Costa del Sol & Blanca

Well we finally got away from Gibralter and we are now in Cartagina. This is a very attractive city steeped in history.

We stopped of at Fuengerolla and met up with Ellie, my grand daughter, and family. We suddenly had eight people on board . We and they had a gerat day partying at anchor of a very nice beach. The teenagers were jumping and diving off the front of the boat, and after a few sangrias the adults joined in.
We have been most impressed and very pleasantly suprised by the Costa Blanca.  Miles and miles of unspoilt and beautiful mountainous coast line. with attractive harbours and anchorages. Unspoilt Spain.
We are about to turn North and hopefully will soon be in Ibiza which we are looking forward to.
The weather is, as you would expect, very hot, but at sea it is not so bad when the afternoon sea breeze sets in. We have therefore been doing shorter sails and having lunch time stops to swim and snorkell etc.
Hope you are all enjoying the Olympics

Ray & Mandy

We are Leaving the Rock!!!!!!!

Well it is 8am and we have the important chip and it has been fitted in to plotter and we are filling Josephine with water and then diseal and we are off up the cost to the Calahonda area for at least a night as Ray has family on Hols in that area so we hope to meet up.
   Last night the fans of Portsmouth F.C. were in town as they were playing a pre-season against Gibraltar sorry don't know the result we did go but could hear it.
    

                          Mandy

WAITING FOR THE POST ( Wed 18th)

We are still sitting here in Gibralter and waiting for the delivery of a small package from the Uk. We have enjoyed Gib but are now eager to get away and get back to our journey.

We visited La Linear across the runway and border. It is quite a unique experiance to cross across by foot from such a British enviroment to a buissy and bustling Spannish city. One of the most striking differences is the cost of living. In La Linear everything just seemed so much cheaper.

As for our package we are still waiting. Taking into account mooring fees and the cost of living etc it probably would have been cheaper and ceartainly quicker to have taken a flight back to the uk , collected it and then returned !  There are flights to Gib every day, we see daily easy jet, monarch and BA. I believe Easy Jet flys from E Mids.

The weather here is beautifull if any one would like to come out for a few days you would be very welcome, we may be here for some time as i was told the post can be anything between five days and three weeks !!!

As i am sitting here and typing  I have to stop every few seconds and litteraly put my fingers in my ears !? Four RAF tornados have just taken off and the noise is litteraly unbearable. The entire boat vibrates.  You can tell newcomers from people who have been here for a whille. The newcomers stand and watch or take photographs. The rest just stop and put there fingeers in theire ears, and then carry on.

Look forward to your messages and e mails

Cheers
Ray.

Some Pictures to accompany story

A FISHERMANS TALE

Fishing is a frustrating hobby, and if we had to rely on what we caught to survive we would have died of starvation a long time ago !

I have invested a considerable amount of time and money buying lures,,line, swivels the whole lot and what have we caught so far ? A seagull  !! The poor thing took far more interest in my superdooper life like swiveling and diving lure than any fish did. What do you do when you are towing a hooked sizable wing flapping and squealing bird along at six knots ? If you say i dont know that is what I said. The poor bird solved the probem by deciding to take off taking the lure and about 100 meters of line with it!  We have not bothered fishing since .

Ray 

Algarve & SW Spain

Hi and apologies for the delay in updaating but as usual we have had internet connection problems.

We have now sailed the entire coast from Cape St Vincent to Gibralter where we now are.

We can only say that it is an excellent cruissing area with lots of different harbours and anchorages. We had an excellent visit to the Rio Guadina, the river that forms the border between Spain and Portugal. We berthed in Ayamonte on the Spanish side and met Mike and Sheila, old and good friends of mandys from the Manor golf club,  who have a beutifull apartment there. We had a very pleasant evening but unfortunatly they were flying home the next day.

The highlight of the trip was undobtably Cadiz. An amazing city. If.any body would like to think where could we go for a holiday or a long week end then seriously consider this beautifull place. The entire city consists of narrow ancient streets leading to numerous plazas and squares, with mature shady trees and fountains etc. Numerous bars and restraunts everywhere, beaches, cathedrals, and lots to do and see.

We are now in Gibralter berthed below the rock and alongside the airport runway in Ocean Village. The RAF are here at the moment with eight Tornado fighter jets. When they take off (which they do severall times of day) the sight and noise is unbelievable.

Gib is an interesting place and fiercely loyal to the Uk with union jacks and banners everywhere. The cuissine is traditonal English food, fish and chips everywhere!

Next week we hope to leave and travel up the eastern Spannish coast and get to the Ballerics where we will spend some time enjoying the Callas of the islands.

Ray & mandy

more pictures before the next installment !

more picture of lisboa to cape st vincent