The water rushes below us and the wind fills the sails. We are on our way from Mallorca to Cabrera. Three weeks ago we reserved a buoy for two days and today is our first day. From 18:00 o'clock on it is guaranteed to be free. We want to use this time to sail around the archipelago with its 71 islands.
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| Lighthouse Cabrera |
On the south side of the main island there is a bay with buoys, but they can only be used from sunrise to sunset. Because of the high swell in the bay, we do not stop for a while and sail between the small islands past beautiful rock formations. Suddenly a tail fin. Dolphins, which we have not seen at all this year, appear in front of our bow. The animals are simply fascinating and we missed them very much. A mother with her young swims close together in front of us. The father with some distance, but within striking distance, should something unforeseen happen. When he realized that there was no threat from us, he slowly moved away and soon we lost sight of mother and child. We are now close to the entrance to the main island and are a little worried about getting a free buoy, since we arrived much too early at our destination. There are day buoys here as well, but they are all occupied. Near the pier where the excursion boats moor, we luckily find a free buoy and moor to it. From here it's not far to the Dinghi Dock, so we can do without the outboard motor and row the short distance. After all, physical exercise is good for the skipper (Gaby still says: " Otherwise he only makes stupid sayings"). When we land for the first time we explore the surrounding area and inform ourselves about the hiking trails on the island.
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| Anchorage Cabrera |
Unfortunately, most of the trails are closed by Covid19, and even the 14th century castle, which was supposed to protect against pirates, can only be visited from the outside. Nevertheless the island remains in good memory, it is far away from any stress of civilization, even the internet is not available in many places on the island. After two days we are asked by the rangers, friendly but determined, to leave the buoy again.
We tackle the 70 nautical miles to Ibiza and set course west. After a rough night drive - lots of waves, little wind - we reach the bay Calo d`Es Porcs, on the northeast side of the island, in the early morning. The bay is narrow and offers only little space. The anchor drops on sand and 5m water depth, which is not always so comfortable on Ibiza.
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| Cala d`Es Porcs Ibiza |
As our supplies are running out, we plan to visit a supermarket and thus determine our next destination, Sant Antoni de Portmany. Here there is a Lidl, which we want to visit after our first shopping shock when we arrived in Spain, hoping for cheaper prices. Anchoring here in Ibiza is one thing, landing with the dinghy is another. There are hardly any jetties to moor at, in marinas you are usually turned away. If you find a nice beach restaurant in a bay, you usually won't get there without getting dry feet, but have to pull the dinghy knee-deep through the water to the beach. A touch of adventure to say so. In the bay of Sant Antoni de Portmany there are many buoys which only allow a few anchorages. In itself no problem, only if a buoy is also the usual 50% surcharge for catamarans in marinas, we find it no longer funny. Finally we find a place to anchor far outside and drive with the dinghy to a jetty where many dinghies are attached. It didn't take long until we are told that this is a private jetty, but we are tolerated at the very end. At least we made the first hurdle. To find the Lidl is a small thing and the offer is phenomenal, the prices are about 20% cheaper, so they are close to the prices in Italy. Yes, there actually is, there comes through the German in me again, white sausages and brezels, tomorrow's day is saved. We are satisfied and sit down with our shopping at an empty table in a bar near the port to have a drink. I am just about to take off my mask when the waiter asks me to put it back on and take it off just for drinking, then put it on again immediately. This is too much for us and we decide to make up for the drink on board.
Between Illa Sa Conillera and Illa des Bosc, two islands in the northwest of Ibiza, there is a pass that, according to the map, is two meters deep. However, there are also numerous underwater obstacles, i.e. rocks, marked. The tension is growing and we watch the water getting lighter and lighter until it has changed from dark blue to turquoise. The bottom is clearly visible and the edge is no more than five meters wide, after that the depth quickly increases again. Scenically, at least from the sea side, we like Ibiza very much.
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| Cala d`Hort Ibiza |
The coast is varied and there is always something to see. Just the many houses and villas along the coast give you an idea of the ecological problems. The closer we get to Ibiza town, the bigger the yachts get and the more toys there are to carry. Especially the Jets Skis seem to be very popular in Spain. They heat up with highspeed through the anchorage, it's just like racing through a pedestrian zone on a motorcycle. Here nobody seems to care, we feel a little bit too much of good thing and so we give up the rest of Ibiza and, when the wind announced by the weather forecast swings to north, we will head towards Formentera and the Spanish mainland. You can read how the journey continues next week in our blog, we are looking forward to seeing you again. Until then, as always,fair winds and keep a stiff upper lip.
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| Katinka at Cabrera |
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