On Sunday we set off early with the intention of exploring along the south east coast and maybe around the headland to the east coast if the wind and swell dictated……….it did. At our first intended stop at Sant Jordi we looked at the wave formation outside the harbour and aborted without trying, there were some yachts in there but it would have been uncomfortable at a minimum. We motored around the headland and were able to sail slowly up the east coast, we had a look in Cala Llombarts which looked interesting but was small with a number swimmers and too many small buoys for an easy anchorage so we settled on Porto Petro five miles further north.
This is a fairly narrow entrance through the cliffs that widens out into three calas around the central bay. It’s well protected except from directly east and is very attractive. Unfortunately you are not allowed to anchor – to protect the sea-grass (or so they can charge for the mooring buoys if you are cynical) so we picked up a buoy to starboard of the entrance just across from the town. At E35 per night just for the buoy this is not a cheap option but as we had been anchoring for free for the last two weeks we decided to stay a couple of nights as the place looked very interesting.
The weather has been variable the last few days, cold and windy when we set off today but the sun came out around 14.00 hrs and in the sheltered bay of Porto Petro we were in a sun trap without a cold wind for a change. Much nicer.
We wandered ashore and had dinner in a family run restaurant recommended in Trip –Advisor, ‘Rafael ey Flora’. Lamb chops and slow cooked ‘milk lamb’ were very tasty, we enjoyed the food and the ambiance of the place. Porto Petro is a very nice small town with tourist trade but none of the cheap burger/pizza joints and bars that spoil towns like Palma Nova.
On Monday we walked around the headland and the next bay and returned to town to pick up a few bits in the supermarket. The plan is to get some jobs done today and then set off tomorrow hoping to anchor in Cala LLonga/Cala D’Or just up the coast. Our following stop will need to be in Porto Colom, the main town on this coast as we need to fill up the diesel tanks. We plan to stay there a few days and hire a car to explore away from the coast of the island.

Photo: The harbor at Porto Petro with the restaurant we visited in the centre.