Leaving the Mediterranean after five years – Sicily to Gibraltar

We left Trapani, Sicily at 6.15am on 23^rd August for the 180nm passage to Sardinia. We could have opted for a slightly shorter passage by making landfall at the point closest to Sicily but decided we would do the extra 20 nm and head for Nora.

We believe we made the right decision because the other option would have meant having to cross Cagliari Bay directly into wind the following day. It was our intention to traverse the south coast making only a couple more overnight stops and, fortunately, the weather obliged and that is exactly what we were able to do with shortish hops in the morning before the stronger westerlies kicked in.

We first revisited Teulada but, having read the “Navily” comments went to a different part of the anchorage ….

…..outside the marina which, incidentally, had a very pleasant small bar where we enjoyed a drink after walking to the watchtower named after the peninsular on which it stands.

The following night we anchored at Coqquaddas [interesting name and spelling] and then after re-fueling at Calasetta marina we headed out again for the 385nm crossing to Formentera where we arrived just after dark [21.45] on 29^th August. The anchorage we chose was one we visited five years ago so we knew there was good sand and lots of space and so didn’t mind arriving in the dark.

During our previous visit there had been, for the most part, just ourselves and “Coriander”. This year, on waking on the morning following our arrival there were four boats. By mid-afternoon it looked like this….

The most popular anchorages are on Formentera’s west coast but, with strong westerlies forecast, lots of boats came to join us at Ensenada de Tramontana.

That particular spell of weather meant that we had to stay there for a week – and there isn’t really that much to do other than swim, read, boat jobs [there are always those] and the occasional foray ashore for shopping. Not that I’m complaining – its certainly not a bad way to spend our time.

Our main shopping trip was to St Francesc Xaviar and, unlike five years ago, we chose to take the bus rather than walk – particularly as we knew it was a fairly dull walk along the main road.

Other than lunch out on the shopping trip we ate on board, but did, in the time-honoured fashion, share sundowners on either “Owl and Pussycat” or “Coriander” and witnessed one particularly spectacular sunset.

Whilst Steve and Gill had decided to head for Cartagena we chose, instead, the shorter [79nm] crossing to Calpe….

…. where we watched a rescue operation taking place.

From there we sailed south to Mar Menor…

…but we anchored outside the lagoon.

We did go ashore…

…. but found it to be a rather strange place – not really to our taste. It is so vast that there are probably some much nicer bits we didn’t see but it just seemed – and looked – like a huge “legoland”.

We thought the nicest part was what might be the oldest, original, part – right at the south eastern tip which we saw when sailing past on the morning of 8 September.

Whilst at Mar Menor we heard from our friend John [Byrne] that he was going to visit us and we arranged to meet him on the 9^th at Aguilas. We therefore spent the night of the 8^th in a lovely anchorage called Cope….

….. leaving us just a 5nm hop to Bahia del Hornillo on the eastern side of Aguilas….

…. a very interesting anchorage with obvious signs of its previous quarrying history.

John wasn’t sure how long he was going to stay with us but was quite taken with the idea we had of visiting Melilla – a Spanish enclave in North Africa. Before going there, we had to get to the south eastern tip of Spain – Cabo de Gata – which was 54nm south of Aguilas.

Unfortunately, there was very little wind so we had to motor but at least it meant we had a peaceful evening and night which isn’t always the case in what can be very rolly anchorages along this coastline.

It was even better that we crossed paths very briefly with “Coriander” and Steve and Gill were able to catch up with John too.

Because it was just over 90nm to Melilla from Cabo de Gata we knew we had to do an overnight sail and so left at 14.30 aiming to arrive mid-morning the next day. At first, we were able to sail and thought it was going to be a good passage but it was not to be. At 19.15 the wind died and the rest of the journey was a motor-sail. The trip did give John a chance to experience a night watch – though I think he possibly preferred the idea of it than the reality!

Whilst it is probably possible to anchor in Melilla harbour, for just €10 per night we thought Marina Moray was by far the better place to go…..

…. and, in the end, we spent 5 nights there.

Melilla has an area of just 12.3 sq km [4.7sq miles]. Until March 1995 it was part of the Province of Malaga after which time it became autonomous. Like Ceuta, the other autonomous city bordered by Morocco, it is subject to something called an “irredentist claim” i.e. Morocco claims them as being part of Greater Morocco as, historically, they were, until 1497, under Moroccan sovereignty. For the time being, however they remain a part of Spain.

A large fortress stands immediately to the north of the harbour.

Built during the C16/17 much of it has been restored in recent years…..

…. and within its walls it houses a couple of small ethnographic museums which are free to visit.

The 1497 date [above] refers to the time when Melilla fell into Spanish hands. Prior to that it had been a Berber City and some of the museum exhibits celebrated that history and culture.

Whilst walking round the fortress/old town the second time we heard helicopters and on looking up saw that they were formation flying.

The following weekend there was due to be some form of city celebration so we think they were practising for that.

There are many people who liken the architecture of Melilla to Barcelona.

This is a result of the influence of the Catalan architect “Enrique Nieto”…

…. who studied under the tutelage of Antoni Gaudi.

Modernist, art deco and some with Arabic influence – lots of the city buildings are very attractive.

 

I guess you can’t go to Melilla without crossing the border into Morocco. Well, obviously you can, but always up for an adventure we decided we would pop across for a day. I have to say that Nador wasn’t the most inspiring place we have visited but it had some buildings of interest….

….the promenade was OK, and the Tagine lunch we had was excellent.

Crossing the border took a bit of time with plenty of security. Apparently around 30,000 Moroccans cross every day to work in Melilla – so no wonder it was busy. We were told, by the restaurant owner who gave us a lift back to the border, that during the early outbreak of Covid the Moroccan government closed the customs border and have not re-opened it. He didn’t sound too pleased about that.

It was great to share all of this with John…..

….. and to have him help with a couple of jobs….

…. but a long-distance bike ride in Ireland demanded his return so we waved him off on one of the regular ferries which ply between Melilla and mainland Spain.

We left Melilla on the morning of the 17^th September. Next stop, Gibraltar, 142 nm later.

Well, in truth, we didn’t actually berth in Gib – we went to Marina Alcaidesa, La Linea de Conception, which is on the Spanish side of the border just a stone’s throw away from Gibraltar.

We stayed there for four nights and spent two days crossing by foot into Gib. Obviously there are lots of UK visitors crossing the border both ways so quite long queues develop. However, with our Greek residence cards we were able to by-pass much of these and follow other European residents through the quicker channel.

The first time was just a wander around taking in some of the city sites….

… and on the second day we took a “Gibraltar tour”. I know, very touristy but it had to be done.

Most of our provisioning was done in Morrisons and Tesco! However, it is not possible to take fresh produce across the border so on our next to last morning Mike and I visited the town and local market and picked up some lovely cheeses, hams and vegetables.

So, on 22^nd September is was time to leave La Linea/Gibraltar and, therefore, the Mediterranean.

We had readied our pingers in case we encountered Orcas in the Straits, we were fully fuelled and off we went.

It really has been a long haul to get out of the Med – over 1,300 miles in less than 2 months – and many of our passages since leaving Greece have been against current and/or wind, with wind over tide, or sometimes with no wind at all. Feelings on leaving the Mediterranean are mixed. We have loved our time here – especially Greece but, as you know we have been wanting to get back across the pond for the past three years.

11 years ago we left Portimão, Portugal, for the Canaries and here we were [just three weeks adrift in terms of actual dates] leaving again for the Canaries. So, exciting times ahead. Hopefully re-acquainting ourselves with favourite places, finding new ones and making more great memories.