David's Diary: Friday, March 8 2002

Calpe, Spain

After a nice visit to Alicante and lots of school work completed, it is time for us to start making our way along the Spainish coast and then across to the Balearic Islands. When we made our overnight passage to Alicante, we passed the impressive Peñon de Ifach which rises straight out of the ocean. Peñon de Ifach is next to the town of Calpe, so we decided to make it our jumping off point for the Balearics.

Calpe Harbour

We had an uneventful passage from Alicante, motor-sailing into headwinds until we arrived at the enjoyable Calpe harbour. The towering mass of Peñon de Ifach dominates the skyline and the marina is separated from some of the other massive development in Calpe. After getting the boat safely secured to the dock and registering at the marina office, we set off to climb Peñon de Ifach.

Views from Peñon de Ifach

In no time we were looking down at the marina. As far as the eye could see in both directions was beautiful beaches surrounded by massive development. In summertime, we have trouble imaging how packed these beaches must be. Traveling in the off season means that we had the path to ourselves as we continued our climb upwards. A tunnel leads through a rock face and then continued up a narrow path. Looking down, you saw the Mediterranean Sea almost straight below and Karalee was distinctly uncomfortable with our mountainside perch. We continued along the path, but as we were running out of daylight we made the decision to stop and turn around before we reached the top. It was a difficult call to make and Jocelyn and Kevin, who had charged ahead, were really disappointed. But with the tricky footing and the long walk back to the boat it was the right decision to make.