Captured in Catagena

June 2018

It's mid June and Ostinato is still crocheted to the dock.  Enough stragglers are left in the marina to make up a Sunday barbecue or give a bit of assistance when needed but its beginning to get a bit of a ghost town feel.  Its time to move on.  We arrived back in Cartagena in late April but is was a bit cool for us and friends reported the winds were howling in the Balearics so why do that to ourselves....instead, we decided to squeeze in a bit more land travel.  While the original plan had been to sail to Gibraltar it looked like it could be a real slog returning west.  Driving would be faster, and most importantly, allow us to add on Lisbon .

Lisbon.  bring your walking shoes!

Church of Sao Domingos
Also known as the Necked Church with its
 burnt walls and pillars left from a 1954 fire

Belem Tower at the mouth of the Atlantic

The Rock

and the monkeys

They apparently were smarter than us and took a taxi up to the top

30,000 year old Cave paintings and festivals in Rhonda

The summer's sailing plan was then updated to include a quick hop south to Saida, Morocco to get Ostinato out of the EU to update the Value Added Tax (VAT) exemption. King began working his boat list in earnest and I began stocking our cabinets and freezer, pulling out summer cloths and stowing away the winter.  It became clear pretty quickly that I had enjoyed myself way too much while home and while winter clothes hide a multitude of sin, shorts and t-shirts provide a canvas that makes you wince each time you pass by a mirror.  Thankfully, not many of those on Ostinato. A quick eating intervention would be required.  My only regret is that I didn't decide this before I had stocked the boat with goodies.

June 23
Another birthday has come and gone.  With my diet, King was excused from making my annual pineapple upside down cake. That meant he had to really step up for dinner......and he did.  Oyster tapas!  Zero Weight Watchers points.  Of course, the cava wasn't 0 but I had been good all day so had a few points to spare. 

The first of several plates.
These were as good as Apalachicola Oysters!

After our stop in Morocco we plan to head east to the Balearic Islands that sit just off the east coast of Spain.  And this is why we remain in Cartagena on June 25.  The prevailing winds during the summer months are typically from the west but have blown from the NE since June 1.  I have done my best not to let this make me crazy but it has been touch and go a few times.  Why are NE winds a problem you might ask?  Well, it makes a trip to Saida a sleigh ride but depending on wind strength the return could be a pounding nightmare.  So we have decided if we had to wait somewhere, Cartegena was our port of choice.  Finally, 24 days later, the opening we have longed for appeared and although King was in the middle of changing out the pressure plate on the engine, we set a date for today.  A breeze from the east would blow us there and two days later a west wind would blow us back.  Perfect!  But as these things go, just as King had put the engine completely back together and it purred like a kitten he made a fatal mistake.....he said.....and I quote "I can't believe we don't have any oil leaks" seconds later a hose popped off the transmission and dumped its contents indiscriminately about the engine compartment.  We won't be going tomorrow.

June 26
We departed Cartagena at 1100.  No wrapping of the prop, no high winds on the nose, no loss of anything overboard.  Well done!  Winds were light all the way and actual sailing was limited.  We arrived in Saida the following afternoon at 1500.  The 800 berth marina was built in 2007.  Only about 50 slips were occupied.  Obviously, they were expecting more of a crowd.  As a result, Ostinato was allowed to side tie.  Minutes after our arrival, four smartly uniformed men arrived to check passports, boat papers and every cabinet and suitcase on the boat.  Offers for food or drink were politely refused and there was no request for money or cigarettes.  By 1530 we were plugging in the air conditioner and ready for a big nap.  Sadly, it appears the marina has not done well, nor the residential and commercial development surrounding it.  The one place that seems to be doing an outstanding business is the ice cream shop!  We, of course, made it an after dinner destination.

Northern coast of Africa leaving Saida Morocco

Saida Marina

The following morning, light winds were forecast for the return trip but they were from the right direction so it was a go.  We hoped for an early departure but officials needed to do another walk through and their day apparently doesn't start until 1000.  Thankfully, the exit stroll is much quicker and once done you are expected to leave....immediately. They actually wait on the dock outside your boat and watch you go,

It was another beautiful sunny day in the Med and after about an hour King started wistfully talking about Melilla, a Spanish enclave on the coast of Northern Africa to our west.    He was tired.  Maybe staying another day would be good.  Would the weather hold?  A course correction was done and we were off to Melilla.  Each hour the wind swung just a bit more to the west.  By 1700 they were blowing 20 k just off our nose.  Both of us were silently questioning this decision.  By 1830, we had finally tied up at the marina and made the decision we would explore tomorrow.  Tonight we both needed to sleep.  The multiple Discos that surrounded the marina had other ideas.  Music started about midnight and really cranked up around 0200.  I believe they ended around 0600.  In our lack of sleep induced fog we stumbled about the town and quickly decided we would head back across the Med in the morning.  As we dropped our mooring lines at 0445 the next morning, the discos were still rocking.

July 1
Back in Cartagena at 0930.   Ostinato is now exempt from VAT for another 18 months.

Our hope was to rest up and then begin a leisurely sail NW until we were close enough to do a day sail over to the Spanish island of Ibiza. The evening and morning ritual of checking the weather to go east began immediately.  We wanted 4 days of westerlies.  The most we could get was 2.  Soooo what are you going to do?  Go to Ireland!  We will certainly miss Europe's cheap airlines.  Apparently, our high pressure system we have been waiting for has been hanging out in Ireland.  Skies were clear and temps in the 80s all week.  Spent a few days seeing sights in Northern Ireland like the Giants Causeway and Rathlin Island to see the Puffin rookery there.   The best part was spending time with Jerry and Brid at their beautiful home in Cork and exploring the Irish countryside.  We first met Jerry in Baltimore when we crossed over to Ireland in 2012.

Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland

Puffins waiting for their babies

July 18
It's finally time to leave.  We did not get our four day window. Two and a half will have to do.  We are both so ready.  The boat is ready, fuel and water tanks have been topped up, laundry finished and the fridge is full.  One last stroll up the main street tonight to say a proper goodbye.