What an adventure to be able to make so many hops and stops around Mallorca. The weather was excellent for most of the days except for one rolly night on anchor in the cala of Sa Colabra. Each day was in the mid 30's and no rain days in sight.
A few miles from Palma is a fantastic beachfront anchorage called Cala de Portais which is accessible to the boaters via stand up paddle boards or kayaks. The water temperature was lovely 26 degrees.
Coming into Colonia de Sant Jordi, we anchored just off the beach where we spent a few days hanging out on the really hot days.
A few hours to sail to the island of Cabrera. The island is a national park in Spain so we had to book ahead to reserve a mooring ball for two nights.
This looked like a big foot as we approached the bay.
Turns out it is the castle of Cabrera.
There is evidence that Cabrera and the islets next to it were visited by the peoples who had been sailing the Mediterranean since ancient times: Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans and Byzantines.
A legend tells that Hannibal was born in Sa Coniera, one of the small islands next to Cabrera.
Between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the island and its natural harbor were used as a base by Berber pirates for attacks on the Majorcan coasts. For this reason a castle was built at the entrance to the port. Since then this outpost prevented further raids from there towards the waters overlooking Mallorca.
In 1808 the island became a place of detention for French soldiers, taken prisoner after the defeat at the Battle of Bailén. The island was destined since 1916 to a military area, it has therefore been spared from tourist exploitation, consequently it has allowed the conservation of an ecosystem.
45NORTH in the foreground
Pretty cool to see this sight through the window as we come up our stairs from the cabin.
Next stop is Cala Marçal which is located one kilometer from Portocolom, following the entrance to the port of the same name. This beautiful sea inlet becomes wider as it gets closer to land, leaving it quite sheltered from the waves.
Portocolom is a smallish town located on the east coast of Mallorca. The natural harbour is very appealing and a wonderful place to land just off the beach. First humans settled here at over 2,000 years ago. Perhaps, like the Romans, they too valued such a beautiful and secure idyll. As the centuries passed the town of Portocolom based its prosperity on the harvest of the sea. This never changed until the first tourists discovered this lovely place. Today, the local economy is based more on tourism than it is on fishing.
The anchorage was busy during the day with many local boaters but near empty at night.
It is so cool to be able to change up your views every couple of days. Cruising life is never boring.
Gotta love beach days.
And we are off again heading North up the Eastern side of the island. Today we are heading to the most Northern tip. An amazing day on the waters with a constant breeze and surprisingly flat seas. The Code-D was perfect for the morning.
It was about a six hour sail up the coast to the top.
Eventually the wind clocked around and we did a spinnaker change to the new Wingaker.
With a storm coming the following day we took advantage of the great sailing day.
Welcome to Ca los Camps. With the large mountains we will at least be in the lee from the swell from the storm coming. The wind surfers were also enjoying the strong winds of the day.
We spent two nights on anchor waiting out the storm and enjoyed every minute of it..
Next on the list of ports was Alcúdia which is a charming town on the north coast of Mallorca, Spain. It offers a rich history, a medieval wall, a lively market, and a variety of cultural and natural attractions. We explored the Roman ruins of Pollentia, and visited the 14th-century church of Sant Jaume as well as enjoyed the views from the Torre Major watchtower.
We were on bike so did not go on top of the wall but there is a walkway up there to see all around the town.
The Romain ruins were pretty cool. I need to find Janine's picture of the amphitheater.
Pollentia was founded by the consul Qintus Caecilius Metellus in 123 BC in the strategic location between the bays of Pollenca and Alcudia. It was the most important city in the Balearics during the Roman period and covered an area of 15-20 hectares.
Artefacts of the site were first discovered in the 17th century when the army was digging to install a rail system but excavations were not started until 1923. The work still continues today.
This is the burial grounds with grave sites carved out of the rock.
The Alcudia marina was nice enough to let us park Smug Druggler there while we explored for the day. Only cost 5 Euros per hour.
