Europe 2021 – part I: Balearic Islands, Spain

The Mediterranean is gorgeous, one of the very special places in the world to visit… who wouldn’t love sailing there? Savvy Sailing Girl had had the chance to join a boat in Mallorca to sail the Balearics (the islands of Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca) then the southern coasts of Spain and Portugal before continuing on to Madeira and the Canary Islands.

The Balearics – Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza

Mid July is a lovely time to arrive in Mallorca and the bus from the airport transported SSG over to the northeastern part of the island into the lovely little town of Puerto Pollença. There were 6 of us on board initially, but for only a few days (too many for SSG) then just 3 of us. The weather was beautiful and the vibe, despite continuing covid concerns, was pretty relaxed. We spent a few days anchoring, snorkeling, and just enjoying being on board. We also enjoyed exploring in town, including a wonderful visit to the local Wednesday market for fresh treats.

We took a natural gas-powered bus to the northern-most tip of the island, Formentor, and hiked along the coast to the light house. On much of the island one can find vineyards and fruit trees including glorious fig trees. We discovered several fig trees in the traffic circle near the bus station and picked a few as we were coming and going. It was the perfect time for them and they were delicious!

Since it didn’t look like we were going to be sailing into the main town of Palma, I took a bus there (1.5 hours each way from Puerto Pollença) and spent a lovely day meandering around. It reminded me of a small-scale Barcelona, with beautiful squares and lovely elaborate and decorative architecture. The cathedral is spectacular though I didn’t go inside as the line was very long. I did manage to do a bit of shopping though… had eyeglass frames on my mind. The frames are much more stylish in Europe than the US for the most part, and in particular, the Spanish brand Etnia Barcelona has some wonderful designs. I found some I loved, though there wasn’t going to be enough time to actually have the new glasses made up, so I took the frames and would get the lenses later.

After spending about a week in the area, we sailed over to the next island east, Menorca. We anchored just south of the town of Ciutadella and spend a few nice days anchored, actually “Med moored” (anchor set then stern tied to a rock or tree ashore) because there wasn’t enough swing room for all the boats. One must also be careful not to anchor amidst the Posidonia grass, which is protected in these areas but still losing ground. It was about a mile walk into the town, which was absolutely lovely (and discovered another fig tree to sample from).

We would have enjoyed sailing further around Menorca, but a new crew member was joining in a few days and Sam wanted to get back sooner rather than later, so we sailed back to Pollença to await her arrival.

Apparently, there are some local weather anomalies and in the northeast of Mallorca there are sometimes storms that pass through, which don’t impact any other location on the island. We were awakened one night to just such a condition and where several boats’ anchors had dragged (ours included) and gotten tangled together. In the chilling rain and wind, just in light pj’s (but thankful to have those on at least 😊), we tried to keep the boat safe and fend off from any direct contact with the other boats flailing about. Eventually we got our anchor chain free and tried several times to re-anchor before we got a good hold again. Once situated, still chilled, I borrowed some fleecy pj’s that Sam had bought at a market (blue with elephants… fashion took a backseat to warmth at this point) and crew mate Peter made us all some hot tea… tea never tasted so good! Our new crew member Kimberly joined shortly thereafter and then we were 4. We were to collect one additional crew a few days later and on the west side of Mallorca just north of Palma. We set out with a good forecast and sailed around the light house at the point of Formentor, then along the north coast to Puerto Sóller with a lunch/swimming stop along the way in a beautiful (but crowded) anchorage. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to go ashore in Puerto Sóller, but it looked very picturesque in the late afternoon sunlight. There is a wooden tram and train going from the port to the town of Sóller and into Palma.

The next day we continued west and anchored near Ponsa, just north of Palma. Jan joined us the following day and we made ready to sail over to the next island west, Ibiza. Ibiza is known for being a party/disco place and also for being home to a large hippy community. “Don’t worry, be hippy!” is often seen as a slogan there and on tourist souvenirs.

We sailed over to Ibiza and anchored short of our initial destination due to fading light. The anchorage at Portinatx was small and we were fairly close to our neighbors, but had a good hold so no problems. The next day we continued on to San Antonio where we hoped to provision up and get a few bits needed for a starboard engine leaking oil. Success on both counts. It was at this point, and after some research into Morocco, that SSG decided she was not going to continue on with Sam and crew. Morocco was in a state of emergency due to covid and no travel was possible. She wouldn’t be able to visit Casablanca or Marrakesh, which were high on her list. Plus, August in Morocco is quite toasty. She decided to spend a little more time in the Balearics and would likely rejoin the boat at a later point after they returned from Morocco. After sailing around to the south of Ibiza into Ibiza town, I said my farewells as did Kimberly, who was leaving to meet friends in Greece. She and I spent a day in Ibiza town, doing what one does there… be a tourist, eat late, then stay up even later and party.

I took a ferry back over to Palma de Mallorca and spent a week in a super Airbnb right by the Olive market in the old part of town. Having decided to return to Palma and stay for a bit, I immediately went back and ordered lenses for my cool new eyeglass frames. 😊 (have a look at their other cool frames at: https://www.etniabarcelona.com/us/en)

It was good to have some time on my own after being with more people on board than I’m used to. I enjoyed walking around town, grazing at the market (jamon iberica is amazing and surpasses even the best Italian prosciutto – okay, though that’s a matter of personal taste which many might dispute, lol!) and just enjoying the cool Med/island vibe. I took the old wooden train to Sóller and the tram to Puerto Sóller, both worth a visit.

It turns out that Morocco was totally closed… locked down tight. Sam and crew were not able to clear in there. They went on to the Spanish-owned port of Melilla on the African continent instead, before heading through the straits of Gibraltar. There are pods of orca whales in the area of the straits and they seem to want to come play with (or annoy) sailing yachts. They have done some considerable damage to rudders of boats both here and along the Atlantic coastline of Spain and Portugal. Luckily, Sam reported that there were no close encounters with any whales, friendly or otherwise. See you again soon Sam!