August 1 – August 7: Majorca

Palma's magnificent cathedral and

Palma harbour

First impressions of Majorca were that it is far more commercialised than Ibiza and it really feels like coming back to civilisation. Our first night was spent in Santa Ponsa bay, a large area with good holding over sand, but surrounded by development, which seemed uncomfortably obtrusive after the peaceful calas we had been experiencing.

The day before discovering Palma we anchored between two small islands Las Illetas. We took the dinghy ashore to roam one of the small islands which was deserted and the second led to an exclusive part of the mainland with posh bars and elaborate Spanish homes with their glistening white walls, tall, wrought iron gates, and carpets of flowing brightly coloured flowers.

We had heard that Palma was very expensive to moor, but we needed water and supplies so we headed for one of the nine yacht marinas in a huge bay that provides berthing for several thousand yachts. We had heard from other sailors that the quay known as Pier 46 but now taken over by Viva Yacht charter was an excellent place to berth as it was close to the old town and the magnificent 13^th century Gothic cathedral.

This turned out to be great advice. We motored into the vast harbour, which was home to a large slice of the super yacht market, fearing the worst as far as harbour charges were concerned, headed for Pier 46 and proceeded to moor up to a vacant berth as though we owned the place. We struck a deal of 50E for the first night and 40E for the second with a guy called Henry and there we were, just a short walk from the beautiful old town, the cathedral and the Almudaina Palace. Brilliant. The city turned out to be the most beautiful we have visited so far, wide flagged walkways, a beautifully kept old town which constantly provided the mounting excitement of what is round the next winding corner and even a cycle path through most of the city. So it was bikes out and off to explore.

It was well past midnight when we checked out a large screen that had been erected in front of the cathedral where we found hundreds of people, hanging out watching the ancient American movie - Moon River!

During out time in Palma we saw The royal palace of La Almundaina, walked around the towering Gothic cathedral and took a trip to Soller on a narrow gauge railway through the mountains, where farmers had hacked out towering terraces in the harshest of landscapes to grow their olive and fruit trees.

After two days in Palma we sailed in a lovely breeze to Ensalada de Rapita, a long, sandy bay where we anchored in readiness for our visit to the Isle de Cabrera a beautiful nature reserve that required a permit to visit.

Sadly, the visit did not materialise as just a mile or so away from the island, the engine of the boat overheated and our only option was to sail back in the direction we had come before the wind dropped. With Anders's skill and a lot of luck we sailed into the harbour at La Rapita and asked if there was an engineer available to help us. We had learned never to take no for an answer, so this coupled with Anders charm actually effected a visit from an engineer within the hour! The day turned out far better than expected as the problem was the sea water impeller that had one broken fin, rather than a far more serious and costly problem.

Our last night on Majorca was spent at Porto Colon, after visiting many calas along the east coast that were already well populated with boats. We anchored in the harbour area and had a welcome 38^th anniversary dinner ashore at the local yacht club.

We had planned one more night in Majorca before leaving for Minorca to meet Maria, but on hearing from fellow yatchsmen that bad weather was due in a couple of days, we decided to make the 13 hour crossing to Menorca the next day. The alarm was set for 5.30am!

I meet a headless man outside Palma cathedral