A Short Thought on Gibraltar

As we were coming up to our departure date from the UK, John and I were continuously identifying things that could get done or purchased in Gibraltar. New sails, sail covers, shade tent for foreward deck, a larger anchor, more lights in the cabins, comfort food such as Yorkshire and PG Tips Tea, tinned mackerel, etc. And we continued this mantra throughout our journey to Gib. 

So, the morning we arrived after our 24hours sail there, we were excited and determined to get the ball roling on everything we had been talking about or planning for this arrival. However, when we arrived in Queensway Marina, we shortly realised that what we had planned and hoped would happen in Gibraltar and the velocity in which these plans were going to be carried out was not going to happen the way we envisedged. With Sheppards being the only riggers and the primary marine electricians in Gib they were just too busy and not really interested in our jobs list. So after a few days of banging our heads against the wall trying to get some work done on the boat, we escaped to Andalucia and when we returned we were pleasantly surprised to discover that our Lancashire neighbor in the marina was a highly skilled carpenter. So, he set to work on building us a box for our propshaft so we could use our "generator space" for storage without the danger of something falling into the shaft. He also built a shelf in another cupboard and, most amazingly, he and John fitted the granite tiles we purchased before we left the UK on our galley countertops. It has really cleaned up the galley, actually, I think it is pretty beautiful now. We were also able to get our inverter installed, but other electrical work has been put on hold as we have not been able to find the appropriate 24V lights for the cabins. 

Something else happened when we returned to our boat after our sojour in Spain, the other live-aboards in the marina started to talk to us. We were having nice neighbourly chats with all the boats on our "street." We had John and Dee on our starboard, who have been sailing the same boat for 29 years, are well into 70s and a wealth of knowledge and stories about long term cruising. We had Harvey and Jane across from us who had been living at the marina for 9 years, always friendly and ready to have a chat or help solve sourcing issue for us. Then we had Gavin and Jane turn up, who had been in refit with their boat this past year and had just made the jump to live aboard. I think the highlight of our stay was Halloween though. We asked the afformentioned people if they would mind if our girls came trick-or-treating at their boats on the 31st, and then Jane took it in her charge to get others on our pontoon to participate. It turned into a lovely night for our girls, "the best Halloween ever!" is I believe what Ruth said. 

The communitee warmth and welcome were very tangible. It became hard for us to leave. We were very comfortable. The new park just down the road from the marina was lovely, clean, green and had a fabulous fish pond filled with gigantic carp and atleast 4 taripin turtles. We had met one family who lived in Gibraltar with a little girl whom the girls enjoyed playing with.

 Grocery stores were easy to walk to, the weather was great, everything was just really comfortable, so I can see why some cruisers get there and don't leave. But then we met Jocelyn. 

Jocelyn, smiling, charming American lady from Georgia, had been backpacking through Spain and had been in Gibraltar looking for a boat to take her back across the Atlantic. We saw her "add" up in the marina office and we bit the bullet and gave her a shout. We knew we could do the crossing to the Canaries on our own, but we thought it would be easier if we had one other adult, especially if we found the right one. So, while she did not have a lot of sailing experience she seemed willing to learn and a positive outlook on things, was very okay with sharing a living space with three children and was even keen to help out with them. So, Jocelyn joined the crewed of Dark Horse and we began to make our plans to leave.

I diligently checked the weather forecasts, as many as I could get my hands on, and it looked like November 6th was our day to head out. 

We did not head out of the marina until nearly midday but we eventually got to the fuel pontoon filled up and headed out by 13:30. 

However, the winds were not doing what was forecasted, infact they were doing the exact opposite and that was the prevailing theme for our entire journey. We had left Gib with the intention of landing in the Savage Islands, just south of Madeira, but after nearly 24hours of sailing upwind when the wind was forecasted to be blowing us there, we decided to head towards the Moroccan coast and Casablanca for a few days. However, during my watch I misjudged a fishing net marker and got a very substantial net wrapped around the prop. Thankfully the sun was beginning to rise, and after some angry shouting from the fisherman, we then spent the next few hours with the very nice and very helpful Moroccan fisherman and his not so interested partner detangling the net. Eventually freed of the bulk of it, John dove into the water with the breadknife between his teeth to cut the rest of the lines off the prop shaft with the Moroccan fisherman standing on our stern giving instructions on what line to cut in French, Spanish and Arabic. Our encounter was brought to a close with a bottle of very dark sailor's rum and one of our floatation vests from Nigeria being exchanged. We then arrived in Casablanca to find the "marina" we had read about was only for small boats, there was no chance of us getting in there and the anchorage was being dredged. So we headed back out to sea and that night the winds shifted and we were heading NE doing 9 knots at times. However, by this time the water was a bit confused and the 5m swell was quarting, ie. it was hitting us at about 45 degrees and it made for a very bumpy and uncomfortable ride for another 48 hours. We only had one wave break over our starboard side. It was during the day and Jocelyn was on watch. The kids and I were inside playing in the saloon. However, when the wave hit our starboard there was a great bang and we saw Jocelyn swamped by a large amount of water, much like a floom ride at an amusement park, and the companion way and first few cushions in the saloon got pretty damp.  The first companion way door stayed in for the rest of our crossing. And Jocelyn came in and got dried off. 

