We spent four nights in Palma and it was a very busy time. We had the annual servicing of our two engines to do and needed to stock up before Mitch and Ben arrived with their appetites! We did get a great berth though. We were right next to the main club house, swimming pool and facilities which are all very clean and well maintained. The Club and the facilities are really nice and the staff are friendly and helpful. The pool is salt water but is in a great setting and we used it every evening after the ‘working day‘ finished .
It took all the first day to do the oil change, change the oil filter, change the primary fuel filter and clean out some gunge in the fuel pre-filter that had made its way up from the tanks and then clean the engine room. This had to be done twice of course as we have two engines! We didn’t have any real problems but it’s a long job and then Chris had to find the disposal point for the old oil – they had managed to hide this one tucked away at the back of a boatyard!

That evening we went and wandered around the old part of the town which was very attractive and had a meal in a restaurant which turned out to be very average, but Chris was in need of the beer.
The next morning was spent on our least favorite job of changing the impellers in both engines. This means hanging upside down into the back of the engine space and trying to wriggle a small rubber paddlewheel out of its housing and replace it with a new one when you can’t see what you are doing and every tool or nut you drop goes and hides in the bilge. Our equipment included head torches, Carolyn’s vanity mirror and the camera on the Iphone as well as a special ‘Impeller puller’ tool. Critical, the job would be impossible without this on our boat. It all went OK with only minor swearing, and the engine tests all proved that we seemed to have put the bits back right, phew! That’s done for another year.
The afternoon was spent with the bikes visiting supermarkets as they are closed on Sundays. Carolyn’s craving for Llidls came back strongly. Unfortunately, it was the furthest store away and by the time we reached it Chris was convinced we were in Portugal! He did have to admit it was a nice ride – on the way there at least. It was on a cycle path which followed the coast from Palma towards the airport. Once we arrived, there was a big sign to say that the store was open on Sundays so we need not have worried. We had to stop shopping as we were doubtful if it would all fit in the panniers but it did….just – good job we took the backpacks. We were somewhat overloaded on the return journey. We delivered all this back to Splice and then set off in the other direction to find a Mercadona that carries some things we had not been able to find or fit in on our first shopping. By the time we got back it was 1930 hrs and we were exhausted. A quick dip in the pool, a salad for dinner washed down with some cold beers made up for the shopping expedition.
An email the next morning from Marine Traffic (which tracks boats on AIS) confirmed our friends Neil and Suzie on ‘Joshua’s Wake’ had arrived in Palma and were in the next marina. A short stroll that afternoon led to a couple of hours of catch-up chat over a cup of tea. We then left to visit the cathedral only to find that it was closed which was disappointing. Neil and Suzie visited us that evening to check out the marina as they needed to move from where they were the following day. Mitch and Ben turned up from Palma Airport to join the crew at about the same time, pausing for a beer before testing the clubs swimming pool. Around 20.00 hrs Neil and Suzie left to meet their son and the four of us walked into the old town of Palma and took our ‘starter’ in a very classy deli with tapas of cheeses and hams. After walking around a while we then found a restaurant nearer the boat to eat chicken, fish dishes and salads as the main course.
We really enjoyed our stay at RCNP, it’s a well run place with pleasant staff and there is clearly a lot of history behind the club and its premises. Go there but book early. It’s also a lot cheaper than some of the other marinas that have few facilities.

Photo: the pool and surrounds at RCNP from our berth