Mallorca is the largest island of the Balearics, being some 62 miles long and 47 miles wide. The north and east coasts are mountainous with numerous coves, whilst the south coast has rolling hills and sandy beaches. There are several harbours and many anchorages in calas.

From our buoy we have excellent panoramic views of the surrounding hills and the town quayside lined with many bars and restaurants.



The town itself oozes sophistication and class and with no real beach to speak of it's predominately an 'adult only' location. There is certainly a relaxed atmosphere here. In particular we have thoroughly enjoyed our evenings at one of the bars (sat on rocking chairs!) or in the cockpit enjoying the scenery and listening to music that drifts gently across the bay.

With a regular bus service from the quayside, we used Andraitx as a base to travel inland. The fact that we have paid for a buoy and that anchoring is forbidden around us has allowed us to confidently leave Flirtie for day trips to Palma, the capital of Mallorca and Soller in the north of the island.

The club and harbour authorities have catered for yachtsman really well. Dinghies can be left safely ashore in three designated areas and there is a local Eroski supermarket within a 5 minute walk. Unfortunately there is no self-serve laundrette but instead a lavanderia where you hand over €20 for someone else to clean your dirties. A bit of a shock though... time to bare all we feel - fellow cruisers and tourists alike, you have all been warned!

Thankfully the water quality in Mallorca is far better than Ibiza so we took advantage of the marina by purchasing a small amount of diesel so that we could get water for free! In went 500 litres... it tastes slightly chlorinated but beats buying and lugging bottled water from the supermarket and by the time it has run through our Brita filter is perfectly acceptable for teas and coffees.

Whilst here we've booked a 3 day visit (2 nights) to Isla de Cabrera (a small reserve 5 miles off the coast). We've taken a bit of a gamble that the weather will be kind to us, otherwise it could be a costly mistake. Unfortunately we've had to book well in advance because spaces are restricted. In the mean time we will be taking our time working our way along the SW coast to our departure point of Sant Jordi.