LEG 10 - BARCELONA TO VALENCIA AND FINALLY FOR 2013 ON TO ALMERIMAR Leg 10 got off to a very slow start. It seemed that the long crossing from Turkey to the Aegean Greek Islands, the push through the Corinthian Canal and mostly a beat up the Gulf, followed by some long legs onto Croatia and Dubrovnik, the cruise in Croatia followed by a pretty rough long overnight sail to Italy, on to Amalfi, Rome, Elba, Corsica, overnight to Monaco, Marseilles dodging the bullets in the notorious Gulf du Lion, staggering along the Spanish coast to Barcelona; had all taken a toll! Yours truly needed a rest. Barcelona So the wonderful city of Barcelona with all its maritime history, art, food and Catalan hospitality provided a great respite. Some days I did nothing. Other days we jumped on the modern Metro right beside the Masnou Marina (it has its own station) and in a few minutes you are in the centre of a throbbing, bustling city. Tracking down some of the favorites like Gaudi and Dali was easy and fun. If there were crowds or queues we would just scoot off and do something else. One bonus for travelers in Spain: Pensioners get a big break on museum and other entry fees. Another big plus is that the Spanish are very friendly to travelers and sailors. In Barcelona I had time for photos. There are endless exciting views and sights in Barcelona. I have included some of them. I know Miran will ask for more for the photo gallery!

BARCELONA PHOTOS

If you look at the background you can see the orange towers of The Barcelona Hotel.

ONE OF THE MANY FANTASTIC FOUNTAINS IN BARCELONA

CATALAN FLAGS - SOME CATALANS WANT INDEPENDENCE. During our sojourn there was on massive public flag waving day of support for the separation. EU says no chance as does the rest of Spain.

I THINK THIS CLOWN HAS ASSERTED HIS OWN INDEPENDENT STATE OF MIND. He keeps the eye on the prize and his foot!

COLUMBUS POINTS THE WAY TO THE WEST. I USED TO BE IN AWE OF THESE EXPLORERS. I STILL AM. BUT I ALSO READ THAT SOME OF THESE “EXPLORERS”HAD PAID BIG MONEY FOR SECRET CHINESE CHARTS. It seems the Chinese had been sailing much of the world before the so called “voyages of discovery” by the European economic and cultural religious raping of the “New World” Africa and the rest!

DALI BRONZE RHINO. THE GALLERY IS WELL WORTH A VIST IF YOU LIKE THE ARTIST.

DALI - TROJAN HORS

DALI'S LADY GODIVA BEAR GARGOYLE BARCELONA

BEAR GARGOYLE BARCELONA DALI’S ST

GEORGE AND DRAGON

BARCELONA FISH MONGER. THE MARKET SUPPLIES AN INCREDIBLE VARIETY OF FISH.

TIPS OF SPIRES ON GAUDI'S SAGRADA FAMILLA CATHEDRAL. BUILT 1882 UNTIL SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE. THE WORK GOES ON! Figure 13 GAUDIS MONSTER DREAM IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION SINCE IT WAS STARTED IN 1882.

GAUDIS MONSTER DREAM IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION SINCE IT WAS STARTED IN 1882. I COUNTED AT LEAST 4 ACTIVE CRANES. THE QUEUE TO GET IN WAS HALF A MILE LONG WE DECIDED ON A BEER AND AN EXTERIOR VIEW.

BARCELONA MARKET. WHAT A TREAT AFTER 5 YEARS IN HAMLESS TURKEY. WHAT FUN TO BE BACK IN THE LAND OF THE PIG! AND WHAT FANTASTIC HAMS THEY HAVE. NO WONDER EL CID WANTED THE MOORS TO BE GONE. GOOD JOB CID BABY! THANKS.

PEPPERS OF FANTASTIC COLOURS

CATALUNYA SQUARE

BENICARLO - A TRIBUTE TO LOCAL FARMERS

TARAGONA MURAL

TARRAGON PORT ATTRACTS SOME MEGA YACHTS THIS ONE IS TOPAZ 3RD (?) LARGEST IN WORLD. A SUPER SAILING YACHT IN BACKGROUND SIX SPREADER MAST.

I WAS TOLD IN THESE WATERS THE FULL MOON GOT THE JELLY FISH DANCING ALL NIGHT WELL… LET’S SEE!

TRADITIONAL FISHING SKIFF SNAPPED ON THE WAY TO …

TARRAGONA HAS A FESTIVAL IN LATE SEPTEMBER BODY TOWER BUILDING COMPETITIONS

TARAGONA TO CALAFAT A - VERY LARGE DOLFIN

THE NIGHT AFTER THE FULL MOON THE JELLY FISH ARE STILL UP AND AT IT.

