The adventure continues and the big cruise begins to take its place. Our two budding sailors are taking the pace of the travellers. After an attempt to run after time and want to fight with the opposite weather, they decide to leave time to time and enjoy the stops until better days.
It relaxes, the rhythm becomes more languorous, the crew pleases itself and the great voyage, that of discovery, encounters and pleasure, becomes more and more present.
In this 11th episode of Blandine and Max, the stress of technical problems and mechanical worries disappears. And even if they sailed 36 hours upwind in 30 knots of wind in front of Rabat, even if Blandine's face shows a great desire to regain her bunk after this event, the pleasure of sailing is there.
Blandine tells us more about this step:
"Our departure from Gibraltar is not without difficulty After a current which was at the limit of making us retreat, we finally manage to put ourselves off the Moroccan coasts in order to return directly to the Canaries. Time is running out, the friends are waiting for us in the Canaries, too bad for Morocco, it will be for the next time
That was what we thought when we left Gibraltar, but the weather decided otherwise: from the wind from the south at 35 knots, that will be our fate. We decide to return to the Moroccan coast as of the 2nd day of navigation (on the 6 initially planned to join the Canaries). This change of course will be trying. It will take us 24 hours to reach Rabat, before the port refuses us entry because of the too dangerous sea conditions. We are advised to reach Mohammedia 30 miles to the south, it is 6 hours after we arrive at the Mohammedia port, in safety and shelter. What happiness!
As a result of this tough sailing, we have understood and put things into perspective: we won't be stronger than the weather. We decide to wait gently in Morocco for the conditions to improve while enjoying the country and the meetings on the spot.
We meet Soufiane at the corner of a street in the old town of Mohamedia, this breakdancer invites us to have tea, introduces us to his parents and accompanies us to Casablanca the next day
We decide to follow the coast, during 3 days, and join Essaouira. There, we meet Bismillah, this"guardian of the sailboats", finally of only one sailboat, the one of a Frenchman who settled in Morocco. He willingly keeps our Bohemia for us.
We fall in love with Morocco, its markets, the old cities and especially the people we meet, but the wind turns, the weather conditions improve. It's time to go to the Canaries! Let's sail for 48 hours towards Lanzarote. A perfect navigation, which comforts us for the rest of our journey
Finally, we're there: the Canaries! Max, decides that we have to sail as fast as possible to Gran Canaria, supposedly to get away from the south wind that threatens the next few days. Good foam, I nod
What Max didn't mention was that my parents arrived in Las Palmas... Surprise!
We spend a beautiful week visiting the island. Here no other choice than to circulate among the incessant flow of tourists: the distillery of Rhum de Arehucas, Puerto Mogan in the south, the dunes of Maspalomas, the beautiful city of Las Palmas... One day later, it is time to leave for Tenerife. We were eager, with Émilie and Olivier (new friends meet on the road) to climb Mount Teide! The view won't be sensational, but a little sport won't hurt us after so many days on the boat. Some aches later, we will decide to leave for La Gommera, the last island we will visit in the Canaries. Above all, our starting point for Cape Verde!"
