LEAVING THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

June / July 2002

By Wendy Catlin

Before we departed our base in Agua Dulce, we took one more road trip to Cabo de Gata, just north of the marina.  Having sailed by this wild cape three times, we wanted to experience in on land. It is a very dry cape and has a wild and remote feel to it.  Compared to most of the Spanish coast which is so developed, the beaches are not crowded and one can easily find their own private spot for the day.  At the tip of the cape, we went up to the lighthouse look out over the sea.  Huge waves were rolling in, breaking on the rocky point.  We were quite happy not to be out sailing that day!

10 June 2002, we departed Agua Dulce and headed west for North Africa.  The city of Cueta is our destination, which is a small part of Spain right next to Morocco and directly across from Gibraltar.

As we were on this voyage, Rob a I reminisced as to our three years in the Mediterranean Sea. We have truly enjoyed being here, visiting different countries and their cultures.  We have met many people along the way, who have greatly added to our experience.  Our perspective on the world is more open, understanding and compassionate.  

Numerous dolphins came to play on our bow during the day and night. On the moonless night voyage, the aura of bioluminescence created by their movement was a magical light.  We also saw pilot whales!..lots of them!

Upon our approach to the Straits of Gibraltar, we both felt that we had reached a major point of our voyage.  We can see North Africa on one side and the Iberian Peninsula and the Rock of Gibraltar on the other.  Ahead of us is the gateway  to the Mediterannean. It was three years ago that we entered the Med through the Suez Canal. Soon we will be entering the Atlantic Ocean which will present us with many new challenges. 

As you can imagine, the Straits of Gibraltar is a major point in the world where ships pass through.  At one time, we had 20 on the radar. We kept a good watch and stayed well out of the shipping lanes.

 The Straits gap is very narrow (7 - 14 miles) which creates a complicated system of very strong currents and tides.  There is always an inflow from the Atlantic into the Med because the rivers which flow into the Med do not keep up with the sea's evaporation.  Therefore, this is one of the few places where a ship goes uphill, as the Atlantic is about 1-2 meters higher than the Mediterranean Sea! Because of the complicated tidal streams we will encounter, Rob will be spending a lot more time on navigation.  These will also have a big influence on our arrival and departure times from anchorages and marinas!

WE HOPPED INTO MOROCCO            

12 June we arrived in Cueta, securing ourselves in a berth and relishing the idea that we are now in North Africa!.  Cueta is a nice little Spanish town with a definite Arab influence.  The city is fixing itself up for tourism and doing a nice job of it, restoring old stone walls and forts. We went to the tourist office for information on the city as well as the best way to cross the border to Morocco. 

The next day we took the bus to the border, easily checked in with our passports and filling out a yellow sheet of paper.  People were very friendly although the border area was not attractive on either side.  We shared a taxi with three backpackers from Quebec to our first destination, Chefchaouen a town in the Rif mountains.

Our drive to Chefchaouen took us along a mountain range with high rocky outcrops, canyons green with trees and views of villages on the mountain sides.  Oleander was in full bloom along the stream beds and country women in colorful clothing were hand harvesting wheat. 

Upon arrival to this delightful mountain town, we easily found inexpensive accommodation just inside the walls of the old city (medina). It did not take us long to drop off our bags and go exploring.  The language here is Arabic, French and a bit of Spanish.  So between Rob's French and my Spanish, we did alright.  We got ourselves lost in the narrow streets of the medina finding everything freshly painted.  The color of the village is blue...an aqua blue that seems to emanate its own light.  The walls of the streets/houses are painted about ten feet up, then a blinding white. Some the entrances to the houses are like caves, many with elaborate doorways.  

The people here are very relaxed. We encountered no "touts", so we felt free to look at things of interest without being hassled to buy anything. We had some fabulous interaction with village children.  Although some people were in western dress here, many people wore traditional dress which gives a medieval feel. Men dressed in jalabas with hoods, pointed toed shoes. The mountain women wore peasant type blouses and beautiful colorful, hand-woven cloths around their skirts.  Some carrying heavy loads of supplies on their backs. The local hat was very interesting...large yarn ties from the center holding up the wide brim.  The name of the people of this region is Jbala meaning "people of the mountain".

The Kasbah is on the main square and is in process of being restored. It is made of a very red colored brick and was very attractive with the mountains as its backdrop. We came across the local baker with his fire oven going.  Many of the women make their own dough, then bring it to the baker for baking.  This way, their homes do not get too hot during summer.  We have seen this in other countries as well.

Side note:  During this time, the World Cup Football Championship was in progress.  In Spain and Morocco, everyone was glued to the TV while a game was on.  We could not help but get interested and watched many of the matches.  I have come to appreciate the game, not only because of the players fine athletic abilities and stamina, but the game brings people of the world together. It is a truly global game.  Most countries of the world play football (soccer in USA); the World Cup is watched with great enthusiasm all over the world.  We saw it with the commentary in four different languages! It was fun joining in with locals cheering for favorite teams.

Rob and I got a bus to Fez securing the front seats on the upper deck.  This gave us an prime view of the country we traveled through.  We passed through river valleys, pine tree farms and apple orchards.   Wheat was being harvested by hand and threshed by animals. Small barns with grinding wheels and olive presses were a common sight.  All this with the background of the Rif Mountains.  Later on corn, figs and grapes were the common crops.  Pottery stalls were numerous along the road.  Children were on donkeys with the chore of going to the spring for water.

Farther down the road, we found ourselves in wheat & hay country.  Hundreds of acres, but here it is not harvested by hand, but by mega combines.  Colorfully decorated trucks carried hay bales way beyond the truck's capacity, the bales being held on by some ingenious method of ropes and slings.  Bales are stacked in house shapes covered with a mud and straw to keep out effects of weather.  The farm house also had roofs of a mud/straw mixture.

