Well, this is it. Pandora will be hauled for the season next Friday and my months of passage making from Trinidad to Spain is over. As much as I enjoy being aboard, I am ready to depart and head back to being a land-lubber for a while.
The last few days have been a whirlwind since we arrived on Monday after an overnight motorsail from Gibraltar. It seems that the wind blows from the east like crazy and then dies. Not a lot of west winds in these parts. Bummer but we made it.
For the first quarter of the trip, we hugged the coastline on the off chance that there was a lone orca that might want yet one more piece of Pandora.
Alas, the run, with little or no wind, as expected, was uneventful and we arrived at the marina in good shape. What better way to end the many nights at sea than with a beautiful sunrise.
Steve and Peter left Pandora to do a bit more exploration on Tuesday and that marked the beginning of getting Pandora ready for her time on the hard.
The list of items that need attention is long and I was lucky to find a guy that does a number of jobs on boats, including fixing “orca adjusted” rudders.
This marina is huge, with slips for more than 1,100 boats. I have never been in a marina this big and within the property, and it’s confusing on how to get around, there are dozens of restaurants. As with much of the Spanish coastline, the only shelter is in the marinas as the coastline doesn’t have any natural harbors. Fortunately, they are not all that expensive except in some of the more upscale regions popular with the .01% crowd.
Here is Pandora tied up, Med Moor style as is typical in Europe.
Personally, I prefer this verses fitting in-between finger piers as there are less things to scratch the boat on. When you pull up to the dock you tie the stern to the cement dock and then an attendant hands you a light “lazy line” that runs from the dock along the bottom to a mooring out in front of the dock. That line connects to a thicker line that you cleat onto the bow and pull in tight to hold you off of the wall.
Pandora’s dink is trussed up on deck and all sails are off to minimize sun damage for the winter as it is really sunny here. Soon I will remove the cockpit enclosure to minimize the sun issues with the canvas in advance of hauling her next Friday for the season. I have someone who will keep an eye on her and act as a GC to help coordinate everything that needs to be done to Pandora while she is in storage.
The boom is up on a weird angle because I had to remove a fitting from the mast for work and it will be returned early next week.
Beyond this huge marina and nearby beaches and resorts, the area is known as an agricultural powerhouse, growing half of all fruits and vegetables consumed in Europe. As the landscape is arid, with less than 12″ of rain per year, the growing is done in greenhouses. And, there are so many greenhouses here that they cover 100 square miles and this area has the greatest concentration of greenhouses anywhere in the world.
The landscape from the water shows as a vast sea of white in the foothills of the mountains. So much area is white that they can actually measure a drop in temperature in that area due to the reflective nature of all that white.
This short CBS piece gives some interesting background of what is the largest concentration of greenhouses on the planet and likely a look into the future of intensive farming with a low carbon footprint.
Almerimar is also a great spot to be if you want to explore some of the most historic parts of Spain. The southern region, also known as the Andalucia district and is home to some of the oldest cities in Europe and given the number of times that different cultures were in charge over the centuries there is a wonderful mix of architecture.
Forgive me but yet another short video that gives a feel for what this area has to offer. Our plan is to begin exploring this area next week and after Pandora is hauled next Friday, move up to Madrid for about a week before flying home on the 14th.
So, tomorrow evening I pick Brenda up at the airport and will get a car for exploring. Between the final details of getting Pandora ready for 7 months on the hard and all the projects that need addressing, along with our planned day outings to explore the area, we will certainly be busy.
I now also realize just how much effort it took to bring Pandora from Trinidad all the way to Spain and now that I am here, it makes me realize the scale of the accomplishment and effort of working hard to support a constant change of crew along the way.
So, there you have it. Journey done or is it just beginning?
All I know is that after months on the move, I am happy to be winding down here in Almarimar.
And having Brenda back with me is the best of all.