4/5/23 Platja de s’Arenel, Mallorca
A quiet night at anchor and a glorious sunny day. The bahia
was filled with sailboat racers, jet skiers, yachts, kite boarders, wind
surfers and foiling boards all day. It was mesmerizing watching all of the
activity. We spent the day catching up on my blog and measuring and marking the
bimini infill to complete the modification. My other project was to fabricate a
screen for the small port in the VIP cabin, success! It is always amazing to
see how the time flies puttering around on a boat.
4/6/23 Platja de s’Arenel, Mallorca
A bit of a swell had us sleeping athwart ship last night,
but another glorious morning. Took the dinghy over to the area where the racers
were launching from. Talked to the team USA coach, who sounded Swedish. He told
us this is part of the World Cup of Sailing and, more specifically, The SAR
Princesa Sofia Trophy race. We were curious about the boats and how they were
brought over from the US. Evidently they keep a set of boats here in the EU and
at home. We could see Sea Vans for other teams on shore.
We beached the dinghy and walked the town with our wagon to
load up on fresh vegys. We found a great market, La Despensa de Carmen, lots of
vegys grown here on the island at very reasonable prices. On the other hand,
wine and liquor are expensive. Having filled our wagon, we made our way back to
the dinghy and the boat. The town is pretty non-descript, a vibrant beach front
walk with lots of shops and restaurants, but off the beach it looked a bit old
and tired.
Lots of racing again today, but not as much wind. Evidently
there are over 60 countries represented, over 1200 competitors and several
classes of boats. Next race series will be in France in a couple weeks. The boats
represented include: 49er, Kiteboard, Windfoil, Nacras 17, and more. Mens,
womans and mixed competitions. These are sailors that look forward to competing
in the Olympics in France next summer.
4/7/23 Platja de s’Arenel, Mallorca
Up early from a fairly quiet night for another beautiful
sunrise. A lot of sailing activity again today. The winds were even lighter
today. I took advantage of the calm and continued to work on my bimini infill.
Some hand stitching to secure some of the folds and installation of a dozen
turn lock snaps to attach it to the dodger. It is looking pretty good, I just
need to resew the corners at the bimini and add a strap at each corner at the
dodger. Otherwise a lazy day enjoying the sunshine and water activity.
4/8/23 Platja de s’Arsenel, Mallorca
It was a rolly night, not terrible, but enough to wake you
up a couple times in the night. Prepared the boat for the short run across the
bay to La Lonja Marina. We tried to get a reservation at several marinas, but
most did not have room for one reason or another. We had not heard from La
Lonja so I called them and they said that they would take us. As luck would
have it, they were the least expensive and closest, like across the street, to
the old town of Palma.
Arriving at noon the Marinaros was very helpful, the light
breeze was favorable; we slid in stern first and tied up without any issues. In
Palma we are the little boat, we had a 62’ oyster on port and a 70’ power boat
on starboard. The concrete quay was well protected with bumpers and the dock
was just about the height of our aft deck so we could simply step off the boat,
no passerelle needed. Check in was very quick.
We wasted no time changing into more appropriate city attire
and heading into town. The waterfront is dominated by a fabulous 13th
century gothic cathedral with a fabulous public area at the water. In as much
as Palma is a huge tourist area it is also a very old and interesting city
being a pivotal port since Roman times. I could not believe how many people
there were wondering the narrow streets and grand boulevards. It was Saturday
afternoon before Easter and most everything was open. We picked up a few
critical grocery items and dropped them back at the boat. Then it was off to
check out a couple wine stores for some tasting and buying of some of the local
wine. Mallorca has a number of vineyards and produces a lot of wine. The wine
that is exported is primarily going to Germany and Britain. The wine was
fabulous so we picked up a number of bottles for the boat wine cellar.
4/9/23 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
We actually set an alarm for this morning as we had to be at
the train station by 0945 for our tour. We boarded a Victorian style narrow
gage train in Palma. The train dates back to 1912 and runs between Palma and
Soller. This provided a means for the oranges grown in Soller to be shipped
over land to the big port of Palma and avoid piracy at sea. As a kid my dad
loved to take us to various places and ride the old steam trains, so I have a
special place in my heart for the old trains. We managed to get the last two
seats in the first-class car. The landscape quickly changed from urban sprawl
to olive and almond groves, to foothills with stone terraces for the trees to
mountain tunnels and tremendous valley views during our hour and a half train
ride. Interesting to me was that this is an electric train and the electricity
was generated by coal burning plant originally.
The town of Sollar is a quaint little hill top town with the
requisite church in the middle of the town. The architect for this church was a
student of Gaudi, an architect famous in Spain, particularly Barcelona, known
for his intricate structures. We walked the town and then boarded the trolly
that takes you 3 km to the Port of Soller. The trolly is a similar vintage to
the train, 1913. Arriving in the port you can see that it is well protected
with a narrow entrance to the north west and high hills all around. We had
lunch at a café near the marina and enjoyed a number of Tapas selected by our
guide; Jamone Croquets, Pitons, Patatas, Tortas and a couple others I cannot
recall the name of. After lunch we stopped at the ice cream shop for the
obligatory Orange Sherbet and it was delicious. The port is where the coal was
brought in for the power generation.
