17 July 2016 | Spain
Peter
The Plaza Espana, Seville.
I sat on board Salara in Ayamonte Marina wondering where to go next, would I turn Salara to the east or the west at the mouth of the Rio Guadiana? One of the great benefits of being a single hander is that there is no one else to please but yourself. The morning that I left I steered Salara east and motor sailed along the coast dodging pot buoys almost all the way to the entrance of the marina at Mazagon. Salara had been there several times previously and although it is a long way from the town it is a handy stop for yachts sailing along this coast as it can be accessed at all states of the tide. I only stayed overnight as I had decided to head for Rota in the Bay of Cadiz so first thing in the morning and after I had paid the mooring fees Salara was on her way. She arrived at Rota Marina and tied up on the Reception Pontoon at 1900 hours. I checked in with the ship`s papers at the marina office which were given more than a just a brief glance by the Marine Police, a good looking lady dressed in paramilitary style with a gun on her shapely hip. Quite sexy really if you want to live dangerously.
Salara was allocated a berth deep in the marina and I was helped to tie up by Pete and Pam a very friendly English couple from The motor cruiser Graceful Grace and that is were Salara stayed for over a week.
I had not intended to stay for such a long time but Rota is such a pleasant town to walk around. It is a popular Spanish resort and boasts a long sandy beach and promenade as well as lots of bars and restuarants which despite the EU austerity drive were all doing a good trade. There is a very large US military base close by and the American accent can be heard all over the town and they must inject a mass of money into the local economy.
Originally my idea was to move Salara on to Puerto los Americas in Cadiz but for 5 euros each way it was easier to take a daytrip there by ferry. Cadiz is ancient and interesting to walk around and although I have been there before it never ceases to intrigue me and I can still easily become lost in it`s narrow streets. I drank beer ate tapas and just generally enjoyed myself before zooming back to Rota on the fast catamaran ferry.
Rota seemed to me to be an ideal location for a day out to Seville. The bus station was within an easy walk of the marina and a reasonable 27 euros for the return ticket. I picked my day and left Rota at 0800 hours to arrive in Seville in just under two hours.
Seville is a beautiful city and during the day I walked miles visiting the Plaza Espana then along the bank of the Rio Guadalquiver to the massive cathedral which is a most impressive structure were I just had to climb up the tower. From the top balcony the views across the city are breathtaking. By then I was hungry so I found a small place in the narrow streets of the old Jewish quarter around The Alcazar and dined on beer and tapas. What else ?
I became hopelessly lost in the warren of streets and had to resort to Google Maps to emerge once again in the cathedral square from where I was able to return to the bus station and my connection to Rota. Another super day out and not nearly enough time to see what needs to be seen. I could easily spend a week exploring this most gorgeous of cities.
One evening when I was back in Rota Pete and Pam took me to an American restuarant near the military base where I chose to have a steak which when it arrived covered the plate and was accompanied by chips and salad. It was probably my meat intake for several weeks.
Although it was tempting to linger Salara left Rota bound for Barbate close to the western end of the Straits of Gibraltar and after a bit of a bumpy ride around Cabo Trafalgar she arrived in Barbate in the early evening.
She tied up next to a yacht called Rush and another called Arrifana both were, like me, heading through the Straits of Gibraltar to La Linea Marina the following day.
This single hander had made a decision to enter the Mediterranean again.
The following day our three yachts left together and made a textbook entry through the Straits changed course into into Algecirus Bay and headed north to La Linea Marina with the Rock of Gibraltar to starboard.
Next day the crews of Rush and Arrifana went sight seeing in Gibraltar I had been here before so I lingered in my bed. A couple of days later I walked across the border just for all times sake. I drank a beer in The Irish Pub in Ocean Village and sucked a large ice cream cone as I wandered the length of the High Street. I had a look around the Trafalgar Cemetery which despite the name only has two casualties of the battle buried there. A lot of the graves are of soldiers who died in a yellow fever epidemic some years after the Battle of Trafalgar.
Back in the marina the yachties were discussing their onward journeys, most were heading to Cartagena, there was a couple of days weather window until strong easterlies cracked in. Rush with Martin and Amanda aboard were going to try and do it in one trip but Rush is a very fast racing yacht and they are highly experienced sailors. Us mere mortals were just going to plod on and see how far we could get.
I decided to do an overnight trip to Almerimar the next day. In the morning I paid the mooring fees and filled up with a full fuel load which is 38 gallons in the tank and 12 gallons in containers. The sea was flat calm and what little breeze there was came from the southwest. She motored along steadily all day and into the night when I stopped the engine soon after midnight and just let her drift for a couple of hours while I had a sleep. The new AIS unit is a great help in this regard as it warns me of ships and most fishing boats.
When I awoke off Salara chugged again for a further twelve hours until she entered Almerimar Marina and tied up on the waiting quay. I had half an hour to wait until the office opened at 1600 hours, I could hardly stay awake.
Eventually and after a long and arduous check in Salara was berthed bows to Mediterranean style in one of the four basins in this massive marina which is the centre piece of a large housing development. My intention had been to leave early the next day and try to get round Cabo de Gata before the wind arrived but when I awoke the next morning the breeze was in the northeast and strengthening so that put an end to my plans.
So here we stay with the wind howling around the yachts and no real sign of it abating any time soon.