Although there are still a few weeks left to our European cruising season we are going to make an early award of the Wind Horse “Marina of the year” trophy to Puerto Calero. The facilities are lovely, there is a nice mix of shops and restaurants, the staff is great, prices are reasonable, and the surrounding countryside is amazing.

Fronting the marina are a mix of restaurants offering Indian, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Argentinian, English, Spanish, and other types of food. You can eat out every night if you are so inclined. You have your choice of a four or five star hotel, each with spa services.

And there is  the excitement of the RC44 World Championships which start tomorrow (Monday).

The RC 44 class represents the top of the professional racing food chain.

In the next America’s cup cycle? You are here. If you are on the professional match race circuit and good enough, you will be in Puerto Calero. That is Russel Coutts, the winningest skipper in America’s Cup history backing into his berth. He was on the management side in Valencia earlier this year, running the Oracle challenge (and winning). The young turks are probably wondering if the former top dog still has his bite.

Watching the crews working on their boats, and checking out the details, has been a treat. We’ll update you with more data in a few days.

Meanwhile, the RC 44s are out tuning up.

They look stunning, and very, very quick, as they move across the  horizon.

Of course there is more to Puerto Calero than just boats. Drive a short distance out into the moonscape and the visuals are incredible. We are going to spend some time over the next week in a quest for the right photo for the living room wall in Arizona.

There is entertainment in a nearby village.

And judging by the yellow poster some major players on stage.

Do you suppose Tina Turner is really coming to town? If so, we will be there.

The west coast has surf, black sand, and high relief landscape.

We found our brief exposure almost overwhelming.

The contrast between the exploding waves and lava rock is a photographic challenge that we need to master

Last night Linda won twice at solitaire. We think we got lucky with Puerto Calero and Lanzarote too.

We are going to hang out for a while and wrap up some design work.

Here are a few additional photos from our trip to the sea shore yesterday afternoon.