The largest of the Balearic group, Mallorca has the usual island history of being over-run by invaders of one political and religious persuasion or another for the last few thousand years. The most recent invasion is, of course, by tourists who provide much of the island's not inconsiderable prosperity but, sensibly, the bulk of the tourist impact is contained in a few limited areas around Palma. Most of the rest of the island continues to provide wonderful anchorages; the calas along the eastern coast being notable.
Our first port from Mahon was Porto Colom which has a large, natural, albeit fairly shallow harbour and a proper town with all the usual amenities. Here we met fellow OCC members Ian and Susan Grant on Rebel X who are cruising the Mediterranean a long way from their native Victoria in British Columbia.
From Porto Colom we've trippered around the eastern and southern coasts of the island, executed some crew changes (it seems that executing the crew is frowned on by the local law-makers) and had a good run ashore in Palma. The Real Club Nautico de Palma makes most British yacht clubs look decidedly pokey and shabby. As well as an 850 berth marina they sport a beautiful swimming pool and vast terraces; the interior has consumed hundreds of tons of marble and the whole thing is very stylish.
Our trusty Spectra watermaker has, over the past week, become markedly less trustworthy and has been receiving attention from the local agent for the brand. This project is still work-in-progress but bits are, we believe, in the air from California; the challenge, apparently, is getting the said bits through the Spanish customs processes.
We're currently on a mooring buoy in Porto Petro which is part of a scheme to, it is claimed, protect the Posidonia Oceanica (grass) which is being ploughed up by boats anchoring. The buoys are free and there's a booking system via a website (www.balearslifeposidonia.eu) or call centre. We haven't tried the booking system preferring instead to turn up and see what's available but the arrangement seems to work well enough and gets more boats into small spaces and relieves any anxiety about anchors dragging in dodgy holding ground. We're told that it's an EU funded project so the term "free", above, needs to be interpreted as "included in the taxes you pay".