Having had a quiet and undisturbed night, the following morning saw blue skies and sunshine again.
We upped anchor and set off round the headland into Fornells. Once again as we rounded the headland so the wind decided to pick up. By the time we were ready to pick up a mooring buoy it was again about 24 knots and I worried the harbour master would refuse us a second time, however, he seemed to recognise us and despite grumbling about the wind proceeded to pluck the mooring line out of the water and pass to Pete on the front of the boat. It has been a while since we picked up a mooring buoy and the wind didn't make it any easier, I nearly ran the harbour master down but managed to stop Argonauta just in time.
So having moored we again set too, tidying up and Pete again pumped up the dinghy. He will have great leg muscles by the end of our travels!
We motored in the dinghy ashore, tying up to the quay which for a change had sturdy metal rings to allow us to chain up our treasured mode of transport.
Fornells is small but beautiful. There is an old fort on the harbour entrance which has been made visitor friendly with information in Spanish, Itallian and English, it was fascinating reading how the vaulted ceilings and earth filled walls were designed to reduce the impact of any direct hits of cannon fire. However as Pete pointed out the large cliff opposite may have been more suitable ,as the guns would not have been able to be angled that far up. Perhaps it was too rugged, who knows.
It was in Fornells that we met our friends from Simpatic again and were asked to join them later that day. We enjoyed a lovely evening on their boat, drinking the local brewed Gin and Lemon and trying out speciality cheese and pâté, all of which are local specialities. It seems each time we meet and go to their boat they introduce us to something new, thank you both for that. After what was a cold and rather soggy run back in the dinghy to our boat we bedded down for the night.
Next morning we decided that in preperation of our forthcoming trip to Sardinia, we needed to refuel. Having been ashore to check access and noted the tiny harbour we decided to empty the cans we have on board and then take them ashore for refilling. By the way the guide books say there is no fuel in Fornells ,but the marina sells both petrol and diesel, OK a bit pricy and only open 8-1300 but better than nothing
We were due to leave the mooring by 11 am and having refuelled the Harbour master again appeared and was insisting that we go now!
Again we set sail and had a cracking sail, close hauled out to sea. We tacked a couple of times (bear in mind that each tack was at least an hour long) and eventually turned on a run into Mahon(pronounced Mow).
Due to the Cost of the night before we wanted to anchor, we furled sails and slowly motored into a tiny creek. The turquoise water beaconed us on and there were fingers of rock reaching out to try and take us by surprise. Either side of the channel rose rocks with fortifications and you could imagine Nelson's troops keeping watch ready to launch the ships if they came under attack. The fort was surrounded by huge stone walls, arched gates with intricate stonework broke the monotony of wall. Then the inlet opened out into what to me was the perfect bay. Surrounded on all sides by hills or the fort meant excellent shelter. Admittedly it was a little shallow but we crept slowly in, dropped anchor, dug it in and turned off the engine. It was definitely peaceful, pretty and secluded. A few other yachts were there but all were quiet and' just chilling'. We ran our noisy generator for about an hour to top up the batteries as out wind/ water generator seems to have jammed and settled down to an evening of quiet, undisturbed and movement free sleep.
Awaking refreshed, the peace remained. The cove looked different again in the morning light, definitely nature at her best. We had just finished breakfast when a rib arrived, the harbour master informed us we could not anchor here(again out book was wrong!). He said we could use any of the 4 marinas in the harbour and anchoring is only allowed when no berths are left!!!!
We took our time, I called ahead and arranged a berth on one of the floating pontoons that have electricity and water. A cost we did not expect but not too bad. We motored up and were met and assisted with picking up the stern too mooring lines. Confession, I had a panic as the wind just wouldn't let me moter backwards where I wanted to go, so having thrown a wobbly I let Pete steer us into the berth. Of course done well as always, baah!!!
Dinghy pumped up again and we went into town.
Mahon is another lovely place. There are restraunts and little else along the main promenade but having taken the bikes we went up the side of the hill and into town. We found a small taverna and had Tapas for lunch and continued our exploration. We returned to the boat for a short siesta (I am getting used to these) and then tidied ourselves up to spend an evening on land. It was a good night to go ashore as every Thursday in the summer is live music night. The main promenade road was shut off and there were 3 stages spread over about a mile. We again wandered and climed the steep steps towards the town. In the main square by the church was a group playing double bass, violin and guitar so we stopped for a drink. We eventually left there in search of food at about 10 pm, we really are turning into Europeans who eat late, sleep in the afternoon and look to Manyana for it to be done!
We finally settled on a little pizzarea near to one of the music stage areas and enjoyed a menu del dia at 10 euros for pizza, pudding and a drink.
The music all quietened down by about 11 and by 1130 the port was again quiet. We took the dinghy back to Argonauta, impressed at the town and how beautifully it was lit at night.
The following morning we were awoken by something big causing a lot of rocking. Pete got up to investigate and noted the ferry had just arrived, however so had an enormous cruise ship, we didn't feel that one come in! A breakfast of eggs and bacon and again into the dinghy and ashore. We walked into town through the market stalls erected to catch the cruise ship trade and picked up a few essentials ( well I think new short as are essentials but Pete begs to differ).
We returned to Argonauta and decided as the Grib files look good (wind forecast) we would set sail for Sardinia.
Sails set and a fair wind we began our next long trip. 200 miles to go and a lot of water to cover. The sun blasted and the heat was deceiving. I went down for the obligatory siesta and when I got up Pete was no where to be seen, in a slight panic I called out. No reply. Then I saw him, in full naturist pose lying on the bow, white bottom upwards catching the suns rays, well I couldn't resist a photo, a girl has to have something for leverage after all.
Having eventually persuaded him to put his clothes back on before he got sunburn on parts that don't usually see the sun, we were sat drinking a lovely cold juice when I spotted something in the water. This time not dolphins ,but what at first looked like a tin hat that turned out to be a large turtle, just slowly letting the current take him where it wished. I was very excited, the first turtle I have ever seen in the wild. This was followed by another smaller one a couple of hours later. The first night we were blessed with an almost full moon lighting our way and giving an eerie backdrop to the sails. The wind as ever was all or nothing, we motored then during my watch it picked up so I re set the sails and even had to reef as it blew 19/20 knots. By the time Pete completed his watch into the early morning light the wind had again dropped and we were motor sailing.
And so that is how it has been all day. I have staggered from bed to deck, making food now and again and Pete has just got on with sailing.
I have just watched another amazing sunset ..... Will I ever tire of them I wonder?
I am sitting on the bridge deck and keeping look out whilst Pete sleeps, about 45 miles to the turn then we will be in Sardinia. The past few days has been nature at its best, here's hoping she stays kind to us.....

........Update... Nature did indeed stay kind and we continued on until we got to the south coast of Sardinia, anchoring in the bay near Porto Teulada some 42 hours after setting off having covered 200 miles. The wind is higher than forecast but I have swum over the anchor which looks well dug in so we hope we will remain put until the high winds pass.