Last stop in Europe

We left the lovely Marina Lanzarote and sailed a short distance down the coast to Rubicon, where we were meeting some other friends from home - Jeremy and Chrissie.

Lanzarote - not a lot grows here!

It was great to catch up with friends from home for a couple of days on the beach, and not only were there some great restaurants around Marina Rubicon, but there were some great walks along the cliff tops near the Marina

The marina.

Papagayou Bay, about 30 minutes walk from Rubicon - great beach, well worth the walk.

These are the works of an Artist whose studio overlooks the marina - they all look rather tragic, but that's probably not surprising as the models are cast in concrete and the resulting figures frequently then exhibited underwater!

We had to wait in Rubicon for a weather window before we set off for Gran Canaria and when we got there the marina was packed - Gran Canaria is a major point of departure for several organised rally's across the Atlantic The ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) alone is a fleet of 200, and most of them were already in the Marina so there was no room for us.

Las Palmas Marina, Gran Canaria - standing room only for one man and his dog!

We are anchored somewhere in this crowd outside the marina - the swell was quite bad at times, it was incredibly busy as it's the entrance to a huge commercial port but there are very good Chandlers there.

And also a busy sailing school - this was a frequent occurance, the Oppies head out of the harbour past one of the many cruise ships in the port

And being towed back in at high speed after the morning lesson.

As soon as conditions permitted, we set off for Tenerife.  In order to be sure of arriving in daylight we set off in the evening and had a very peaceful and enjoyable overnight sail, arriving at Santa Cruz at first light.

Santa Cruz harbour is again a commercial port, and clearly the harbour entrance is a major refurbishment centre / parking spot for oil rigs

We were completely dwarfed by these bits of floating machinery.

We were joined in Santa Cruz by our daughter Clare and Jamie so we hired a car and set off to see the sights ... Firstly Santa Cruz itself.

The marina is being refurbished - and no doubt it will be lovely when it's finished but at the moment there are a few hazards!

Once off the boat, it's a 20 minute walk to the town centre, however a pedestrian bridge over the road is nearly completed and will greatly reduce the distance to the city centre.

It's worth the walk to see the Auditorium, a huge wave of shiny white mosaic and very similar in feel to the Arts and Science Centre in Valencia.

The Auditorium is on the waterfront and the breakwater rocks have been decorated in an appropriate manner.

 

There is a splendid market in the town centre where you can buy a huge selection of fresh produce, again worth the walk.

A fine bronze outside the market but it did seem a bit out of place to have what appeared to be a milk maid on an island where we have yet to see a cow!

This one seemed more in keeping - fishermen pushing their boat up a beach.

The island is completely dominated by Mount Teide, which at 3718m is the highest mountain in Spain. The whole area is a National park, there is a cable car that takes you to within 200m of the summit but you need a guide and permit to go to the top, and no permits were available during our stay.

The volcanic landscape, it took us 2 hours to queue for the 8 minute ride in the cable car - the queue wasn't big, just very slow. The other option was a 5 hour walk, which was beginning to look like the best option by the time we got in the tiny cable car.

The views from the top were spectacular, and the path through the lava challenging!

Clare and Jamie, with Mt Teide in the background.

I'd decided that you can never see too much of a Volcano, so we went on another walk in the lava fields a few kilometres south of the peak to see the Roques de Garcia, ancient pillars of lava left behind after the surrounding land has eroded away.

Apparently this used to feature on the 1000 pesos note

Ancient lava spikes, with lava from much more recent eruptions flowing past.

It really is a harsh but beautiful landscape.  Surprisingly we saw quite a few people hunting (presumably rabbits) with dogs, but the only living things we came across were lizards.

They were very interested in our lunch!

Apart from the volcano, another Tenerife highlight is whale and dolphin watching. The straight between the western coast of Tenerife and neighbouring La Gomera is considered to be amongst the worlds finest whale watching areas and although we have frequently seen both whales and dolphins when we've been sailing,  the only way to guarantee a sighting is to take an organised trip.  It greatly exceeded our expectations.

Pilot Whales

A family unit - the youngster is apparently only about 3 months old.

The whales dive to feed on giant squid that live in these waters at a depth of about 1000 metres, so following the depth contour was a good way of getting close to the whales

The whales appeared completely unbothered by the presence of our boat and our driver had to take care not to run into them they were so close to us.

We also saw several pods of bottle nose Dolphins - again they seemed interested in us, not bothered in the slightest.

In the spirit of leaving no stone unturned (and acknowledging that maybe not everyone shared my enthusiasm for all things volcanic), we searched for other attractions on Tenerife - we discovered that the little town of Icod de los Vinos boasts the oldest and largest Dragon Tree in the world ... Apparently over 1000 years old.

                  The  Tree.  Show me a volcano any day!

Sadly our visitors had to get back to their 'Real Lives', so now it's time to leave the comfort of Europe and head South.  Next landfall should be Mindelo, Cape Verde - 800 or so miles and about a week's sail from here.        

Atlantic Islands - Madeira and Lanzarote

Although we left Portimao under engine, the wind picked up as forecast by the time we reached the traffic separation zone off the south west tip of Portugal and we sailed, frequently accompanied by Dolphins, for the next three days.  The wind dropped off again on the last night and the engine went back on - all went well until there was a loud bang and the engine cut out about 25 miles off Madeira.  We had caught a large net.  We drifted around till dawn when the mini dive tank came into its own and Ian was able to get in the water and cut us free, after which the wind picked up again and we sailed on to Madeira.

The end of the net floating out behind the boat

The propeller totally wrapped in abandoned fishing net. The net was about 10 metres long by 4 metres wide - luckily there were no fish trapped in it, and we hauled it on board and left it in Madeira where it would no longer pose a threat to sailors (or fish).

