Tonga Ca'n Picafort

... 15 minutes away. Taxis were expensive so we opted for the $2 city bus that was convenient and went well. Not much to do there but they have an impressive cathedral and attached museum &#8211; the cathedral took over 300 years to complete so compared to that, Sagrada Familia isn't doing too badly.<br><br>After walking around the town a little &#8211; we passed on the Mallorcan royal palace, preferring instead to have a ...

... out. It takes awhile to moor the yacht stern to, (the back end up against the dock) and to get out all the fenders (large air filled pads that keep the boats from rubbing up against each other and to setup the passarelle (like a long plank that is motorized with hand rails on each side). By the time we were able to go to shore we were dressed and ready. Several of the crew members had been here before so they were our guides to finding the dance clubs ...

We arrived in Cala de Calobra around 5:30. We anchored in the small bay and took a tender to shore. The little village has a small pier along one side of a steep hill and the village is crowded on the hillside raising between two much larger and steeper hills. The whole thing looks like some Hollywood set because of its idyllic setting on the small bay. There are several bars and restaurants where we got drinks and ate an early dinner.

... lunch was served buffet style on the main deck so everyone could eat at their leasure and were it was the most convenient for them. <br><br>Waterskiing is very exhausting and after a few hours of playing on the water, the crew loaded everything up and we headed down to coast to the small village of sa Calobra on the Cala de Calobra.

Just south of the town of Portocristo are the Cuevas del Drach, which are really four caves all connected to each other. This cave however has a large lake in it, called Martel Lake. It's large enough to ride a boat in and to see all the stalactites hanging from the ceiling. It&#8217;s a beautiful place ...

... us off and then returned to the yacht go continue on their way. Usually the crew will setup an area on the beach with a canopy, beverages, and a few lounge chairs, but since none of that would fit on the heli, it was just us a change of close, beach towels a few drinks and sunscreen. <br><br>We weren&#8217;t nearly as hyper on the beach today as we were in Formentera. Today, everyone just strolled around the ...

... speak no English. We have a great dinner and some nice (and inexpensive) wine. The owners are from Argentina so I discuss my trip to South America with them. <br><br>We head out to the main bar/club street. My back is killing me. Every step is painful but I try to put it out of my mind. The area along the harbor has a good café crowd but the bars are empty. We finally go into one at 12. Within 30 minutes there is a good crowd. Almost all ...

... afternoon at the beach back in Playa de Palma. It is so nice to have warm weather with sun. Quite a contrast from Scandinavia. This is an area full of German tourists. Mostly Spring break atmosphere. Apparently it is dominated by package deals. I have seen very few other nationalities here. As an indication, at the airport, Air Berlin dominated the airlines (even though this is Spain it is not Iberia or SpanAir).

... of Spanish. For a novice, this throws me off quite a bit. Luckily they all speak English but reading can be difficult although many places will have both languages represented. <br><br>By the time I am done settling in, I have just enough time for a quick walk along the beach. It is a long beach, 2km or so. It is reasonably pretty with palm trees. The street along the beach is full of bars, restaurants and tourist stores. Every block is a cookie cutter of the next. I crash early.

... which I intend on enjoying until it's time to look for another job. Yesterday I took off at early noon for the 30 minute hike to Mandragó Cove where I lay in the sun like a lazy lizard for a few hours, swimming in the paradisiacal pool of fresh Mediterranean water. At 3 pm I was to meet Ed in the apartment for our diving date with a local we had met named Miguel. When Ed found that he regularly went out diving, he almost collapsed of ...