39 47.6 N 002 41.6 E Soller, Mallorca
Thurs 22nd July 2010

A week has gone by, and this is too long! Sorry.

This is Mallorca so you have to go to Palma. We took the bus from Ponca to have a look. The Baie de Palma is huge and full of expensive marinas, so we were not sure we wanted to go there by boat. So glad. The bus was fun, the marinas as big and spread out (miles from anywhere) as expected and Palma was a surprising delight. We ignored the cruise liners and modern parts and headed for the old town. The Cathedral is big and beautiful, 14th-16th C with works by Gaudi and unusually, contains cool cloisters. Next to it is the Palau Reial de l'Almudaina, a 10th C Muslim fortress with later Catalan 14th C Gothic additions. This had free entry on Wednesdays, lots else to see so for later. Arab baths, wide spaces, wonderful old townhouses in narrow paved streets. And back to Ponca - we liked it despite the number of Germans and British.

After a quick get together on Saturday with Colin & Shirley from their Malo37 Silent Wings, we headed off for some Posidonia buoys off Sant Elm (or San Telmo - not sure which version is Catalan). A tiny bit touristy, but a great bay with a little beach and a few restaurants, surrounded by hills. Good enough wifi for emails. We hadn't reserved a buoy but you can anchor outside the designated area. We aimed to head round to Soller on the North Coast on Sunday - headed out and through the gap between Islota Dragonera and the "mainland" to be met with walls of water - swell and waves about 2-3 metres high, not much wind. We were slamming and punching, much bigger boats doing the same and turning back, those coming the other way were absolutely surfing, the power boats keeping speed up to ride the crests. Most unsettling and odd. We too eventually turned round - this is after all supposed to be enjoyable, not an endurance test for either ourselves or the poor boat!

Lunch and walk round Dragonera - it is a nature reserve (previously privately owned) with lots of wall lizards, andouin gulls, falcons of various species and olives. Back to San Telmo in the afternoon to try another day.

Another day being Monday, we headed out again, this time in flat calm water. We stopped for late lunch on the way to Soller at an inlet called Foradada, surrounded by high cliffs. The scenery on the way here is stunning. We're out of mainstream tourism here, this is the cote sauvage of Mallorca and it is wild and beautiful. The Tramontana mountains form a spine crossing SW to NE of the island. We were so taken with Foradada, we stayed - there were a few other boats there, but overnight there were only three of us. The rock formations were unusual with an eye high up through one (see pictures). Perched in the cliff was a bird's nest, the biggest we have ever seen, probably about 6 ft across and 2-3 ft high. Two chicks were perched on the edge. Through the binoculars and looking up in various bird books, we concluded they were Ospreys. Exciting. Also exciting, saw first ever live octopus swimming with goggles - they are normally quite shy. A truly idyllic spot.

On to Soller a natural shell-shaped harbour shared by the navy and port. Another good anchorage, Soller Port is very likeable with a little tram that takes you inland to Soller town (a bus goes too). It also has a little municipal leisure port. Anchored one night, but now getting very low on water (been at anchor for 21 days consecutively - a record for us!) so we enquired at the Capitania and got ourselves a berth for Wednesday night. Free water and electricity and all for 31 Euros. Compare that to the 50, 80 and 100+ euros we have been quoted elsewhere on the island. A little gem.

So Wednesday we took a long roundabout bus to Palma, that went along the wild coast and then inland through the Tramontana mountains - a wonderful trip with fabulous views. Enjoyed Palma again, this time going into the Moorish Castle mentioned earlier (now free) with its superb sense of space, light, shape and graceful design - particularly the arches and terraces. Also went back to a special map shop we saw on the first visit, with antique maps, nautical maps, topographical maps, special maps for children - every sort you can imagine. We bought a little present there and even the wrapping paper is a beautiful map. And also visited the best indoor market we have seen since Portugal, one complete hall just of (v expensive) fish.

To get back to Soller, we took a 1920's little train inland with cuttings and tunnels thtough the mountains. This dropped us in Soller town which was built of honey-coloured stone, very smart and very lovely.

The mountainsides are all covered with terracing, with mile upon mile of beautiful stone walling, the same honey colour in the main. These have been built over centuries for planting olive groves and other forms of agriculture, and we saw examples of the building craft being practised still.

Time is moving on, we have booked a Posidonia buoy off Formentor for 23rd and 24th, will be watching weather for the right slot to do the 100nm up to Barcelona after that in time to clean up the boat and catch a flight. Love to all.