What did you do today?

One of the things we absolutely love most about having Sabática is that we have been able to share the lifestyle, adventures, and amazing places with so many family and friends. It’s incredibly special when the majority of our guests would never normally experience anything like it. This can absolutely be said of my dad, and we felt such joy sharing a slice with him. 

This was actually Dad’s second visit with us. Last year, he joined us in May and we had mostly terrible weather, were stuck on the east coast of Sicily mostly on land, and had to keep adjusting our plans daily. It was certainly something he had never experienced before, and he let out hearty laughs and marveled at the various obstacles we overcame. 

This year, we were determined for Dad to experience something better. Once again, our initial plans (to visit the Balearic Islands) had to change due to weather, and at the last minute we rerouted his flights to mainland Spain. However this time, we were able to share sunny skies, calm seas, smooth sailing, and finally a night at anchor. Dad and his travel buddy, Jeff, were great fun to have aboard, and we so enjoyed exploring new places with them. We were grateful Mom and Susan let them join us!

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To summarize, their ten days with us included plenty of relaxing days at sea, some aquatic activities, exploration of nice Spanish cities, some great food and drink, and lots of great fun chats.

It all started in Valencia

We were impressed with Dad and Jeff’s stamina after their long journeys. They got a good taste of Valencia after a couple of nights, and then they were ready to set sail.

(Please excuse the lack of more Valencia photos/info. I promise more are still coming in a separate post!)

Loving life at sea

Our first day out was a long trek, but after that we had short hops along Spain’s beautiful Costa Blanca – a popular area for its great weather, lovely beaches and nice towns.

Taking in the Spanish towns:

Dénia

Our first stop was the lovely town of Dénia. It is a gateway to the Balearic Islands being the closest mainland town to them, but it is worth a stop in its own right. Dénia has a really nice marina with great facilities, friendly staff, and a location right in the heart of town. With a population near 50,000, Dénia is a charming yet active spot. The most popular sight in town is its 11th century castle, which provides beautiful views of the town and mountainous area. The historic city center with its quaint streets offers plenty of restaurants. We stumbled upon a neat-looking street food market too, though it wasn’t opening time yet. Dénia is a popular spot for summer sun seekers, and we could see why.

Moraira

Our next hop provided the perfect anchorage in the crystal clear Bay of Moraira. Moraira is a small, old fishing village (population around 10,000) with a nice small beach in a beautiful setting. It’s another popular summer sun seeker destination. As with any great anchorage, we enjoyed swimming. We also got Dad in the kayak, and Jeff got to experience his first UberDing ride to shore. 🙂

Alicante

Our sail to Alicante was a bit longer, so we stayed two nights such that we could take in the town. The capital and largest city (pop. around 380,000) of the Alicante province, Alicante City has plenty to offer. It struck us as a very livable city with lots of life, tons of restaurants and shopping streets, many parks and plazas, friendly and laid-back people, long beautiful beaches, and even large casinos (which Dad and Jeff, as avid poker players, were keen to try out!). On our walking tour, we learned how the city has been completely destroyed and rebuilt three times over(!) and how the people are quite passionate and proud of their heritage. Alicante is also strongly tied to The Ocean Race, a 5-month long intense sailing race around the world. The race has begun in Alicante since 2008, and the city is now home to the Ocean Race museum.

Torreviaja

The next stop along Costa Blanca was another popular beach holiday spot in the province of Alicante. The city of Torreviaja has a lot of permanent expats and many holiday sun seekers as well. We were here only one quick night, and it was the only town that didn’t capture our imagination.

Cartagena

It was kind of special that Dad and Jeff were with us for the last leg of our 2024 season and saw us to our winter resting spot of Cartagena. We didn’t really know what to expect, though we had word from many sailors that this would be a good spot to stay for the off-season. We discovered a good marina with fabulous staff and very nice facilities. The town itself is also quite nice. It’s not a tourist town, bar the cruise ships that seem to pull up each day, so it feels pretty authentic. There is a lot of history here with many Roman ruins such as the well-preserved theater. The other emblem of the town is its beautiful city hall building. We enjoyed getting a taste of our new home with Dad and Jeff, though have learned a lot more since. You’ll have to wait on a future post for more Cartagena insight. 😉

Enjoying Spanish gastronomy

While we cooked on the boat some, you gotta experience the local specialities. We enjoyed plenty of paella, tapas, Spanish drinks, local seafood and the like. Yum.

A final treat

On our last day at sea just before we made our winter stop in Cartagena, we were treated to a pod of at least a dozen dolphins. What a great way to end the season! 🤗 (Thanks for Jeff for the video!)

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I think Dad kept marveling at the novelty of the whole experience because he started having this daily ritual of nonchalantly asking Jeff, “What did you do today?” Or, they would ask each other. The nonchalant response was something like “Oh, I sailed around the Med” or “I cruised the coast of Spain” or “I kayaked around a turquoise bay” or “I had a couple of beers in the square.” I believe they enjoyed goading their buddies back home in Texas with their ongoing photos and such. 😉 So again, we were thrilled they were taking it all in and enjoyed the ride!