Porto Petro to Porto Colom
Altea
Tue 17 Sep 2013 19:25
17 September 2013
The time with Paul and Francesca has been good fun, but it has gone very quickly, and today is departure day. We motor the 5 miles or so to Porto Colom, where we hope to use the fuel quay to drop them off. We go alongside very nicely, with just enough depth.
We said our good-byes and I packed the kayak away and the fishing rods. It begins to feel like we are preparing for the end stage of the trip.
We had hoped to pick up water but were told that it was "fatal" so that didn't seem like a good idea.
We leave the quay with a small crowd of chaps watching us with appraising eyes. By now we are all pretty efficient, and with her slightly bohemian one man, two woman crew Altea departs with aplomb.
The weather forecast is beginning to be tricky, and we anchor across the bay for lunch and to make plans. I have half an eye on the fact that Man United are playing in the champions league that evening and as the anchorage is nicely sheltered we decide to stay. Some idiot comes and anchors far too close and we should have been ruder, because he then leaves in one of his two dinghies, and we arent sure if we will swing clear if the wind shifts.
Anyway we risk it, and go ashore, and after a bit of a hike are lucky enough to find a bar with a big screen and fresh tapas. The food was good, and although the Czec barman did threaten that he may have to switch games to Real Madrid, if the Spanish came in, as it turned out we had a good crowd of brits and Germans to watch Man U and Bayer Leverkusen. We win comfortably.
We spend an hour on the internet trying to narrow down the options for overwintering the boat. There is a slim chance of finding somewhere on Majorca, but the mainland seems a better, or at least cheaper bet.
The feeling of approaching the end becomes stronger.
It is after midnight as we motor across the channel back to the anchorage. The boat next door is close but we have not bumped.