Finally on our way again - Almerimar to Mar Menor

Having now spent a couple of summers cruising in the Med, it was time to prepare Nautilus for some proper Blue Water Sailing. Almerimar has an excellent reputation as a Marina where high quality works can be carried out, and it did not disappoint:  Nautilus is now a Cutter rig, with twin furling headsails and two additional heavy duty winches, we have a water maker installed, a Watt & Sea Hydrogenerator and more battery capacity in order to store the energy produced on voyage. And - while there is no longer any cupboard space in the second cabin, our visitors can now store their clothes in our fully plumbed in washing machine!

View of Almerimar, with the snowy Sierra Nevada mountains visible beyond the sea of shiny agricultural plastic.

Pressure washing off 2 years' growth on Almerimar Yard

No stay in Spain would be complete without a Fiesta - and the neighbouring town of El Ejido performed well - lots of horses paraded through the town.

Some very classy - 

Not sure quite which class this one fitted in.

Flamenco dresses were widely in evidence

As were themed floats - again lots of Flamenco, but also lots of Sangria, much of it being worn by the youth on the floats.

We finally waved goodbye to Almerimar, leaving with Lynne and Steve on Aztec Dream to head for the Mar Menor.  It was lovely to spend time on the sea again and get a chance to dust off the anchor in a few little bays.

The Mar Menor is fascinating - about 10 miles by 5 of sea, accessible through a narrow channel that passes under a bridge that lifts for 10 minutes every other hour during the daytime and  separated from the Med by a narrow strip of very built up land - hard to believe there are ever enough tourists to fill up all the bed spaces.

The view into the Mar Menor, showing a channel into the Med which is now so silted up only a dinghy can get through, and some of the many huge blocks of unoccupied flats.

The Train to Cartagena stops at Los Nietos - possibly the smallest train we've ever been on - and the half hour trip costs €2.70 return.  A great day out.

The Mar Menor has provided an opportunity to try out our new Parasail - although I can't imagine using it for night passages, it did perform well and was surprisingly easy to handle.

The new sail - photos courtesy of Steve, on Aztec Dream.

Apart from the sailing, we are kept entertained by the Spanish equivalent of the Red Arrows who train here and can frequently be seen overhead

Like the Red Arrows, but definitely Spanish.

An interesting method of trawling - not too sure about the rationale for this.

Beautiful sunsets - with Aztec Dream  at anchor

Peace and quiet

Until the arrival of the Jet Skis - I really didn't know they could go so fast!

We will soon be working our way North along the Spanish coast.