When the winds finally piped down, we left Cartegena. We kept moving along the southern Spanish coast in reasonable winds. But the winds had just been really blowing for several days, and the sea state was still pretty agressive.

By morning, we came to realize that we had some damage. We stopped at Almiramar, where we had planned to stop for a day or two anyway. But instead of leaving, we went ahead and had the boat hauled out of the water for inspection. We found a problem with the potential to be quite serious.

The good people from Pegasus were on site to help in a day, and they sent a team of experts from their shop with a truck full of supplies immediately. There are three guys working every hour of daylight right now, and we're optimistic about getting back underway next week.

Meanwhile, we play tourist in Almiramar. There's a huge English-speaking contingent here, and everyone has been very nice. The town is basically a giant zig-zagging marina, surrounded by probably 3 miles of bars and restaurants, and then those surrounded by apartment buildings. There are lots of parks, and the weather is sunny and nice. Each end of town ends in a large beach, but the water is still pretty cold. We're getting a lot of work and school done. But that's about it: work/school, check on the boat, go for dinner and cocktails. There's really not a lot more to do.

I've definitely seen uglier boat yards.

We rented an apartment for our stay. This is the view from the balcony.

V is legal now, but he has no taste for anything with alcohol. I made him hold my beer for the St. Paddy's Day photo here, and I've gotten him to try the post-meal lemoncellos that we've gotten a couple of times. (He hated them.)

Again from the apartment

The black mast on Velvet Elvis makes her visible from almost anywhere in town.

The beach all the way to the Westernmost point in town. Can you see Velvet Elvis from here?