Heading West

Cartagena slowly disappears aft and the day draws to an end. We started in the morning heading for Gibraltar after four weeks in Cartagena to see the south and west of Spain. The last week we filled up our provisions and took another look at the city. We discovered beautiful places and historical sites. 

Cartagena, Spain

The marina in Cartagena is recommendable, the staff is courteous and helpful, we enjoyed our stay here. After our return the IBEX, likewise a Trans-Ocean yacht, lies at the jetty (Gaby means I must write out Trans-Ocean and should not write always only TO, so that the people have the chance to google). In any case we had some nice evenings with the crew Vicky and Florian, who are on their way to the Canary Islands to participate in this year's ARC. We wish you all the best and always fair winds and hope not to have decimated the red wine stocks too much.

Mediterranean Sea, Spain

The sea has us again and with partly 20 knots from the northeast we make quite fast progress. There are even 8 knots on the log from time to time. The headsail is extended to port, the mainsail to starboard, secured with a lazy guy, we draw a straight line to west. The wind turns a little to the east and we have to pull the boom back and put the headsail on starboard. Meanwhile the wave has reached a height of over one meter, which Gaby thinks is great again. She stands bravely at the mast and handles the lines while I'm doing my rounds on the bow. At some point it is too much for her and she hugs, in such situations, her best friend, called "Black Bucket". We never get bored at night, because the wind turns back to northeast at two o'clock in the morning and we extended the headsail again. Around four o'clock the wind falls asleep and we furl the sails. The remaining 30 miles, from 110, we drive under engine. In the morning we reach Almerimar and wait here for a strong westerly wind, which is expected to increase to 50 knots.

Marina Almerimar, Spain

In the App Navily, Almerimar was described by many users as dirty, unfriendly and not really worth visiting. But since a Trans Ocean base is located here and we want to visit it, we don't let the comments stop us. All more we are surprised when we arrive here. We get a very friendly welcome and the marina is very clean. Well, the marina is a bit outdated and concrete jetties may not be up to date, but it is not dirty now and for supplies and repairs the distances are not very long and the people are very friendly. The prices in the marina are moderate and are suitable for wintering. The criticism in the comments, we can not understand.

Sunrise in Almerimar, Spain

The Trans Ocean base is located in a laundry and we were warmly welcomed by the base manager Alex. With a coffee we could pick up one or the other tip. We are happy that there are still people who are there for others on a voluntary basis and who support us. We don't take this for granted, but have great respect for such people. 

Unfortunately, a walk around the city shows the same picture as in the places we visited before. Slowly we get the impression that the measures taken have saved one million people from Covid 19, but have robbed 50 million people of their livelihood and destroyed them. A too high price, we think. Here too, many stores are closed, or only open in the morning because of a lack of customers. The people who run a one- to five-man business fall through the social grid, and by the time any help arrives here, the businesses no longer exist. A sign "for rent" stands in front of the rammed up and cleared out store. Some streets take on the form of a ghost town. Those that are still open are struggling to survive, but after increasing numbers of cases, hope is dwindling here too.

Tapas Bar Almerimar, Spain

We sit on a terrace in front of a bar at the port of Almerimar. Palm trees provide shade at temperatures of a pleasant 25°C. With us there are four more guests, with a proper distance from table to table. The interior of the bar is empty. As stupid as it sounds, but guests are the real winners of this pandemic. The restaurateurs are happy about every guest who still comes and treat them even more courteously than before. Thoughtfully we return to the boat, the world is changing.

Weather Forecast

What happened to the 50 knots of the weather forecast and if we survived everything well, you can read in our next blog on Glenswelt. Until then, as always, fair winds and keep a stiff upper lip.

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