From the Gulf of Lyon to Spain
10 December 2018
In Cap D Agde we tied up in another very large French marina, (with over 3000 boats) adjoining an amusement park-like area with a Ferris wheel and a roller coaster. The main attraction for us was that we could tie securely about a half mile inside a labyrinth of canals, far from the swell of the Mediterranean Sea. It also features a "naturiste" harbor which is dedicated to clothing optional sailors. We were also interested in getting close to the famous Canal du Midi, which goes across Southern France to the Atlantic and maybe cycling along the ancient towpaths on the canal. Just for fun we had to ride the Ferris wheel up about 200 feet over the harbor, from where we could see many miles in all directions. We walked to the nearby old medieval town of Agde, about 4 miles away, where the Canal du Midi joins the Canal du Sete that travels inside the coast all the way to the mouth of the Rhone River. The Canal du Midi, considered an engineering masterpiece at the time was finished in 1672, a time when the canal barges that traveled on it were powered by draft horses or oxen towing ropes from both sides of the canal. After the industrial age steam and motor powered barges carried freight across the agricultural and wine making region of Languedoc. Today the only vessels transiting the canal are small tourist barges and yachts, and none of them can draw more than about 5 feet. We gazed wistfully at the canal in Agde, and started planning a side trip to come back in the Spring and take a barge and bike tour on the canal when the weather would be better.
From Cap D Agde we thought we were going to make our final push across the Gulf of Lyon, so not to risk being stuck in port due to the high winds so often encountered there. We had observed the Fall pattern of longer periods of high winds from either North or South, with fewer and shorter windows of better weather for sailing. The day we picked to sail Southward started out nicely enough, with gentle Northerlies and sunny skies... We were averaging seven knots plus for the first five hours.
Then Mother Nature gave us new orders, as the wind clocked around 180 degrees to the Southeast, and over a 20 minute period increased to 30 knots. We went from a leisurely pace with a full genoa out to bucking into strong headwinds with decks awash and reduced sails in seconds, and changed our course to go to nearby St Cyprian, a small marina about 15 miles closer than planned.
Saint Cyprian was small, but sheltered enough under the circumstances. As we tied up it became very rainy and windier yet. We decided to stay a couple nights and wait for the wind and sea to settle down. New friends and fellow sailors, however, were getting ready to sail out in the late afternoon to make a nighttime crossing around the fabled Cape Cross that marks the spot where the Pyrenees meet the Sea... I chatted with one of the crews as they were readying to go, and they told me they were going to Guadeloupe, over 3000 miles away in the Caribbean.. and they weren't going to let a little Mediterranean squall spoil their plans. "Bravo and Bon Voyage" I replied, as they let go their lines.
It seems that Guadeloupe was on other people's minds as well. Later that same day I chatted with one of the other boaters that tied up overnight, with a young French couple aboard. They too were departing for Guadeloupe, and hoping not to make any more unscheduled stops... So it seems that late November is the sendoff period for hundreds of yachts setting sail to cross the North Atlantic bound for the Caribbean.
Leaving St Cyprian, we said goodbye to our sailing in France.
Sailing around the edge of the Pyrenees.
Unlike the sailors we met that were on a schedule to get to the Caribbean, we had time to make our crossing into Spain with comfort. From Saint Cyprian, once the clouds cleared away we could clearly see the snow-clad flanks of the Pyrenees just a few miles away. The weather forecast for the area around Cape Cross showed a daily cycle of high winds during the daytime and lighter ones at night. The Cape is a confluence of current and swells that makes transit in high winds uncomfortable or unsafe...So we contemplated a passage in darkness even though there is a nearly 20 degree F. temperature drop at night, from the mid 60s to the mid 40's. We staged our crossing by first sailing over the the quaint natural harbor of Port la Selva (literally translated :"Port of the Jungle"). We anchored in the mid afternoon and barbecued an early dinner, so we could get underway at 3AM, when the wind was forecast to be light.
Crossing over or around the Pyrenees is the subject of some historical significance and much research.. In 218 BC, the Carthaginian general Hannibal from North Africa is recorded to have taken his army through the Iberian peninsula all the way to the outskirts of Rome in present day Italy, in order to conquer the Roman Empire. It is thought by many that his route across the Strait of Gibraltar, then the Pyrenees, and then the Alps, necessitated some travel on the water. Somehow this was accomplished with his complement of ten thousand plus soldiers, two thousand horses, and some 50 battle elephants. Yes, battle elephants, which at the time were widely respected and feared, like the Abrams tanks of their time... There are paintings of the turbaned Hannibal with a saber and a dagger on his hip, sitting atop one of the elephants as his army made its way across Southern Europe. Scholars still debate the route most likely taken, with scientists today searching for elephant dung in the centuries old footpaths through the mountains. As with most human migrations, the water route is often the most likely, and this gave us something to think about as we navigated through a clear cold night around the Cape of the Pyrenees.