So,  what had started out as what we thought would be an easy 4 days down wind crossing with extra help turned into a bit more of a challenging 5 day sail to La Graciosa, Canaries. And boy, was I excited to get there. John and I brought Dark Horse into the anchorage just before sunrise. We awoke to crystal clear water, and a beautiful arrid landscape. We had a swim off the boat and a journey in the dinghy to the beach. We were where we had promised Lucy we would be eventually, a place where she could swim in a warm sea off the boat and play on a sandy beach. Now, to enjoy the next couple of months here before we make the great leap off across the Atlantic. Don't think it will be too hard for us to do that!

Andalucia

Let's go! Let's go! Let's go! We have over slept and are now rushing to get ourselves and three children breakfasted, presentable and out the door so we can get across the Gibraltar boarder to pick up our higher car in Spain. So, bus stop. Where is the bus stop...Hmm, I could have sworn it was on the corner here... Anyway, we walked the length of Main Street and found the number 5 to take us across the airport runway and to the Gibraltar-Spain border. We walked straight through customs, no line up yet. Then on into Spain. La Linea is definitely a border town. There does not appear to be much tourism here, except for the tourists coming through to get into Gibraltar, or locals coming to Spain to buy cheaper groceries. 

Car keys in hand, thank you Gold Car Hire, we were off in the general direction of Granada. A few things that would have helped speed our journey time up and make the camping even more comfortable: 

a road map of Andalusia

a basic idea of campsite locations

possibly a guidebook for the region

a ground tarp for under the tent and for Adam to crawl on

our Peanut Butter Jar of Light

The Peanut Butter Jar of ligh is just an empty peanit butter jar containing one string of battery operated fairy lights from Ikea. Thank you Jane for showing us the light this summer:) 

Anyway, not having the above when we set off were not deal breakers but once we had bought a map navigation was a lot easier and faster. Go figure.

Over all, though the trip was really nice. We were all awed by the beauty and magic and attention to detail found in the Alhambra. It took us two tries to get in, but it was worth these repeated tries. 

The garden, where the royal family played and relaxed away from the eyes of their court.

The fortificatied walls around part of the Alhambra

Gorgeous flowers in the garden

One of the many ornately plasted ceilings

The Sisters doors in the palace

Reflecting pool in the palace. According to the audio guide we were listening too, they believe that the king's wives each had a room off of this courtyard where they lived with their children. All around the pool sented plants were positioned to create a lovely perfumed air.

Our little Granadians

Other highlights of the trip were:

Playing in the snow in the Sierra Nevada

Skiing:P

 A Snow Penguin

We camped for a few nights on the southern side of the Sierra Nevadas. The weather was gorgeous and this thankfully allowed for one long hike with the kids. Below Adam is showing off his sun protection. He kept taking his hats off, so we resorted to a pair of shorts over the head, much harder to get off and throw on the ground. 

While the first half of the hike up the valley was a rather dull plod on a dirt road, the later part was on a winding path back out the valley through old terraced farms. We found a number of old walnut trees along the path, quite tasty.

Not the best picture, but you can make out some of the terraces on the left side.

John and Adam waiting for the slowpokes.

We left the Sierra Nevadas and joined the highway on the north side. Just before we came to the highway we came across the below castle. We couldn't find anythng in our travel guide but it would certainly appear to be a fort protecting a road up into the Sierra Nevadas. The whole area had once been controlled by the Moors and was in fact the last strong hold for them before the were completely removed from the landscape.

A town on the way to Ronda. 

You can see three countries in this picture. Spain, Gibraltar and Morocco. The bird flying is a gryphon vulture. We were onour way down a secondary highway when we spotted a sign saying "Lookout to Africa" we attempted to get up to the lookout but only managed get our wheels stuck so off John scampered up the steep dirt track to capture this picture. Below Adam was sleeping and Lucy and Ruth were colouring. 

So, that was what we got up to in Andalucia. It was a fantastic week and we returned to the boat refreshed and ready to tackle our jobs.