Palma is another lovely place, and we have spent the last 3 days here exploring & getting to know it a little. It’s a bit hot to do too much but our trusty bikes have been out for the first time this season & have got us around the city very well.

Tuesday we had a mostly boat cleaning & chores catch up day. Andrew found 3 excellent chandlers so was in his element buying new gadgets for VA and getting bits to fix my cock up when we left Cala Xucla the other day!! All now sorted thank goodness & yet another lesson learned (don’t forget to take the safety catch off the anchor Emma !!).

On day one in addition to chores we cycled up to Bellver Castle that looks down over the city & port. We also walked to Santa Catalina district for a tasty tapas supper. We spent a day exploring the old walled city, which is fabulous. Lots of really old streets and amazing architecture. The bonus was that we found the Mercat, our first this year so far & it didn’t disappoint at all. I did a bit of shopping & bought a lovely piece of art for France - well I like it.

Today we got the famous Tren to Sóller and then tram down to Sóller Puerto which was fabulous. It’s an old 1912 single track electric train that climbs up through the mountains & down the other side to the North Coast, a lovely trip there & back & delicious lunch in the port. Anyway, see below a range of photos from our last three days here.

Tomorrow we are off to Cala D’Or to anchor & meet up with a friend from our TMYC (Thames Motor Yacht Club) \240days and her partner so we are looking forward to a lovely evening catching up.

It’s a long story but we have arrived here in Cala d’Or on the east coast of Mallorca.

We left Palma on Friday and had a lovely trip around the southern most point of Mallorca. We saw our first pod of dolphins this year which was fabulous and some lovely coastal scenery but not much else.

We arrived in Cala Gran to anchor up but couldn’t fit in, we tried in Cala D’Or bay next door but couldn’t avoid the precious Poseidon grass on the seabed with our anchor so had to abort. Since we had a dinner date booked with Jo & Jeremy we had no choice but to come into the marina here & spend a night. I think the stress of the aborted anchorings led to our worst stern to mooring debacle so far but we did get in our spot without too much swearing 🤬.

We had a lovely social evening with Jo & Jeremy with cocktails on board their boat Bossy first & then a delicious dinner in one of the marina restaurants Sa Llodja & far too much wine. It was so lovely to catch up with Jo & meet Jeremy for the first time. They recommended Cala Mondrago for our next nights of anchorage, in a stunning national park just down the coast so early on Saturday morning we headed down and found a lovely anchorage just outside the bay. So very very beautiful. The weather however was against us with an east wind and south easterly swell we had our worst nights sleep on board ever - it felt & sounded like we were in a washing machine on a 90 degree cycle 🤮🤮. First thing on Sunday we picked up anchor and left to find a more clement anchorage for last night. We ended up back in Cala D’Or & spent a quiet day recovering but sadly another rough night (not quite so bad but still very very rolly). Today I am happy \240to report that we are back in the marina for the next 4 nights \240and will not be rolling all over the place.

The weather is gorgeous here but we can’t do anything about the winds & swell so it’s hard on this coast to find comfortable anchorages at the moment with predominantly easterly winds and swell.

It’s been a while I know but we have finally moved on after a week in and around Cala D’Or. We really loved our time there & enjoyed a social life & have explored the area well but its time to move onwards and upwards. A whole 3.5nm up the coast to a \240bouy in Porto Colom - a tranquil natural harbour. The attaching to the bouy process was painless with the help of a friendly Marinero & we plan to float here for a couple of days before heading up the coast further.

So what did we do with all our time in Cala D’Or area? We ate out a lot, lots of delicious seafood mostly. We met up with Jo & Jeremy and hosted them on board for dinner. We met some of their friends Rick & Gill who as it happens live in Bristol & love boats so we had lots in common. We took our bikes to PortoPetro & into the Mondrago national park where we walked & swam and appreciated the beauty of the area. We hired a car and saw some of the interior of Mallorca. The cap des Salines (most southerly point), Santanyi (little Germany) a pretty town which is totally Germanified, \240Felanitx and Castell de Sanctueri (beautiful but closed!), and we did a big heavy supermarket shop at Eroski restocking water & wine!

So here are some pics of the last few days.

We are still here floating in the port of Porto Colom on a bouy overlooking the old town and a small beach. We have been here for a while because Porto Christo can’t fit us in, we are too big. It’s ok we quite like it here, it’s cost effective, we like Porto Colom although have pretty much seen it all now after a few walks to one end of the bay and then the other. We like that it is calm in this natural harbour whilst outside it’s a bit rocky & rolly. We like that we have a 360 view from the boat around the whole bay & most of all we like the fact that is cheap (by Mallorcan marina standards). So we have decided to stay a few more days and hire another car so that we can meet Cai & Mark & their family tomorrow night just in land from Porto Cristo, we can visit some more places inland & we can go to the Cuevos del Drach (I think I went there 40 years ago on my only holiday to the Balearics) & anything else we choose to do before we head to Menorca on Thurs or Fri (weather dependent).

