 |
| An ominous sky but superb sunrise |
We set off just before dawn for the long sail back to the Spanish mainland. It looked like a storm war brewing and we considered turning back. However, we had a fairly uneventful sail - thank goodness!
Monday 20 October 2008
Saturday 4 October 2008
San Antonio, Ibiza to Islas de Espalmador and Formentera - 25 Miles
 |
| Our anchorage at Isla Espalmador |
We finally managed to leave San Antonio and sailed the 25 miles to the anchorage at Isla Espalmador, just off Isla de Formentera, and picked up one of the free mooring buoys. It is a stunning setting with beautiful turquoise waters and sandy beaches. The next day we walked about 3 miles into the nearest town of La Savina, and decided to do a dive with the local dive school. After lunch, we went in their rib to a dive site called ‘Los Arcos’, as the dive involves swimming through two arches. Once again, the water was crystal clear. However, by the time we finished the 50 minute dive about 6 p.m., we were all feeling quite cold! Roger and I then had to walk back to the dinghy and it was dark by the time we were negotiating ourselves through rocky reefs to our boat.
We decided to take it easy on Wednesday and went for a walk on Isla Espalmador where we saw the unique Ibizan Wall lizards. We dinghied over to Formentera and walked about 15 minutes to a very expensive restaurant for lunch – no cheap beach cafes here! We spent the afternoon on the beach, and joined another British couple of their motor boat in the evening. The wind had picked up and the boats were starting to roll.
We had planned to go in to the Marina at La Savina on Thursday in order to do another dive using our own equipment, but it was so windy we decided not to do the dive and caught the bus to the capital St. Francesc. We stayed in the Marina for three nights because of the strong winds.
Marina at La Savina: 81 euros (3 nights), 1.50 euros for showers, no WiFi
 |
| Formentera |
 |
| Es Vedra was 'Bali Hai' in the film 'South Pacific' |
Santa Ponsa, Mallorca - Portinatx, Ibiza - San Antonio, Ibiza
 |
| Welsh Pub in San Antonio |
We managed to sail nearly the whole 52 miles to Portinatx in Ibiza but three miles off someone switched the wind off! We went from 5 knots to 0.5 knots. Portinatx is in a lovely bay but has been ruined by very tacky hotels, apartments and bucket and spade shops.
The next day we sailed to San Antonio and as the forecast is not good decided to wait for an improvement before heading off to Formentera. This is the most rain we have seen since April! San Antonio is one of the main tourist developments in Ibiza and a centre for clubbing in Europe. We found a Welsh Pub, and the Barman comes from the Rhondda but doesn’t speak Welsh. Despite being in the heart of Clubland we have not been disturbed at night by loud music.
San Antonio Port Authority: 94.63 (7 nights) The Port Authority Marina seem to be able to operate the computer so it is possible to only pay for water and electricity if they are used!
Isla de Cabrera to Santa Ponsa, Mallorca - 30 Miles
 |
| Puerto de Cabrera |
We planned to visit the Island of Cabrera, which is a National Maritime and Terrestrial Park, for a couple of nights, and practice diving. There are 10 islands in all in this archipelago and have several species of fauna and flora that are unique, in particular the Balearic lizard. There are 10 different sub species on the 10 islands.
Yachts are not allowed to anchor and have to use one of the 50 buoys. Permits have to be applied for between 3 and 20 days in advance through the office in Palma, giving detailed information on the boat, skipper and crew. Some Marinas will fax the details through and we asked the Marina at Cala Rajada to do this requesting a 3 night stay. The Marina official handed us a piece of paper with the dates we wanted to stay and OK alongside it, and he assured us our visit had been approved.
We sailed most of the way under a cloudy sky and picked up one of the buoys in the beautiful harbour, but in the evening when the warden came to check on the permits, we were told we were not on his list and did not have a permit! We showed him our piece of paper, but all this meant was that the fax had been received! As there were some free buoys, we were allowed to stay the night.
We sailed most of the way under a cloudy sky and picked up one of the buoys in the beautiful harbour, but in the evening when the warden came to check on the permits, we were told we were not on his list and did not have a permit! We showed him our piece of paper, but all this meant was that the fax had been received! As there were some free buoys, we were allowed to stay the night.
The next day we went to the Island Office and were told we would not be able to dive without a permit and if all the buoys were occupied we would be asked to leave in the evening! We decided not to risk being asked to leave the island at 7. p.m. so after a quick walk to the castle where we saw several lizards, and a coffee at the Cantina, we left about 1.30 p.m. to sail the 30 miles to Santa Ponsa in Mallorca.
