Soller
Altea
Mon 23 Sep 2013 21:28
20 - 23 September 2013
We woke late the first morning to see the steep sided cala, tree covered and rugged, with misty clouds lifting as the sun broke through. As we had our morning coffee a large dolphin surfaced a few boats away. It took a while to work out that it was scratching its back on the anchor chain.
The harbour, although much smaller (and warmer), had a similar feel to Falmouth. A natural haven for ships for hundreds of years.
J and L stripped and serviced a couple of winches that had started sounding rough. And then we slipped into a pattern for the next 4 days.
Trips ashore for drinks, shopping, croquettes and live music in the evenings. Swimming to the beach, and even relaxing, reading and doing nothing. People and boat watching - a lovely Swan was our neighbour for a day or so. A real holiday, just when I had thought that we were wrapping up.
The dolphin came back in the mornings and was clearly a resident in the bay.
One day we have a great walk over the hill to the inland town of Soller. The wooded path is very calm and tranquil, passing by hidden villas, with wild gardens and exotic flowers. A man lures us into his garage for freshly squeezed orange juice. Eventually we reach the old part of the town, after wandering through the backstreets for a while. It was pretty well hidden. We have a great lunch and buy an ice cream, then return to the port on the old wooden tram that runs through the valley to the coast and then right along the shore.
Eventually, on the late afternoon of the 23rd, after the longest stop that we have had in one place, we set off on the 130 mile trip to Sant Carles on the mainland. It is going to take about 24 hours and we consult the forecast to try to make sure we can sail rather than motor. Looking out to sea it is obvious that the swell has gone, and the plan is to motor through a flat sea and rendezvous with the wind at about 2 am.
We take a last look back at Majorca as it recedes in the evening light.
That night was memorable. I came on watch at 2:00 am and took over from Laura, the wind was still very slight and the water was gloopy, like it had been when we went through the night from Marbella. I couldnt resist putting up the sails, so I killed the motor and tried to do everything as quietly as possible. Eventually I was wafting along at only about 2kn, but it was great. Just a gurgle from the bow, and a very slight wake behind us to disturb the silence. The moon was bright and the water just melted into the sky in the distance. I heard dolphins gasping and blowing a few hundred yards away as they passed by. Magical.
Eventually the wind came and we had a good sail through the morning, dodging fishing boats, it was like being off Portugal again.