Saturday 7^th September 2013

A very strange phenomenon occurred this morning, water fell out of the sky! We set out from Torrevieja in some disarray not used to coping with such conditions. However the wind was from the SW building to a decent strength (F4) so we were able to reach at 6.5 knots for most of the morning. Back to the motor in the afternoon as the precipitation ceased. Arrived in Altea (38:34.01N, 000:03.13W) around 19:30 and picked up a mooring buoy tucked around the corner in the SE side of the bay.

The Costa Blanca is just one huge coastal strip development, finishing with the ultimate naff crescendo of Benidorm. I was taken to Benidorm in 1962 and it was a small fishing harbour. We stayed in a 10 room B&B. The big entertainment was watching some grizzled old fisherman mend his nets at the tiny harbour wall. He is now a multi-gazillionaire and runs 10 casinos and 25 hotel complexes. Big mistake when I refused to hold his bait bag!