The group of 9 boarded a nice VW Van for a ride through the mountains and along the coast. We stopped for a coffee where the Arch Duke, Luis Salvador, of Austria built his beautiful home, Son Marroig and enjoyed the sea view to the north. The duke evidently did not want to be emperor so he came to this island and became a bit of a naturalist and decided to stay with his father’s permission. He had this home built on the cliff and had a beautiful marble gazebo built for his wife. Below the cliff was Punta de la Foradada, hole in the rock. As the name suggests there is a rock outcrop with a hole in it. On this little peninsula there is also a restaurant that is only accessible by a mile plus walk or by boat. They supposedly make a great Paella. My may have to anchor in on our boat.
Punta de la Foradada
Next stop was the town of Vallademossa, famous for Chopin
spending a winter there with his mistress and writing The Prelude. Also
significant is that Santa Catalina was from here, you will see ceramic plaques
through out the town commemorating her. Our guide bought a couple traditional Mallorcan
pastries, a potato flour sort of roll and Ensaimadas a sweet flakey pastry
filled with chocolate.
They dropped us off at the marina at about 1800, a full day
of touring the island. We were plenty satisfied from all our food stops during
the day so we went for a walk and discovered some new neighborhoods, ancient
buildings and, of course, stores. At Zara Home we found an odd shaped mirror to
hang above the bar as well as beach towels for the cockpit, but we did not buy
them, yet. A stop at the local grocer for a couple items and home for a light
dinner. After dinner we walked the bazar that had popped up along the sidewalk
below the castle walls; jewelry, clothes, pottery and food. There was an
impressively huge pan of seafood paella, a giant grill filled with meats and
sausages and a couple good sized octopi just waiting to be cooked.
4/10/23 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Up early, starting to get a little warmer, 60 F in the
cabin. We broke out the bikes, grabbed the passports and ships papers and
headed to the Policia International deep in the port. As yet we have not
checked back into the EU. Assuming we can find someone at the Policia office I
figured we would either succeed or get arrested. We road along a bike path that
follows the sea wall of the harbor so we could ogle all of the beautiful
yachts. Lots of construction in Palma; new buildings, new docks and new
infrastructure.
At the ferry terminal we saw a sign that said “Policia International”,
Suzette waited with the bikes so I could run in and see if anyone would help
us. The website for cruisers suggested that we would probably need an
appointment. I followed up some stairs and waded through a sea of people
boarding a ferry and found the Policia office. It did not look very open, but
there were people waiting on a bench outside the office. As I approached the
door there was a paper sign on the door “Private Yacht Check in Requirements”.
This must be the place. I walked in and a very nice officer greeted me, very nice
because she was a pretty 6’ tall blonde who spoke reasonable English and did
not arrest me. She showed me the sign on the door and I explained to her that I
did not have a Seaman’s Book (this for crew on a someone else’s yacht or
commercial vessel), I did not have a plane ticket home, but I understood that I
had to leave after 90 days, I did not have a formal crew list, and I could not
prove that I had 95 euros/day for the duration of my stay. Once she understood
that I was the Owner of the yacht and we were sleeping on it as we cruised
around Spain, she exclaimed “you lucky man!” and proceeded to process me in.
She actually created a crew list for me and stamped it, she stamped both pass
ports without seeing Suzette in person and bid me bon voyage.
Very Sleak
I knew that Suzette was probably going crazy wondering where I was, worse yet, did they arrest me, but I did not want to leave that office and chance returning to find a not so nice officer with handcuffs. Suzette was relieved to see me, but did say that she had been asking people what the process was and where I might be. We did a celebratory dance on the sidewalk and road off with stamped papers in hand! The good thing about this is it delayed the start of our 90 Skagen Visa clock and our 18 month VAT tax clock.
It was Easter Monday, evidently still part of the holiday,
so not much open or even much activity. Do we need Monday off to recover from
the revelry of Easter? Come down off of the sugar buzz or shake off the
euphoria of the celebration in church? We put our bikes away and walked to the
Zara Home Store where Suzette saw a Mirror she wanted for the boat. We bought
this odd shaped mirror to hang behind the bar in the salon. Zaras is a very
nice home store for decorator items, linens, etc. We also bought some beautiful
beach towels. We lugged these things back to the boat, then set off to find a
coffee shop where we could sample the coffee, buy some beans and get them
ground for our French press. We headed to Nano Coffee passing through the
castle on the water front, they had integrated a modern art museum into the
interior of the castle grounds and building. I am not much for modern art, I
suppose it is thought provoking or perhaps just a strain on my creative mind.
Nano made a great coffee, but they did not sell the kind of
beans we wanted. We set off across town where Suzette stopped in every other
shoe shop on the way to a particular shoe shop, Monge. She had liked the shoes
that one of the guests on our tour of Soller was wearing and they were Monge.
Monge makes all of there shoes by hand in Mallorca, but Suzette did not find a
shoe that satisfied her. We went further west in the city to find the Chinese
store for a few items on my list, in particular, hangars for the mirror. I love
these stores, they literally have a little bit of everything and they are
always clean and orderly.
