Vila Real to El Rompido
Seaduced
John & Jane Craven
Thu 26 Aug 2010 16:01
El Rompido was billed in the guidebooks as the most beautiful anchorage between Cabo S Vicente and Gibraltar so of course we had to find out for ourselves whether this was true. The guidebook also tells you that the entrance to the Rio de Piedras, the river on the banks of which El Rompido sits is quite tricky because the sandbanks move on a regular basis - so much so that even though the channel markers themselves are moved from time to time, this is sometimes not often enough and the pilotage on any charts is often very much out of date. As we approached we struggled to even see the channel markers but as got closer we realised that this was because they were so close to the beach where loads of people were sunbathing and they had simply been 'lost in the crowd'. A we motored up the river it was clear that the books were right - the town sat to our right and to the left was an island of sandy beaches and dunes where, although tourist boats took hundreds of people every day, there were long stretches of totally clear beach. From the boat, the town buildings look like a collection of sugar cubes - all white and clean looking. Along the beachfront there appear to be a number of bars and restaurants.
We picked our spot to anchor and on the 2nd attempt got the anchor to bite, and then hold. The anchor had dragged the first time but, even though we had't moved more than a few yards before relaunching, it decided to play ball and we were settled for the night. After doing a few little jobs such as washing the mooring lines which are practically solid with salt water, and pumping the water out of the main bilge, we decided a beer was in order. The sunset over the back of the boat was stunning so we sat on deck, John bar-b-q'd and we decided to wait until tomorrow to venture into town.