Cadiz and Beyond

In contrast to Culatra, the anchorage in Puerto Sherry was peaceful.  Behind us on shore was a beautiful white sand beach and the only activity in the anchorage was due to the dinghy club in the harbour.  There were children learning to sail their dinghies and windsurfers - no power boats or jet skis.  The anchorage is protected from all directions except southwest, and unfortunately that is where the swells came from for most of the time we were there.  Well, if we didn't have anything to complain about we would be in paradise.  It just meant that the girls need to get used to the rolling action in order to sleep comfortably.  Oddly, they had no trouble sleeping while we were crossing the ocean in all conditions, but at anchor they had trouble.

1620 fort, main door

Balcony, El Puerto

Balconies - conversation areas

 1600 church, El Puerto 

After resting for a day, on the next one we went into the small town of Puerto de Santa Maria and were delighted.  This historic little town boasted of a small medieval castle dating back 800 years and a long history as a distribution centre for sherry.   We were pleasantly surprised by the sights as we walked the beautiful, narrow streets.  We would be back the next day to take the short ferry ride to historic Cadiz.

Cadiz - wow!  This is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe.  Originally founded by the Phoenicians around 3000 BC, Cadiz sits on a small peninsula that juts out to form the Bay of Cadiz.  It is a beautiful city.
Words will not suffice to describe the narrow winding streets lined with 4 story buildings.  Each building has it's own set of ornately decorated balconies complete with wrought iron railing.  Neighbors talk to each other across the narrow gap.  There are plazas everywhere and most of the roads are pedestrian-only walkways with more cafes and restaurants than you could ever hope to visit in a year.  Along the wind and wave swept shore are beautiful parks for strolling with exotic trees, fountains and shady benches.  We will definitely come back for another visit when we get the chance.

Spanish Galleon,  moored in Puerto Sherry

Market, Cadiz

Street in Cadiz

El Puerto,  cafe

From Cadiz, one must plan for the passage through the Strait of Gibraltar.  As the water in Mediterranean evaporates water constantly flows eastward through the strait to replace it.  On top of that are the tides that either increase or counter that flow.   In our case we were sailing eastward, so the only thing that we have to worry about are east winds, known locally as Levantes.  The trip from Cadiz to Gibraltar is too long to take in one bite, so a stop in Barbate, with only a marina and no anchorage, is required.  Once there we had to time our departure with low tide in Gibraltar to fully take advantage of tides and currents.  And we had to make sure that the wind is not blowing against us because this would result in wind against current and the seas could get very ugly.

Barbate beach

We had planned to stay only one night, but as it happened a Levante did blow up and we spent two nights in Barbate.  There is not much to say about this town other than it has a fantastically long white sand beach that is the main attraction.

When we did leave, we did so without wind and motored the whole way to Tarifa, which is where the Spanish coast turns eastward and becomes the Strait of Gibraltar.  Along the way we passed Cape Trafalgar, the scene of one of the most famous naval battles in history.  It was here that Vice Admiral Nelson defeated the combined fleet of Spain and France, confirmed British naval supremacy, and lost his life to French sniper fire.

Tariifa, as we turned left into the Straits

As we made the turn at Tarifa, we felt excited as we said good bye to the Atlantic Ocean and realized that soon we would be in the fabled Mediterranean Sea.  It was only 10 miles through the Strait and we were into the Bay of Gibraltar.  We motored past a dozen or so large commercial vessels at anchor the five miles through the bay and into the marina in La Linea, Spain, where we are now.  Gibraltar: another milestone!  Around the corner - the Med.

Branko