Arriving atLanzarote

We left Isla de Lobos at about 8a.m. in a force 3 to 4 wind, forward of the beam but enough to allow us to lay our course and enjoy a decent sail albeit for only 20 miles or so. By midday we were tied up in marina Lanzarote in Arrecife, where we will stay until early July while we work on the boat.

We will have her lifted out of the water in late June to clean the hull and replace the engine mountings and complete a few other jobs.

We will also have rest days from all that hard work in order to explore the island. Our first trip was to one of the homes of Cesar Manrique, the island's favourite son, who was responsible for ensuring that he architecture of Lanzarote remains true to the cultural heritage and tourist resorts aoid the excesses of many of the other islands. He was also a great painter/ sculptor and he believed in the totality of art, creating, amongst other things, miradors, cactus garden, restaurant in an underground lava bubble. This home was created in underground lava bubbles and both the home, and the art exhibition on the ground floor are breathtakingly fantastic.

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These pictures give only a small flavour of the experience. They really don't do it justice. We hope to visit  both the mirador and the underground cafe while we are on the island. We also plan a lot of walking as usual.

Onward and windward

As we were travelling northwards through the Canaries (not the best of plans) and since the prevailing winds here are northeasterlies, we were waiting for either light winds or a change of wind direction to leave Fuertaventura. Eventually we got a forecast of force 3 forward of the beam so we decided to go. The light winds were forecast to stay for a few days so this fit in well with our plans to anchor.

Ok so we know from experience (our own and that of fellow sailors) that for some reason weather forecasts around here tend to err on the low side but off we went. And off we went into a force 5 on the nose complete with short steep seas. We motored for a while, then we tacked. Tacking got us 2 miles per hour made good. Motoring got us between 2.5 and 4 so we motored. This was not fun. At this rate we would be anchoring in the dark. I suggested that we alter plans and anchor outside the island's capital, Puerto del Rossario and Scruffbag immediately aqcuiesed, This was a  relief and by 6p.m. we were in a sheltered anchorage enjoying a well earned rest.

The next morning the short, steep seas had flattened and the wind dropped and we arrived at Isla de Lobos just before midday. After lunch Scruffbag had no sooner started to get the dinghy ready for a visit ashore than  Herman and Conney, who we had met in Gran Tarajal on their mega catamaran, came over in their dinghy and asked if we wanted to join them for a trip ashore. A no-brainer really so off we set, We enjoyed a walk together all round the island with Conney and Scruffbag competing for photographer of the year award.

By the time we got back to the jetty, the bar was closed but they did sell us all ice creams so all was not lost. Herman is a big ice cream fan and eats one most days.

A wet journey back to the boat followed and another night quietly at anchor before leaving for Lanzarote.