Cruising the Costas del Sol and Blanca

After Jennifer left us we spent two more days in Benalmadena recharging the batteries (ours – not Lone Star’s), itinerary planning and provisioning for the next leg of our journey – cruising the Costa del Sol and Costa del Blanca. The temps were continuing to rise and the overall conditions were improving so we decided it was time to leave the world of marinas behind and find our anchoring “mojo” out on our way to the Mar Menor. The Costa del Sol (the Sun Coast) stretches from Gibraltar to Cabo de Gata and averages 300 sunny days a year. Cabo de Gata is the point where the Spanish coast turns north. Costa del Blanca, the coast between Cabo de Gata and Cabo de San Antonio is named the White Coast after the white chalky cliffs that line the shoreline. Along both coastlines is a combination of high rise condos and stretches of some of the largest greenhouses we had ever seen. Apparently this part of Spain is the winter vegetable growing capital for all of Europe. Unfortunately because of the hazy conditions we could not get a clear picture of these football field size sheets of plastic dotting the landscape like a patchwork quilt. We spent 6 nights anchoring out as we made our way up the coast. All anchorages were beautiful, one was a bit rolly and one, Puerto Genoves, offered us protection for 2 days as another levante swooped down on the area. At one point while anchored, we sustained wind gusts of 40 knots, but the anchor held and we were glad to be tucked into a safe harbor. Not only a safe harbor but also one surrounded by mountains with hiking trails to lookouts with views and nude sunbathers.