Heading for Spain

Leaving the Bay of Toulon

Early morning saw us making our way out of the Bay of Toulon, dipping our ensign as we gave way to a French destroyer and received a blast of acknowledgement in return.
It was very tempting to stop along the French coast at this time of year (September) with the weather still warm and the crowds thinning out, but we were on a mission so we had to be content with views of the lovely coastline.

Well it was a 27 hour journey to Palamos, our first port in Spain, and of course the winds were stronger than expected, but at least they were from the north and we got to SAIL most of the way.
The sheltered marina was a very welcome sight, and the Spanish voices over the VHF were a welcome sound - we were last in Spain in October, 2012.



Palamos Marina



Palamos is a pleasant coastal town, and we made the most of the dramatic drop in the cost of food and drinks.                                                                                                                                  

Well-stocked wine store in Palamos

Fully recovered, we set off on the forty nautical mile run to Barcelona, or more accurately,  the Premia de Mar Marina, a much more affordable option a few kilometres north of the city. Our second reason for putting in at Premia was an even more important one - a reunion with some more of our cruising family from Monastir - the lovely Laura, the equally lovely Olivier, and their totally adorable new baby, Mae.




Weird twisty clouds, but the weather stayed fine

Laura, Olivier and Mae



Baby Mae takes the helm
 

 See you for the next blog in the amazing city of Barcelona!