Cartagena to Alicante - 1st August 2009

Got up this morning to discover that someone had vomited on the pontoon alongside Zaffina - delightful. What was worse was that some b******* had thrown a cigarette butt on board and burnt a hole in the seating. We were livid, especially as there was no security at the marina and they had put us on a totally exposed mooring, so we went up to the marina office to complain. Eventually they agreed to cover the cost of repairs although whether we ever see the money or not is another matter. So for those of you who may be considering going into Cartagena on your travels, don't bother is our advice. It's been our least favourite port so far. Annoyingly, we discovered there was another marina backing onto the one we were in, where we would have been much better protected.
We were glad to set off to sea again, although we weren't sure what sort of a crossing we were in for as the wind was up to a good 5 and the sea looked quite lumpy. However, with the wind behind us we sped down the coast and Zaffina took it all in her stride giving us a great trip.
An hour out of Cartagena we suddenly found ourselves alongside Miami Beach, which was a bit of a shock! Actually, it wasn't the real Miami Beach (honest) but it sure looked like it, a long strip of white sand with stacks of high rise buildings towering over it. This was the land dividing the Mar Menor (an inland sea) from the Med so we decided to have a nose in. The entrance was a long, narrow canal and scarily shallow in places so we had to feel our way through. At one point we slipped under a bridge which gave us only inches to spare overhead and then we came out into a large marina which led in turn into the Mar Menor itself. Had it been less windy we would probably have explored further, but we wanted to press on to Alicante whilst the conditions were still ok, so just had a brief gander before we turned round again and headed out.
The rest of the crossing was uneventful. Zaffina was her usual fantastic self and our only problem was a difficult mooring in Alicante with a strong wind trying to push her every which way. It was a relief to finally be tied up with a refreshing vodka and tonic in hand! We'll be here until Wednesday when we fly home for a couple of weeks before pushing on to the Balearics.