20th May - Almerimar

Soundtrack: Above us dozens of swifts are shrieking as they swoop and circle to feed – keeping down the mosquito population with any luck.

High Point: Stopping here in Almerimar for a few days. We’ve been on the move every day but one since leaving Ayamonte, and it’s good to have a break for a while – to catch up with family, get the washing done, stock up with food. The marina is home to many liveaboards, so we find it has everything we need.

Low point: The exorbitant cost of a berth at Motril means a change to our plan of staying there while we visit the Alhambra Palace in Granada. We are forced to go on to Almerimar instead. Unfortunately the forecast is for easterlies – dead on the nose.

From Caleta de Valez, we motorsail our way along the coast to Motril in flat calm and hazy sunshine. We’re surprised to see some snow still lingering on the summits of the Sierra Nevada. Many of the foothills below the mountains have been terraced to make room for rows of plastic covered greenhouses in which they grow tomatoes, peppers, courgettes, strawberries all year round. This unsustainable practice known as plasticultura is to meet northern Europe’s insatiable demand for out of season produce. It exports much of this region’s irreplaceable water and pays a pittance to immigrant labourers whilst generating profits for the likes of Tesco. Not a pretty picture.

Motril is a large commercial harbour which is also used by cruise ships bringing visitors to Granada – my parents came here a few years ago for that reason. There’s a small Club Nautico in the northwest corner. The good news is we’re given a berth on a proper finger pontoon, but the bad news is it’s quite rolly and ridiculously expensive. The place has an abandoned air about it. The clubhouse is closed and not a single boat appears to have anyone on board. We are the only visitors, apart from a French boat that tried to anchor nearby, but was moved on by the harbour master. All the forecasts we download from the HF radio say the same thing – easterlies, anything up to F5. The thought of head banging 38 miles to windward next day is deeply depressing.

In the event we get a foretaste of what to expect when sailing in the Med. The wind is up and down, mainly on the nose. At times it changes direction by 180 degrees, but it stays stubbornly forward of the beam. So the passage to Almerimar is a story of sails up, sails down, reefs in, reefs out, and despite all that effort, the engine is running most of the way. Very slow and tedious.

We’re looking forward to going ashore tomorrow to spend a couple of nights seeing the sights of Granada.