Having said goodbye to Mum and Dad, we set sail out of Faro estuary on Monday morning, as their plane took off directly over our heads. The weather was good and the swells not too heavy as we left the shelter of the river. The two day trip southwards across the Atlantic mouth of the Mediterranean stretched before us. Chontel proved to be a good sailor and helped out with sails and watches (only later on as we came into harbour did she admit that her only other time at sea had been on the ferry to Amsterdam , on which she had been violently ill!) So you just never know how the sea is going to treat you. Fishing passed the time away as did dozing and playing with ipods. Monday and Tuesday passed in uneventful sailing making good time and passing few ships. A lull in the wind meant we had to put the motor on early on Wednesday morning just as we entered Moroccan waters, with storm clouds on the horizon. We managed to sail on again for a few hours before furling in the sheets and calling Rabat marina to let them know we had arrived. They came out to escort us in, in a tiny rubber dinghy bouncing about in the turbulent swell and guided us through a new breakwater under the cliffs of the Kasbah and up river to the new marina and mega building site of a whole new apartment complex. As we went up river we passed the local ferry service from Sale to Rabat (think Salford to Manchester) of colourful fishing boats rowed by wrinkle faced old men, standing up. We drew lots of stares and as we discovered later were probably the only yacht arriving for some time. The last yacht sometime before Christmas had capsized in high swell at the harbour entrance and had had to be rescued by the marina boat and said rowing boats.

Having docked safely and got through customs – not as officious as we had been lead to believe – we went off to reccy Rabat and Sale (pronounced sally). A bit of a shock to the system at first as they are bustling busy noisy and dirty, but once you get past that there are many wondrous sights and beautiful examples of craftsmanship. As novices abroad we were easy meat for the street hawkers and Gabriel and Hannah got hennaed by some very insistent local girls, before they even knew what was happening to them. Gabriel was very indignant and got a bit upset, but the patterning is so beautiful and expertly done that you have to admire their skill, even if his scorpion is a little difficult to make out. Welcome to Morocco!