Before we came to Spain, I had heard of the Balearic Islands, but I have to admit that I wasn’t exactly clear on where they are located. Somewhere in the Med, sure, and off the coast of Spain, of course, but there’s a whole lot of water in that general area. So for those of you who, like me, only knew of Ibiza as a place for clubbing and multi-day raves, and Mallorca (or is it Majorca?) as the home of rich people and all-inclusive resorts, we’ll start today’s post with a quick geography lesson.
The Balearics (or Baleares if you’re Spanish) are made up of four main islands: Ibiza, Formentera, Mallorca (sometimes spelled Majorca), and Menorca. They are located in the Mediterranean Sea, roughly 200km east of Valencia and 190km south of Barcelona. Together, the islands form a Province of Spain, with Catalan and Spanish as the primary languages (hence the varied spellings for place names). These islands have long been a tourist hotspot, which has driven up the cost of housing, food, and everything else. Just last weekend there was an anti-tourism protest in Palma, the capital city of the Islands (for clarification purposes – and because I had to look it up to confirm – Palma is the city in Mallorca, while La Palma is one of the [also Spanish] Canary Islands, located off the NW coast of Africa). Sailing is very popular in these islands – big surprise! – but we have been told that they are packed with boats in July and August. Our plan is to hang out here until the end of June, and then move on to Corsica and/or Sardinia in July – where it will also be busy, but at least there are more anchorages to explore.
Over the winter, our plans for leaving Cartagena had involved departing the marina and then working our way along the coast of Spain, possibly as far north as Valencia. Each stop along the coast would bring us farther east and shorten our eventual crossing to Ibiza. As departure day approached, however, it became clear that the winds were not going to allow this. There are only a handful of possible anchorages along our proposed route, and they mostly require calm and/or west winds to be viable. Our forecast called for a few final days of strong SW winds, followed by an apparently never-ending east wind: there were no west winds in the 12-day extended forecast, and we didn’t want to have wait around that long to check it’s accuracy! The only comfortable option was to sail straight for the Balearics on the last of the SW wind, then find ourselves an anchorage that would be suitable for when the east winds arrived. In a way this plan was fitting – we had arrived into Cartagena after a two-night sail from Gibraltar, so why not leave it on an overnight sail as well?
We left Cartagena at 8am on Saturday, May 24th, and arrived in Formentera around 10:30 on Sunday morning. Sleeping on a rolly down-wind passage can be tough, and an overnight trip isn’t nearly enough time to settle your body into the three-hours on / three-hours off watch schedule that we typically keep. We planned our arrival in Formentera so it would suit our inevitably sleepy state – we dropped anchor in an open bay with lots of space, and then immediately went down for a nap. Imagine our surprise when we woke up a few hours later, surrounded by expensive power yachts (mostly chartered, we think), and a beach packed with people!
After a few days in Formentera, we moved north to Ibiza – a whole 10 miles away. We found a spot in a beautiful bay with turquoise water and protection from the east winds, and settled in for a couple of nights. After a day or two, the wind moved a little more south and started sending swell (ie: continuous waves) into the anchorage, so we moved around to the west side of the island in search of calmer water.
Our next stop was Cala d’Hort, a beautiful beach just up the coast from Es Vedrá, the big rocky island on the SW corner of Ibiza. The bay is surrounded by cliffs, with the main beach in the middle, at the bottom of a little valley. From here, we were able to hike to the Torre de Savinar, one of the many 18th century lookout towers that are spread around Ibiza. The weather was perfect for the hike: sunny, but with a good breeze to keep us from overheating. We left the boat around 10, had lunch up by the tower, and made our way back in time for a swim and a late afternoon nap!
Our travels this summer are far more relaxed than last year. We don’t have a schedule, and are quite happy to stay in each anchorage for a couple of nights, moving on only when we want some new scenery, if the changing weather requires a change, or because we need access to a larger town. When we arrived in Sant Antoni on June 1st, for example, we were in search of a laundromat, groceries, and better shelter from some stronger NW winds that were due in a few days. Sant Antoni also has the advantage of being only 40 minutes by bus from Eivissa, the main city of Ibiza, so we use this as a base for a day tip to town rather than having to sail all the way to the other side of the Island.
Eivissa is the Catalan spelling of Ibiza, and seems to be how the locals refer to the main city (although you sometimes hear the city referred to as ‘Ibiza City’ to differentiate it from Ibiza the island. The historic centre of Eivissa is right on the main port. The area closest to the water water has lots of twisty streets (now mostly full of shops and restaurants), and then the upper section of Dalt Vila (or “upper town”), which is built on a hill and surrounded by 16th century walls. Phillip II fortified this part of the city as a defense against attacks by Ottoman and Barbary Pirate (from Turkey and North Africa, respectively). It was a really hot day when we were in Eivissa, but we made the effort to climb up to the old town and wander around all the narrow streets for as long as we could, stopping for lunch and cool drink when necessary. By the time we reached the Port city at the bottom of the hill, the shops were closing down in the heat of the late afternoon. That was our cue to hop on the bus back home.
After a day of chores (laundry and groceries), we left Sant Antoni and headed to the north coast of Ibiza. Our first stop was Port de Sant Miguel, which is at the end of a deep bay with hills on either side. We stayed here for several days, swimming, snorkelling, and doing a little hiking. After two nights we moved to a neighbouring bay, to hide out while a Mistral brought big NE winds (always beware of winds that have names!), and an accompanying swell. Eventually, we moved on to Portinatx (pronounced ‘Port-ee-natch’) so we could re-stock on food, and celebrate my birthday with a fun night out. I had wanted a lazy day at anchor on my birthday, so the weather gods helped me out by sending a heat wave with temperatures into the high-30s. We even decided to cancel our walk to the nearby lighthouse, so we didn’t become one of those headlines about tourists who disappear after going hiking on too hot of a day!
We had a good dinner on shore, and returned to the boat as dusk was falling. The winds had been picking up while we were eating, gusting out of the valley and across the anchorage. Around midnight we looked outside and saw (by the light of the full moon!) that a catamaran from the far side of the anchorage was now trying to anchor next to us where the holding was better – but of course there wasn’t any space left, as they found out after almost getting caught in the swim-area marker lines. A few hours later, we woke up to the big power boat next to resetting his anchor – they too, must have dragged in the gusty winds and rougher swell. All told, it was a bit of a sleepless night – excellent preparation for a 5am start on the following day, giving ourselves plenty of time for our 50 nm crossing to Mallorca. Because doing a long sail on very little sleep is always a good idea! 😉