Sailing and Exploring the Balearic Islands: Mallorca
WE SAILED TO MALLORCA
If you read the previous post, you probably remember that we sailed from Ibiza to the biggest of the four Balearic Islands; Mallorca.
Alexandre from Brazil came on board as crew in Denia and our original plan was to spend a night in Cala Benirras on Ibiza before continuing to Mallorca.
Neptune wanted it otherwise, however, and we ended up anchoring up in the bay outside Santa Ponsa the following day Thursday, July 30th.
Read more here: Did Neptune save us from a disaster?
Santa Ponsa is on the south-western side of Mallorca and a popular tourist destination. The anchorage in the bay is huge and there were quite a few other boats there as well. I and Alex were quite excited about checking out the place as it is famous for great nightlife, nice beaches, and a charming little town.
Besides, we both love a good party!
GETTING MORE CREW ONBOARD
We were picking up a third crew member that was going to join us for a week sailing around the island. Emi is from Poland and has spent a lot of time traveling around the world. She now wanted to experience the cruising life at sea and was thrilled to muster onboard Ellidah.
Emi arrived a couple of days later and Alex and I picked her up in town and went straight for a few drinks at one of the many pubs.
The vibe was good between the three of us and we ended up spending another couple of days exploring the town, taking dinghy trips to the beaches around, and generally just enjoying the beautiful weather.
David onboard Bobbie G was anchored a bit further southwest in El Arenal and I wanted to catch up again after we split up in Cala d’Hort in Ibiza a month earlier. 3rd of august, we lifted the anchor and set sail across the bay towards El Arenal.
SAYING GOODBYE AND MEETING UP WITH MORE FRIENDS
It was great meeting up with David again. He also had a new crew member on board so we ended up being a little group of five. We spent the evening together onboard Ellidah with some nice food, good drinks, and a bit of karaoke to the sound of Alexandre playing the guitar.
Alexandre is a freaking hero on that thing and since he is originally from Brazil, we got to enjoy some exotic tunes that we had no chance to try and sing along with.
Good times!
Sadly, it was time for him to fly back to Luxembourg so we took Ellie to the dock in El Arenal the following day to say goodbye. The airport is close by which was convenient.
The anchorage wasn’t the best so we decided to continue around the southern tip and along the east side of Mallorca heading north.
David had heard of this awesome cave with an underwater entrance right next to a pretty sweet anchorage.
We wanted to sail and check out the cave, but there was another gorgeous spot on the way which is where we headed next.
CRYSTAL CLEAR WATER AND DRONE FLYING
Cala Llombards is absolutely stunning and a popular day-tour destination. The water is crystal clear and the little bay is surrounded by small cafes and a nice little golden sand beach.
It was pretty busy during the day, but in the afternoon the hordes escaped and we and some other cruisers had the place to ourselves.
I took the advantage to fly the drone again and got some pretty sweet shots! This is actually some of the last shots seen before the little Mavic drone decided to do a backflip and fly full speed into the water. More on that in another post, RIP…
We only spent a couple of days here too before continuing north towards our cave adventure.
CAVE EXPLORING AND OTHERWORLDLY TERRAIN
Yet another gorgeous spot in Mallorca is Cala Varques. It was packed with boats when we arrived so we anchored up pretty far out, just barely protected from the swell coming in.
It was a bit rock and roll, but nothing we couldn’t handle, and the swell died off in the afternoon. I didn’t even bother to go and re-anchor further in when the hordes had left for the day.
The terrain on the eastern tip, called Punta de Llevant, looks like something out of another world. With sharp rocks sticking up from the mountain generating the looks of a flat surface.
Not very flip-flop friendly, but an excellent place to watch the sunset in the west while overlooking the anchorage north of us.
It was a brilliant spot and we were really excited about checking out the cave we were told about.
COVA DES COLOMS – THE CAVE OF THE PIGEONS
Cova des Coloms is a stalactite cave with an entrance only accessed through the water. The get to the entrance there is a huge gap in the cliffside like an outer cave.
The four of us drove our dinghies in and tied them onto a rock. We then jumped in the water and swam through the mostly submerged pathway and found ourselves in a small chamber.
A few steps further in, there is beach-like fine sand and a big open area with a huge stalactite formation.
We found the next narrow passage behind the formation and squeezed through, climbed down some rocks, and found in front of us “drumroll” a sweat water lake inside the cave!
How cool is that?!
SWEATWATER UNDERGROUND LAKE
I jumped in the water only to find out that it was freezing cold. But this place was just too awesome to give up on and I started to swim over to the other side.
This cave section was huge, probably about 20m tall and it had lots of stalactite formations on the floor and in the roof.
The others followed and we continued to climb over the rocks next to the many formations. Good thing we had waterproof head torches because we had to jump from the rocks into the water again to continue to the other side.
This cave is MASSIVE. I must say that we weren’t alone in there, it was obviously a popular day-tour spot and we met a group of tourers all geared up with helmets and equipment.
We were quite happy without a guide in our salty swimming wear, which is the coolest fashion in the cruising community.
After spending some more time exploring, we decided that it was probably a good idea to head back out while we still had our bearing.
It was getting cold and we were ready to get back out in the warm sun again.
I regret to say that I don’t have any proper pictures from Cova des Coloms, but here are some clips from Emi and David’s GoPro!
BIG SWELLS, ROCK AND ROLL
Another crew change was coming up and the most convenient place turned out to be in Cala Ratjada on the northeastern side of Mallorca.
We sailed together with Bobbie G and anchored up just in front of the beach. Beautiful spot and conveniently close to the local fisherman’s harbor.
BUT, holy Neptune, the swells coming from the southeast were terrible! I was sure I was going to tip my top spreaders into the waves. We were rolling like crazy and it is really up to this date the most uncomfortable anchorage I’ve ever been in.
Anyways.
It was another day of goodbyes and I wished Emi farewell at the beach after a quick trip in Ellie. Since Ellidah had turned into a washing machine, I decided to have a walk around town.
Cala Ratjada is a beautiful and charming little town with many restaurants and bars along the promenade.
I figured it must be popular amongst German tourists as everyone around me spoke German. Even the people in the bar! I can see Cala Ratjada as the perfect spot for a family vacation and I can highly recommend it.
DINNER WITH FRIENDS AND NEW CREW
Later that evening I met up with David and Sibylle (his crew) and we went for some dinner and red wine while waiting for my new crew members bus to arrive. After a bit of confusion about our meeting point, we finally managed to find each other and headed back to the other two.
Ofelie is a photographer and video maker from France. She has spent a lot of time traveling around the world and the two of us clicked well together straight away. I was a bit sorry for introducing her to Ellidah in the rock and roll conditions later that night though.
I could see on her face that the rocking was taking its toll and she were relieved when I told her that it isn’t usually like that! It ended up being a sleepless night, like trying to sleep in a crazy rollercoaster.
We called up Bobbie G the following morning and they told us that they didn’t get much sleep either. We had enough and decided to lift anchor and set off to our next destination, Menorca!
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