We are currently sitting in a very rolly anchorage next to the town of Cala Ratjada, on the NE corner of Mallorca. There is a NE wind blowing past the island, which has kicked up quite a swell – and since the wind is more northerly and the swell is more easterly, we are rocking and rolling all over the place. But this is better than the bay we were in this morning (on the other side of the point, and therefore in a windier position!), and it’s the best we can find in the immediate area. We plan to sail across to Menorca tomorrow, so if we go too far away today, we’ll just have to reclaim that distance in the morning. And so we make do…
Meanwhile, since its our last day on this island, what better time to tell you about our adventures here?!
We arrived in Mallorca three weeks ago, on June 12th. Our sail from Ibiza was more rough than we had expected. We knew it would be an upwind sail, but both the winds and the waves turned out to be greater than the forecasts had predicted. After ten hours of being heeled over at 20 degrees and crashing through 1.5m waves, we were both happy to sail into Andratx and tie up to a mooring ball.
We spent two nights on the mooring ball, waiting out a north wind that was likely to make the neighbouring anchorages fairly uncomfortable. We went ashore in the morning to do some exploring (and a little grocery shopping), and then spent the day on the boat, hiding in the shade. The day’s hot weather was increased by a calima, which is when dust from the Sahara gets blown over the Mediterranean and makes the air hazy and gritty-feeling. If had been cooler out, you could have mistaken the limited visibility for the mists of a rainy BC afternoon, but that’s not so believable when it’s 33°C and very humid out.
Since leaving Andratx, we have moved slowly around the south coast of Mallorca.* The north coast is said to be beautiful, but it’s mostly mountainous, so there are very few anchorages to tuck into. The weather has been very hot these last few weeks, with heat warnings of 36°C and higher for many of the days. When we are at anchor, it’s a little easier to stay cool: we put a tarp over the cockpit to create some shade, and you can go swimming whenever you feel the need to cool down. Mind you, even the water is unusually warm this month. On average, the Western Mediterranean Sea is 5 to 7 degrees Celsius higher than usual right now – since arriving in Mallorca, the water temperature has been 28 or 29 degrees C, similar to what we usually saw in the Caribbean.
The hot weather makes going ashore less appealing, so we haven’t been doing as much hiking as we would like. Most of our excursions are for groceries or laundry, and sometimes a search for ice cream. I would much rather go swimming with the fishies than walk around in the heat, and the idea of lying on a beach in the sun just isn’t my thing. Usually, my first swim of the day is a longish snorkel; if I’m too tired after that, I can always just sit in my floatie chair!
We had to be in the marina for a few days last week, so we took advantage of the easy shore access and spent a day walking around Palma city. We headed out early, since the heat warning for the day predicted temperatures of 39°C. Our first stop was the Cathedral of Santa Maria de Palma, a gothic cathedral that was constructed between 1229 and the mid-17th century. Structural instability was identified in the 19th century, so restoration work continues on the building today. The Cathedral of Palma has the eigth-tallest nave in the world, and the second largest surviving Gothic rose window.
After visiting the cathedral, we wandered around the old city, exploring the narrow streets until we finally got too hot and had to stop for lunch. There are lots of streetside cafes with umbrellas over the tables, but the key is to find one that also has a good breeze as well so you don’t bake while you’re eating. In the afternoon, we wandered through as many shady streets as we could find, trying to find relief from the heat. My aim was to visit a yarn store in the non-touristy part of town, but (as with many places in Spain) it was closed until 4:30 in the afternoon, so we had a little time to kill. Eventually (with fun new sock yarn in hand!), we headed back to the boat, stopping at a grocery store on the way. After a big lunch, all we wanted for dinner was a big salad, but we were running low on vegetables!
Mallorca is a beautiful island, and I can see why it is so popular with tourists – although the fact that it gets 12 million tourists per year is a little crazy! Several people have told us that this is a great spot for cycling, which makes sense given that most of the island is flat with a mountain ridge along the north side. If you want to do this, however, maybe come here in May, before the heat of summer hits. We haven’t seen any rain since leaving Cartagena in mid-May, and for this Vancouverite, that’s really just too long a dry stretch! Even Mike is missing the rain, which is really saying something!
* Did you know that you can follow our movements on our Garmin InReach Tracker page?