Isla de Tabarca

27th June

We left San Juan next morning. I didn't want to go, not really. I'd enjoyed it there, it had everything I need: a Club Nautico with a good restaurant, a WiFi connection and a Mercadona. Also, Charlie was coming to Spain in July and there was a possibility we would meet up. However, when I got the details it turned out that he was going to be near Moraira and not for almost three more weeks. A long time to be hanging around.

Our main reason for leaving: a swell had come in during the night and Ganymede had tossed this way and that, hour after hour after hour. So yes, we had to go!

The wind was again in the north east and again just enough to give us a good sail. Down the coast we went, past the never-ending rows of densely-packed high rises. There is a small island off Puerto Santa Pola, en route to Torrevieja. It has an interesting history, having been once a pirate base and then a garrison for the Spanish army. The island of Tabarca. Story has it that it is so-named because the first permanent residents were Genovese mercenaries rescued from the Tunisian island of Tabarka. We decided to make a detour and stop for lunch.

The most amazing thing about Tabarca is how there ever came to be a settlement there in the first place. At its highest point it is no more than 15 metres above sea-level.The island is in two parts with a 'waist' in the middle that provides the tiny harbour and two anchorages, one on either side. Next strange thing, or so it seemed to me: all of the dwellings are on one half of the island, the other half contains the remains of an old fort and a lighthouse, nothing else.

Our first impression on going ashore was that here was an island that was experiencing a tourist boom. There were cafeterias and restaurants all round the small harbour and the beach. Tourist boats come in from Puerto Santa Pola and Torrevieja: there is only enough space in the harbour for one of the boats at a time so they go in, drop their passengers and then go out and wait on a mooring buoy until it is time to go in and collect them for the homeward journey. We had anchored on the harbour side of the island. Across the way, people were sunbathing on the beach, boats were at anchor enjoying the sunshine... and suffering the swell. From a boating point of view, it wasn't the best day to be on Tabarca.

We wandered into the town. There were buildings being refurbished on all sides. The church had scaffolding round it... but no evidence of people working. There are no cars on the island: little diggers and forklift trucks seemed to be the only motorised vehicles and were being put to good use transporting building materials around. As we passed a door with a large H on the side, signifying Hotel?, it opened. The inside (I couldn't resist a peek) looked sumptuous. If it was, indeed, a hotel, I want to stay there some day. And so to the next surprising thing about Tabarca. In the town, on the whole island, none of the roads are paved, they are all just dirt tracks. There are some signs that that is going to change.

We reached the town square. There was a restaurant, of course. The temptation was too great. The menú del diá was €12: salad, calamares and sardines, paella, dessert and drinks. In we went. Did I say before that I am on a diet? Well, reading the menu, and knowing that I ate it all (no, I skipped desert...), you won't be surprised that I have difficulty losing weight and that when I do it soon finds me again. I could have stopped after the calamares and sardines. I could have... It was so good. And healthy, all those salad vegetables and fish. The paella was good too. Not as good as the one I shared with Gill in Formentera, but passable.

A wander round the rest of the island took us to the sea wall, undergoing necessary repairs. It must have been a massive project when it was first undertaken: could it have been those rescued Genovese mercenaries who were given the task? Round the town, through the dusty streets, finding shade where we could, maybe even regretting, just a little, that we had eaten so much, maybe... And then we crossed the beach and on to the other half of the island, past little coves with rock pools and water splashing the shore, on by way of a little path towards the lighthouse, fenced off, so on round to the old fort. Lots of small flowers in bloom, miniatures of plants that, in a more friendly environment, would be quite large. I did mean to look them up in my book when I got back. Perhaps I did and couldn't find them. I never can.

On our way back to Ganymede I noticed the menús in the various cafeterias that we passed. They were all €12: salad, calamares and sardines, paella, dessert and drinks. Hmmm...

Back on Ganymede, we were soon on our way again, the wind still with us. A couple of hours gentle sail took us to Torrevieja where we dropped anchor inside the harbour and prepared to stay a couple of days.