From Almérimar to Cartagena

At 9 :30am on October 29, we leave Almérimar for Cartagena, well it’s what we’re hoping. The wind has calmed down (WSW Force 4), the sea is just starting to decrease. It’s precisely when we are passing the Gata Cape that things turn wrong: we hear a gale warning on the VHF and almost at the same time the wind freshens up to force 6 all at the sudden. The genoa has to go back inside, the gib with one reef is installed and the main sail is also reefed. I don’t feel like bouncing all night, I manage to convince Ludo to retreat to San José, a small harbor right after the cape in a natural park. This port is really cute, inside the cliffs and we are warmly welcomed. The bill is less friendly: 35 Euros per night, the most expensive harbor since we started our trip, no low season tariff here! And we’ll stay for three days waiting for good weather.The harbor is so small that we get one of the few berths available, other visitors will have to stay at the gasoline pontoon.We’ll go for a walk in the park; the landscape is dry and hilly. Ludo will also fix the cleat that broke on the boom.
On the 1rst of Nov we take off and the wind is luckily still SW but is now weakenning (force 4 to 2 to nil) and we will have to sail with the motor for the last 15M to reach Garrucha. When we arrive at night fall and in the rain, the guard warns us that the harbor is “completo” we can either spend the night at the gasoline station pontoon and pay the full price or go with the fishermen where it’s free of charge. All right! We’ll spend the night “tranquilo” in between the fishing boats and the salvamento maritimo. The next day we leave for Cartagena at 8:30am, there’s a gale warning still in force until 4pm on the north of Palos area, we are coming from the south. Wind is again SW and will freshen from force 4 to a good force 6. The last miles are painful; the sea is short and aggressive because the seabed is rising up quickly near the cost. We’ll end up with the main sail only to slow down our approach toward the breakwater, at 6pm we enter the harbor. Our average has been over 5knots.
In comparison with the characterless cities along the Costa del Sol and Blanca, Cartagena is charming and has a glorious past. Settled by the Phoenicians (again!), conquered by the Romans, then the Byzantinas, invaded by the Maures, the city has seen Christopher Columbus leave for the Indian continent (GPS didn’t exist yet eh eh), it’s been fortified up to the 18th centurie, won famous battles, survived long-lasting sieges, launched the first ever military submarine and finally was among the last to resist to Franco.