Crossing to Cartegena

Despite the beautiful sunset that adorned our departure from Saidia, it was not long before we were right in the thick of some pretty strong winds with waves to match. The result ... We’re still not sure who’s more stubborn, Nick or Roo?! Neither was prepared to admit we should have turned back to the marina to wait for the winds to calm and sit out the swell ... So, 7 hours down wind to the East in 25 knots+ it was! We headed into Algerian waters, nowhere near where we were meant to be going, but then finally, at around 7 am, the wind and swell dropped and we could finally head North towards Cartegena.

Before we hit the shipping lanes we got buzzed by a low flying NATO aircraft taking pictures (we learned later) of the boats crossing from Morocco! Again we waved and smiled happily! We would love to have a copy for the scrap book!

Cartegena’s shipping lanes were our busiest yet (and the picture only shows those with AIS!)!!

Cool and cultured Cartegena

The bustling metropolis of Cartegena was a shock after Moroccan villages. It was great to be back in the thick of things, but it stretched Nick’s Spanish skills trying to explain to Immigration why we needed entry stamps in our passports ... “Tranquillo” ... “But she’s Australian she has to have one!” ... After visiting 3 police stations at opposite ends of town (where we found the Spanish officials to be very friendly and helpful - I think we must have met every single one of them!) we were told we did in fact need to go to the very first place we had been! Sadly we couldn’t take up the offer of a ride in their police car to get all the way back because our bikes wouldn’t fit in the boot! Shame, I bet our mum’s would’ve been thrilled to see a piccie of that ;)

Formalities taken care of, we had a ball exploring this beautiful city, taking in the ancient sites and enjoying the scenic streets.

Mikey’s 30th Celebrations!

At the end of May the Ootnic’s took a slight detour to see Nick’s bro so we could all celebrate his 30th together :) Nick faced quite a conundrum though - what do you give your 30 year old brother?! Perhaps a boomerang to replace the one you lost for him on his 13th birthday?! Perfect! He was chuffed (but didn’t let Nick have a go this time)!!

Sambucca shots and cake for breakfast! Classic! What better way to celebrate :)

Motoring around Mar Menor

Let’s get one thing straight, sailing is bloody awesome, but it’s also kinda slow! 5 mph and it takes ages to get anywhere! So the Ootnic’s cheated, hired a car and went touring with a tent! We covered more miles in one day than we had in one month so far (almost)! :-)