CALAFAT WITH NUCLEAR POWER STATION BEHIND

ON WAY TO OROPESA - FISH BOAT RETURNS AT DAWN. The small skiff behind has a bank of very bright lights to attract the fish.

PENISCOLA - KISS FOR THE PILOT. In the Peniscola Castell with its history of violent Christian Crusaders the sweetness of the kiss adds a surreal ambience to the starkness of the fort. The art exhibit incongruous with the nacabre exhibits in the torture chambers.

PENISCOLA CASTEL. MOVIE EL CID WAS MADE HERE.

PENISCOLA CITY INSIDE THE CASTLE WALLS THE MOVIE EL CID WAS FILMED HERE. Most of the homes are occupied.

We splurged on a three course lunch

WE SPOTTED THIS SPECIAL FISH IN THE BARCELONA MARKET: RAYA PLAYA. THINK IT MIGHT MEAN: SAND RAY.

INCREDIBLE EDIBLE DESERT AT JAMIES PENISCOLA BEACH

KISS FISH OR FISH KISS.

KNIGHTS OF THE TEMPLAR HELD THE PENISCOLA FORT.

THIS APPERS TO BE A MASSIVE SIZED NAUTILS ON A PENISCOLA BALCONY

PAPAL PEDRO DE LA LUNA OF PENISCOLA

IT SEEMS ST ANDREWS OF SCOTLAND WAS FOUNDED ON A LOT OF BULL. WELL SIX OF THEM!

IN THE NAME OF THE CRUSADE THE CHRISTIANS HAD MANY INVENTIVE METHODS OF TORTURE. THERE SEEMS TO BE ONE POOR HETHANS BONES N THE CAGE.

SUNRISE ON WAY TO OROPESA

SUNRISE OVER JUAN CARLOS 1 (AMERICA'S CUP) MARINA VALENCIA.

VALENCIA Once again it was hard to sail away from Valencia. So we stayed on! Every day there were more things we wanted to do. We ended up hitting the highlights: The beautiful ancient market, Cathedrals, The Porcelain Museum, the modern Cultural Centre, Centrum and of course the beach! Plus we used the 24 hour Red “Hop on Hop Off” bus many ticket times as it came right by the marina.

These big ones came right into Valencia docks. The heads are about the size of a football or yours.

Each year in mid October Valencia has a parade of traditional costumes.

The Valencia beach right beside the Juan Carlos 1 (America's Cup) Marina. We had a 4 minute walk along the breakwater for a swim.

Valencia beach after an Easterly breeze.

VALENCIA PORCELAIN MUSEUM - A 15 CENTURY PALACE NOW BEAUTIFULLY RESTORED.

VALENCIA’S EARLIEST HORCHATERIA: SANTA CATALINA WITH CERAMIC PAINTED TILES. HORCHATA IS A MILKY ALMOND DRINK.

Bat on Crown decorating the Valencia City Hall. Does anyone know the origin of the BAT symbol?

RAYA PLAYA. THIS WAS THE SPECIAL FISH FOR OUR GOURMET DISH AT JAIMIES IN PENISCOLA.

FOX CARVING LA LONJA

VALENCIA GARGOYLE OF LA LONJA

Carved wood ceiling La Lonja. This is just a small portion.

MY PHOTO SHOWS ONLY A PORTION OF THE BEAUTIFUL VALENCIA MARKET!

VALENCIA HAS MANY AMAZING MODERN STRUCTURES.

IN CONTRAST TO THE MANY ANCIENT VISONS VALENCIA HAS SOME AMAZING MODERN STRUCTURES. DETAIL OF THE PURPLE GLASS SCULPTURE MADE FROM THOUSANDS OF TINI GLASS RINGS

A FAMOUS BULLFIGHTER OUTSIDE THE VALENCIA RING

VALENCIA CENTRUM MANY BEAUTIFUL STYLESOF ARCHITECTURE

CONTRASTING WITH THE OLD CITY IS THE ULTRA MODERN CULTURAL CENTRE

THE CULTURAL CENTRE IS EXTENSIVE WITH MANY INNOVATIVE DESIGNS

CULTURAL CENTRE VALENCIA

SOME AMAZING DESIGNS AND MATERIALS

ULTRA MODERN BRIDGE WITH JUST ONE SUPPORTING BEAM OR ARCH

PART OF THE INTERIOR OF THE OLD RAILWAY STATION AT ESTACION NORD

VALENCIA STREET VIEW WITH WONDERFUL STYLES

I am very happy El Cid chased away the moors making room for many pork and ham delights!

