Baleares 2008

Wednesday afternoon

We settled in, had a delicious lunch on deck – endive salad and tomato and mozzarella salad. At 4:30 we walked over to the marina offices to rent a car (a Renault, of course) and to arrange for an oil change for the ship’s motor tomorrow morning.
We drove into Palma, a ½ hour trip, found a parking spot and walked around

the historic zone, starting by the cathedral. The area around the cathedral is lovely – small gardens, ponds and statues. And the façade is amazing, but we never got inside. Seems they close at 5:00, so we will try again tomorrow.

Clara found an “optica”, and while she bought new frames to replace her broken ones, we three sat in a café and people wa

tched and talked. We walked through the narrow streets with their balconies, past the Plaza Mayor – in search of a Corte Inglés. Of course, when we got there no one really had anything they needed from the Corte ingles – it´s just that no trip to Spanish territory would be complete without the obligatory pilgrimage. As they would not permit Jibe to enter the supermarket, we headed back to the car. It was now about 9:00p.m.
We were to meet friends of Clara and Jacques’ for dinner. The restaurant we had planned on was closed, so we ate in the dining room of the Royal Nautical Club, sparsely populated on a Wednesday night in June, but the food was delicious. Jean Ives is a professional captain, recently finishing a 15 year stint as captain of the private yacht of a European royal and on his way to Los Roques to take charge for a new owner. Marión lives here in Mallorca with her daughter Morgana, who is a local equestrian champion. They are lovely people and we enjoyed a special night.
Then back to the boat, a call to Venezuela and to bed, after 1:30.

Palma Cathedral

Palma de Mallorca

Thursday, 26, morning

Up early. Right after breakfast we washed down the boat. The mechanic arrived at 9:15 to change the engine oil. I washed out some clothes by hand, then used the dryer. Washed my hair. A morning for general maintenance – but now we’re squeaky clean and its only 11:30. We still have 12 hours ahead of us.

Thursday afternoon

Clara made a delicious paella “latina” for lunch. Then as Jacques and Jibe took their rest, we three ventured into Port D’Andratx. It seems that Spanish is one of the less spoken languages here. As we asked different people for directions to a cyber cage, most of those we spoke to, including employees in local businesses, found it easier to speak with us in English (most seemed to be German or Dutch) or in the local Mallorquin dialect.
We did find a café, however, internet being a universal word. I installed myself there and drank bottles of Perrier with lemon to justify my presence as I posted several days to the blog, chatted with Ceci and replicated my Notes files. Ralph and Clara went to the supermarket, where they did find that Spanish was spoken, and then stopped by to pick me up.
After unloading and storing all the food – a task worthy of a master puzzle solver – we decided on a route over the mountains to Valldemosa ( or Valldemossa, depending on you

r map). We started out at 6:00p.m. with the sun still strong in the sky.
The mountain road we took is narrow and winding, and a bit disconcerting when you meet a bus head on in the middle of a small town. The Mallorquis don’t believe in shoulders on their roadways, so leaving the road means plummeting down towards the sea, or into the pine forest. But the views are spectacular. You keep winding out of the shady pinelands into the sun with a view of the sea far below filling the horizon. The local construction is beautiful – all stone, of course, as the island is one big rock – but

not as rustic as might be, the stonework is quite masterful.
We passed through Estellencs and Banyulbufar – passing its famous terraces which we had seen from the sea on our way from Soller to Santa Ponza. And on we went to Valldemosa.
Valldemossa is a lovely town, quite a sophisticated tourist spot. One of its hotels is a member of the French Relais et Chateaux group. I could easily spend a vacation here exploring. Of course, Chopin and George Sand spent 3 months here back in the early 1800´s, which is still one of the town’s main claims to fame, and they were not so favorably impressed. But then, I can live without a concert piano, and services have improved quite a bit over the last 200 years. I bought Sand’s book, A Winter in Valldemosa, to see what she had to say. I so enjoyed reading Tales of La Alambra after returning from Granada that I look forward to another pleasant read to extend this

wonderful vacation. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived the shops were closing for the day, and La Cartuja, a monastery from the XIV C. until 1835 and where Chopin and Sands later occupied two of the old cells, was closed. The only activity was in a side room where they were busy hanging an art exhibit.
We walked a bit through the old streets and stopped in a corner bakery to buy hojaldres filled with spinach to tide us over to dinner. The main church of Valldemosa is also named St Bartomeu - as was the church in Soller. The town is

dedicated to Saint Catalina Tomás, who was born here, and many of the businesses and homes have ceramic plaques at the door asking for her blessing.

