Ibiza or Arran?
17 September 2014
andrew
Our journey from Cartegena to Formentera was uneventful, after a good evening sail we had to motor most of the night so it was late the following afternoon before we dropped anchor in beautiful clear water off Formentera.
It is immediately apparent that we had entered another world; superyachts both sail and motor are everywhere, flaunted wealth and nakedness at every turn!
Ibiza has a reputation as a party island, destination for the noisy young holidaymaker. Our other cruiser friends had however all said it was actually a delight, we were still pleasantly surprised. Having missed the busiest part of the season although we could see the party, the noise and even the boys and their water toys could be avoided quite easily.
An excellent cruising destination, the Island is about the size of Arran but with an indented coast providing endless opportunities to anchor and never too far to go to get round to the shelter of the leeward side. Some of the Cala's are small and get packed quickly with boats, but there are many large open bays to anchor in as well.
We spent just over a week going round the Island clockwise. Sophie a downstairs neighbour in Edinburgh so happened to be on holiday at Cala Llonga so we caught up and sailed with her and friend Rona round to Ibiza town. Another delightful place to visit, where we enjoyed a beautiful meal. They were great fun; despite falling out the dinghy, Rona proved a capable helm, completing a man overboard manoeuvre to catch a lifebelt floating free. (- anyone any use for a big orange life ring?)
The weather continued settled and hot, 30 degrees most days and still hot in the evenings,long lazy days. We could have easily spent much longer here but departed for the 50 mile sail over to Majorca promising to return.