From Cueta, Greg and I sailed South to Smir by ourselves, the Conway's had a full day of sailing instruction on the boat they'd chartered. This meant I had the helm again after the Winter layover. After rounding Punta Almina. (East of Cueta) we were close-hauled in 15-25k wnw wind, it's a straight forward sail to Smir. A distinctive conical hill, directly behind Smir, and in-line with the entrance to the marina helped direct us. The approach at night can be dodgy though as there are unlit musselbeds/platforms! Smir port is beautiful. Here's the view from our mooring, which was alongside, an absolute luxury after stern-to all Winter :
The white building on the left is the reporting office. There is a tour guide here called Ahmed - everyone in Gibraltar seems to know him. He arranged a taxi for the Conway's and took them all on a whistlestop night tour of the old capital Tetouan. They ended up in a Spice bazaar ( Cumin, saffron and neck massages) and inevitably a carpet shop where they bought their son a wedding gift. They enjoyed themselves. Greg and I chilled out onboard listening to the night birds on the water. March is quiet here but I imagine Smir harbour could get pretty noisy in the Summer as the waterfront is lined with bars and restaurants - closed for refurbishment whilst we were there.
Close-up of the reporting office - passports, boat papers etc. behind the building the shower blocks. To the right by the car is a cute guard dog tied up with a kennel. Talk about bites and barks - when approached he tries to runaway :O)
No comments:
Post a Comment