About a week after Reyce went home our friend Marcus came out for a quick break (no air con) and it was great catching up with him again, and we had a few trips out. These included the Caves of Drach. Marcus also spent a bit of time getting back into windsurfing from the beach at Puerto Pollensa, and it all must have come back quickly as he was soon shooting across the bay.

The funniest day we had was when we drove down the mountain road to Sa Colabra to visit the Torrent de Pareis The road down is quite hairy and the Lord himself knows what one would do if you came across a coach going the opposite way……….it would be pretty tight at certain places! Lots of whoops and laughter on the way down this road, and holding of breath on the way back up 🙂 Once we reached the top we headed over to Soller for the rest of the day before heading back to Puerto Pollensa.

The day we visited Alcudia Old Town we also had lunch at Cocodrilo Restaurant which has outstandingly fresh seafood and a view to die for from the restaurant tables through the back…….yum !!

On his last day we went to Ses Torres at Ariany and had a fantastic long lazy lunch which he thoroughly enjoyed before taking him back to the airport.

Since arriving on the island we have been busy doing the last of the “wee jobs” that needed doing in the apartment.

When we first purchased the property we thought we could get away without fitting air con because when the front and back doors are open there is a good draught through the property. How wrong did we get that one!!
The temperature at times this year has been chasing 40c and in the evening it seems to get even warmer. We stuck this out for a couple of months, but then decided to check out air con makes models etc……this is a challenge in itself! Coming from Scotland we know a lot about fires, but “he haw” about air con.

We shortlisted some companies to come and give us an estimate for fitting the whole system from scratch. I was also keen that the exposed trunking used for all the pipes etc was kept to a minimum. Cutting a long story short we settled on a local company, and whilst not the cheapest they afforded us the most confidence.
We were keen for them to get started asap as Reyce (grandson) was coming out for a couple of weeks and then a few weeks after he went going home Aailyah (granddaughter) was coming for an extended holiday.

You can imagine our surprise when I was informed that there was shortage of air con units on the island and also with the mainland distributor. Unsure if this was true or not we checked with other companies and it was the same story. They were only in a position to fit what they had in stock on the island and these units were not what we wanted. We really wanted this fitted for our grandchildren’s forthcoming visits.

Reyce duly arrived (no air con) its hard to believe he is now 17, and we had a fantastic time during his stay. Larking about the water on the beach at Cala Muro, driving to Formentor Lighthouse which is tight twisty road with hairpins etc, and I think because he is now learning to drive at home it spooked him a little 🙂

We also were out on Sun Dog and had a fun time swimming off the boat. Reyce decided to dive off the wheelhouse roof while I was meant to catch it on video………..poor guy had to do it about ten times before I captured it properly :-)…….sorry Reyce

It was a great couple of weeks with my ever lasting funny moment being when Reyce was snorkelling off the boat in Formentor Bay with his head down watching all the fish, I was on the boat when the devil took hold and I threw a piece of bread which landed about three feet in front of his mask and all the fish shot straight up for it – well the combined simultaneous shriek of cursing and laughter coming out his snorkel had Sara and I in absolute stiches.

This sort of encapsulates the fun time we all had together, and as ever it all seemed to pass far too quickly. We were sad when we dropped him back off at the airport, but we did have a superb time with a lovely young man.

Sara flew back to Scotland for a week to spend time with Keira Brett and Aaliyah before snaffling the little one up and flying back to Mallorca with her.

As soon as we got back to Puerto Pollenca and dropped off the cases, Aaliyah wanted to paddle right around the beach with Sara, no bad thing after a flight so off they toddled.

….and here she is looking “tres cool” in the apartment. Amazing how time flies – it only seems a short time ago that she was born. But I’m certain every parent/grandparent have said and felt the same.

We tried many things that we thought would have been of interest to her, but no, the beach every day was what she wanted. Therefore one doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out where our days were spent. We even took her round to Cala Muro (our favourite beach) but from then on she didn’t want to go anywhere in the car, instead the local beach was her playground.

One day however we managed to get her to leave the beach and we went to Alcudia old town where she had a ball in and out of the shops looking for “something for her room”. I don’t think any shop was missed and Sara and Aaliyah had a great time. As for me I was wilting by the end of the afternoon 🙂 en route back to the car we passed the local Bullring, which thankfully didn’t have a fight on, but the little café was in the shade so we stopped for a juice. I managed to get Aaliyah, complete with her fan, to pose for a “Spanish Style” photo.