Our first view of Madeira - shrouded in cloud.  As we were to discover, it rains a lot in Madeira.

We stayed in the only Marina in Madeira that accommodates visiting yachts - nestled under the cliffs near the eastern tip of the island, not far from the Airport.

The Marina, on a sunny day, with the town of Canical visible in the distance.

There are some spectacular walks on Madeira.

Heading to the Eastern tip of the island - spectacular view, but don't trust the handrail!

Still heading East

Easy to follow, well marked paths, but again watch out for the handrail!

The end of the island, with Steve from Aztec Dream.  The land behind is a separate island.

We also went to the highest point on Madeira, Pico Ruivo at 1862 metres. The views were equally stunning and luckily we had good visibility.

View to the west - from the high point.

And the view to the east.

In complete contrast, our final walk was along the Levada, the natural springs in the forest.

It's hard to believe you are actually on the same island - the vegetation is abundant, and the ground is literally dripping with water.

With Steve and Lynne in the Levada des 25 Fontes.  There were dozens of trout swimming along the water way on the left of the photo.

No shortage of water here.

Funchal is the main town in Madeira - not the most scenic of towns - playing the tourist, we took the cable car up the hill into the clouds to visit a botanical garden.

The Monte Palace Tropical Garden - apparently one of the 14th best in the world (not sure how you rank them), it was impressive and worth a visit even for 'non gardeners'

We finished off our visit to Funchal with the ultimate in Tourist Experiences: A wicker basket descent down a steep road in the hands of two white-suited sledge drivers.

Steve and Lynne follow us down - certainly one of the more bizarre experiences we've had recently.

One lasting memory of Madeira ...

It's beautiful, it's warm, but it's very wet!  The marina, Madeira - complete with rainbow.

Madeira was a whaling station for 40 years - fortunately that barbaric activity has come to an end here and we were lucky enough to see two massive sperm whales and loads of dolphins on the two day sail to the Canary Islands.  It's hard to imagine ever tiring of the company of dolphins at sea, and although close proximity to a whale that's as big as our yacht does make you a little nervous they are a truly impressive sight - such a shame they are still being hunted in some parts of the world.

We headed for Lanzarote, the easternmost of the Canary Islands.  The islands are volcanic, Lanzarote gained 32 new volcanoes along 18 km during a period of violent eruptions which occurred between 1730 and 1736. The most recent eruption was in 1824, lava covers 1/4 of the island and it is literally covered in volcanoes.

We booked into the recently redeveloped and very well appointed Marina Lanzarote and set off to explore the island with Nick and Sally who had flown over to visit us

The coast - where lava meets the sea.

The salt pans - Salinas de Janubio on the west of the island. Historically used to produce the salt to preserve fish, much of it is now derelict but the salt is now being used in swimming pools instead of chlorine. The white cones are piles of salt, the sea water is channel led down through a series of drying ponds.

El Golfo green lake - apparently the colour is due to sea weed, it is surrounded by volcanic cliffs and black sand.

We went on a guided walk on the edge of the Timanfaya National Park - the Fire Mountains which are designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Volcanoes - as far as the eye can see.  Timanfaya National Park.

The guided walk 

Smooth 'Pahoehoe' lava

More lava.

And yet more lava! (Ropey Pahoehoe)

The start of a small flue where it emerges from the lava - the flow stopped before the tube was fully formed.

A caldera

A sea of lava between some of the smaller volcanoes

Al alternative view of lava is provided by the local Artist and Architect Cesar Manrique who converted a cave and associated lava 'bubbles' into a large home and swimming pool - after his death in 1992 it was opened to the public.  One of his main missions was ro oppose the spread of high rise concrete developments across the island - the Cesar Manrique foundation continues this work.

Cedars swimming pool.

We also went into the Cueva de los Verdes - a lava tube that extends 6 km above sea level and 1.5 km  below sea level. Only a small section is open to the public, but it does contain a 300 seat concert hall.

Cueva de los Verdes lava tube

An underground salt water lake in the tube.

Dragging ourselves away from the lava, we sailed to La Graciosa island, another National Park to the north of Lanzarote.

We hired bikes and cycled on the track across the island to a beautiful unspoilt beach

Playa de Las Conches, Graciosa on the north west of the island.

La Graciosa road network

Marina Graciosa, with Lanzarote in the background.  No water or electricity, and a very basic cold shower, but fabulous setting and only €8 per night.

The Town, Caleta Del Sabotage, La Graciosa.  There were several surprisingly good little restaurants, lots of bike hire shops, one cafe with WiFi and bakery, fishmonger and a couple of tiny grocery shops. There are apparently 500 residents on the island.

The marina is just visible on the left, but we are one of the yachts at anchor in the picture - we spent a day at anchor here in the Playa Del Salado.

The view to the North, the barren landscape of La Graciosa National Park.

Our stay in the Marina Lanzarote coincides with a stop over for the Mini Transat race - this is a singlehanded race, in which 74 competitors (4 are female, of which two are British) race 4,020 miles from Brittany to Guadeloupe via Lanzarote in 21ft boats.

It is basically a one class design, however there are some 'development' yachts competing as well. At 21 ft, the mini transacts are half the size of Nautilus.

One of the development designs competing in the race  - no. 865 has a very rounded shape, but must be seriously quick as it arrived a day before the next boat!

We have Nick and Sally to thank for our action packed visit to just about everything Lanzarote has to offer, and we were all impressed with the island - a great place to visit.

Nick and Sally - excellent tour guides!  

We'll stay here a few more days before heading on to Rubicon in the south then to Tenerife where we are looking forward to our next  visitors - our daughter Clare and Jamie.  After that, the Cape Verdes beckon.