We made it to Menorca from Porto Colom yesterday, our 4th Balearic Island and another place we have both never been. Our 5 hour crossing was smooth & wonderful with an early dolphin sighting just outside Porto Colom & then another just before we arrived here in Santandria - so all fabulous.

Our last few days on Porto Colom were busy. We hired a car & toured the north east bits. On Tuesday we went to Manacar & Porto Christo getting back to the boat in time to get ready for dinner in the finca that Cai & Mark friends from home are staying. The Finca belongs to Steph & Johnny, Cai’s sister and brother in law & is really stunningly beautiful. It was previously owned by Wagners great grandson & has amazing grounds & views to the sea. Cai & Marks whole family were there with neighbours & friends making it a lovely sociable evening. Sadly I didn’t take any photos so can’t show how beautiful it was.

On Wednesday first thing we had tickets for the Cuevas del Drach - amazing caves with a big lake in them. \240The tour included a rather tacky string quartet concert with the quartet on boats floating around the lake. We then drove further north & visited villages & towns in the interior of Mallorca. To be honest we didn’t find anywhere particularly nice despite the guidebook descriptions. We had a dreadful lunch in Can Picafort which was an awful resort. So we headed back to VA dropped off the car & had a lovely final evening on board watching the boats & sea.

Here are a few shots of our last days in Mallorca & trip to Menorca.

Three fabulous days & nights in the beautiful Cala Santandria close to Ciutadella in the north west of Menorca. Wow what a fabulous anchorage and location with clear turquoise seas, warm tranquil waters and a lovely restaurant just off the beach. For us a perfect location.

Our arrival was quite exciting (or tense!) because it was our first anchorage with lines ashore and we didn’t really know what we were doing. Luckily our Spanish neighbour from a Power Cat hopped in his tender to help me tie the lines, without him we would have struggled. We finally got it all sorted & could relax & enjoy our stay.

It was the perfect place for swimming, paddle boarding, snorkelling, reading & relaxing. We had a fantastic dinner on our first night at Sa Nacra overlooking the water in the Cala with delicious food and a great atmosphere.

On Friday we got the bus into Ciutadella for the day, a lovely old city with good shops & lovely old buildings and architecture. Of course we found the market & bought a mountain of local Mahon cheeses and a spicy Sobrasada sausage. We lunched on Caldereta Llagosta (Lobster casserole/soup) a local speciality but sadly felt they had massacred the lobster by over cooking it and turning it into rubber although the soupy bit was tasty. At least we tried it & know we won’t have it again.

Yesterday we walked to Cala Blanca nearby to have a look, had a light lunch & then more chilling back on the boat & a few chores. I cooked a delicious rabbit & almond dinner & we sat and watched the sunset and night sky with some lovely wine.

This morning we unhitched our lines, upped the anchor & cruised the 23 miles along the stunning north coast to this lovely anchorage.

It’s been a few days since our last update & we are back in the beautiful Cala Santandria for just one night before we do the BIG crossing tomorrow to Barcelona & mainland Spain.

We have absolutely loved the Balearics (all of them) but favourite moments have been Formentera & Menorca just because of their wildness & tranquility but we would happily return to all of them another day.

When we left Fornells on Monday we had a fabulous trip to Mahon along the north & east coast, wild, rocky & sparsely populated but beautiful. Arriving in Mahon harbour was a treat, a 6km long inlet with grand forts protecting the entrance on both sides.

We berthed in Marina Mahon just below the city (which sits on the cliffs above) so a fabulous position. Our first marina in almost 2 weeks so the bikes were unloaded and ready for action. Mahon seemed quiet but most places were open & it has a lovely feel to it, rambling up & down with pretty streets and some grand buildings.

One of our main plans for Mahon was to catch up with Andrews brother Ian & sister in law Ingrid who own a house & boat in Cala Llonga on the east side of the harbour. They know Mahon & Menorca very well so a great source of knowledge. We spent some lovely time with them on their boat & dinner at their house & then dinner with us onboard VA. In between social events we used the bikes extensively to explore the city & surrounds.

We cycled to Fort Marlborough (it was closed), we cycled to Castillo de Sant Felipe (it was closed), we cycled back through El Castell along the coast which was lovely. Yesterday we cycled to Talati del Dalt, some impressive Taliolytic ruins outside Mahon and for once they were open. We must get better at checking opening times before heading out because we forget that everything closes in the afternoon in Spain!!

We had a spent a lovely 4 days in Mahon but deteriorating conditions in Spain & France Mainland with increasing Covid numbers is driving us back to Barcelona & as quickly as possible from there into France to avoid any potential lockdowns here. The weather is clement for the very long 108 nm crossing tomorrow so goodbye Balearics for now - we are sad to leave but we will be back.

Just to finish off the map and show that we have circumnavigated Menorca.

This is the last entry in this stage of our blog because tomorrow we will be back on the Spanish mainland (all being well 👍).

Part 3

Barcelona to the Camargue