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| Paris In Sites Newsletter Direct From France Edited by Linda Thalman Travel & Leisure Articles |
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Sailing: Spain, Gibraltar & Morocco July 2007
By Linda Thalman
The dolphins, the sun, the sea, the food and, darn, the lack of wind.
To get to Malaga Spain we booked a flight from Orly West via Madrid.
The new terminal in Madrid is gigantic. It must be about 2 kilometers long.
It took us 15 minutes at a brisk pace to get to our connecting flight to Malaga.
Arriving one day before our sail boat was available we headed off to one of the
most lovely Andalusian towns I've ever seen: Ronda.
At just 32 euros for the night (breakfast not included) it was perfect.
There was parking 100 meters from the hostel for our rented car and
ambiance, ambiance, ambiance all around the town.
Pierre found a speciality shop in Ronda selling patta negra ham which we had
every day on the boat. What a treat... and there was enough left to bring home.
To be brutally frank, the coastal cities of southern Spain are not very exciting.
In fact they are often - and I weigh my words carefully -
basically pretty ugly, very crowded and for the most part charmless.
Even in my youth, i.e. 1970 - 1972, the strip of beach hotels from
Malaga to Estapona existed. I was 20-22 years old then, fancy free and
looking for fun, discos, cheap digs and the beach.
Oh times have changed, but not the landscape. More and more and more
buildings, hotels, apartments, golf courses, shops, amusements,
restaurants, bars, discos and more. Not my current cup of tea or sangria.
Our crew of five headed southwest for Gibraltar, but made our first stop in Estapona Spain.
From upscale Estapona we zipped along to Gibraltar for a pit stop and then headed towards the
northeast coast of Morocco.
The motor was used to get as far as we did as fast as we did. The best winds were
in the Straights of Gibraltar. The sea was often so smooth we couldn't believe it.
A welcome stop was made in Cueta for a bit of duty free and a quick visit.
And we finally docked and spent the night in Smir Morocco.
Smir is a lovely port and we spent two nights there as we were invited
to visit family and friends of Ali and Christine in Tetouan.
The town of Tetouan
is just down the road by car and we had a magnificent dinner at La Ferma.
We made it to El Jebha two days later; a small fishing port with unpaved streets, a
simple life, not too many women on the streets I must say, and friendly locals.
Ali ordered two take-away tagines which were carted from the restaurant to the boat
and enjoyed later in the afternoon anchored along the coast in a beautiful spot.
The trip back towards Spain was done as fast as we could, stopping for the night
in Gibraltar.
More British than a typical British high street? Well, on my second visit to Gibraltar,
the main street seemed a bit less lively than I remembered it.
The five of us had a lovely meal with lots of choices and among them roast lamb,
fish and chips, potato skins, lamb shoulder, wine, house cocktails and more.
A much appreciated dinner at the end of a long sailing day.
Pierre and I recommended the Waterfront Restaurant as we'd eaten there on a previous
trip. Very good food and excellent service from our waitress - born and bred in Gibraltar.
Then we headed back to our home port just west of Malaga returning our boat
after a wonderful week.
The best tapas restaurant in Malaga has to be Lo Güeno.
We were wandering the around the lovely center of Malaga just before
noon and Pierre's nose said, "This is the place for lunch!".
But they weren't open yet... around 12:30 or 13:00 we were told.
So our stroll continued for a bit, and then we grabbed one of the very few tables outside
at 12:50.
We had the most delightful tapas, Spanish wines and excellent service on one
heck of a hot day in southern Spain.
Gaspacho, mussles, spicy chicken, mushrooms... so many, too many choices and
all excellent. Wine by the glass is ever so nice as we were able to taste several.
Long live tapas bars.
In the evening when the shops and boutiques have closed there are more tables
outside and the summer heat subsides, so consider having dinner and/or lunch here.
Lo Güeno was jam packed at 22:00 as we strolled by again for a fond look
before heading to bed and flying back to Paris the following day.
Travel Tip:
The museum, in the historic center of Malaga, is ultra modern, air-conditioned and
simply doable.
The painting collection is worth the visit though I wouldn't say it was outstanding.
A week of sailing in the Med was quite amazing. We'll be back for more sailing soon
in the summer that is for sure.
Web Sites:
Restaurant: Lo Güeno
Email – Linda@wfi.fr
Visit all the WebFrance International Sites
Copyright since 1995 by Linda Thalman - all rights reserved.
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A week of sailing in the Med... amazing in so many ways.
We stayed in the simplest of hostels with en suite shower room and ceiling fan.
Saturday we started our sailing voyage from the port of Benalmádena in Spain
on our lovely sail boat called Petu.
I must say that the border control boys take their time doing the administration, registering
all passports and checking out the arriving and departing boats.
Leaving Smir and progressing further east along the coast we marvelled at the
stark beauty, whitewashed villages, colorful fishing boats, beautiful coastline and
again, more dolphins.
While waiting for the tagines, we motored off to a picture perfect cove where we dove
and swam from the boat in the midday sun. Unforgettable.
Pierre and I took an extra day to explore Malaga. And the historic center of Malaga
is a haven of peace and quite stunning.
Paris
