Lessons in patience

So, we're still in Lanzarote, in marina in Arrecife. After our flights to Venice were cancelled ten days ago, we tried to find flights through other airports and countries and soon realised it will be difficult to get home, so we decided to change our plans. We would sail to Madeira first, when the weather would be suitable, and then fly home from there, when things return to normal. But we had to abandon this plan as well - Porugal closed all their ports and anchorages (yes, anchorages as well) a week ago, so even though we could leave Lanzarote, we wouldn't be able to get to Madeira. So we thought, we'll stay here for some time, do some day sailing, maybe rent a car and do some driving around the island and wait till things return to normal. Then this weekend Spain declared the state of emergency for whole country and all non-essential businesses were closed and they limited movement of people to necessary trips to grocery stores, to pharmacies etc. So we can't even go for a walk and only one person is allowed to go shopping. Day sailing is also not permitted, the marina told us they would not take any boats in unless it was an emergency.

So it finally dawned on me that it might take quite a while before things get anywhere near normal again. And that it maybe isn't the worst thing to be stranded here, where things look under control, shops are well stocked with all possible food (captain even got some 97% alcohol today), and the weather is not too bad. Well, it was blowing strong these past days, we even had few drops of rain each day, but it's still like not too cold April weather.

Yesterday Spain also closed all ports and anchorages, so while we could still sail out of the marina, we would not be able to return to any port in Spain, and as it looks also not to many other countries. There are few that haven't closed their ports yet, but it could happen any day. We're definitely not moving.

Yesterday the New Zealand sailboat was approaching our marina (we saw them on AIS) and soon the Port Authorities contacted them over VHF to inform them they are not allowed into port. Sailboat said they are coming from Valencia, they don't have corona virus on board for sure and that they have a reservation in marina. Port Authority didn't budge - no entry, state orders. Sailboat tried to contact the marina, where they were told the same - no exceptions, ports are closed. Then they asked if they can anchor anywhere. The answer was yes, but not in Spanish territorial waters. It might sound harsh, but I'm pretty sure, they didn't sail directly from Valencia, I'm sure they stopped along the way to Gibraltar, and they must have known about the corona situation getting more serious, but they were probably speculating that if they turn up at the marina entrance, they will not be turned away. After quite some more negotiating (they said they were tired, low on food and water, the weather wouldn't allow them to turn back), they were finally allowed to anchor in old harbour (there's a photo in my last post), but had to stay on boat. And I'm pretty sure they got a visit from Port Authority soon.

We were also reading blog of a sailboat on their way from Cartagena to Valencia. They reserved the marina there and on their way stopped in Mar Menor for about a week. In this time situation changed, obviously without their knowledge, although I can't understand how, and the bridge that is opening for boats to sail in or out of Mar Menor, stayed closed. They tried to get into local Mar Menor marina, but were refused. Only after lots of negotiations they were allowed to take water in the marina, and buy some food and charcoal for grill, as they were running out of gas for cooking. They are now anchored in Mar Menor, which is actually not a bad place, but I guess they might need some more food and water in near future.

All this just additionally convinced me to just stay put and be happy with our situation. OK, I'm not there with the "happy" part yet. I feel a bit stressed and jumpy, captain even says I'm grumpy. I guess it would be a bit easier if we were home, where we understand the language (we don't speak more than two words of Spanish), and where we have family and friends who support us and could help if we needed anything. But all in all, we're ok, healthy, well fed, no shortage of water or other drinks. We still have enough books to read, marina wi-fi is slow and a bit temperamental, but mostly working, and thanks to EU we have unlimited free phone calls within EU, so we talk with our families and friends every day. Could be a lot worse. I was never known for my patience, and I'm afraid this didn't get any better with growing older. But I guess this situation will force me to get more patient.

We even manage to pull ourselves together and do some work on the boat, I'l try to post some photos of our boat projects in my next post. It's just that we can only work with what we have on boat, as all the chandleries are closed.

Anyway, I think we'll manage to get through, even though I'm not yet seeing the end of it, and it will surely not be over in two weeks. I hope you are all well and managed to find the best way to get through these turbulent times. Drop us a comment, or an email, or call us, we'd be happy to hear from you.