Moraira, Spanish Mainland

22nd-24rd June


Our entry point on the Spanish mainland was Moraira, a small coastal town approximately midway between Valencia and Alicante and a distance of 55 nautical miles from Ibiza. While we were in the Aegean such a distance was normal and the average passage, now we think about it a bit more, think we have a hard day in front of us. In other words, we've grown soft.

It was mid-afternoon when we arrived, Sunday, so the anchorage was busy with day boats and we had to look around a bit, find a suitable spot. And then, anchor down, we sat some more, and watched some more, relaxed.

The first thing we noticed was that none of the other boats seemed to have tenders with them. The next thing we noticed was that the beach was completely roped off: small boats were obviously not allowed. Hmmm. There was always the marina, it was just as close as the beach, so we could always get into town. But we didn't venture off the boat immediately... tomorrow is always another day, plenty of time.

As we were coming into the anchorage I noticed in the far distance, at the other end of the bay near Calpe, some strange outlines. They were difficult to make out through the haze of a hot summer afternoon: very strange rock formations? buildings?

Moraira is one of those lovely anchorages that are snooked round the back of a headland. I love them, they provide lots of shelter from most winds. It is surrounded by low hills, hills that now have villas dotted all over them. But there is still a lot of empty space, lots of country walks to be had. There is a walk to an old watch tower and I hoped we would have time to do it. We didn't. Maybe next time.

The 'rock' formations, when we finally got a clear view, were apartment buildings, closely grouped together, all different shapes and sizes but mostly, it seemed, tall and thin.

We stayed two days in Moraira. It is an attractive town, lots of bars and restaurants on the front, of course, and then winding streets and peaceful plazas. We followed signs to the tourist office: caught out again, we had followed the road signs and were led three sides round a large square. But we would never have found it 'by accident' and there were no pedestrian signs. We picked up some maps and some brochures, thought we would visit Teulada, the next town. Of course, we didn't! Next time? I also want to visit Valencia, I would love to see the new building they constructed for the Americas Cup: the one that didn't win the Stirling Prize last year. Not from Moraira!