37:11:1N 001:49:0W

 

Awoke at 0800 and rechecked the weather warning, it had disappeared.  So we quickly departed Aquilas. A little swell, but nothing to indicate that yesterday was stormy.

 

It was Oscar’s 19th birthday, my youngest son, so I called him at after lunch for a chat and to wish him a great day....mobile phones are so useful! Amazingly the card I had posted three days earlier arrived that morning.

 

We arrived in Garrucha after an uneventful sail. Garrucha is a commercial port exporting gypsum. We were entertained by an endless stream of large lorries passing along the commercial quay, dumping their load, and big bull dozers piling it high. Then the diggers further along were picking it up and loading it into hoppers for the conveyor to load onto the waiting ship. A noisy process which started at 0700.

 

Our empty marina had security gates that anyone could climb around, was a popular place with the locals for their bank holiday stroll. Nothing was open, no supermarket for tomorrow’s supplies. Not a problem though as the forecast was grim again...so we would wait another day. Water was another issue, the taps looked as if they had never been finished and none of our selection of connectors would fit. We decided that if no one else had managed to connect then even if we could, the water would have stood in those pipes a very long time – so we would wait for the sweet water at Agua Dulce.

 

Garrucha is a pretty two street town, renowned for it’s seafood. The problem seems to be a mix of bank holiday and off season closing, very few restaurants were open. We did find one, were the only customers to begin with and had an excellent meal.

 

Next day, we were determined to find a laundry as we now had the time. So I awoke and stuffed all the laundry into a bag ready for washing. I strolled down to the shower feeling pleased that everything was ready for the morning, as I got out of the shower I realised the towel was in with the laundry....what to do? I decided rather than dry with my t-shirt, I’d use the recycled cotton bag I use for my wash bag. I arrived back on board with a very drippy bag, which Denis found hilarious! No empathy apparent at all! We asked at the marina, in my best Spanish, and were given directions to a laundry. The young lad even came out of his office to gesticulate the way. When we got there, no laundry. We asked three people, all of whom said Garrucha doesn’t have one, the town that way does. Oh well, we’ll have to wash a few things out by hand. Hopefully, Agua Dulce will have some facilities.

 

The Commercial Quay, Garrucha

The Marina, Gurrucha