40 02.9N 04 08.1E

We left Mahon on Friday morning having spent a good night on a buoy in Cala Longa (15Euros). The final bill from Mario the rigger was just over 600 Euros so we are feeling very poor! We enjoyed our stay in Mahon and the Sunseeker staff were really helpful – although the place is now called Marina d’Estrella they still answer to Sunseeker on channel 9 VHF if you are calling for a berth. The leading lines are cleaned regularly so no mud on the decks, Sam and Tom the two young staff are great and Ash (the boss) couldn’t do enough for us. The showers are lovely too. We were moored alongside a small Halberg Rassey belonginning to The Frank Singleton of weather forecast fame! He and his wife Jenny have been cruising in the Med. for 10 years  so were a font of information. We did a book swap with them and also exchanged our Pilot book of Atlantic Spain and Portugal for their Italian  ‘Pagine Azzurre’ the equivalent of Reeds but in Italian. (I can see I am going to have to get stuck into the phrase book I have been lent by Nicky – a friend on the beach at home.)

Our journey here took us along the south-east coast on Menorca and then up the east coast. It was surprisingly un populated with just a very few small villages nestling in a cove between the rocky coastline. The hills are nowhere near as high as Mallorca and generally the countryside seems less lush with vegetation.

On our arrival in Fornells the wind increased to 18 knots so picking up a mooring buoy was tricky but eventually we were secured after Rob took to the dinghy to get at the main ring attached to the buoy through which we put two mooring ropes. Our friends June and Steve on Piper were already on a buoy so we spoke on the radio and agreed to meet later to go ashore.

The town here is lovely – just small white buildings with no ‘high-rise’ in sight. The Cala is extensive and surrounded by rolling hills completely un inhabited from what we can see. There are a couple of islands too. We are on another Posidonian buoy – having book on the internet – this has to be done at least 2 days in advance, but you can also call on the phone. There are a number of other British boats here several of which are anchored.

In the afternoon we collected June and Steve and went ashore for a drink and explore. There were many cafes and restaurants plus a few food shops and of course the usual jewellery and clothes shops too. We found the pharmacy and the Tourist Information office where we got details of the shower facilities. These are in a Hostel – La Palma and cost 3 Euros per person, we decided on solar showers! Getting back to the boat was interesting as the wind was up again and there was a short choppy sea – needless to say we all got wet! Had a lovely peaceful night although the wind was still quite strong. This morning Rob is fitting the new navigation light on the bow and we have the generator going to re-charge the batteries. I am hoping for a swim as the sea temperature is 23 degrees here!

We are having a BBQ on board tonight with June and Steve as visitors – hoping the wind will not be too strong.

Plan to leave here Sunday morning and head for Sardinia.