Journey to the Centre of the Earth

Just a stones throw from the edge of the Island (there is no beach) the sea is 2 miles deep. Looking up, the peaks of the volcanos are over 1850m high, shrouded by mist and cloud. I ski at lower altitudes!

Maderia was formed by fire at the beginning of time. Cooled by the rains, it is covered with vegetation. Man has since laced the island with roads. Narrow,windy roads hug the near vertical edges into the heart of the island; tunnels boared through the rock carry motorways of speading traffic through the hills. Houses, some the traditional triangular, but most pastel painted concrete, cling precariously on the edge, perched hundreds of meters above the rivers on the valley floors. There is precious little flat ground anywhere. The sign in the supermarket lift, a gentle reminder of the islands birth, "Do not use in an earthquake".

The walking is fantastic. 900m meters up the side of the cliff the Levada, a man-made water course, runs around the mountain. The retaining wall forms the path. Often 2m, but frequently only half a metre wide, the path winds round the mountain for 6.5km. The cliff towers hundreds of metres above - and drops hundreds of metres to the valley floor below. Trees grow out, almost at right-angles to get to the light.

Crouched over, torches on, we enter another tunnel; rough-hewn with pick and shovel, the Levada carries the water on its way. Later, sitting beside the plunge pool, enchanted and over-awed, as water cascaded 70m meters from one of the many waterfalls, we sat and ate our lunch.

The coastal cliff walks are equally spectacular. Saddles link a string of volcanos, the paths sometimes going over, sometimes around, constantly revealing exciting views.

Not content with walking over, or around, we walked into the volcano. Discovered only 50yrs ago, the tunnels created by lava flows lead deep into the mountain. Now open to all, they're fascinating, and very well supported by films and displays. As for the two Ronnies...the film was good too.

But we must move on. Ilhas Desertas, and the Ilhas Selvagens beckon.

Madeira

600M SW of Gib lies a volcanic island....

The Atlantic Ocean is ringred with islands. The Madeiran archipelago has two inhabited main islands, and several smaller ones now designated Marine Conservation Areas. Consequently yachts visiting the smaller islands require a permit.

Your first ocean passage is always memorable, and that first landfall, special. Moira's first was Porto Santos, 30M north of Madeira. It was also our first in Avocette, and what a wonderful island to land on.

Christoper Columbus lived here too. This small volcanic, and arid, island is beautiful. The natives friendly and the climate great. The beach, all 9km of it, is better that any in the Caribbean - and empty! A tour of the island is a must; beautiful beaches give way to dramatic cliffs, and dormant volcanos tower over them all.

The small marina sits in the corner of the NATO built harbour. Very strong downdrafts fall off the hills from pre-dawn to mid-day testing the fenders to their limits.

Away in the distance Madeira calls. Heads'l unrolled, Avocette slipped quietly south.

What a contrast. Madeira is bigger, even higher, with lush green vegetation cascading dowm into the sea. The island is a maze of steep valleys and high volcanic hills. Houses and vegetation cling to the rock. The walking is fantastic, driving challenging, and the bus rides scarier than Alton Towers!

Gibraltar to Porto Santos

It was sad to leave Gibraltar (who would have believed it). But we came away with a prize; Moira is a graduate of Hercules Sailing School, a fine sailor and fun company. She will be staying with us until Gran Canaria where she hopes to join a boat for the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers.

Departing the coast of Morocco was a busy evening; if each one of those fishing boats catch just one fish each …. they haven’t caught them all, Moira caught a Bonito the following day; a very tasty lunch.

The task of steering for the five day crossing was assigned to Carly. We have two kinds of self-steering: the Autohelm (George) and Hydovane (Carly Simon – You’re so Vain). George operates the main rudder to follow a pre-programmed compass course, this requires battery power: Carly uses a vane to control her own rudder in order to keep the boat at a constant angle to the wind. As wind direction is rarely constant for long it is necessary for the crew to periodically check the course.

We are now sat in the marina at Porto Santos (a small rocky island some thirty miles north of Madeira). The marina is next to one of the nicest beaches I have seen; topless seems to be the norm. Afternoon sorted.

The Rock of Gibraltar

Track Avocette across the oceans

We are signed up to Yotreps, a yacht tracking service, you can see our daily position, complete with google earth map at:

http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/tracker.php?ident=Avocette

Just a quickie - got to go for a beer.

The wind has been solidly in the west for the last few days, keeping us firmly in Gib. but it has enabled us to catch-up on the washing,get some jobs done on the boat (How I miss being able to pop into Chris Hornseys!!!), and make new friends.

