Filed from Puerto de Mahon, Menorca
June 7, 2000
Hi Everybody:
Palma on Mallorca is a great yachting port, perfect for provisioning and for getting repair work done, but we were happy to be moving on from there.
For many reasons, it is an attractive place for tourists, but the “touristy”
nature of the place became tiring after a short stay. In addition, it is expensive. The fee for staying in the marina during the high season, which
began on May 15, was 5000 pesetas, about $30 US, including water and electricity, at least three times higher than the winter prices we have seen
in other parts of Spain. It is not possible to anchor in Palma, but it was possible to tie to a stone wall along the Paseo Maritimo for a small fee,
collected by the port captain on a random basis. We spent our first night in Palma on that wall because we could not get a slip at any of the marinas,
which were full. It was not very private, but was actually very pleasant, with
lots of people passing by and stopping to chat, which we enjoyed.
Photo: The Harbor at Isla Cabrera
We then spent 5 days on Isla de Cabrera, a national park off the coast of Mallorca, a nice little 28 mile day sail from Palma. A stay on a mooring
(anchoring is prohibited) at this nature preserve must be scheduled in
advance, although it is free of charge, and marina staff in Palma were able to
arrange this for us by fax. There are only 50 moorings and a stay here is limited to 7 days, except in July and August, when stays are limited to 1-3
days. Not all of the moorings were occupied when we were there, but even if they had been, this beautiful harbor would not have been crowded. We did
nothing here but swim, snorkel, hike and visit the Castle and the lighthouse.
It felt like a delightful respite after the bustle of Palma.
Photos: Tom hiking around the harbor on Isla Cabrera, Baleares
Aside from the harbor at Palma, there are lots of little calas and other harbors in which to anchor on both Mallorca and Menorca. We anchored in the
harbor at Port Colom on Mallorca, in 8 feet of water with good holding in sand. (Just an aside: this was the first place we have found where we could
not get internet access. The owner of an electronic supplies shop told us that he is in the process of setting up a shop and that it will be ready in
July, 2000.)
Photo: "Bodie Island Light" East - The lighthouse at the
entrance to the harbor at Port Colom, Mallorca, Baleares
We left Port Colom on May 31 and had a pleasant sail/ motorsail
to Menorca. We found a beautiful cala on the west coast and anchored at 7 p.m.
Cala Biniparraitx (pronounced biniparrach, sounds like the letter h) was
like a mini-fiord with high cliffs on both sides, winding back to a beach. It
was about 100 meters wide and we set two anchors in 20 feet in sand, bahamian-moor style, to keep from swinging to the sides. There was only one
other boat there, a small racing boat with 3 young French men, who sailed in,
dousing their spinnaker just before entering. The water was absolutely clear
to the bottom and the swimming was great.
Photo: Tom prepares to do some maintenance chores under the
boat
We loved the Balearics and Menorca best of all. We spent about a week in the harbor at Puerto de Mahon, a place familiar to Patrick O’Brien fans.
And,
while there we looked for the Crown Inn, with no success – maybe just a place
in the author’s imagination. We rented a car and drove across the entire
island, about 50 km of gorgeous scenery and toured the other major city on the
island, Ciudadela (pronounced thewdadela), once the capital city and the only
place on the island with an internet café.
Photo: The indigenous Balearic Lizard
While in this small city, we got a parking ticket (the meter maids here carry
digital cameras) which would cost us 5000 pesetas. A British couple we met,
Christine and Brian, told us how to pay a reduced fine by putting 500 pesetas
(about $3) in the parking meter and collecting the ticket it prints as
proof. They then took us to the police station so we could clear our record.
It was all pretty efficient and particularly nice of them to explain the
system to us. We had a great late lunch in a restaurant on the harbor in
Ciudadela. Tom had Veal Escallopes and I had a broiled salmon with aoili, a
garlic flavored mayonaise for which Menorca is famous (it was actually first
whipped up in Mahon). It was great food and with wine, dessert and café con
leche, quite reasonably priced, about what we saved on the parking ticket.
We are now waiting weather to sail the 260 nm to Corsica. We have fuel,
filled water tanks, fresh food on board and our dinghy and motor are on deck
and stern rail, respectively and - we have our French tricolor and Tete
d’Moor courtesy flags at the ready!
Next stop: Calvi, Corsica.
73s, 88s, Love, Hugs, and an AKOEC -
Peg & Tom