Morning brought us before dawn into the palm-lined Bay of Roses, where we put our anchor down in calm waters to rest and recover before going in to the port itself. Around midday we moved the boat alongside the marina and ventured into the lovely little Catalonian town of Roses, where we were surprised to see and hear flocks of parakeets fluttering from tree to tree. For the better part of a week we enjoyed staying alongside within the comforting protection of a breakwater harbor. We found a very nice public aquatic center and took advantage of swimming in warm water. Most people we met could speak in at least two and often three or more languages. Catalan, which is more similar to Portuguese, is the first language, and the one used in signage on the roads... Castillian Spanish is the national language. Everywhere we saw the flag of Catalonia, and rarely the flag of Spain, reminding us that only a year ago the region of Catalonia passed a referendum vote to become independent from Spain. After the referendum passed the popular vote, the central government of Spain based in Madrid declared it null and void and arrested some of the leaders of the separatist movement. No one we met however, expressed any passion or political ire. Life goes on as it has throughout its long history being part of many Kingdoms and Fiefdoms. After all it was only 1939 when Catalonia first became part of the Spanish nation. In Roses we saw the beautiful tree-lined promenades that most of the cities of Spain are known for. People were out walking every day, and most of the shops and restaurants were still open despite the advent of Winter.
It was with some melancholy that we sailed South from Roses after nearly a week of enjoying its many attractions. We steered nearly straight South, past several picturesque little harbors. As we passed latitude 42 we realized we were in a distinctly more friendly climate with softer winds and clearer skies. We arrived in the late afternoon at the town of Blanes and found a welcome resting spot. Next to us was tied up a 55 foot motor yacht with a French owner and a Guadeloupe captain, who we befriended instantly. They were also headed for Guadeloupe, like the boats we met in St Cyprian, but their route was going to Mallorca where they would be taken aboard a ship for the trans Atlantic voyage. We swapped some stories with the Guadeloupian captain about our memorable stays on his island in 2008 and earlier. We waited two days for a passing squall to blow through before sailing again towards Barcelona. In that time we toured the nearby Botanical Gardens. Finally we had some real brisk sailing weather on the stern, so we flew along at 8 plus knots.
Beautiful Barcelona
Badalona is one of several large marinas in Barcelona area. It is just a few miles North of the heart of the city, with a fast and quiet electric train going into town every 20 minutes or so and taking just ten minutes to get there. We picked this spot to nest for a week or two and enjoy all the attractions of the city. We are not sure that was long enough, so many are the eye-popping things to see. We started with some jogging and walking along the beachfront promenade of Badalona itself, which goes for many miles to the North. As with Roses, it is lined with Palm trees, and the flocks of monk parakeets screech happily as the fill the sky with a green blur. On our first train trip to the city, we got off and walked the wide promenade of the Rambla into the Gothic quarter. We marveled at how the Rambla is over 100 meters side, but only about a quarter of it is for vehicles. Pedestrians rule in Barcelona! We spent some time wandering the Gothic Quarter, especially the Cathedral, a masterpiece from the 14th century with spires reaching hundreds of feet into the sky. We got lost for several hours in the Gothic quarter simply to admire the many shops, cafes and street artists in the area. Somehow we made it back to the Rambla and towards the waterfront where several superyachts were ties up next to a replica of a 15th century galleon and rows of cafes and tapas bars.
The Senegalese Market
Actually there are several "markets" where the Senegalese vendors lay out there wares for the passing public. On the floor of the central train station at Plaza Catalunya, on the grass lawn of the Ciutadella park, and in several spots along the waterfront. They arrive and depart en masse, with twenty or thirty men carrying all their wares in large blankets like knapsacks over their shoulders. Their "wares" are knockoff shoes, ladies purses, football jerseys, baseball caps, and outerwear., mostly "genuine fake" We stopped to visit them a few times in various places and found them to be good natured and friendly business people. Debby bought a jacket from one man, and we learned a few things about their country on the Atlantic coast of Africa. There were also some musicians playing beautiful Senegalese music. In several places we found their markets, the mostly male vendors were all from Senegal. Despite competing with each other selling many of the same products for negotiated prices, there was no appearance of jealousy or bad behavior. It reminded us a little of the Rastafarian market in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent, where one vendor said we should buy from the others to "spread the love"...
