Portinatx - Ibizza
We finally left San Antonio on Ibiza on 19th April having sat out inclement winds for a few days and headed for Portinatx on the North West coast - about 10 miles. There was very little wind but the sun shone and we enjoyed the spectacular cliffs and bays of Ibiza.
We arrived in Portinatx Bay at about 12.30 and whilst getting ready to anchor noticed a mooring buoy so grabbed it. The bay itself is beautiful and the town is rather boring and, mostly closed at this time of year. After Gina cooked a delightful meal we watched a glorious sunset and went to bed.
Andraitx - Mallorca
At 6.30 the following morning we got up and were away by 6.50. The 50 mile sail to Mallorca was in light head winds and allowed us only a short sail, most of the trip was motor sailing. On day trips like this we generally hand steer the boat rather than use an auto pilot. It makes the time pass more quickly. In this case it was really boring. We didn't see another boat for about 6 hours and only had one brief visit from the friendly neighbourhood dolphins.
We saw Mallorca through the haze along with loadsa ferries. We also spotted a fender which we picked out of the water (that's our man overboard drill done for another year!) thus saving about €40.00 on buying a new one - YES!!
We arrived in Andraitx on the South West coast of Mallorca and put ourselves onto the public jetty there. On paying for the mooring in the harbour office we were told it was €15.00 - for 4 nights - good eh!
Andraitx is a small resort popular with Germans. Thus prices are good and standards of service etc in the restaurants is excellent.
We decided to take a trip into Palma, by bus, to get the old train from there up the coast, through the mountains to Soller. The trip was brilliant, great scenery, reasonably comfy train and thousands of camera obsessive Germans. We had a great day out except for the bus journey from Palma to Andraitx in the rush hour, driven by Fernando Alonso's irresponsible younger brother. A frightening, arse ache of a trip.
While in Andraitx we met up with Paul and Pauline who spotted that Tiercel came from Tarbert. They know the village well and Paul, a scallop diver, frequently works there. There boat was also in Andraitx and they were getting ready to head further down the Med. Over a few wee drams we discovered that we had a number of friends and acquaintances in common. They also advised us to buy a hi-tech Spanish washing machine (a large rubber bucket costing €4.50).
Porto Colom
On Wednesday we left Andraitx for Porto Colom on the East coast of Mallorca. It was great for the first couple of hours (spectacular sunrise, favourable wind etc) then the wind came onto the nose and stayed there for a further 8 hours. It was sunny but bloody cold, the high point of the journey was when we spotted a dead goat (I hoped it was another large fender).
Arrived in Porto Colom to be met by a helpful Marinero who tied the boat up and then, when we paid charged us €28.50 per night. Porto Colom is another German enclave on Mallorca and is very quiet at the moment.
We saw that the weather would be unfavourable until Sunday so have had a good time just doing odd jobs and taking another trip into Palma to see the cathedral and the Contemporary Arts Museum. The cathedral is unexceptional except for the fact it is very large(150ft floor to ceiling) and has amazing stained glass windows which, when the light comes through them, are glorious.
The Contemporary Arts Museum has an original Picasso and Salvador Dali along with a number of other incredible paintings in fairly simple and unassuming surroundings. A very relaxing place to visit.
Tomorrow, Sunday we head across 240 miles of open sea to Sardinia and, when we arrive will feel that we are within striking distance of Greece.
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