Seville

The weather turned wet and caused havoc in southern Med Spain where we had spent so much time.  It was wet here in Rota too but after a drink in the Honey Don`t Cry bar we opted for a visit to Seville.



An early morning ie dark departure by bus was a challenge, especially as the sun does not rise here until about 0820.  However we were glad we did it as Seville was well and truelly worth the effort, even in the rain.





We especially enjoyed the area of the old city around the cathedral and the Real Alcazar, the old Moorish/Spanish royal palace.

 





Beautiful gardens

 

 From the cathedral tower the gardens seen were built when it was a mosque.

 

 

 The famous bullring

 

 

 A maze of fascinating streets and shops.

 

 

Tapas bars

 





And lunch in a restaurant where the brave fighting bulls were preserved.

 

On return to Rota we began further checks for a departure to Rabat in Morocco, having decided that we had run out of time and weather for further exploration of the coasts of Spain and Portugal.

 

 

Ahoy from the Atlantic

After nearly four weeks on the hard we finally made it back into the water, the bow repaired and with a new forestay and furler

 



We celebrated with a few other Aussies and kiwis

 

 

before setting sail for Gibraltar- again - past the now familiar hothouses along the coast and later, guess what, more thick fog.

 

 

An unscheduled stop in Fuengirola for repairs to the alternator proved pleasant as we found it a lovely, though touristy, town

 

 

fuengirola scene

 

 

 

Then on to Gib. This shot shows JT wending our way amongst only a few of the hundreds of ships lying idle at anchor or just drifting awaiting orders.  A sign of the financial times?

 

 

Fist we anchored again at La linea to await delivery of our new genoa.

 

 

Organised the dinghy lifting rig

 

 

Out of sequence, but a monument in Rota to one of Columbus`s skippers.

 

 

Our local boat clubhouse at La linea

 

 

Then into the marina at Gib next to the runway to pick up the sail.

 

 

On west, only to find more bloody fog.  By now we are a bit paranoid about fog.  Here we are rounding Tarifa point, the southernmost point of Europe only eight miles from Morocco.  The point is about 500 mtrs away and fast ferries to and from Tangier are passing inshore.  Thank goodness for AIS and radar.  But, finally, we are in the Atlantic Ocean!

 

Later we rounded C. Trafalgar, near which Nelson destroyed the combined French/Spanish fleet all those years ago.

 

 

Passage planning.

 

 

To arrive at Rota, a lovely town across the bay north of Cadiz.

 

 

Good fresh market

 

However the season has changed, the tourists have gone home and the weather has turned cool and changeable.

 

Visiting Cadiz.  Protesting Spanish unemployment etc.

 

Cathedral

 

Wonderful fresh market

 

market

 

And lunch

 

in the rain.