I could witter on for ever about her stay, but suffice to say that it was simply a delight having her here and watching her being so happy was lovely. She was “adopted” by the lady in the Bakery after asking for the food we wanted in Spanish, and then Aaliyah in turn adopted a friend of ours called Fran. Now Fran works evenings in his nephews restaurant called Nico’s. I’ll give you one guess where she wanted to dine when we were out at night…….yep you didn’t need more than one attempt 🙂 He is a really nice helpful guy and I guess she sensed the same because she spontaneously gave him a big hug on her last night.

I wont mention the ice cream shack here Aaliyah, as mummy and daddy might read about it and we would want them to know about the delicious ice creams…………so its Nana, Papa and Aaliyah’s secret…shhhhh!!

All too soon it seemed Brett was flying out to collect Aaliyah, but as we had about three weeks of her to ourselves we couldn’t really complain.

When Sara and I bought the apartment one of the things we loved was that we could walk to all the shops we would need, and use public transport for getting around the island, thus avoiding all the hassles of vehicle ownership. Well that didn’t quite work out because as per previous entries you will see that we rode the motorbike bike down here from Scotland.

To compound this change, we have now bought a car!! which just goes to show that as Robert Burns stated; “the best laid plans of mice and men……….”

The process for buying a second hand car in Spain is complicated to say the least. I wont give you chapter and verse but one of the peculiarities is that any fines outstanding whether parking, speeding or whatever stick with the car and not the owner. In other words one could buy a car in good faith and be legally lumbered with debts. There are other things like a vehicle can be registered as a commercial vehicle (this applies to both cars and vans) and as such there are different speed restrictions on main roads. There are also more regular MOT’s for a commercial registered vehicle after it reached ten years old it needs an MOT every six months. Plus lots of other (to us) complicated legislation. Another peculiarity is that road tax is subject to a complicated calculation which also depends on the local area where one lives, but this is a lot less than the UK.

To avoid all the potential pitfalls we decided to buy our first car through a dealer, fully understanding that we would be paying a bit more than a private sale, but the legal onus is on the dealer for a number of the above points and more.

We are having the vehicle changed from commercial to private use and this necessitates the vehicle going back to the MOT station on the 23rd of this month. The dealer is the one who must do this after getting a particular document from Peugeot…………don’t ask because I don’t know the answer. The only thing I know is that we now have a Peugeot Partner Tepee Outdoor and are still puzzling over the difference between our initial perception (no vehicle)and the actual reality (motorbike and car)………………!!!

During the winter we had a stainless steel guy make a change to the already adjusted stainless steel frame at the back of the boat so that it would accommodate a larger solar panel. This solar panel needed to be fitted and wired up before launching the boat. My mate Ian (thanks again for all your help matey) and I had run all the wiring back in January along with a shed load of other work, but I still had to fit the panel, regulator, fuse holder etc. All sounds straight forward……but this is boat work we are talking about and its simply NEVER straightforward. Trying to source a proper fuse holder to take a 20amp fuse was exasperating, but eventually I sourced one and completed the work prior to launch.

I need the additional input from this solar panel as I run the Ultrasonic Antifouling system 24/7 and as the boat will not be in a marina, it needs to be self sufficient when on a swinging mooring. Now that’s a whole other story, to explain:

There are a few reasons we have been given about the origins of the concrete blocks in the bay;

One is, that until the 1950’s there were no proper roads into this area and as such the only way into the Formentor Hotel (an exclusive hotel back then for those and such as those – Churchill, Grace Kelly, Kissinger et al and not to shabby today either) was by seaplane, and to anchor these seaplanes, concrete blocks of various sizes were laid in the bay. Another one is that the German Condor Squadron that was based here had them laid for their planes. All i know is that some of these blocks are substantial and would not have been done by a local fisherman from his wee boat!

Nowadays, there is a bit of a bun fight at times over “ownership” of these blocks and trying to find a free one is a bit of a challenge.

Sara and I spent a day out in the dinghy trying to find one and cutting a long story short we were successful, albeit its a bit of a way out in the bay necessitating longer dinghy trips. I had to source suitable chain, shackles, mooring buoy etc, and with the service of a local diver connecting the chain to the blocks. So Sun Dog has now been launched and is quite happy on her swinging mooring, and so are we. Furthermore no one has yet said the mooring block was theirs 🙂

We checked out the costs of keeping the boat in the Real Club Puerto Pollensa but it is seriously expensive. To get the best berthing rate one needs to join the club at 20,000 euros – yes you read correctly 20,000 euros and then the annual membership, with berthing costs are over and above this – and there was me thinking Spain was in a bit of financial difficulty. With the marina being full its obviously not an issue for lots of folks here!

