The first stop (again) in Spain was Mazagón. The harbour and the small town Mazagón is a suburb and for ships at the entrance to Helva. It is indisputable that it is very industrial area and that the chemical industry plays a big role there. There are also many bigger vessels at anchor in front of the city. In the summer, the big beach may still attract some people, but at this time of year it is very quiet and many bars and shops are closed. For us not the best place to be.
Our next Port of Call was Rota. We liked this city a lot better. There is also some liveliness here. A beautiful old town and some very nice tapas bars invite you to stay. Next to the city is a very large naval base used by the Spanish Navy and (even more) by the US Navi. We were told that you shouldn’t get too close to the base if you don’t want to answer many unneeded questions… So kept some distance, because we didn’t want to figure out by out own.
There is not much to tell about our stop in Barbate. The harbour is big and practical, but a bit remote from the city and not really beautiful. In Barbate you can find a big fishing fleet (yes, it still exists, although it used to be much more). There is also a lot of tuna caught. In the season very large nets are positioned in front of the city, into which one should better avoid sailing. The city itself is actually quite nice. It is a tourist place, which is visited however rather by Spaniards than by international guests. For us it was the ideal starting point for our trip towards the Strait of Gibraltar.