A City of Monuments
At the foot of the Rambla stands the enormous bronze statue of Christopher Columbus, looking out to sea, atop a hundred-foot tall obelisk. This monument was one of several that were erected in time for the 1888 Universal Exposition, or Worlds Fair, as it is now known. That year marks a significant moment in the history of Barcelona when many of its modern features and even the "Modernisme" movement in art and architecture were started. A few blocks off the Rambla, on another one of our walks in the city, we toured the Ciutadella, a neighborhood where once stood a military fortress. The fortress had become a symbol of oppressive Spanish authority over Catalonia which was very unpopular in Barcelona, so it was razed to the ground and a modern park-like neighborhood erected in its place. The park incorporated a Zoo, a museum of Art and Science, and a Cascade with a gold-clad bronze monument to Aurora, the goddess of dawn, atop a chariot pulled by four horses. Most importantly, the Ciutadella represents the new course of planning undertaken by the city to large green spaces and parks. The shift in urban planning that occurred in the late 19th century is clear when looking at a map of the Gothic Quarter with its three-meter wide streets and comparing it to all the surrounding areas with boulevards a hundred meters wide.
The Majestic Sagrada Familia Basilica
One of the last landmarks we visited in Barcelona is the grandest of all: The Sagrada Familia basilica. Seen from a distance, it looks like an enormous sand castle made by dripping sand mixed with water. ti is different from any cathedral we have see in Europe and almost surreal in appearance. Little wonder that now it is the most visited attraction in all of Spain. It had a humble beginning in 1882, when the cathedral of Barcelona was already 300 years old and a grand structure in its own right. It was conceived as an "alms church", or a church for the poor, funded by charitable donations. The now-celebrated architect Antoni Gaudi labored with its design from his 30th birthday until he died over 40 years later, run over by a tram when he walked nearby. Gaudi had dedicated his last years to the project and received no money for it. Today it is still unfinished, with a completion date estimated around 2026. It costs 25 million Euros a year to maintain and continue the construction, and all of the money comes from donations and visitors who pay to see it.
It took us a whole day to see the Basilica. We marveled at how the internal columns seen from the ground floor are like the trunks and branches of Redwood trees, yet made of stone pieces erected one by one. It is said that Gaudi drew his inspiration from nature, since all of nature is a creation of God. The outside stoneworks and bronze panels are carved with many creatures of the natural world, from lions and birds down to the smallest insects. The story of Gaudi also says he studied other religions and their places of worship, and included features from Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. One can easily see the resemblance of his onion shaped turrets to mosques in the Middle East. More unique to Mr Gaudi is his use of colored and enameled mosaics covering the many domes at the tops of the structure, making them look like fruit or ice cream cones. The sheer size of the Sagrada familia, nearly 600 feet tall, is impressive too. It is nearly twice the height of the majestic Barcelona Cathedral. Sagrada Familia cannot be called a cathedral because that title is given to the older Catholic structure which is the seat of the Bishop of Barcelona. Both churches have been visited and blessed by Popes of the Catholic church several times.
Antoni Gaudi was regarded as a genius among architects in Barcelona when he was still a young man. He was commissioned to plan several smaller structures throughout the city, and in particular a planned residential community now called Park Guell, named after the wealthy patron who started it in the late 1880's. The lots in the community are triangular, seemingly the favorite geometric shape used by Gaudi as a building block for his many mosaic coverings. Only one fifth of the land area in the triangles was allowed to be occupied by buildings, the rest was deliberately left open for green spaces.
Many of the Park Guell buildings had the characteristic shiny ice cream cone shapes of enameled tile mosaic. We walked away from our day spent admiring the buildings of Mr Gaudi with our brains saturated.
Our last day of sailing for 2018
Once we felt we had given Barcelona a fair amount of time and several visits by train, we had to take Deva to her nesting place for our 90 day mandatory leave from the EU. The place we chose is a small harbor near Barcelona's airport. It was just a few hours away, and we picked the perfect day for it. Clear blue skies and light winds carried us to Ginesta harbor, which is best known as a beach community. Miles of clean sandy beach stretch in both directions. Tapas bars and coffee shops line the boardwalk. The Senegalese shoe and clothing vendors have spots to sell their wares. There are bike and jogging paths with many people out every day using them. We have almost two weeks to prepare the boat for the boatyard, a very civilized schedule. It was sunny almost every day, despite cooler nights with the onset of Winter. This section of the Spanish coast is oriented East to West, such that we can see both the sunrise and sunset over the same ocean, a rarity in our travels..