Spain

Nice days as the Iberian Peninsula stage draws to a close.

In the Mediterranean, sailing within a mile of land, it is rare to sail for more than a few minutes without seeing at least fragments of plastic. Ghostly plastic bags are as common as jellyfish, and areas dense with plastic - as shown - are encountered more days than not.

The price of plastic - and stuff in general - does not come close to reflecting the true cost to the planet and its inhabitants. Real prices that consider the consequences of consumption would help us consume more sensibly.

Update and pics...

The Mistral wind blows hard for two days, allowing for a day and a half to recharge batteries depleted from the exertions of reaching land after rounding the Delta del Ebro.

Oropesa to Benicarló

Enjoyed Oropesa, pleased I made time for a walk to the old town and castle. It made me a bit late heading off, but that worked well - trying to rest the fingers after all. Sailed past some beautiful looking wild camping opportunities, but then more wind came in and the miles flowed, and once past Peniscola it was back to developed coastline where the harbours are the best bet for an easy overnight. Stopped at Benicarló. Two pizzas for dinner.  

Valencia to Marjal del Moro (8th June)

Valencia. Always a bit of a culture shock sailing into a big city. So much wealth and at best a questionable quality of experience! Reminded not for the first time of the Mexican fisherman parable (many variants available - for example this one).

Short clip heading past Valencia port. Nice to have to breeze so not hanging around where the traffic is heaviest.

Lots of these strange fish. They appear injured, but swim off apparently healthy enough if bumped. This one on approach to Valencia.

4th June 2018

Very light wind and happy to give the back and fingers and eyes a day off. Managed to link up with Club Nautico Vilajoyosa. Nice town with proper fishing fleet on one side of port. Love the lines on this boat being worked on in dry dock.

Bad back making everything more difficult and uncomfortable than it should be. Not helped by sitting down writing this so I'll keep it brief. Some very beautiful parts of the Med. Sadly though, whilst sailing, you really are never far from plastic bags. I've given up hoping that the ghostly objects suspended a few metres below the surface are interesting marine life. In the bad parts, even miles out, every few hundred metres you'll pass another piece of pseudo life, and that's without looking for the smaller 'decomposed' parts that are more typically surface floating.

I'm not a natural rester, but am a firm believer in listening to the body and these last days it has been reminding me that I've been pushing harder than it can sustain. That last break - with Antonio and Maria at Karma Surf, near Estepona - seems a long time ago now.