We booked ourselves and the bike onto the 2230 sailing from Barcelona to Alcudia, and with it only being a 7-8 hour crossing we decided not to book a cabin. A seat in one of the lounges is automatically allocated, but on booking online we had a free update to first class seats. These are what you want if ever doing this crossing, very comfortable and electrically reclining. After everyone has eaten and had a few drinks the restaurant and bars close and the lights are dimmed – all very civilised – and because this ferry was not particularly busy, very quiet.

We had a very smooth sailing and arrived in Alcudia and after disembarking arrived in at our place in Puerto Pollensa 20 minutes later. It was a case of taking the luggage off the bike and getting a few hours more sleep in a bed…….jubbly.

In advance of arriving here I had tentatively arranged an underground parking space for the bike a short walk away from the apartment. However I decided to check if any were available in the underground car park belonging to the apartments opposite ours. (our does not have underground parking) I spoke with one of our Spanish friends Lorenzo who put us in touch with a Scot who owns an apartment in this block (and also a villa out of town) but he uses his regularly. He did suggest we speak with another Spanish contact Jose, who I met with and whilst he didn’t have a free space he took me around to one of his friends, and within an hour or so had the key fob for the electric garage door and an underground secure parking spot for the bike. All this by the afternoon of our arrival…….result!

We spent a few days exploring the island on the bike, and have to make a statement that would seem bizarre if someone made it in Scotland…………..its simply too hot to ride a bike wearing the safety clothing normally worn in the UK. It’s like riding in a sauna and this gets worse when going slow through towns or stuck in traffic.
Guess we need to start checking out some form of ventilated (protective) riding gear……or simply expire.

I’m not taking political sides but I saw this cartoon and thought it was hilarious!

We set sail for an overnight crossing from Barcelona to Puerto Pollenca in Mallorca with the plan being to circumnavigate the island, as we have to date only covered the northern part of the island.

The forecast winds of 15-20 knots, and the direction meant it was predicting we should be on a beam reach all the way, as ever this never happened and the wind was sadly on the nose most of the way. There was the usual amount of commercial traffic en route, but with the exception of one incident it was a pretty straightforward crossing.

In the wee small hours when it was pitch black (no moonlight) I saw a white strobe light flashing high up, and then lower down, more or less directly on our path. A “white flashing strobe light” does not figure in the rules of the sea. I headed over a bit to port to give some room as the only thing I could think of was that someone was in distress/difficulty. I slowed down, then stopped and looked through the binoculars whilst trying to identify what it was and also trying to gauge the actual distance. I was stopped dead in the water when this “thing” swept past my starboard at a speed of around six to ten knots and disappeared over the horizon still flashing away! I could see no shape or outline of anything – really wierd!

The other unusual thing is that when a boat reaches really deep water the echo sounder (depth gauge) records the last depth and then stops giving out readings until it comes back into soundings. Our echo sounder had been stuck on something like 185 metres, but when this thing passed it read 12 metres………spooky!! I have absolutely no idea what this was, but if anyone can shed light on this (no pun intended) I would love to hear from them. I thought perhaps a submarine, but have no idea whether or not this could have been a possibility!

Sunrise en route

When we got within telecoms range of Mallorca we received a text from our friends Pete and Debbie asking where we were and how long it would be until we arrived. At this point we were around 2 1/2 – 3 hours away from Puerto Pollenca, and when we told Pete this he replied saying he had secured a mooring for us close inshore – jubbly – saves anchoring further out and having longer dinghy trips when going ashore.

We duly arrived in the bay and Pete directed us to the mooring, and even though we were a wee bit tired (19-20hrs since leaving Barca) we switched the engine off took all the readings, jumped into Pete’s dinghy, and went over to their boat “Paradox” to have a well earned coffee and a good catch up chat for an hour or so, then it was back to Sun Dog for a few hours sleep.

During the next few weeks the four of us had a truly fantastic time together, amongst other things we hired a car between us and went to Palma then over the mountain road to Soller (where we had stopped the previous month or so and had a rolly old night at anchor) this mountain road afforded some spectacular scenery.

We stopped in Soller for a coffee stop but we all found the heat quite overpowering, so it was back to the air conditioned car. There then followed another mountain drive during which we stopped for a juice at a restaurant/café midway back to Puerto Pollenca. What a view from the restaurant and a really interesting stop.

