Things wear out. That's it. That's all. There are few on board chores that I have to deal with, that I would actually term 'a chore' or 'work'. 'Work', for me, requires a tie and pen in hand. Caveat: I consider working on a toilet 'work'.
Today's job is to change out this low pressure fuel pump on our trusty Yanmar.
The oil level in the engine is slowly rising. A common reason for this is a breach in the rubber diaphragm in the low pressure pump. The fuel, which is supposed to go to the high pressure pump but some of which leaks through the diaphragm, lands in the engine sump. This can cause serious lubrication consequences for the engine if left unchecked.
A gray morning and the spare pump was put in place. Not a difficult job but needed care. Doing this kind of work on your own engine (and have the engine run afterwards), I find, changes a 'work' job into a confidence builder. I can now tackle more complex work with the onboard systems and come up smiling. Now for that coffee...

We are finished our summer cruise along southern Portugal and Spain. If you have not spent some time on this coast, you should seriously consider it. If anchoring is your preference (that's us), there are plenty of great spots that are comfortable and safe. There are also plenty of very pleasant marinas to take in the sites from as well.
Our crossing to Tangier from Cádiz was an event. An easterly of 20 to 25 knots set against the tide made for some big sailing which was made all the more worthwhile by our being greeted by the great marina staff. They remembered our last visit here and we were greeted with smiles and hugs. Not a common greeting in other marinas I believe. Here you are pretty much required to stay in a marina as no anchoring is permitted off the beaches overnight.
Tangier is a great city to visit and restock. The TGV rapid train (324km per hour) gets you to Rabat and Casablanca in quick time and it is a great way to see the country albeit rapidly! Some other cool places to visit are Fez and Chefchaouen, the beautiful blue city in the mountains.
Our next venture is Rabat and then off to the Madeira group to re-enter EU and restart our 90 stay. Stay tuned.

A beautiful spot. If you are planning to be sailing this way, you really should spend some time. As Canadians we are typically allowed a 90 day visit in the EU, with 18 months allowed for the boat itself. In other words, we can sail for 3 months within EU, put the boat on the hard in the EU and leave the EU for Canada. We then stay away for 3 months returning to the EU and relaunch, and continue cruising. Difficult and not that much fun to do actually. Instead, we opted for our Moroccan holiday mentioned in our previous post.
Back to Portugal. The Algarve, although heavily touristed offers really beautiful anchorages, good swimming and good food. The photo is of our own beach in the Algarve. We shared it with the seagulls. Don't forget to take a trip up the Guadiana to Alcoutím.

We recently joined Sailblogs and hope our posts provide at least a bit of entertainment for you. We are now both retired (a bit early) to start this life of cruising. We have been cruising part time together for 20 years and have a few trans-Atlantics under our belt....with more to come.
Our most recent adventure began in July 2018 with our departure from Nova Scotia, Canada heading for the Azores, in company with our good friend Greg. After his departure, we were off to Portugal and Spain and an over-winter in Rabat in Morocco.
We are now just finishing our second season here in southern Europe which includes a stop to see Gibraltar. A remarkable place in many respects. Off now to Tangier in Morocco as our 90 day EU visitors visa is now up. We look forward to our return to Tangier to see our old friends and all the city has to offer.