SAILING AWAY FROM VALENCIA However we must finally sail off to make it in time to Almerimar for the crew to catch their flights! Denia. October 12. 42NM The Buddha pub up on the seawall gave us great view of the very slow finish regatta. The friendly waitress kept us supplied with great cold beers. Later a fine local guitarist spun some super tunes. Altea October 13. 27NM My best memory of Altea was pulling in at about the same time as dozens of young kids were cleaning up there skiffs after a Sunday regatta. Their joy of sailing and the excitement of the day will last them for a life time. Spanish yacht clubs are doing a great job at encouraging the young to sail!

Figure 68 FISH BOAT AT WORK AS ALICANTE COMES INTO SIGHT

SAILING INTO ALICANTE Alicante October 15. 19 NM. I would love to have the extra ready cash to stay the winter at this beautiful marina. For example; the docks are so wide they have a divided road so you can drive right to your pontoon and freely park. There are so many services and a very helpful staff and some unusual craft. Entirely powered by solar panels. Bit silly not to have sails as well!

Alicante is to host the start of the next Volvo Ocean Round the World Race. The date is already set: October 4 2014.The marina also sports a wonderful Volvo Race Museum. For sailors it is a great Exhibit. And how great to see very young school kids on educational an excursion!

Alicante has a wonderful Museo of Volvo Ocean Race. A great display with working models including all kinds of hands on stuff for kids.

Great to see kids being introduced to the oceans and

ocean racing!

Above the city are the wonderful remains of the Santa Barbara Castle where we spent one lazy afternoon. There are stunning views, knights in armor, catapults, crossbow and massive walls to ramble around and dream of ancient invaders trying to scale the walls.

Santa Barbara Castle knight.

SANTA BARBARA CATAPULT

SANTA BARBARA CROSSBOW

VIEW FROM SANTA BARBARA HIGH ABOVE THE MARINA, BEACH AND MODERN CITY. I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE MANCA HERE FOR THE WINTER BUT THE MARINA WHILE VERY NICE IT IS QUITE EXPENSIVE.

Later, as we looked out to sea, there under full sail, was the Mariette.

THE MARIETTE SAILING ALONG AT A GOOD CLIP WHICH IS WHAT THE "CLIPPER" SHIPS WERE GOOD AT. SHE IS OUT OF REACH FROM THE CASTLE CANONS.OWNER AT THE HELM.

For the paparazzi; a great chance to snap the rich and famous earlier at the dock where we spotted the Mariette, a 98 year old beautifully maintained ketch, with owner and first mate at lunch. She is famous enough to come up on Google and she is still racing. AT ALICANTE - IT IS A JOY TO SEE THIS CLASSIC YACHT MARIETTE IN SUCH GREAT CONDITION AND RACE READY!

ALICANTE CLASSIC YACHT BOW SPRIT VIEW. SIX PROFESSIONAL CREW ARE HARD AT WORK. THE OWNER ARRIVING NEXT DAY!

LEAVING ALICANTE Of course we wanted to stay longer at Alicante. The swimming was still great but we must eventually arrive in Almerimar before the 22nd so reluctantly we pulled out of Alicante on the 15th October- sailing to Torrevieja. (old tower). Torrevieja . Our instructions were to: “head for the tallest mast!” But on arrival we are met with two very tall masts dominating the sky line. Calling in on VHF 9 we ask for help. “Oh ours is the other tallest mast”, they reply. Never mind, we found a very friendly marinero to help us dock in the vey upscale Club Nautica. Next morning as we depart Torrevieja I get a chance to see the other of the “tallest masts”. It is a one off design yacht with a massive rotating mast with fixed boom and fixed pole for the jib. Old tech now if you consider the Russell Coutts’ dragon flies that speed around the AC circuit at “Formula One” breakneck speeds. TORREVIEJA “THE OTHER TALLEST MAST” IN THE MARINA. A MASSIVE EXPERIMENTAL RIG WITH ROTATING MAST WITH FORE AND AFT BOOMS. SHE DOMINATES THE DAWN SKY AS WE HEAD FOR CARTEGENA.

Cartegena is 44NM further SW .We leave early so we will have time to explore the ancient city. What an incredible history. She has been ransacked time and time again because of her attractions: Gold and precious metals, plus a great natural harbour! Now other precious stuff, new mines and docks have opened. The digging continues. The ransacking by the multinationals is more subtle. The locals do not seem to be reaping much benefit. Despite the ongoing ravaging the small city still provides many delights for the sailor.

APPROACHING CARTEGENA FROM THE NORTH MODERN MINES HAVE REPLACED THE OH SO ANCIENT MINES 2-3000 YEARS OLD.