The café that we had stopped at was gearing up for the Spain/Russia semi-final game, lugging a huge flatscreen TV out onto the terrace, but we decided to head down to Palma to find a place for dinner where we could keep track of the results.
After a bit of initial confusion in Palma – where the streets change their names every 4 or 5 blocks – we finally found a parking spot along the waterfront avenue and began to tour the cafes and restaurants. We first entered one with a large screen and quite a crowd watching the game, only to find that the game was being broadcast in German. We passed up several other spots and chose an outdoor café which advertised Mediterranean cuisine, next door to another which had the game on. Our waiter didn’t understand several of the items on the menu – neither in Mallorquín, English or German – and we never did get our roasted peppers. But we did fine with fried squid, “pescaditos” (miniscule little fried fish), grilled provolone and mussels marinara. Each Spanish goal was cause for shouting and fireworks, and by the end of the game the street was full of cars with horns a blast, as the area geared up for late night activity.
We, however, headed back to the marina where we slept in air-conditioned bliss after watching all the replays of the goals until we knew them by heart.

Valldemossa

Friday, 27 morning

We awoke to watch more replays and exhaustive discussions of the Spanish victory over breakfast. Ralph went out with Jacques and Clara, and Jibe, to fill up the rental car and make stops at the marine supply store and the pharmacy. I stayed behind for a bit of quiet time. When they return we will head out to find anchorage in the bay of Palma.

Friday afternoon

The day was overcast, but we had a good passage to the Cala Illetes near Palma. Just as we arrived it rained

a bit. Several of the other boats that were in the cove when we arrived decided to leave. We found a good spot to anchor.
Lunch was a celebration. We had a bottle of champagne from Fafa and Annabelle’s wedding, to accompany pâté, cheeses and tapenade.
Jibe was eager for a walk, so at around 5:30 we took the dingy in to a small beach. Clara and I finally swam in the

Mediterranean. As we floated off the rocky pier we spoke with a local science teacher who had passed through Maracaibo 25 years ago on her way to Guayaquil. She left the cargo ship she was travelling on in Maracaibo and continued across Colombia by bus. She said she now has several Venezuelan students in her class for the first time.
We came back to the boat and enjoyed the 26° water some more off the stern.
After showers we feasted on mushroom salad, sautéed veggies and “magret du canard” – with a background of tangos.

Illetes

Saturday, 28 morning

Up early. Breakfast and we left Mallorca at 7:30 a.m. headed for Ibiza. It was a calm, sunny day. Not much to see – a few dolphins far off, but no tuna. All in all an uneventful but pleasant trip. We had lunch just before arriving in Portinatx at the northern tip of Ibiza.

Saturday afternoon

We made found a good anchorage and went ashore, to Jibe’s relief. Even though it was 6:00p.m., the sun was still strong. We sat in a café above the beach tended by a brother and

sister – each smiling and good-natured with the customers, while bickering with each other. She took off on a motor bike after serving our drinks and calamari – and he finished taking care of us, while complaining all the while about her. We watched a regatta pass by outside the cove as we sat and relaxed - more than 15 boats with their colorful spinnakers full. When we left the restaurant we dec

ided to go up a path behind the building which we thought would be a small hill, leading to the main street. But nothing in these hills is straight or parallel. We found ourselves going up a steep grade between large hotels. Every room had colorful towels and swimsuits drying on the balcony (although suits are not really a requirement around here). The only way down was a steep winding stairway in front of a hotel. We met a group of English speaking children, all with matching T-shirts and water bottles, out for an afternoon game of dodge ball on the beach with their counselors.
Back to the boat. I quickly got into the water to cool off. Ralph tried fishing for some small fish in the cove, to no avail. Clara napped in the sun.
Another musical interlude with snacks and dinner on deck. The mosquitoes settled in, the wind changed, and we slept in air-conditioned comfort.

Sunday, 29 morning

We lifted anchor soon after breakfast to sail to another nearby cove. And sail we did - first time without motor. We first tried the genoa, then tra

ded it in for the spinnaker. But by then the wind had died down. We sailed slowly and silently along for a while until the wind had abandoned us completely. We entered Port de Benirrás by motor and anchored.