment and hunger and we all headed back to the marina via a palm tree lined boulevard with jewellery market stalls a plenty. Alicante is reputed to come alive around midnight when people hit the bars, but we never seem to last that late!