The next morning we ran the generator as our batteries were low, at the same time we charged up computer, mobile phones and let Dan watch a film.

Then we took the dinghy into Cartagena to a low pontoon between the naval harbour and the marina, which the Customs people had suggested. Athough the area didn’t look busy we put an extra bicycle lock on the dinghy; we had no problems leaving it all day. We went into town and although you could tell it was an old city, it wasn’t stunning. It was obviously geared up for English people, but it wasn’t at all busy, although we did see a few English wandering the streets. We had a tapas lunch at a working men’s bar for 8.5 Euros including three bottles of beer, an ice cream and three Tapas! It was a hot and still day although 31 degrees wasn’t impossible. We looked around the town shops and then found a playground for Dan. Then we went for some coke and coffee at another bar, and spent another hour trying to walk Dan to sleep in his pushchair. Once he was asleep we found an internet café to catch up with banking and email. Then I stayed there while Nigel went out to find a washing machine shop where he could find out where to get some large diameter ducting to use with our air conditioning. I meanwhile looked up cheap flights to get back to England for early September. The problem is knowing where you will be in four weeks to fly from, and whether to get a return or try for one-way flights returning somewhere else . And the cheapest fares to Guernsey should be booked at least three weeks in advance. All the websites are geared to flying FROM the UK, and I couldn’t easily find cheap flights from Spain, even one-way. The cheapest option I saw was to fly return from Barcelona to London with British Airways which would have been about 200 Euros for Dan and me. Then I would need to get to Guernsey. Nigel wouldn’t want to stay in Barcelona for two or three weeks to wait for me either! When Nigel came back he came up with the idea of planning to be in France by the end of August, so that I could take the TGV to St Malo, then get a ferry to Guernsey. Although the journey would be tedious, it is actually a lot simpler to plan, as it can be booked a lot later and I do not have to return to the same place. I would also be able to pack more flexibly. The total cost of this option is likely to be about £220 return to Guernsey for me, Dan going free, possibly plus a night’s accommodation in St Malo.

Then we went to the marina and the man in the shop there was extremely helpful, he knew someone locally who worked in a large hardware shop and after three phone calls it seemed likely he had something we could use. So we got a taxi to the hardware shop and although we could not get flexible plastic hose we did make do with a galvanised 90 degree bend and some flexible aluminium stretchy tube which were slightly bigger than we wanted. Another taxi back to the dinghy with all this, and back to the boat. We could see in the evening light all the fortifications built around Cartagena harbour, in addition to a few castles there were walls and tunnels and forts everywhere. Cartagena is the only natural harbour on this part of the Spanish coast.
Nigel took Dan for a swim while I made some tea. Dan got to sleep about midnight, as he had had a late sleep in the afternoon. We had a more rolly night but still ok.

Saturday 31st July

Nigel fixed up the ducting for the air conditioning, the most expensive part we found we didn’t need unfortunately! Anyway it now works well. Went to the beach early afternoon and had a cheap lunch. Later I went to get some supermarket shopping, this involved taking the dinghy into Cartagena and
wheeling the pushchair for approx 1 km to the supermarket. Everything else was closed, obviously nothing opens in Cartagena on a Saturday afternoon. It was a good supermarket and I loaded up the pushchair. I was prepared with my passport to verify my identity for paying by card this time. When I had walked back to the dinghy I took off the bicycle lock to find the dinghy floating away! Someone had undone the rope! No other problems though.

Nigel and Dan went swimming at the beach just inside the harbour extension, but the water was horrible and they both decontaminated in the shower afterwards! The night was hot and busy with mosquitoes, and in the early morning we were disturbed frequently by the wash of fishing boats leaving the harbour. It was good enough to stop at but no more.

Early the next day we got up and left. We motored onwards to Adra, and on the way we caught a mackerel. Nigel got all the mackerel feathers out and caught a further 10 mackerel, and Dan helped too. We ate them while still at sea, then arrived at Adra in the late afternoon.

Malaga is still very Spanish and has a very pretty old town, because although it has a busy airport, all the tourists move on to other places and do not stay in Malaga.

Monday 19th July, after a slow start we got the dinghy to the beach about midday, this time we only used the oars, and after depositing me, Dan, Dan’s pushchair and the necessary bags on the beach, Nigel took the dinghy back to the boat and swam back to the beach. We were not sure whether it was safe to leave the dinghy on the beach although it looked ok, but given the stories we heard at La Linea our confidence had been shaken.

