Timing Is Everything
We set sail from Ibiza to Mallorca (Majorca) the largest of the Balearic Islands, arriving in Port d'Andratx after an 11 hour cruise. Port d'Andratx was built in the mid 20th century around an existing fishing port. It is an interesting mix of international residents, holiday home owners and a few locals. Walking along the seafront you find stacks of fishing nets scattered amongst the cafes, taverns and art galleries, and lots of little back-street shops in the steeply rising hills that surround the town.
The two official languages are Catalan and Spanish and a local dialect of Catalan, the Mallorquín (mallorquí) is also spoken. We found a tremendous amount of both English and German spoken as well, due to so many of the holiday visitors coming from Northern Europe.
We had made a push to get to Mallorca when we did because we were hoping to catch up with family. Thankfully we had found a slim but workable weather window and we had finally tied up in the marina and showered mere moments before my sister and brother-in-law arrived at the marina. Somewhat uncannily they were embarking on a weeklong walking tour the next day from Palma, the capitol city of the Balearic Islands, just 40 kilometers (25 miles) away. We enjoyed a drink onboard Meraki before walking to dinner for a long overdue catch-up.
The next few of days we stayed put as a storm blew through. We had a couple of sleepless nights with the rolling of the boat, creaking of lines and squeaking of fenders jammed up against the neighboring boats. When the wind and waves subsided everyone breathed a sigh of relief. We bought groceries and cleaned the boat just in time to welcome our Danish daughter and son-in-law aboard. They flew down from Copenhagen for a quick fall getaway weekend.
The flag of the Balearic Islands waving in the wind on a sunny day looks surprising similar to the US flag.
We spent the first day wondering further afield around Port D’Andratx while we waited for the seas to settle from the previous nights storm.
The plan was to cruise over to Isla Cabrera, a National Marine Park, to spend some time playing on anchor. The next day was super calm with flat water and no wind. We cruised out of the harbor and headed southeast past Palma. The coastline is mainly rocky, pocketed with small coves, sandy beaches and caves.
The weekend passed far too quickly; swimming, snorkeling, paddle boarding, reading, hiking and otherwise just hanging out enjoying our time together. Monday afternoon, after one final swim, we headed back into Palma and enjoyed an evening of traditional tapas and sangria before saying goodbye. I love having guests aboard and welcome all friends and family to come for a visit.
Mallorca is a stunning island - it is no wonder it is visited by millions of tourists each year. The coastline has clear turquoise water with beautiful sandy beaches nestled between steep cliffs dotted with caves. The interior of the island is mountainous covered by pine forests with deep fertile valleys home to almond orchards, oranges, lemons, olives, and vineyards. The Serra de Tramuntana mountain range is nearly 90km (56 miles) long and includes the tallest peak on the island, Puig Major which is 1,436 meters (4,711 ft) above sea level. There are dozens of hiking trails crisscrossing the landscape which is also known as an adventure playground for extreme-sports fans; canyoning, kite surfing, rock climbing and coasteering - a sport defined as following a route around a coast at sea level by climbing, jumping off cliffs and swimming.
Alone again aboard Meraki, we returned to Andratx Harbor this time picking up a mooring buoy near the entrance. We were afforded dinner entertainment by the sailing school which was performing drills across the bay. Eventually it started to sprinkle and I rushed forward to bring in my laundry just as the sun dropped beneath the hills.
We awoke early the next morning gently cruising north up the west coast anchoring around noon beneath a promontory known as Sa Foradada - which means ‘the pierced one’, for obvious reasons.
Sa Foradada
We spent a beautiful afternoon catching up on chores, swimming (the water is now warmer than the air) and soaking up the last of the autumn warmth.
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