Puerto de Pollensa - Portocolom, Mallorca
MONDAY 15 - THURSDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2008
Sometimes, it is very difficult finding out how systems work in the Balearics. We have been here now for about 10 weeks and are still being told different things by officials.
We sailed to Cala Rajada on the East coast of Mallorca and rafted on the Port Authority wall. We had hoped this would be cheap as we had been told that low season is from 15 September. However, apparently it starts from midnight. The costs are escalated by fairly high prices for water and electricity (4.99 euros each). We explained we didn’t need either (in fact, being in a raft, it wasn’t possible) but were told we still had to pay for them as the computer could not deduct them! Cala Rajada is much more like a German resort than a Spanish one. All the menus were in German and we heard far more German being spoken than any other language. What was more surprising, was that nearly all the boats, many of them chartered, were also full of Germans.
The next day we left about 8.30 a.m. as two boats on the inside of the raft were leaving early, and headed for Portocolom. We booked in for two nights and said we didn’t need water. Again, we were told it was not possible to deduct the water, but we were only charged the water and electricity price for one night. We needed to stay another night, but were then charged for water and electricity again. If we’d paid for the three nights at the beginning, we were told we would still only be charged for one night’s consumption!
We caught the bus to Palma where I bought a camera to replace the one that had been drowned, and we had lunch at the excellent restaurant by the Marina – our third visit!
Cala Rajada Port Authority: 31.79 euros – rafted, not possible to access water and electricity
Portocolom Port Authority: 22.90 (2 nights), 15.63 (1 night), cold showers
Sometimes, it is very difficult finding out how systems work in the Balearics. We have been here now for about 10 weeks and are still being told different things by officials.
We sailed to Cala Rajada on the East coast of Mallorca and rafted on the Port Authority wall. We had hoped this would be cheap as we had been told that low season is from 15 September. However, apparently it starts from midnight. The costs are escalated by fairly high prices for water and electricity (4.99 euros each). We explained we didn’t need either (in fact, being in a raft, it wasn’t possible) but were told we still had to pay for them as the computer could not deduct them! Cala Rajada is much more like a German resort than a Spanish one. All the menus were in German and we heard far more German being spoken than any other language. What was more surprising, was that nearly all the boats, many of them chartered, were also full of Germans.
The next day we left about 8.30 a.m. as two boats on the inside of the raft were leaving early, and headed for Portocolom. We booked in for two nights and said we didn’t need water. Again, we were told it was not possible to deduct the water, but we were only charged the water and electricity price for one night. We needed to stay another night, but were then charged for water and electricity again. If we’d paid for the three nights at the beginning, we were told we would still only be charged for one night’s consumption!
We caught the bus to Palma where I bought a camera to replace the one that had been drowned, and we had lunch at the excellent restaurant by the Marina – our third visit!
Cala Rajada Port Authority: 31.79 euros – rafted, not possible to access water and electricity
Portocolom Port Authority: 22.90 (2 nights), 15.63 (1 night), cold showers
Puerto de Pollensa, Mallorca
FRIDAY 13 - SUNDAY 14 SEPTEMBER
The bad weather started about 6 a.m. with thunder, lightening, wind and heavy rain and continued most of the day so we stayed on the buoy. On Saturday we went to get diesel and the Marinero said we could leave the boat for half an hour to change our gas bottle. We chatted to the owner of a 34 ft ketch rigged Colvic Countess called Mandurah and he told us the Port Authority berths are quite cheap, so we decided to stay for a couple of nights as the forecast was for a Force 7 by the evening. The Port Authority berths are much cheaper than the Marinas but still reasonably expensive in high season. However winter prices start from Monday 15th September which will be about 12 euros for our boat.
Port Authority Berth: 66.76 euros (2 nights) including water & electricity. Free showers but cold.
The bad weather started about 6 a.m. with thunder, lightening, wind and heavy rain and continued most of the day so we stayed on the buoy. On Saturday we went to get diesel and the Marinero said we could leave the boat for half an hour to change our gas bottle. We chatted to the owner of a 34 ft ketch rigged Colvic Countess called Mandurah and he told us the Port Authority berths are quite cheap, so we decided to stay for a couple of nights as the forecast was for a Force 7 by the evening. The Port Authority berths are much cheaper than the Marinas but still reasonably expensive in high season. However winter prices start from Monday 15th September which will be about 12 euros for our boat.
Port Authority Berth: 66.76 euros (2 nights) including water & electricity. Free showers but cold.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)