Our new neighbor in the anchorage was a bit of a different sailing ship. No boom and four solid structures for the mast.
TACTAC (MMSI: 269117970) is a Sailing Vessel and is sailing under the flag of Switzerland. Her length overall (LOA) is 22 meters and her width is 10 meters. There were two "self built" (Bam Bam is the sister ship). https://www.bambamtactac.ch/
Next port of call was Pollença. Similar to Alcudia this anchorage was huge. We dropped anchor behind this 40 million euro mansion that occupied up the full peninsula. The most recent owner is the UK Minister of Finance (Tory party) where he would host annual Tory fund raisers. It was also the location for the shooting of the BBC series The Night Manager. Touted as Spain's most expensive property. It was recently sold to a real estate tycoon and you can rent the property for your own events. We saw a ton of fireworks off this place one weekend which was probably a very posh wedding.
This is called Pine Alley. So nice to have the shade along the waterfront.
Salude! Pollença was also where we met Fred and Rosemary from Scotland who have owned a property here for over 25 years. (sorry guys we didn't get any pictures of them). It was a great chat over the lunch at restaurant Coral.
Mountain goats. They were probably not as exhausted as we were biking to and from Alcuidia for the Saturday market and then all the way up to the top of the mountain. Phew.
We made it to the top.
This will be the coast line we head up next on our way to Soller to pickup Michelle and family. And where we lost all cell coverage and I missed a few work meetings.
We picked up another killer hot pepper plant at the Alcudia market.
The gorgeous Skipper J9 taking us to her birthday dinner. Looking great babe.
The Stay Restaurant - recommended by Fred and Rosemary; this restaurant did not disappoint. 5 stars.
Birthdays are the perfect time to open up a 1997 vintage bottle of port we got in Porto last season.
Memorized this . It was missing Birra-hera! How many do you recognize?
All fueled up and ready for our guests from Halifax. We are paying between 1.88 to Euros per liter. Our engines consume 3 liters per hour. We prefer to pick days where we can sail most of the time.
On route to Sa Calobra.
On the wildly rugged Northwest coast of Mallorca close to the Serra de Tramuntana in the north of Mallorca mountain range, you will find the tiny coastal village of Sa Calobra. Two beaches trapped between spectacular cliffs are the perfect spot for a refreshing dip in the Med. One of the beaches (Torrent de Pareis) is about 100 m long and lies at the end of a deep gorge, shaped by the torrent that gives it its name. The rocky Platja de sa Calobra is only about half as long as the other beach and much narrower and extends from the sea to the stone houses in the village of Sa Calobra.
We paddle boarded in and hiked about a kilometer along the somewhat dry river bed.
Lots of Mountain Goats keeping a watch on us.
The rock looks like a face.
The 45NORTH Hot Pepper Plants are loving all the sunshine on the back deck.
The advantage of sailing up a Westerly coast is, of course, the sunsets.
Can you see the mountain goats up there? Amazing how they can climb such a vertical rock sheer.
Welcome back to the Port de Sóller as we arrive this time by boat. A well known and busy anchorage where you want to put out all your fenders. Along with the village of Fornalutx and the hamlet of Biniaraix they combine to form Sóller. The combined population is around 12,000.
View from the museum.
It is a really quaint village.
Lunch out with our new crew - Michelle, Mark and Erin.
Tomorrow we sail back to Sa Colabra for a night and then up to Pollenca with the new crew.
In Pollenca we had a tour of a local winery.
Mark checking out the old still. In addition to wine they distill Gin.
Tour guide showing us a bottle of wine that has been aged on the sea bed somewhere in the port of Pollenca.
The bottle is covered in barnacles and growth. It comes with it's own display holder. And for 110 Euros you can have this on your mantle for friends to ask "what's in that crusty bottle?"
Can Vidalet was established in 1996 with the planting of the first vineyard and the aim to revive the historical heritage of wine growing on the island of Mallorca.
The wine tasting was very good. Lots of food too. Look - swirl - smell - taste.
Comments