A lovely slow morning start the day, on our won as the schooner had departed early we now had the bay all to ourselves. It was my birthday and I got the royal treatment from start to finish! Sue and Peter laid the table for a special cooked breakfast, which seemed to last for hours. As it was Sunday the locals were busy on the headland, walking dogs, hiking, bike riding and fishing. About 13:00 we lifted the anchor and headed out of the bay to set the sails.
It was a beautiful blue sky day and the wind was very favourable for a great sail. With a 5-10 knot easterly blowing, it was perfect conditions to hoist the beloved Code Zero and turn the motor off, to be one with the wind and the water. It was a magic sail and we all felt very pleased to have enjoyed such a day.
We berthed in the commercial port of Garrucha that had mountainous piles of gypsum on the wharfs and two large very empty ships alongside, waiting for Monday to take on their loads. The pilot book warned that the gypsum dust could easily descend on the yacht but fortunately we escaped that. Garrucha seemed really quiet after the hype of Cartegena, but it was a good size town and as usual, things come alive well after dark.
After drinks in the saloon because of the cool breeze, we wandered ashore sort of all glammed up for a birthday dinner. We passed by a bar that looked perfect for a Baileys later on, as the pink and blue mood lighting was quite striking and quirky. Our dinner was at Rincòn del Puerto, a specialty seafood restaurant. Once the Moët was poured and the selection made from the fish cabinet, the rest of the night flowed perfectly. We especially liked the shared starter plate of delicious grilled langoustines, red prawns, tender octopus (Galatian style) and cockles. We shared a sea bream that at first didn't seem to have much flavour, but an addition of some good old Spanish olive oil and sea salt made all the difference. We all indulged in a desert and a complimentary limon sorbet finished the meal. There was no room for the Baileys, and home to bed we went, making very sure we walked in the centre of the pontoon.......a great way to celebrate that life is good!
After a wash down of the decks and a few more provisions stowed, we headed out of the harbour for a brisk sail in 20-30 knot NE winds. We made good time for the 35 NM in a following sea. As the plan was to anchor overnight in the lee of Cabo de Gata, we headed well off the coast and then gybed to bring Trilogy back in on the headland, which was distinguished by a very distinctive large white natural rock feature at water level. The anticipated shelter from the strong winds by snugging up behind the headland did not quite eventuate. We struggled to drop the sails and tie everything down securely, with bullets of wind up to 40 knots hitting Trilogy with too much regularity. However the wind strength did not stop a swim to the beach, which thankfully the nudists had vacated. This beach ranked highly in Trip Advisor for its quality of rugged natural surrounds, and quality of yellow sand. The sun set over the water, we sipped on GNTs. Pork fillets in a mustard sauce served with baked pumpkin and steamed zucchini finished the day nicely.The bullets continued well into the night and although the anchor held well, the boys remained vigilant.
Up early next morning for a long day of sailing, we were away by 08:30 and we broke into two watches and donned our safety harnesses as a precaution in the somewhat rough conditions. It was raining and a storm loomed but as we sailed away from the land, the skies cleared overhead and we left behind the darkened and ominous sky. Once Trilogy settled to the seaway and she was in 'the groove', we had a swift passage on a beam reach, averaging speeds of 8 - 10 knots with no apparent effort or strain. It was a glorious 75 NM sail, to put us in Puerto de Este, a charming marina tucked away in a natural alcove surrounded by steep sided hills and a rocky islet that forms part of the seaward protection for the marina. As I write, we are tied up behind a magnificent stone 5 metre high seawall, Michael Buble is crooning, GNTs are being imbibed and we are shortly to go ashore for dinner......as I said, LG!!!