CARTEGENA SAILOR RETURNS HOME TO HIS BEAUTIFUL CITY

One of these is the Spanish Submarine fleet based here. From previous wars the enormous caves cut into the cliffs can still be seen. The much needed in revision, Mediterranean Spain Costas Del Sol and Blanca Imray 6th Edition makes note for the Skipper to watch out for submarines. As we were putting out of the harbor in the very early morning (before the second cup) with one eye open and before rounding the breakwater, I was pedantically explaining this small point to the crew when; no kidding, I had just finished my sentence as we rounded the breakwater and there, right in front of us, a whopper crossing our path! A crew jaw dropper! And yes! Skipper does know his stuff! The Spanish submariners all on deck, ready for docking, gave us a big wave as we scuttled out of their metallic way!

PART OF THE CARTEGENA SUBMARINE FLEET DEAD AHEAD! HARD TO PORT MANCA RIGHT NOW! THE FRIENDLY SPANISH CREW GAVE US A BIG WAVE. Hitting a Spanish war ship with a Tasmanian at the helm could have stirred an international pot.

Next we sail to Aquilas 32 miles on towards Almerimar. A very tight squeeze for Manca- (with a note to myself) - do not to try that one again! Dodging the rocks around the fuel dock was tough enough. But a lovely marinero was up and down the dock helping with everything. Wonderful welcome! As well the local sailor neighbor helped to arrange our next stop at San Jose. Without this reservation we would have no chance to stop for the next 70+ miles. Figure 83 Aquilas castle from our tiny dock at the marina.

San Jose is tiny harbor nestled under a cliff with soaring sea birds above, a beautiful club with great hospitality. We managed to shoe-horn into the dock with just inches ahead and astern.

Gulls soar over the cliffs behind Sam Jose. Sometimes they would suddenly dip into caves possibly watch chicks or feeding them

We were asked to clear San Jose early next morning as at 0900 the locals were starting a hundred or more triathlon swimmers. At 0830 we are on our way to Aquadulce and to our surprise, on arrival, a pub party for hundreds of swillers: The Motor Bike Gangs of Costa Blanca. At first we thought: No sleep tonight. But as the afternoon wore on we enjoyed their retro band that pumped out all kinds of good stuff including: The Beatles. (Have since changed my mind about bikers thought they were all into punk, acid and Country!). Later we refreshed with a great swim on the beach twenty metres over the marina wall before a Mohito sundowner. Oh boy life is good! The next morning we are faced with the last short leg to Almerimar-19NM. None of us want to leave as the long sail from Turkey to Spain will be quickly over. Strange little dragonfly joined the crew for the last leg!

We note that the African coast is now only 150 NM south. At 1305 we pull into Almerimar; do the paper work and are quickly assigned a berth for the next undetermined length of stay.

Almerimar comes into view with the mountains behind and flanked by two swimming beaches. This is looking good! The Sierra Nevada, Spain’s highest mountains, create a beautiful backdrop and a nice dry east coast climate for Manca.

Manca has done a great job. She has delivered her crews 3277 miles in comfort and safety from Marmaris Turkey, to Almerima Costa Del Sol Spain. Terry, Almerimar October 28, 2013 Andalucia, Spain.

These two beauties sailed with Manca most of the voyage They are still blooming in Almerimar.

BLUFFS I HAVE ADDED A FEW BLUFFS AT THE END HERE. FOR ME, THE COAST DEL SOL SHOULD BE CALLED THE COSTA DEL BLUFFS. THERE A GREAT NUMBER WITH FANTASTIC- (FROM A DISTANCE)- GEOLOGIAL FORMATIONS. THIS REVIVED MY LONG TIME INTEREST IN GEOLOGY. I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A GUIDE AND A PICK AND DO SOME EXPLORATION ASHORE.

PENON DE ILFACH BESIDE PUERTO DE CALPE FANTASTIC BLUFFS RISE UP IN MANY CASES OUT OF DEEP SEA.

I CAN’T REALLY TELL FROM THE DISTANCE BUT IT LOOKS LIKE A TRAVERTINE WATER FALL ISSUING OUT OF A CAVE ON THE CLIFF SIDE. AY GEOLIGISTS HAZARD A GUESS?

TRAVERTINE (?) DEPOSITS FROM THE CAVE DETAIL.

WATER FALL GUSHES FROM A CAVE OR HIDDEN SPRING OVER THE CLIFF AND DOWN TO THE SEA!

WE ARE NOW SOME DISTANCE OFF THE VERY HIGH

BLUFF ON THE RIGHT. THE SHEER SLAB TO THE LEFT

IS STUNNING.