30th June - Cala Mitjana, Mallorca

A stream of water cascades over the rockface of the cala a stone’s throw from where we’re anchored today. Cala Mitjana is just three miles north of Porto Pietro – it took all of half an hour to get here this morning. We’re sharing this snug anchorage with three other boats, that’s all there’s room for. A very exclusive villa overlooks us, its well manicured lawns extending all the way down to the small private beach within swimming distance of the boat.We’re both stung by jellyfish getting ashore.

High Point: Porto Pietro, where we’ve just spent two idyllic calm nights in beautiful surroundings.Three spacious calas share a narrow opening to the sea forming a natural harbour with hardly a powerboat to be seen.We pick up one of the many vacant mooring buoys which are free to use. Their purpose is to prevent the damage that anchoring does to the posidonia grass meadows on the seabed. You’re supposed to book ahead but it didn’t seem to matter that we hadn’t when the man came round to check.We row over to the pretty village at the head of the harbour, which is made up of the usual mix of open air cafes, tourist shops and restaurants. We pick up some fresh fruit and veg and learn that Michael Jackson has died of a heart attack.

Low Point: Finally realising that an overnight stay at the marine reserve at Cabrera is out. Despite several phone calls and repeatedly faxing our application, there was still no sign of a permit after six days. There’s a limit to our patience after all.From Port Andratx we had a frustratingly slow downwind sail to Palma Bay, the wind finally picking up enough to drive us more comfortably through a dying swell. It turned out to be a mistake to choose an anchorage that was an easy day trip from Palma. Cala Portals was absolutely heaving with boats, swimmers, jetskis, RIBs and banana boats. We picked our way through the melee and dropped the hook. Thankfully almost everyone scurried back to Palma later, leaving only a handful of boats behind by nightfall. The wind was forecast to be SE (on the nose), so we made an early start the next morning before it picked up. A disappointment to Leighton who wanted to explore the Madre de Dios caves we’d seen in the cliff-face. We had thought to have lunch in a little cala just past Cabo Blanco which marks the east side of Palma Bay. Some of these places look fine on the chart until you get there and discover they are the width of a country lane, with rocky sides to boot. Cala Pi was definitely not for us!

The wind has now freed enough for us to sail nine miles closehauled towards Colonia St Jordi, and by mid afternoon we anchor off the beach in the lee of a promontory to the north of the town. The water is the deepest turquoise and the beach stretches for miles, but the holding is rock and/or weed, a swell is heaping up over the shallows, and there’s little shelter from the sea breeze. Add to the mix dozens of weekending motorcruisers, powerboats, gin palaces and super yachts all trying to stay anchored and you get the recipe for a nightmare anchorage. With no suitable alternative within striking distance we grin and bear it (with bad grace in my case I’m afraid) and our anchor stays put, despite the fact that it’s hanging on by its point stuck in a crack in the rocks. It’s a long rolly uncomfortable night.

On Sunday we motor the 2 ½ hours to Cabrera island. We’re excited to be going there if only for the day and hopeful that perhaps we might be allowed to stay overnight even though we haven’t got a permit. From a distance, the island looks like Mull or Skye – old rocks, mellowed and weathered with scrub growing on its gently rounded slopes. The day anchorage is in a deep bay well sheltered from all sides. Expecting a secluded marine reserve, we’re surprised to find it’s crowded with boats. We pick up the only vacant mooring buoy we can find. It’s a long way to row ashore and we go snorkelling instead. The water is so deep we’re off soundings, and we see nothing but a couple of jellyfish. We’re now beginning to question a system that doesn’t check people for permits, and allows motorboats to roar in and out of the harbour with scant regard for marine wildlife. We are pretty disappointed by the whole experience and decide to move on.
With the help of the sea breeze we sail off the mooring and set our course northeast past Punta Salinas - the southernmost tip of Mallorca - and along the coast to Porto Pietro. Between Salinas to the south and Cabo Depera to the north is known as the Cala Coast. It is a 35 mile stretch of low cliffs topped with pines broken by dozens of calas - small rocky inlets.

It’s attractive if you don’t mind the villas and apartment blocks that cover every inch of the cliff-top. And there are plenty of good places to anchor within a very short distance of each other.
We’ll explore a couple more calas before going on to Menorca.

We now understand what people meant when they told us the Med was crowded. Even early in the season there are just too many boats – too many BIG boats - in too small a cruising area. We’re happy to mix it with others, but razzmatazz and jostling for space really takes the shine off things. We just hope that we can get off the beaten track a bit come high season.