The pleasant anchorage at Cala Portinatx.

I had enjoyed the lazy holiday atmosphere of Santa Ponsa and it was very tempting to linger there but it was time to start the return journey to Portugal so early one morning I steered her out of the anchorage and headed for Ibiza and Cala Portinatx. Once again ‘Salara’ was motoring through calm conditions at a steady five knots towards her destination. The breeze did not put in an appearance all day so ‘Salara’ motored for the whole trip and I anchored her once again on the west side of the cala. The anchorage was not as crowded as it was a few weeks ago so I decided as it was the last weekend in August and a bank holiday in UK to follow suit and also have a long weekend. With that in mind I launched the dinghy and went ashore on an urgent mission to buy some beer. A long weekend without a cold beer would be unthinkable, again I was in the holiday spirit.
After a very pleasant and relaxing three days I had the urge to move on, sailing west along the north coast of Ibiza to once more push my luck in San Antonio. Alas, when I tried to lift the anchor I discovered that the chain had managed to snag itself around something on the seabed and it took me a good hour before I finally succeeded in freeing it by the use of brute force and engine power. Once ‘Salara’ had left the anchorage the breeze was in her favour and I was able to sail her sedately along the rugged coast and into the anchorage at San Antonio. Like Portinatx the anchorage was not as crowded, a sure sign that summer was drawing to a close.
I made a trip to the big supermarket on the edge of the town, bought far too much, and staggered back to the dinghy loaded down with all sorts of good things. There would be no chance of starvation for a while.
The next day I set off to sail direct for Torreviejo on the Spanish mainland which involved an overnight trip and once again I enjoyed having the benefit of the AIS as ‘Salara’ crossed the shipping lanes. ‘Salara’ arrived in Torreviejo and I anchored her in the harbour under the massive breakwater. The trip had taken twentyfour hours and with almost no breeze ‘Salara’ had motored all the way using twelve gallons of diesel. As I had not slept during that time I was glad to roll into my bunk for a welcome rest as the following day ‘Salara’ would be heading back along the coast towards Gibraltar.