SOL JAMAICA

Loch Lomand, Loch Ness, The...

by Sheena_99

Loch Lomand, Loch Ness, The Highlands sightseeing.
(Scotland)
Some of the most stunning scenery I have ever had the fortune to see is all in the Highlands of Scotland. Nature at its best!!!!!
Visit Oban, and Fort William for great Scottish Shopping, visit whiskey distillaries, and see Dolphins at play.

The South Coast Of Spain From The Sea

by Geoff_Wright

"From Palma to Gibraltar"

Palma is the capital city of Majorca, which is the largest of the Balearic islands. Picturesquely situated along the bay and in to the surrounding hills, it is one of Europe's best known resorts. The imposing Gothic cathedral was finished in the 17th century. Palma has several ancient churches. Majorca is known for its stalagmite caves and for its architectural treasures and prehistoric monuments. This not-so-good picture is of part of the large harbour area.

This is the main beach at Torrevieja. The beach was very clean, and not too many visitors, although the temperature was still about 20 degrees celsius, even at 8.30 in the evening.

"The Costa del Sol"

After another overnight sail we reached the port of Aguadulce, which is about 11 kms west of Almeria. This is a really nice place, especially in the off season. It was warmer than other places, but there were plenty of respectable restaurants and bars for a good meal or just a loooooong cool drink! Most of these yacht marinas were very reasonably priced, and all have full facilities for visiting yachtsmen/women.

Another view of the yacht marina. We departed from Aguadulce early evening for a night sail to Benalmádena, about 105 miles (160 km). There was no wind, and we motored all through the night and next day, arriving in the early evening.

Here we see a photo of the ship's master, Cap'n Roland Rat on the helm. He did rather well to berth a 55 foot boat, I think! He's been to France as well!

A snapshot of the deserted beach at Aguadulce, and NOT Benalmádena Costa! I have just found a postcard sent home from here as well. There is a really good hotel just here, with a large swimming pool which was open to non-residents. Just a bit away from the hotel, onto the main road, and left a little while, was a really good restaurant, well worth looking for. I don't remember its name, I'm afraid.

Our last port of call wasEstepona, which is about 30 kms southwest of Marbella. This town is really quite 'up market', as you can tell from the size of the motor yachts in the harbour! It was a really nice place to wander around, during the evening, and just wish you had perhaps just a little more money in the bank. I have a note in my diary that it was a 'Busy, noisy fishing port' ! Next morning we left for our final destination. And the weather changed - we had some rain!

No mistaking this location, for this is The Rock of Gibraltar 'on the nose' from a couple of miles out. On our approach to The Rock the winds picked up to near gale force, but once past Europa Point, they died almost to nothing! And so, this is 'journey's end', but now see my Gibraltar page. In all, the distance from Palma to Gibraltar was about 500 miles or 800 kms.

This concludes my Southern Spain Travelogue, but if anyone can correct my photograpic errors, please E Mail me. Otherwise:

E N J O Y ! !

And thanks to Daniel, from Brussesl, for helping to rectify some of my errors! Do visit his brilliant Spain Page by clicking on this link: DanielF's Spain Page

Pay a visit to David Pando's Barcelona page whilst you are here. Just click this link: DPando Barcelona Page

"The Balearic Islands"

Having left England on a cool October day, Palma was pleasantly warm in the late afternoon. We all went out 'on the town' that evening, and felt the worse for it the next day, which was spent mainly on board doing minor repairs. We never really saw much of the real town before it was time to depart.

I thought that this fine sailing ship, against this modern backdrop, made the picture very worthwhile. We departed Palma that night for Ibiza some 65 miles distant.

Ibiza is a very pictruesque island that attracts many young tourists, and artists.It has Roman, Phoenician and Carthaginian remains. The main town is Ibiza itself, although we didn't go there. The picture here is of the coast at Santa Eulària, 14 km Northeast of Ibiza.

The seafront at Santa Eulària. This is a nice, clean town, with lots of good eating places and bars. It was relatively quiet when we visited. The sea was warm and nice to bathe in.

Another view of the beach area. From here we went to the island of Formentera, about 20 miles distant. We anchored just off the coast, and swam in the still, blue waters. There are mud baths ashore here, and many visitors were returning to their boats caked in green, smelly mud! Later in the evening we departed for mainland Spain.

"The Costa Blanca"

We sailed through the night, and kept a close eye on a terrific thunderstorm that must have been over the Islands. We saw it throughout the night, but it kept its distance. One other danger was the Spanish fishing boats around us. We often heard their engines, and saw their lights, but never saw the boats themselves. One thing we did see was the dolphins on our bow wave, even though it was night time. We reached Torrevieja in the late afternoon, having travelled about 130 miles. The picture is of yours truly beside our trusty yacht, 'Racer'.

Torrevieja is on the Costa Blanca, about 50 kms south of Alicante Here we are doing what all visitors do abroad - relaxing! There are lots of fine hotels here, and a number of really good bars and restaurants.

Now firstly an apology! Although I have the photographs in the correct order in which they were taken, I cannot be sure that I have the correct place names! This IS the promenade at Torrevieja,as I've just found a postcard I sent home from here!