Once back at Puerto Pollenca we headed out on yet another spectacular road along to the lighthouse at Cabo Formentor. It was neat to be at the lighthouse which we have all viewed from the sea sitting proudly on top of the cliffs and looking out at our previous routes.

There are various viewpoints and photo opportunities along this road and we duly took advantage of them.

A great day out.

We had many other lovely days out, visiting amongst others Alcudia Old Town along with Alcudia Port. We also enjoyed taking either Paradox or Sun Dog out for a sail and then anchoring in a Cala. Going for a swim off the boat was so refreshing, and we made full use of Pete & Debbies Magma BBQ …..hard to beat!

When the weather forecast was right for them, Pete and Debbie decided they would head over to Minorca for a few weeks before heading back to Port Ginesta so we said our goodbyes and thanked them for their excellent company.

Sara and I have simply fallen in love with this town and started to seriously look at the housing market, which until then we had been kind of “tyre kicking”. Cutting a long story short we subsequently found an apartment for sale close to the Church Square our favourite spot in the town. The property was being offered at a reduced price for a quick sale, so we arranged an initial viewing. There is no doubt that in the apartment we will hear some restaurant noise as its immediately above one. It is reasonably spacious apartment, has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, but it does need a bit of TLC.

We mulled this over for a number of days, had a second viewing, followed by a third, spoke with an English speaking solicitor who was really helpful, and very informative. He highlighted a number of areas for us to consider, which we did, and then decided that we would make an offer which was subject to a number of caveats. In truth this reflected the amount of work required to bring the apartment back up to scratch. We were not really confident that this offer would be accepted, but submitted it anyway through the estate agent, and got on with our holiday.

We headed out to visit the town of Pollenca which lies about 3 miles inland from the port. Apparently the historical reason the town was located here was because it would give the towns people time to prepare for any Pirate attacks which were not uncommon. This is an attractive town and has all that one would associate with the main town of the area. We wandered around like any other tourists and duly climbed the 365 steps (one for each day of the year) up to the church at the top of the hill. The views were worth the effort, and the coffee when we came back down delicious.

A few more days passed and we went back to the estate agent who informed us that our offer had indeed been rejected – no real shock there! But then he surprised us by saying that if we increased our offer very slightly they would agree to sell and also agree to our caveats. After a final cogitation, we decided to agree and proceed. Then with the help of both the lawyer and estate agent, got the complicated (for us) Spanish legal system underway. If there are no unforeseen snags then the apartment will be ours early October and I will come over to get the necessary work done.

Once we had all of this completed and knew we were now definitely relocating to Mallorca, we managed to arrange for the boat to be lifted out of the water at the Club Nautico during the morning of the day we were departing Mallorca. This will be good for the boat as she hasn’t stood out of the water for any decent long periods in recent years. The other thing I am hopefully going to sort out is my own swinging mooring in the bay. Which means that next year we could be in the apartment, walk round to the dinghy (45-60 seconds) and then out to the boat in the bay.

I am absolutely certain we will make better use of the boat around the islands, as in truth the boat was becoming more of a floating apartment than a boat in Barcelona. This was because one can only go up or down the mainland coast with few overnight anchorages necessitating overnights in a Marina – and boy these marinas know how to charge in high season!!

So we have terminated our membership of Real Club Maritime de Barcelona and will miss all the friends who have helped us so much over the years in the club. Special mention to Nico, Jan and Niels, and Pepe.

Chapters in life close so that other one’s can begin – and we are really looking forward to this one!

Whilst all this was going on we got a text message from Pete & Debbie saying they had had enough of Minorca (too congested in the Calas during August) and were heading back to the relative calm of Puerto Pollenca. This would mean more meals out at “Meatasaurus Restaurants” as Pete simply cannot survive without meat, and Debbie and Sara chatting away nineteen to the dozen like long lost sisters……lovely.

So that established the pattern for another couple of week or so, good food, lots of laughter and all conducted in great company.

Eventually Pete & Debbie headed back for Ginesta and we headed off a few days later to Palma airport. No circumnavigation of Mallorca this time around, but from next year we will hopefully be perfectly positioned to do just that and more.

What an eventful and fun packed holiday – truly an outstandingly memorable one 🙂

Our final bonus was when the boat was lifted out when we saw clearly that the Ultrasonic Antifouling is working superbly well – the following photos show the hull as she was lifted untouched straight from the water.
After eight months in Mediterranean waters one would expect serious growth on the hull, but you can see both sides of the boat in the photos below……no need for me to say anything else really as the photos speak for themselves.

Starboard Side

Port Side