When we had had a quick swim we left the beach to go exploring in the town, and I asked a couple who seemed to be English if they could tell us where the old town was. The lady was English and her partner Spanish, they were very helpful but when we said we were from the boat anchored in the bay, they then invited us for a drink at their apartment nearby! It turned out that the man used to sail a lot and as he had had very good experiences of people going out of their way to help him in the past, he felt pleased to extend the favour to sailors that he met now! So we spent a couple of hours at their apartment, which was in a stunning location on the 9th floor overlooking the beach on one side and part of the harbour and town on the other side. We were treated to sherry, wine and food, and learned more about Rafael and Sarah, later we returned the favour and took the pair of them out sailing on the boat, which pleased them no end.
This was followed by a late trip to the supermarket by which time it was dark. We left the dinghy on the beach this time and it suffered no ill effects.

On Tuesday 20th July we got up a little earlier than the day before and did the same exercise with the dinghy but took Dan’s bike this time. Dan and Nigel swam for quite a while, Dan wanted to swim in his rubber ring all the way back to the boat!

Then we got ready to go to town, and while Dan was playing on his bike by the beach, he finally sang the entire alphabet song from beginning to end without any help! We have been teaching him this song for a couple of weeks.

We meandered into town via a long leafy avenue, interspersed with ice creams and a visit to a playground. We finally reached the cathedral which was very imposing and well-kept, and went down a back-street where we had a tapas lunch. Although the food was excellent the whole meal from arrival to departure must have taken two hours! Even then although it was 3 o’clock we still had to wait until 5:30 before any of the shops opened again for their “afternoon” session, so we wandered the old town for an hour, then as the wind had increased we went back to the beach to check on the boat. Nigel and Dan swam again, and this time Nigel did let Dan swim all the way to the boat with him, although with some assistance because it was a long way. Dan is getting so brave in the water! Then I had a few hours off and I went to town for some retail therapy. I went by the old 14th century castle “Castillo de Gibralfaro” and then went near the cathedral to an internet café to catch up on banking and email.

Then I wandered the shops and came away with a couple of bargains, I think Nigel was quite relieved I hadn’t spent the whole 300 Euros we had withdrawn from the cash machine that morning, actually I spent only 15 including the internet.

Back to the beach where Nigel and Dan picked me up in the dinghy, Nigel had been very efficient and not only prepared tea but done all the accumulated washing up as well! Nigel had also taught Dan to recognise the letters “A” and “B”, Dan could pick these letters out from a series of random letters.

In the morning the anchorage was very rolly and Nigel got up at 7 am to up anchor and motor away. We decided to aim for an anchorage next to Marina del Este, at the western end of the Ensenada de los Berengueles. This was 5-6 hours away. There was little wind and we motored the whole way. Nigel spotted a very large swordfish on the way, it was jumping out of the water some distance away, probably chasing another fish.  When we got to the anchorages however they were very swelly and we decided to continue further.

The next day, Sunday 18th July, I did all the washing and Nigel washed the deck, which was covered in Sahara dust and sand and stuff. Phil and Sue popped by to say hello again, and then they left and we went to a restaurant by the marina which was advertising roast dinner for 6 Euros, it was too much to resist and we all had roast beef with yorkshire pud and lovely crispy roast potatoes and tasty carrots and cabbage, we haven’t had a roast since we left Guernsey! Nigel took Dan briefly to the beach, and then back at the
marina we spent some time chatting to a couple with a dog who were living on a boat in the marina, together with three teenage sons. They had spent seven weeks on their boat at Fuengirola and were still waiting for their apartment to be finished.

That night as the wind had dropped almost to nothing, we decided to make our bid for freedom and exit the Strait. We called up our friends from Guernsey, Phil Horsepool and Sue Garau, who now live near Mijas (pronounced Mihas) near Fuengirola and Marbella, and arranged to meet them the next day.

Then we set off amid a host of tankers and against a bit of tide and residual swell out around Gibraltar and into the Mediterranean. It was a quiet night and mostly we motored. Nigel did the majority of the night shift and at about 7 am when I was just up he caught a tuna! It was quite a bit bigger than the two we had previously caught, and we decided to invite Phil and Sue for lunch of tuna.