Cruising progress 2015 (Click to enlarge)
30th September 2015
We keep hoping that with the many torrential downpours we've had lately the boat will get a good wash, however all we get is a covering of brown Sahara sand, which we then have to bucket off with salt water so we never look any cleaner.
We watched an impressive offshore lightning show around midnight near our anchorage in Santa Ponça and rose very early the next day to leave for Ibiza. Frequent tornado warnings were being given out by the time we were 30 miles from land but it seemed likely that they would be around Mallorca and Menorca. In fact we had little wind and had to motor nearly all the way back across to Portinatx in Ibiza, where we had already visited twice. This time however there was quite a bit of swell coming into the bay so it was a fairly rolly night. The next morning the wind strengthened considerably, to about 30kts and we watched a charter catamaran drag its anchor, narrowly missing another boat. As far as we could see the skipper did nothing to attempt to get the boat into deeper water, other than starting the engine and then sitting in the cockpit while they drifted ashore. The boat snagged a line of buoys marking a swimming area and was only feet away from rocks when we left. A few small inflatable boats were trying to help but it was a hopeless situation by that time. It amazes me that these charter companies seem to be quite happy to allow complete novices to charter their boats without ensuring they know what to do if they get into trouble.
We decided to make another quick getaway and sail to more sheltered waters, so headed out into fairly large seas and had a good fast sail down the coast and re-anchored in a bay near San Antoni for a couple of days until the swell calmed down. Leaving Santa Ponça very early was a good idea as the anchorage was hit by tornado later that day. The boat which had been next to us was one of several torn free to crash into other boats.
Once the weather settled down a bit we set out for Valencia, leaving the anchorage about 06:30. The forecast was for light winds, which we got, and intermittent showers, which by no stretch of the imagination could you class a ten hour torrential downpour. However the waterproofs got a good rinsing (they hadn't been worn for at least eighteen months!). By the time we tied up at the waiting pontoon at Valencia's Marina Real Juan Carlos I the sun had come out and it was quite hot. Why couldn't we have had a bit of the sun on the way over?
This was the first marina we'd been in since we left Torrevieja in June and it was absolute bliss to have an endless supply of hot and cold water and electricity! It's around three miles from the marina to the city centre, so the bikes proved extremely useful once again. There are cycle lanes everywhere and as the city is completely flat, it's very easy to get around without having to bother too much about the traffic. Over five days we covered more than 45 miles.
We set off to do a bit of exploring and thoroughly enjoyed visiting the beautiful old town. We climbed to the top of the Cathedral bell tower which gave great views over the city and wandered around the Mercat Central, taking in the sights and sounds of the busy market. The Ceramics Museum is housed in the Palacio Del Marques De Dos Aguas and has a fantastically ornate entrance to the building. Parts of the interior are also very ornate and there's a huge display of ceramics through the ages. Even the railway station building was worth a visit as the fascia was very ornate and the interior had some very colourful ceramic mosaics.
The river Turia originally flowed through Valencia, but because it was prone to flooding the water was diverted and the whole dried river bed was transformed into a huge garden area with cycle paths, monuments and water features along its entire length. One end features the City of Arts and Sciences which is a huge futuristic educational complex, comprising an opera house, aquarium, IMAX cinema, science museum and botanical garden.
Valencia is a beautiful city and all too soon our visit came to an end. We could easily have filled another week.
