It was hard to leave Cala Binarras the next day and not just because it was so beautiful but because the anchorage was pretty full and it took a lot of manoeuvring to extricate our anchor and us from everyone else. A lot of apologies too and ingratiating smiles as we swung close to our neighbours on our way out. I think the boat next to us was impressed and grateful at how fast our boat could go in reverse! He also learned some new English words..
I know Martyn has the hardest job when we are lifting the anchor but at least he is looking down towards the water and the anchor - it is me who has to make eye contact with every other boat on our way out!

We hoisted the sails hopefully and set course for Mallorca. 3 hours later we were still slowly tacking our way along the coast of Ibiza, motoring for a while then sailing when the wind picked up a little. By five o'clock we had given up and settled in for our first long motor. We both hate it but we wanted to get to Mallorca so plodded on. We were on almost the same course as a French boat which gave a certain competitive edge as to who could start sailing again first. I think we won but it was still a very slow sail. However eventually we saw the lights of the island in the distance and headed for the nearest bay. We dropped anchor finally in Cala Camp de Mar about midnight. The shoreline looked pretty built up and full of hotels which was a bit unpleasant after the pretty bays of Ibiza. Still hopefully it will get better.

It didn't look so bad in the morning and there was still no wind so we stayed at anchor all day and discovered a new sport - super yacht spotting. At first I honestly thought the boats anchored off the bay were small ferries but no they were privately owned super yachts. Apparently there are whole magazines and websites devoted to spotting the rich and famous and their yachts and toys. We played spot the yacht for a few hours and then got rapidly bored of it...

Next day we moved the boat to Santa Ponsa bay to reprovision. The bay was busy and the town looked a good spot for buying supplies. We tied up the dinghy with a lot of others and walked into town past the tempting offers of English breakfasts and less tempting souvenir shops until we found the ubiquitous Euroski supermarket. I am not complaining - we needed to shop for food. We returned to the boat with our arms aching and at least 2 inches longer but with enough fresh food for a week and tinned food for a month...

We then tacked up the coast to Punta Caragola where we met up with Mark and Angie again and some other friends. Another good evening followed - a BBQ on the beach and a few(quite a few)) drinks. A nice man at a restaurant on the beach said it was ok if we filled up our water bottles so naturally we took him at his word and returned with 20 x 2 litres bottles.

So far everything we have read or been told about the Balearics and Spain in July and August has just not been true at all - no problem anchoring, no problem provisioning or getting water and we haven't been chased away by marina/harbour police either in Spain or the Balearics. Also no sudden strong winds with scary names - in fact hardly any wind at all. We will see....

The next day Mark and Angie left to head north and we stayed at anchor just off Dragonera island, promising to meet up in Menorca in a few weeks.

Martyn`s sister Nicki, her husband Nigel and their son George were arriving the next day for a holiday in Mallorca so we headed back to Santa Ponsa so we could meet up with them. We had a brilliant time over the next week meeting up with them in various bays. George who is now 13 was great company for Martyn who is mentally about the same age but who sadly realised he is not now 13 or has the stamina of a 13 year old as he was shattered every evening after George left. The constant swimming, sailing and generally messing about takes its toll... We especially loved Deya of the beautiful scenery and crystal clear water . This is where we all swam with jellyfish and sea urchins and were also covered in ash from local forest fires but survived to tell the tale. Still one of our favourite places on the island. Once away from Palma and Santa Ponsa, Mallorca is truly a beautiful place. We loved seeing the family and hope they will arrange their holiday next year near where we are sailing.. Promise no sea urchins or jellyfish..

As ever when guests leave the boat seems very quiet but it was time for us to head north along the north west coast of Mallorca and eventually to Menorca...