It's hard to believe it is already August and we are still in Portugal. We really do like Portugal. The Portuguese people are great, very friendly and the towns and countryside are pretty and comfortable. We felt welcome and right at home. Reluctantly we agree it is definitely time to move on. We had a nice sail from Portimoa to Faro, last stop we made in Portugal before crossing into to Spain. The town of Faro was five miles up a big river delta. We enjoyed anchoring just inside the river mouth in the middle of these delta wetlands. The wetlands were full of birds and we enjoyed watching them during the low tides. We took the dinghy up the river to the town of Faro. It was a nice old walled city. It was a working fishing town, with just a hint of tourism, very quaint, a perfect memory for Portugal.
We continued sailing for a couple of long days into Spain or Espana as the locals call it. We were greeted in Espana by high winds and bad anchorages. After four days trying to find a place to anchor were the boat wasn't rocking and bouncing around we checked into a marina at Cadiz. Cadiz was a fun old town, with a lively shopping district and lots of history. The marina was right in the middle of the old walled city. We enjoyed daily walks exploring the city.
With Reality safely tucked away in a marina we took the opportunity to take a bus trip to the ancient city of Sevilla. Sevilla is a wonderful town with a history that dates back before the Roman times. The city is 60 miles inland on a river that is navigable by ocean going ships. Sevilla has always been an important city; still today it is the fourth largest city in Espana (Spain). The new city sprawls for miles but the old ancient city has been left untouched by the years and is a charming oasis in the middle of a modern city. Sevilla's Cathedral is one of the largest and richest Gothic cathedrals in all Christendom, unmatched in its impressive spatial effect and its abundance of art treasures. The main cathedral was built between 1402 and 1506 on the site of the town's principal mosque. The Cathedral tower was built in 1184 and is 305ft high. We climbed 34 flights of stairs to enjoy the view from the top. We were amazed at the opulence of the church and marveled at the strength it must have held over the people in its day.
We also toured the Alcazar. It was the first Alcazar we had ever seen and we were wide-eyed in fascination. An Alcazar is a palace or castle built in the Moorish time for the Moorish Kings. The Christian kings later also occupied Sevilla's Alcazar. The palace was huge! The gardens and grounds surrounding the palace were equally impressive. Huge rock walls surrounded the entire complex. Moorish Palaces, or Alcazars are very plain from the exterior, just rock walls and towers. They look just like the sandcastle we build. We now know were the sand castle design we were taught as kids originated. By contrast the inside of the Alcazar is very ornate and intricately patterned. The walls and ceilings of each room were carved and tiled with a different design. We toured the place in awe.
After an enjoyable week in Cadiz we continued onto Gibraltar. The sail into and through the Strait of Gibraltar was exciting. A goal realized...we were officially entering the Mediterranean! The Strait has huge currents that make the currents in our homeland, San Francisco Bay, look mild. We timed our passage for a positive current. We had a wonderful sail the wind was directly behind us. We had our sails spread wing and wing and were sailing along at 10.3 knots in flat water! We passed right beside a boat from Holland. We were looking so nice, sails full, flying our American flag that the Holland folks took a picture of us. They didn't mind losing the race into Gibraltar. We met later and have become friends.
The "Rock" of Gibraltar is indeed a huge slab of granite. We enjoyed hiking to the top of the "Rock". We took an old path, which had hundreds of steps up an old fort wall. The view from the top was lovely. We could actually see Africa, just eight miles away.
We hiked down the ancient path of the Mediterranean Steps. There is evidence that Gibraltar has been inhabited by people since the early caveman era! We took another hike up the Rock to the Great Siege Tunnels. The Siege Tunnels were amazing. There are over 33 miles of tunnels. The tunnels are a maze carved into the rock by the British. They started the caves during the early explorer days of the 15th century. They were able to protect Gibraltar by installing cannons around the Rock to shoot down upon any enemies. Then during World War I and World War II they expanded the network of tunnels to be an entire underground-fortified city. Gibraltar now is basically a tourist town. One of the tourist attractions is the Gibraltar Apes. Apes were brought to Gibraltar years ago from Africa. They now have overrun of the top of the Rock. Busloads of tourist come to the top of the "Rock" to take pictures and feed the Apes. The apes have become so use to people feeding them that eating our lunch was a problem. The apes kept coming up to us and tried to steal our fruit right out of our hands.
We left Gibraltar and hopped our way along the southern coast of Espana (Spain). The entire coastline, mile after mile is lined with high-rise resorts and apartments. We anchored in several resort bays and were amazed how many people were sun worshippers. Of course it is the height of the tourist season. We figure every single person in Europe must own a vacation home on the southern coast of Spain (or Portugal). There were thousands of Condos and thousands more being built. Everywhere we went there was new construction in progress. The scenery isn't too pretty but nobody seems to care...they come for the sun. We had expected the Mediterranean Ocean water to be clear and beautiful but along the high-rise coast the visibility was poor. After a hundred miles we found a pleasant anchorage in the beautiful little bay of Ensenada Herradura. The bay is surrounded by steep rock cliffs and dotted with exclusive villas and mansions. Even here we marveled at the mass of new construction going on..... The new European Union sure appears to be a boom to Espana! We enjoyed a beautiful evening. For the first time since we entered the Med. the water was crystal clear so we went for a swim. We were shocked at how cold the water was. We checked the temperature and found it was only 62 degrees. Guess we have to get further into the Med. before we find warm water!
Most of Espana anchorage's are all quite rolly and unprotected. We continued along the coast to the town of Motril. In Motril we were able to anchor inside of a huge seawall, not pretty but smooth. We spent several days catching up on boat projects. We took a bus from Motril to the old city of Granada. We had a wonderful day touring the Alcazar on Alhambra Hill. The Palace is situated on the top of a hill surrounded by river gorges and the scenery was the prettiest we had seen in Espana.
We enjoyed touring the palaces build in the Moorish period and style. The complex was huge and in perfect condition. The original palace was build by the Nasrid dynasty in 1333 and is a perfect example Islamic palace architecture.
Carlos V added a new palace to the complex right after the Spanish conquest over the Moors in 1526. It was a great example of Renaissance architecture. Palacio de Carlos was never finished but even in it's unfinished state it was pretty impressive. We couldn't decide if Alhambra or the palace in Sevilla was the most impressive. We decided they were equal, amazing huge and beautiful Islamic works of arts. We thoroughly enjoyed exploring the palace and the surrounding old town.
The old town of Granada was a maze of tiny twisted streets weaving up and down the hillsides. The little white houses with red tile roofs were picture perfect. Granada's cathedral was also impressive. It is Espana's finest Renaissance church. The cathedral was started in 1523 and continually added onto until 1667. Touring Granada was a perfect way to end the month of August.