The Motley’s
are excited to announce that we again have (some very brave) crew arriving in June to help us sail to
the Balearics. Obviously it only takes
one to start the ball rolling. GS (aka
Chief Navigator) has made these plans to get us from Gibraltar to Menorca with
a little sightseeing in between….( weather & time permitting):
Our planned cruising area |
Gibraltar.
We will leave our guests to climb the Rock, talk to monkeys and wander
down historic streets. When we’re ready,
we’ll hit the magenta line. Needless to
say, we also plan to stock up on goodies that promise to be hard to find once
we’re underway, such as British beef & lamb, mint sauce, creamed honey and
marmalade. Thank goodness for our WAECO.
Smir, Morocco. We loved exploring Chefchaouen so much with
BCK we are hoping our guests don’t mind taking time for a ride up to into the
Rif Mountains with us. We can, after
sipping mint tea, stroll through the famed blue village and visit its walled medina.
Cueta, Spain. We’ll take a stop at this interesting Spanish
enclave on the African coast to stock up on groceries and wait out tides and
winds to cross the Gibraltar Straits.
Then let the day hopping along the Spanish “Costa del Sol” begin.
Costa del Sol, Spain. Our main stop will be Fuengirola Marina. From here we can explore Roman ruins and palaeolithic
caves in Ronda; walk through Mijas, one of the famed AndalucĂan
white villages; and then catch a train to Granada
to explore the famous Alhambra and Generalife Gardens. I’m sure we’ll have time to snack on tapas,
dance flamenco and taste head-spinning local vinho (it will be the cheap stuff
JD – so prepare yourself!). Nearby
Malaga also has the Museo Picasso, so be prepared for a little culture hit too!
Costa Blanca, Spain. A few more day stops to Cartagena, a famous
old town and our base to explore this coast. After days of being turisticos, we will anchor
to R&R in the Mar Menor, a shallow inland sea.
Costa del Azahar, Spain. Last stop along mainland Spain’s orange
blossom coast will be Valencia where we can hunt for the Holy Grail, said to be
in the Cathedral there. We can also
prepare ourselves for the party and sun worshippers that flock to the Balearic
Islands over a plate or two of paella.
Ibiza, Mallorca & Menorca, Spain. Hopefully we’ll have time and weather to
enjoy the good life as we anchor in narrow calas, eat at beach cafes and swim
in clear blue waters. Somebody famous
lives here for sure but I don’t think we’ll really care…
A hectic schedule? Of course! We hope the crew approve and it's always open to discussion and weather dependant! Meanwhile the Motley's are busy preparing WJ3 for her Monday morning splash (27th May). From Lagos we will slowly make our way to Gibraltar, so keep your eye on our tracker & map. (Let's make that a 28th May splash - the steaming light's not working & that means another trip to the top of the mast for our Cap'n.)