Morocco

Saturday 10th November

Yesterday we crossed a direct line which ships use to enter and leave the Med. Once again, the AIS was a must.

Today was a quiet day, The night watches followed by some motoring. By late afternoon we were sailing again. A beam reach and 6 knots speed over ground. As the evening drew in, the wind increased further and we started reefing the genoa. By my first watch at midnight we had a steady 25 knots which increased well beyond 30 knots by the time John and then Louise came on later.

By my second watch at 08:00, the seas was well up. Nobody had slept much and, as easily as Chelone cut through the big seas, there was lots of creaking, bottles clanking and so on.

John made a cup of hot, sweet tea and poured it over the side. This was Remberence Sunday, and it was suggested that this was a fitting gift in memory of past sailors lost.

By the end of the day we were all very pleased to tie up in the marina at Mohammedia. It was surprisingly cold for Morocco, fleece weather. The standard of the marina was, er, ......Moroccan. Small pontoons, poor water quality, fishing boats all round. The shower was warmish, with a pungent odour.

The customs guys boarded us immediately, and went through the ship's papers and those of her 5 crew. They were amiable enough.

I loved it. It is different and exotic, and quite adequate. Susie cooked a delicious tuna savoury and Louise a surprisingly good jam sponge with custard.

A few days in Spain

Thursday 1st November

Peaceful, easy day. A relaxed morning. Coffee and porridge after rising at a very civilised 08:30. Louise and Susie took some clothes to the launderette. I quickly checked Wiki for things to do and see in La Coruna. The Torres de Hercules, a Roman lighthouse caught my eye.

I went up to see the marina manager, an amiable chap I have dubbed Manuel. I wanted to learn a bit of Spanish. I asked him for a map, which he supplied. There then followed 10 minutes of me trying to ask him what the Spanish word for map was. Eventually he got it and replied 'mapa' in a monotone voice. Deflated at such a meagre return for so much effort, I left.

Around 14:00, John, Susie, Ross, Louise and myself jumped into a taxi, paid 5 euros and took a trip to the lighthouse.

I loved it. Julius Caeser visited the area in AD 31 and it was amazing to think that Roman galleys may have sailed the same waters we sailed over yesterday. Just inside, you could see the ancient footings, including 2000 year old concrete.

The tower itself was refaced with granite in 1788, but inside, all the stonework was Roman. Ross, Louise and I climbed to the top and stared out over the now raging sea. A thoroughly enjoyable visit. The five of us then walked back to the boat via a supermarket. Louise and I had fresh crusty bread, allioli (Spanish garlic mayonnaise), roasted peppers in olive oil and fresh tomatoes. A lovely afternoon.

Darsena de la marina is fine. 32 euros a night for a 12m boat. Clean toilets and nice showers, friendly staff, a bar with reasonable prices and less than 5 minutes to walk to the centre of town.

Friday 2nd November.
Oceana arrived during the night; our second meeting. She towered above us. Her hordes filed off, wandered around for a bit and then filed back on again. Not my idea of travel at all. The folk aboard had just 6 hours ashore in total, hardly enough to get more than a tiny taste of the place.

Louise, Ross and myself took a walk around town later, and had fresh bread, olives etc. for lunch.

Then we readied the boat for a possible early departure tomorrow, checking the engine, filling water and so on. Cascais is a possible next stop, approximately 320 nm, just over 2 days away.

One thing that struck me more than anything about La Corunna was the feel of the place. Even at 10pm on a Friday night, whole families filled the squares, eating, drinking, the kids playing in the streets. No gangs of drunken youths and no threatening feeling that one might encounter in any British town on a Friday night. It was really happy, laid back, just nice.