Amigos!

View of Santa Ponsa anchorage from our lunch spot

Saving the east coast of Ibiza for later we trundled on over to Mallorca instead and our first stop was the popular anchorage of Santa Ponsa. Having spent more than enough time there a couple of summers ago trying to sort out our engine issues this visit was short and sweet. Enough time to bump into our neighbour from Aguadulce and enjoy a delicious lunch with a view. We were back on Mallorca hoping to catching up with some long lost friends.

At anchor in Punta Negra

Millionaires row, Puerto Portals

We continued on eastwards and stopped in a small bay in the lee of Punta Negra, a stones throw away from busy Palma Nova and the infamous resort of Magaluf. We just about had enough shelter from some strong south easterly winds so we stayed put for a few days. There was a very handy landing stage for our dinghy which led to a path along the seafront and amazingly on to a large Mercadona supermarket with a laundry next door. A cruisers delight! We contacted old friends John and Mags who have an apartment nearby. As luck would have it, it turned out that they also have a mooring in next door Puerto Portals which we were kindly offered the use of. 

View of Portals anchorage

Make Love Not War - Portals

Flower Power - Portals

Needless to say we scooted round to Portals the next day only to find some cheeky Spaniard had attached themselves to the mooring. We anchored instead in a small patch of sand and stayed put for a couple of weeks. We got the fright of our lives returning to our dinghy late one night only to find it was no longer on the beach where we had left it. Memories of a similar incident in Sicily came flooding back. The marina security didn't want to know so we were resigned to a night on the grass as there was no means of returning to the boat, apart from a long swim of course... A few hours later, long past midnight, we decided to have one last look on the beach and this time spied something in the far distance. No doubt some kids having a play but it taught us a lesson. A ladder in the marina dock between the motor boats proved a much safer spot. It was great to catch up with John and Mags again and we enjoyed their hospitality in their wonderful apartment overlooking the marina. We also got to know Portals rather well too. It is where the jet set like to moor their boats, good for beautiful people watching and the odd exotic fast car as well! The Little Bar became our regular for the World Cup ups and downs and the marina hosted a very colourful Flower Power rock and roll event. 

Palma

Palma waterfront and cathedral

Early morning in Palma Nova

Our anchor was so firmly dug in we decided to venture further on foot rather than by boat. We hopped on a bus for the half hour journey into Palma. We spent a lovely day being reminded what a great city Palma is and how much we enjoyed our winter there fourteen years ago. We have kept up with good friends Mandy and Gra from our time back then and it was fabulous to see them again too. They took us up to the nearby village of Portals Nous for a meal at a good old British pub. We met up for a second time in Palma for a "quiet" drink and bite and only just made the last bus home! With some strong winds forecast from the west we finally retrieved our long lost anchor and took shelter in Palma Nova bay. The storm passed through but thankfully not the tsunami that drenched Andraix a few bays up from us.

Reacquainted with a couple of our favourite Palma bars!

Everyone mentioned how lovely Es Trenc anchorage was and couldn't believe we'd never been. American friends we'd met in Tunisia a few years back were heading our way on their yacht, Horizons, so we decided to meet up there. We had a bouncy five hour passage eastwards to this delightful bay with crystal clear blue water. It has a wild and natural feel with an undeveloped green backdrop. Quite rare for Mallorca. We spent four lovely evenings catching up with Vince and Barbie. Time to give our livers a rest and we left them to explore more of Mallorca while we made our way south again and back to the heady delights of Ibiza.

Horizons at anchor in Es Trenc

Restoration and degustation

Taking the dog for a paddle, Santa Ponsa

Back in the safe anchorage at Santa Ponsa, Mallorca, there was a lot of head scratching and chin stroking. We eventually came to the conclusion that our engine problems were due to a faulty starter motor.  We therefore decided to bite the bullet and replace it. Our Palma friends, Mandy and Gra, kindly came to the rescue yet again and sourced the new Volvo part for us. For the third time this summer we found ourselves without the use of the engine while bobbing at anchor. Not an ideal situation in a crowded anchorage. We chose a calm day and embarked on removing the old part and replacing it with the shiny new one. After an extremely long day and many expletives, the job was completed and everything appeared to work. I think the Captain could have done with a more agile and savvy assistant!

Cala Santa Ponsa

Not something from the Little Shop of Horrors but Berengenas de Amalgro,
(pickled eggplant) served aboard Mandala in Nancy's beautiful hand made bowl

Securing Mandala's dinghy beneath the El Balcon de Maria
restaurant, Santa Ponsa

El Nautico restuarant

It wasn't all doom and gloom. While we sat at anchor sorting out our problems we had great fun wining, dining and catching up with old friends as they came and went. Our American friends, Ron and Nancy on Mandala, whom we met last winter in Gaeta, stopped by for a few days. Then it was the turn of Kate and Hugh on Indaba whom we travelled to the Middle East with and hadn't seen for seven years. In between the comings and goings of Mandala and Indaba we also managed to pop into Palma on the bus and visited Mandy and Gra on Skalu in Real Club Nautico marina, our old wintering spot of 12 years ago. We had a lovely, very, very, long lunch at the El Nautico restaurant on the first floor of the clubhouse. It was just like we'd never left. With our problem solved and my sister and nephew arriving in a few days it was time to head back to Ibiza.