On the return we stopped in a little hole in the wall tapas
bar called 13%. They had wines for sale, so we sampled a couple different wines
and ordered a couple tapas. The wine was fabulous, so we bought a few bottles
for the cellar. The food was delicious, Suzette was analyzing so she might
replicate it in the future.
4/11/23 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
It was Tuesday and things were finally open again, specifically
the boat chandlery and electronics store. First stop was Enaval to see about
having someone look at my Raymarine system. We are still having issues maintaining
a fix. They were helpful and very knowledgeable. They took all of our
information and said they we review with Raymarine and get back to us. Closer
to the port we found a great chandlery where they were very helpful. I needed
to replace the sensor on the chain counter and he tracked one down for us and
said he would have it by the end of the day. He also tracked down the Yanmar
oil I needed and said he would have that by the next morning!
Suzette was nursing her sore arm and resting in anticipation
of a massage in the afternoon. I took advantage of the time and continued to
work on my Bimini modifications. Hand stitching Sunbrella fabric is a slow
process and a real hand work out, but I made good progress. Suzette enjoyed her
massage and I made a frittata for dinner so she could continue convalescing.
4/12/23 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
The day started out clear and sunny, but with a bit of a
breeze that we had not had in the last few days. We walked to the chandlery and
picked up the engine oil that they had brought in for me. Back at the boat I
set about changing the oil while Suzette went shopping. Having experience now
and all the right tools the job was clean and easy. While the pump was sucking
the oil out of the engine, a small straw so it is a slow process, I finished
sewing on the last two straps to complete my bimini infill. It will need some
finish stitching to properly finish the job, but it is fully functional.
Suzette returned about the time I finished my project and
made lunch. She announced that she could have spent a thousand euros today, but
felt like she should get approval. I listened to the list and the justification
and after lunch we went back to the shops she had visited. Lucky me it was
siesta time and Villeroy and Boch was closed. Unfortunately the dress shop next
door was open and WE bought two new dresses. We stopped at the chandlery for
some electrical connectors so I could install the new chain counter sensors. So
nice to have easy access to parts and tools. I installed the new sensor while
Suzette made dinner. The chain counter was my new favorite toy on the boat when
we first started using the boat, it will make anchoring fun again! (For those
scratching their head over “chain counter” it works like this; I have a chain
counter display at the helm from which I can raise and lower the anchor. The
display tells me how much chain is out in meters or feet.)
It was a very warm day providing a perfect setting for
dinner in the cockpit. Grilled zucchini and red peppers over pasta with freshly
grated parmesan cheese, a little olive oil and a bottle of Mallorcan Cabernet Sauvignon.
They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, it appears that the
same path leads to his wallet. After dinner it was back to Villeroy and Boch to
by silverware for the boat. We had brought a bastardized set of silverware from
home on our first trip to the boat knowing we would eventually find something
here to replace it. The shop owner, Jaime Casasnovas, was a very gentle man and
we enjoyed a long conversation with him. He shared that his father was born on
the second floor of the shop and his mother was from Barcelona. He is very
proud of his island and gave us a list of places we should see here. He also
shared some restaurant tips for locals rather than tourist. That experience
with him was worth the price of the silverware. And no, the dresses and
silverware did not make up the thousand-dollar shopping spree. There remained a
pair of shoes from a shop where the shoes were designed and made here in
Mallorca. That purchase has not yet been fully reviewed.
Having had an early dinner and with the sun setting we
settled in for a cocktail and some passage planning. Tonight was supposed to be
a high wind event, which was the motivator for the longer stay in the marina.
The weather for the night was not looking nearly as bad as predicted. Looking
at a passage anywhere around the island for the next couple days was not
looking very comfortable, it was not the wind by day, but the heavy swell
predicted at night and the anchorages are not very well protected. It was
decided that we would stay a couple more days. Do you sense a new pair of shoes
in OUR future?
4/13/23 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
It rained over night precipitating a morning of boat washing
on deck. Just about the time we finished cleaning we had another short cloud
burst of rain, oh well. The sun came out, the wind picked up and the
temperature dropped about 5 degrees F. Once the pavement dried, we headed out
on our bikes to explore the part of town where people actually live and work.
There were many apartments along grand boulevards. We managed to reach the
other side of town and the foothills leading to the mountains. There was a huge
stadium and sports park at the edge of town. We wound our way back through the
city looking for an electronic/appliance shop. We wanted to get one of those
gun type massagers for Suzy Q. They have a department store called El Corte
Ingles, 7 floors high and 3 floors down, they have everything. Massager in tow
we headed back to the boat for dinner and relaxation in the warm sun. On the
way back we stopped at the cathedral for a view of the bay, Jeff Bezos yacht
was anchored in the bay. Evidently this sailing yacht has the tallest mast in
the world.
They are preparing for the Palma Boat Show that will be here
in a couple weeks. The dock is busing with clean up and the erection of tents
for the vendors. If we can we will return for the show. For now we are loving Palma.
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