39:34.02N 02:37.89E

Wednesday 23^rd July

Well, if you are wondering where all the money missing from our economy has gone, don’t panic because we have just found it! It is here tied up in huge and in some cases stunning, super yachts. This place is wall to wall monstrous motor boats, vast yachts and things that are even bigger but defy description! We have crept into a very smart new marina which is actually home to a number of charter boats/fleets (just like home...) and they allow visitors to moor midweek, whilst the charter boats are out. Having said that, the fees are staggeringly expensive with one night here costing the same as two nights at Berthon’s marina in Lymington or whole week in Gibraltar!

The trip from Ibiza began around 6.00am in a flat calm and an interesting sunrise that Sarah has tried to capture on film. (photos will be posted at www.rhbell.com when we next get to a proper internet connection.) We raised our anchor quietly and slipped away from the anchorage which had been very pleasant, but fairly uncomfortable for most of the night due to the swell. The 65 mile trip to Palma was very uneventful in general, with no wind and no waves so we motored the whole way, taking it in turns to catch up on some sleep. Briefly visited by a pod of around 8 dolphins who were happily playing games with each other but pretty much ignored us we slid past. Quite a few more yachts out and about today and when we arrived at Palma there was some very high profile yacht racing going on in the bay, which we managed to stay out of the way of!

Tied up in Marina Alboran and now await the arrival of the Mastervolt dealer to sort out our generator. We stick out a bit on our pontoon, not because we are the smallest boat (which we are) but because we are the only one without a uniformed crew. We also probably look a bit quaint and eccentric as we have put up our wind scoops to direct the breeze down through the boat. They of course have air conditioning, but then the very good news is, so does the marina toilet and shower block. We ran a load through our washing machine as soon as we arrived and are now braced ready to be told to remove it all from the rigging where it is hanging out to dry! Took the opportunity to fill up with fuel as they have a very neat system here with the fuel piped to all areas of the marina and so they simply connect up the nozzle by your boat and away you go. No pratting about moving the boat to the fuel bay.

Suspect that we will be heading into the sunset just the moment the generator is fixed, probably sooner if they can’t sort it quickly.