We arrived in Fez and found good accommodation without a problem.   It is late in the day, so we take a walk for exercise, get something to eat, then to bed.

The next day we walk to the medieval part of the city to explore its famous bazaar. (We had to fight off some touts here, but they were not insistent or intimidating.) The bazaar has not changed for centuries, only the clothing and some of the products in it.  It is a maze of small streets of vendors and residences. If you want to buy anything, you must bargain! One can easily get lost if walking off a main thoroughfare.  People were quite helpful to us when we ended up on a dead end lane (numerous times!)

Mules and donkeys carry heavy loads of goods.  Craftsmen of all types, woodworking, metal working, jewelry, welding, leather goods, copperware, tanneries, dieing and numerous other crafts are going on.  You never know what you may see next! Stopping to have a cup of tea and just watch is a great pastime.

Oh, the tea......mint tea is the national drink I do believe.  It is fresh mint stuffed into a glass poured over with boiling water and lots of sugar. I really liked it but Rob did not too much.  Sometimes it was served from a tea pot so you did not have to fight your way through the mint leaves to get to the tea!

We enjoyed Fez, but got anxious to move along.  We took the train from Fez to Tangier, then bargained for a taxi to back to Sea Fever.  Our return trip took us along the north coast of Morocco, along the straits.  It was our first view of the route we will be taking with Sea Fever.

18th June we made our crossing of the Straits to Gibraltar.  It is fourteen miles across and we pass through the shipping lane, deal with winds, tides and currents.  Rob  did his homework very well (as usual) and we crossed without much drama. There was a 1.5 - 2 meter swell so it was a bit rolly.  We kept a very good watch for huge freighters! Otherwise, not a lot of wind, we had to use the motor.

We arrive in Gibraltar.  This is an English territory, so we are in an English speaking country with lots of English products...Rob has been looking forward to this and had a good wander around stocking up on his favorite things we have not been able to find for some time.

At first we were doing so much catching up on things we did not do much in the way of touristy stuff.  But the day before we left, we went up on the rock, taking a cable car up to the nature reserve and walking down enjoying the views of the bay and straits. When we got off the cable car, we were greeted by one of Gibraltar's locals, the Barbary macaques, a type of ape who has lived here since the 18th century.

Gibraltar is one big piece of limestone about 5Km long,1.6Km wide and 426 m high.  In ancient times, the Greeks and Romans considered it to be one of the Pillars of Hercules, the other being in North Africa.  There is an astounding cave here, St. Michael's', which is so large that concerts are held within it.  It was once the home of Neolithic peoples.  

For the past three years in the Med Sea we have been spoiled. There are no tides to speak of and very little currents to deal with.  It is time for our big moment of going through the Straits of Gibraltar. 

On 23 June we had an early departure from Gibraltar and found that the tidal stream was against us.  We zigzagged around until we found a tidal stream in our favor.  We went from 3 knots per hour to over 8 knots per hour!  Then we suddenly found ourselves completely enveloped in fog.  It was extremely disorienting.  I was at the wheel steering by the compass while Rob was below watching the radar and doing constant fixes to keep track of our position. It was not a comfortable situation, but we handled it well and had no dramas.  

Eventually we  came out of the fog.  The wind came up and we motor sailed at seven knots.  We rounded the famous Cape Trafalgar which officially put us in the Atlantic Ocean.  Our destination is Cadiz and we have  good weather to get us there.  We had three hours of fine sailing and a mellow sea.

We arrived in Cadiz in the evening. The marina was not crowded so we did not have trouble finding a berth.  Rob officially checked us back into Spain and we had a leisurely dinner on board.

The next day we took the bikes into the city for an explore.  Cadiz is one of the oldest cities in Spain and possibly first founded by the Phoenicians around 1100 BC. Much later, it was a major center for trade with the newly discovered Americas.  We had a lovely time exploring the narrow 18th century streets and eating tapas in a local cafe.  We rode out to the Castillo de San Sebastian.  It was not open as it is in use by the military.

We continued our way west.  The land is getting very flat and marshy, many rivers come to the sea.  Depths are getting much shallower than we are used to.  We come upon numerous fishing flags that seem to go on forever, not sure if the nets are deep down or on the surface.  We pass through them with great caution. 

We are headed to Rio De Las Piedras, near the border of Portugal.  We have heard of a person who does good stainless steel work and need some done.  As our destination is up a river, we wait for the high tide in order for us to pass through the shallow entrance.  When the right time comes we move forward, taking it slowly and watching the depth gauge.  There are good markers to guide us though the shallow bits which we are grateful for!

When we arrive at the yard. There are no moorings for us to take up, so we are invited to go alongside at the private dock. The yard is a bit disappointing as it is smaller than we were led to believe and a little on the funky side... but this does not mean this is not a good place to get work done.  We talk to some people who love this place which lifts our spirits and gives us a new perspective.  It is pretty, a river environment with water birds, sand banks and fishing boats.  The town is very low key, very white and very local.  

We decide to think about coming back to this river and move on west to Portugal. We arrive in Vilamoura, one of the glamour spots of the Algarve, one of Europe's playgrounds.  

We berth in a very upscale marina, which is where I am writing this part of the journal.  We had a wonderful bike ride this morning and I saw my first purple heron along the river.  Congratulations to Brazil for winning the World Cup!

Tomorrow we leave, heading towards Lisbon to pick up our good friend, Bob, who we look forward to seeing again. 

I finish this part of my journal on 30 June 2002.