Real Club Nautico marina from El Nautico restaurant

Santa Ponsa anchorage from El Balcon de Maria restaurant

A problem in Menorca and another in Mallorca

Cala Teulara

With a small window of easterly winds forecast before the next Mistral made its way down from the Gulf of Lion we set off on the 200 mile passage to Menorca. Having experienced non stop strong winds in Sardinia it was typical that we ended up having to motor sail most of the way. We dropped anchor before dawn in the very crowded Cala Teulara, just outside Mahon, planning to move to a better spot in daylight and after the morning exodus. As we were about to re-anchor it was suddenly apparent that the boat was stuck in forward gear! A quick turnaround confirmed our worst fears - we were not

Mahon harbour

able to put the boat in neutral or reverse, the gearbox cable had clearly snapped. A quick thinking captain managed to control the boat by turning the engine on and off. The anchor went down but we were unable to bed it in. Fingers crossed that we didn't drag or another yacht drag onto us. Instead of catching up on sleep we spent the rest of the day clearing out the back cabin and freeing the broken cable. We even had a visit from the Mahon Port Authority telling us, and the other yachts at anchor, that the anchorage was now forbidden and only to be used if all marina berths were full. How times have changed since we were last here in 2005. Of course we now had the perfect excuse - we couldn't move! The next morning we went on a long

Mahon

dinghy ride into Mahon with the broken cable and thankfully Pedro's Boat Yard came to the rescue. With a promise of a visit to the anchorage the following morning we went off in search of a Spanish telephone sim and data card followed by a well earned drink. We just had to survive one more windy night without an engine... Luis from Pedro's was a star. He turned up as promised the following morning and within an hour the new cable was fitted. We just had the mammoth task of putting the boat back together again.

Cala Teulara

At anchor in Cala Grau

Cala Grau

Old fisherman's cottage, Es Grau

Despite the overcast weather we were happy to be on the move again and our next stop was Cala Grau, a few miles up the coast. Our brand new cruising pilot was already out of date. Instead of a large free anchorage, mooring bouys were now in place in the bay. We still managed to find a nice spot a little further out. We went ashore to have a mooch around this once small fishing village. It is now mainly freshly whitewashed holiday homes with a smattering of bars and restaurants. The beach is part of the S'Albufera des Grau nature reserve and therefore protected from overdevelopment.

Sunset from Cala Grau

Cala Fornells

Fornells, The calm before...

...the storm

Fornells harbour

Fornells

Fornells

Fornells

The next day we continued north to Cala Fornells, a large, inland area of water some two miles long, so lots of anchoring space. As usual the mooring bouys had sprouted everywhere but we found a quiet spot away from everyone and enjoyed the wonderful views of the unspoilt pine forests. It didn't last for long. We were approached by a red RIB and a moorings warden politely told us we were anchored in a Poseidonia (sea grass) area and had to move to the centre of the bay. We'd only been in Spain a week and had been told off twice! We duly did what we were told and stayed put for a few days as a Mistral blew in from the north. While the wind howled, with nothing better to do than peer through the binoculars the beedy eyed captain spotted a yacht in the distance beam to the wind and heading for shore. Its anchor was clearly dragging. We called the nearby Club Nautico. "We can't do anything" was the reply and suggested we tried the harbour. "Not our zone" was the reply but thankfully they said they would contact the moorings warden. By now

Fornells

the yacht was clearly aground. Finally we watched the red RIB race to the rescue and tow the yacht to safety. The wind eventually abated and we launched the dinghy for a trip ashore. Fornells is a pretty whitewashed fishing village with a picturesque harbour filled with Ilauts, the traditional Minorcan fishing craft, used for catching lobsters. The summer brings lots of tourists to Fornells and it is also well known for its restaurants serving caldereta de langosta - a delicious lobster stew. We walked to the defence tower which afforded magnificent views back down across the bay.

Leaving Cala Fornells at dawn

Ciutadella harbour

Ciutadella harbour

Ciutadella cathedral

Former 17th century palace, now Ciutadella town hall

With the weather calm again we took a bus across the island to Ciutadella. We enjoyed being inland for a change crossing the undulating Menorcan countryside which is surprisingly undeveloped. Ciutadella is an attractive town and used to be the capital of Menorca until the British arrived in the early 18th century. We had a lovely lunch in the picturesque port before exploring the beautiful historic centre.

Ciutadella old town

Ciutadella old town

The entrance to Ciutadella old town

Cala Santa Ponsa

With friends due to meet us in Ibiza we needed to keep moving. Our next stop was Mallorca. With diesel and water running low we had a pleasant day sail across to Pollenca where we were able to fill up with both. We set off again early the following morning for the long passage along the dramatic west coast of Mallorca. We had explored a lot of the island ten years ago so decided to continue on south to Santa Ponsa. We dropped anchor in a quiet bay close by and enjoyed a refreshing swim. The next day we limped into Cala Santa Ponsa with yet another problem. The starter motor had started to make a depressing clunk, clunk noise instead of roaring the engine into life. It finally started but clearly needed to be fixed. We dropped anchor in the sheltered but busy bay, leapt into the dinghy and went in search of some help. Once in the boatyard adjacent to the marina, despite being a Friday, we soon discovered

Santa Ponsa beach and anchorage

everything was shut as it was a public holiday. It was clear that nothing was going to happen until Monday so we decided to relax over the weekend. We contacted old friends, Mandy and Gra, whom we'd first met when we wintered in Palma twelve years ago and spent a lovely Sunday catching up with them. The conversation soon reverted back to our problems. Gra very kindly offered to bench test our starter motor and helped remove the offending piece of machinery. So, for the second time this summer we were left at anchor without the use of our engine! Gra returned the following day unable to find any fault and of course the engine started first time....