Thanks to some American friends John & Shirlee, on SY Solstice, we have now joined "yotreps". This is a NZ site that enables you to see exactly where we are - even mid-ocean - so long as I send in our daily position. Have a google,yotreps, then look for Avocette, and/or call sign MLEY4.

Chris & Mandy, who run a great sailing school, "Hercules Sailing", and just happen to be old friends of Roy's, have been great. They've helped us to get the spares with the least effort. Their sailing school is worth serious consideration if you fancy doing a course in the sun!

I popped into the Royal Gibraltar Yacht Club to see if there was any Victory racing to be had but, to my dismay, their season has finished too! It's 26'C, water temp. 22'C, blowing F4, with blue sky and sunshine, and their boats are being lifted for the "winter"!!!!

Guess we had better head south before we get snowed in...

The Pillars of Hercules

The entrance to the Med is dramatic. The Rock of Gibraltar stands proud on the European side. The Atlas Mountains in Africa. Together they are, as tradition has it, the Pillars of Hercules. Sailing across the busy Straights we head for a new continent - Africa.

Interestingly the Spanish get very upset at the English ownership of the Rock, yet there, 15M away, a spit of land juts out from Morocco, into the Med. It's the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. A tax free zone, governed by Spain! I wonder how the Moroccans feel?

Flying fish scatter in all directions as we hug the Moroccan coast down to Smir, a big marina, exuding wealth and prosperity. Customs stamp our passports, and we hire a guide, Ahmed, and a taxi, to take us up into the mountains to Tetauen.

The city of Tetauen is a mix of impossing new build, with banks and highrise apartments, but up on the hillside is the Casbah, the old town, and the souks.

The streets of the old town, 5-700 years old, are narrow, winding, cobbled lanes, are roofed over. Natural light breaks through only where the street is open to the sky so that you can see the Minnerette of one of the many tiny Mosques. We pass several stand pipes, each set in ornate tiles - the only source of water for most of the houses! Wide, but low, wooden doors, studded with heavy bolts, and with medeival sized keys, hid the interiors of the houses from our view.

Donkeys, traditional beasts of burden, carry logs up to the baker. The only source of fuel for his oven.

Ahmed takes to the house of Abdul, the carpet sellor. We sit, drinking mint tea while he displays his wares. With great flourish, carpets of all sizes and colours are spread before us. It was inevitable - we had to buy! So then the bartering started...

Re-emerging back into the dimly lit streets we found them transformed. The souk was in full swing. Doors had opened to reveal tiny workshops, everything was on sale. Fresh (?) meat and fish, shared the little space with second-hand shoes, vegetables, and recycled household goods. Spoil from the slabs was washed into the street to create a memorable smell to the noise, as people bustled about their daily business.

Morocco is clearly changing, forcing its way into the modern world.

We had to leave Morocco for the posh Spanish resort of Estapona, in the Med, to refill our gas bottles - the only place for propane since England. Then it was back to Gib for Jim to fly home.

We knew we were back in "England" - it pissed down!

It's Friday night, in a square, in Cadiz.

All ages were there. The kids played games, from football to chess. Teenagers showed off their skills in break dancing, graffiti art, and skateboarding. The aduults, chatted, drank coffee or beer, and looked on.

1470M to Gibraltar

Average rainfall less than one day a year

At last the Potuguese trades have kicked in. The NW force 4-6 saw us romp down the coast from Cascais to Lagos surfing down the 3m swells at 9kts, and averaging 7 1/2for the trip. Rounding Cabo Sao Vincente in the small hours saw us into Lagos,and the Algarve.

Part of the fun of cruising is the places you see, and part is the people you meet. We'd only been tied-up for an hour, when we were invited for sundowners, which turned into dinner, onboard Bodic, owned by Nigel and Sue's, friends we had made back in Villagarcia.

It wasn't just the temperature that noticably went up in the Algarve, the marina prices soared, 65 Euros in Villamoura - we didn't stop - choosing instead to anchor in the vast shallows of Faro where we caught our supper. The mullet were great sport, and tasted delicious, but it was time to go.

Cadiz is a great city. The beautiful town squares are packed with people enjoying the warm evenins. Children play games, even chess, street dance, and skate board, while their parents, and grandparents, drink coffee, have a beer, and chat long into the night.

Dawn o'clock saw us out of Cadiz, heading south past Cape Trafalgar. Ahead loomed the Atlas Mountains - Africa.

It's hot here in Gibraltar, very hot. but we have jobs to do on the boat, so Morocco will have to wait.