After five days in Gibraltar – the cheapest mooring charges yet – at £22 per night we made our way into the Costa del Sol on June 21. The day dawned with a heavy mist that lifted gradually but was still shrouding the Rock when we left at 11.30am. There were lots of large container ships in the harbour and it was nice to say goodbye to Gibraltar's heavy land and sea traffic and head out into the Med.
Sadly there was little wind so we motored nearly all the way to Estepona, stopping briefly for a refreshing dip. This was an impressive and neat harbour brightly painted in blue and white with lots of restaurants and shops along the quayside already giving a flavour of the costas to come. However, as before there were masses of empty tables in the cafes with only the popular ones doing any business. To compensate for 42E per night we were given a free bottle of Spanish wine!
Estepona harbour
The next stop Fuengirola was a typical Spanish tourist town with loads of tacky bars along the seafront and beyond – great for youngsters. We visited an interesting market with around 800 stalls selling everything from lovely Spanish fruit and veg to the usual jewellery and clothing. Good deals on local oranges, tomatoes and cherries – much cheaper than anywhere else.
Our next harbour was Caleta de Valez where we arrived after another misty day quite late in the evening. The harbour was quiet but there was plenty of activity on the beaches which were packed full with families, tents and bbques! We discovered it was the festival of San Juan (St John) which was celebrated with a dip in the sea at midnight and making three wishes. This cleansing of body and mind was celebrated with much laughter, music and excitement so we had an interesting walk along the promenade witnessing the celebrations and eating the best ice cream I have ever tasted.
For the past couple of days we had noticed that the sea at times was streaked with strands of yellow so we were pleased to find out that this was not as sinister as we expected but was in fact millions of fish eggs about to be hatched!
Puerto del Este where the Thomsons joined us
Nina, David, Luca and Anya were due to visit us from the 25th to the 29th so we were keen to find a small, attractive harbour with few tourists and a real flavour of Spain. Fortunately, thanks to the excellent pilot book that we study daily to make our passages we found just that at Puerto de Este. Up to now we had avoided harbours that charged high mooring fees, but on this occasion it was worth the 54E per night.
The harbour was neatly tucked behind a towering rock draped in flowers and palm trees with just a couple of cafes and a shop and pleasant walks around the harbour. The beach was close by and it turned out to be the perfect place for the Thomson family. At night David and Nina slept in the fore cabin, Luca was securely tucked into the pilot berth and Anya slept on a cushion underneath the saloon table! It worked a treat and we had some lovely warm atmospheric evenings eating and drinking in the cockpit surrounded by the towering mountains and white balconies and tiled roofs of the Spanish homes that dotted the hillsides.
It was sad to wave them goodbye on the Monday morning but we were soon off on our travels again – this time to Almerimar, one of the largest harbours in the Costa del Sol. There was little wind so we motored all the way much to Anders's distress! The harbour was huge with space for up to 1,000 boats, but as it was very much an artificial rather than a natural harbour it lacked authenticity and once again had a haunted feel. Massive apartment blocks were deserted as were most of the restaurants. There were also more abandoned looking boats in the harbour than we had seen before. There were many character yachts for sale and it would certainly be a place to check out if you were looking to buy a boat. The recession is very real here and with 17.5% unemployment at the moment the building and tourism industry has been hit the hardest.
Before we left this harbour I had the pleasure of hoisting Anders up in the missen mast to fit a halyard to hoist the wind scoop that we had bought to bring more air into the aft cabin. The sheet jammed on the winch and for a few tense moments Anders thought he may have to spend the rest of the holiday up there – fortunately wise words from Anders soon sorted out the tangle and he was gently brought down to earth!
Anders at work on the missen and relaxing the next day at Roquetas del Mar
Next day we took a short hop to Roquetas del Mar. It was a quiet fishing harbour with few visiting yatchs but they had not heard of Wifi which we were frustratingly searching for on a number of occasions. The castle near the harbour was however, well worth a visit.
To date we have only anchored on two occasions as safe, sheltered bays are difficult to find. However, the next stop was the most picturesque of the holiday so far. We had planned to go into St. Jose but a peaceful, panoramic bay just before the harbour caught our eye. One or two small boats were anchored there and everyone was taking a dip. The water was crystal clear with just fish and a sandy bottom visible to the eye. We anchored and literally dived in. The azure water enveloped us in its refreshing coolness. It was a great end to a very hot day.
One of our most peaceful anchorages at Genove's, near Cabo de Gata
It all looks so amazing and you write so beautifully. I can't wait to come and visit you soon.
ReplyDelete