Photo: at anchor in Cala de la Calobra
We finally left Puerto de Pollensa yesterday, and sailed south along the dramatic, forbidding west coast. The high cliffs are honey-combed with caves and dotted with medieval round watchtowers (see photos!).

We anchored overnight at one of Mallorca's major tourist attractions, the Cala de la Calobra. There's a small sand beach and a lagoon inshore of it, in a crevice between the rocks. A narrow tunnel connects the beach with the next cove. That's where the tourists arrive, by bus or by ferry.

We arrived just before dusk after the tourists had gone and left this morning before the next bus and ferry-loads arrived, so we didn't get to experience the mayhem. Plenty of charter yachts filled the anchorage, but it was still peaceful as we dined in the cockpit in the shelter of the surrounding cliffs.

As we continued down the coast today, I noticed a large area with red trees and wondered if there was a blight, but then saw the black ground and realized there'd been a wildfire. We learned later that the fire was just two weeks ago, caused by an unattended barbecue grill. We missed the headlines about the hundreds of tourists and locals who had to be evacuated. It was the worst forest fire in Mallorca in 15 years.

We had to pay 29 EUR ($40) just to tie up to a mooring ball in Sant Elm Bay, a small beach resort area on the southwest corner of the island. Summer moorings have been laid all over the island to generate more tourist income, although in many places one can still find room to anchor if you're lucky and it's not full.

What cute little "water cars" they have here, with their mini water slides! Wish our grandkiddies were here, they'd love it. A humongous motor yacht, at least a couple of hundred feet long, is anchored behind us (see photos).

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS