In mid-October we found ourselves on the south side of Mallorca, one of the Balearic Islands owned by Spain. There were strong winds expected overnight so we decided to take shelter in the harbor at Puerto El Arenal.  We hunkered down there for a few days then rented a car and drove to the nearby city of Palma.  On the way there we saw a sailboat sitting sideways on the rocks, blown there in the same winds we went in the harbor to avoid.  Good to have confirmation we made a good choice!

While we had the car we explored the interior of Mallorca.  The island is known for its historic windmills, different types for pumping water and for grinding grain.  We took a tour in the Caves of Dragons where we hiked a half hour down to a subterranean lake then watched a large rowboat come out on the lake with a live string quartet.  They rowed around and played classical music while we listened to the amazing acoustics inside the cave.  A unique experience!  While in the cave we met Bev, an Australian woman who was in Spain for the national and world blokart races. Dave and I had a chance to try these out when we were in New Zealand.  A blokart is a 3-wheeled cart with a sail and the “pilots” race them around dirt tracks.  We found out where the blokart races were being held and drove there to watch them.  Unfortunately the races had been canceled for the day due to recent heavy rains that made the track a muddy mess, but we chatted with the racers and met the Kiwi who invented the blokarts.  Fun!

That afternoon we drove to the Panyal d’Honor trailhead for a hike.  As we got closer the road got narrower and narrower until it seemed skinnier than a single lane.  Eventually we chickened out for driving farther so we parked in a pullout and started walking.  It was a nice hike up a hill with views of the surrounding area.  On the way we saw several goats and a sign that said, “Control Goats With Gun”.  Luckily none of the goats we saw had guns!

We had an uneventful 10-hour crossing to the island of Ibiza, sailed a fair amount of it. We anchored in Cala Charraca on the north coast then after sailing down the beautiful rocky west side of the island we anchored in Cala Tarida. There we explored the area on our SUPs.  We observed that the local method of docking consists of a unique system of tracks and blocks that pulls the skiffs up to small rickety boathouses.  The skiffs that aren’t in boathouses are tied to shore with gnarly looking sticks poking out of the ground.

 

In late October we left the Balearic Islands and did a 10-hour crossing to Ensenada de Altea, on the mainland of Spain.  On the way we decided to try fishing with a hand line for the first time; and we caught a fish!  A yummy small tuna that we ate for the next 2 days.  Working our way down the coast we stopped at Cabo de Palos and hiked to a lighthouse.

The next morning we waited for a thunderstorm to pass and, as the forecast called for only 10 knots of wind, we started around the corner toward Cartagena.  And then–bam! Winds in the upper 20s that rose to a high of 37 knots, and big 4+ meter waves.  It was a harrowing ride to Cartagena with big waves on our nose looking like walls.  One big wave went over our roof. None of the several forecasts we looked at predicted this. Time for new forecasting sources! It was a relief to finally get to the harbor, Yacht Port Cartagena. The marina in Cartagena has a reputation for friendly staff and an active group of sailors who spend the winter there.  Every Sunday they have a potluck dinner which we participated in, and we enjoyed meeting other English-speaking sailors.  We spent 5 days in Cartagena and explored the city.

On November 1 we left Cartagena and worked our way SW along the Spanish coast.  Soon we came upon a sailboat that was drifting and waving us down.  They were out of fuel and asked if we could tow them to San Jose about 3 miles away.  So we did, and as we let go of the tow rope in front of their harbor they called on the radio “Wally Walou we love you!”  A little addition to our karma jar.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t free, because we were fishing with a hand line at the time and forgot about it as we were maneuvering for the tow.  The line ended up wrapping around one of our props and temporarily shut the engine down.  Luckily it started up again, but later we found there was water in the sail drive oil indicating the line had cut the oil seal.  Something to get fixed in the next harbor suited to hauling out a catamaran.

After three 10- or 11-hour days of motoring we anchored outside the harbor at Benalmadena.  We walked around the city and stumbled on a cable car up to a mountain overlooking the city.  We walked around at the top looking at beautiful views and as we were walking back toward the upper cable car station we came upon a falconry exhibition.  They had several species of falcons and eagles, and a huge eagle owl. They set the birds free to fly and soar above the crowd.  Some landed on peoples’ heads.  It was another unique experience.

On November 5 we picked up our friend Kevin from Alaska then moved down the coast to Marina Alcaidesa, a Spanish harbor just north of Gibraltar. This is the sending off-point for boats crossing the Atlantic.  We’ll spend the next week or so here getting ready to cross to the Canary Islands, the first stop on the crossing.