SEPTEMBER 10, 2011
After another brief encounter with the Zurich security people (this one I won) I met up with Wolfgang and we stayed 2 days with friends in Waldshut. From Zurich we flew to Palma, Mallorca and then on to Murcia, Airport Spainish mainland..... a further twenty minute cab ride took us to the Yacht Port Cartagena where we had left Simple Abundance 3 months earlier; we were home.
Off came the shoes, and most of our clothes to boot. Stripped down to the bare essentials we unpacked our suitcases with the cabin temperature reading of 35 degrees. Everything was just the way we left things with the exception of a fine layer of yellow sand blown over from the Sahara.
We spent the next few days bringing in provisions, the local supermarket does deliver. Water, beer and wine is just too much to bring back in a granny cart, hot weather or not.
Most marinas are firmly established little micro commumities where cruisers from around the world meet and exchange information, experiences and make new friendships. During a recent BBQ evening, we met many other couples, some retired, some looking forward to retirement. Others came from Norway with their two children and plan to stay in Cartegana for the winter months learning Spanish and travelling by car to Velencia and Barcelona. We met one Britsh couple who had been in this Cartagena harbour for four years on and off with the occasional visit to the UK. She was the “go-to person” if you had any questions about anything in the area. She told us about the upcoming cultural event called the Carthagineses & Roman Festival. It’s a 5 day festival celebrating Cartagena’s rich history with the Romans. Hundreds of local men, women and lots of children dressed in authentic costumes and participataed in elaborate on stage performances in the open-air theater with the habour as the backdrop. Performances usually didn’t start until after sunset which makes things much more comfortable for the audience. After the performance of “Lighting the Sacred Fire” the entire group paraded through the street with marching bands and chariots.
September 23, 2011
We left Calpe, last Spanish mainland port early this morning heading dead east to Formentera, a smaller island just a few miles south of Ibiza. Formentera has been described as a tropical paradise with long white sandy beaches and lagoons with turquoise clear water.
Calpe is a fairly good sized town with the usual fishing harbour, but interestingly enough the daily fish auction was open to public viewing. The bidders sit on bleachers on either side of a hugh conveyor belt which come rolling out in front of them in big shallow plastic crates. Each crate is filled one variety of seafood, but in total there are at least 20 different kinds of seafood. Each bidder had an electronic device in their hand which records their bidding….then the product is marked with their number to be picked up later. Fasinating, but we did not eat fish that night.
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We headed out at 8am and ETA is 6pm this evening. We will anchor in one of the many sheltered bays and we will take our first Mediterrainean swim. Today’s crossing from the mainland to the Baleric Islands has been idilic sofar with the winds coming from the south, dolphins surfacing once in a while and Ibiza looming on the horizon.
While still back in Cartegana we met a very nice Britsh couple, Sue and Nigil who also live aboard their Southerly, “Bodic”. We’ve hooked up with them and will anchor in the same bay tonight. I guess it’s time to haul out our dinghy that’s been hiding in a bag (deflated of course) in my cabin, pump some air into it, hang a 4Hp motor on the back and explore the beaches.
Leaving the boat in Cartegana for months means the the hull, propeller and rudders of been saturated with barnicals. Once we’re comfortably settled in our anchorage tomorrow I will put on my wet suit and goggles to see how much build-up there is.
The Formentera achorage was not nearly as nice as expected….no white sand, no turquoise water and the our house was rockin & rollin all night long. To top things off we spent two hours untwisting our achor line from the mooring line. Generally, only one of the two are needed but the forecast promised thunderstorms so we thought better safe than sorry. No thunderstorm and boy were we sorry.
September 29, 2011
Puerto De Andratxa is a picturesque Mediterranean harbor on the west side of Mallorca framed by steep, rocky hillsides with monsterous villa overlooking the sea. We left here this morning after making one last stop at the German bakery in town. Mmmmmm…... must stock my freezer. Dark ryes of all shapes and sizes, with seeds and without; too many tough decisions so early in the morning, but I one decision was easy I had to have that chocolate croissant smiling my way in the display case. Then off to the corner Cafe for our morning cafe con leche while writing a few postcards. The marina is crowded with some of the world’s finest motor yachts overflowing with “beautiful people” that come equipped with nannies, small yappy dogs and of course crew to help with the docking and polishing. Expensive restarants lining the main drag are overflowing with European jet-setters and regular tourists (like us) taking in the yacht traffic in the harbour.
Every second boat coming into harbour is a Bavaria charter with a German flag and the local shops know how to cater the their clientel. Each boat is docked “stern to” dock with only fenders separating one another to avoid damages….sardine-like, but the company is usually entertaining and enjoyable.
