Thursday 28 July 2011   39:04.49N         1:23.91E

 

No incidents o’ernight (despite

Proximity of rocks, and variable

Draughts of wind) we woke

Slowly and set off towards the

North in bracing on-shore breeze and

Fierce sun.  Proud of his seven

Knots and elegant curves through

Balearic waves, the skipper,

Glass in hand, pronounced that

This Was What Sailing Was About.

We braved a tricky entrance into

Es Portitxol under sail.  Sheets

And self-furling gear got muddled

In the tiny cove, the genny misbehaving

In the gusts, it

Proved a challenge, but the anchor

Held and all was well.

And, surely, this was Atlantis!

Ramshackle huts on one side, a

High bluff on the other, piney

Slopes surrounded this emerald pool.

An old man sat in contemplation

Under a striped awning.  Naked

People bathed and sunned their bodies.

We swam (avoiding jelly fish)

Then the unused kedge was laid, and

An invitation to Casa Anna

Prompted the pumping of

The dinghy.  High above, greeted

By welcome drinks, we admired a

Setting sun and dined at Sophie’s.

A midnight ramble under the

Milky Way brought us back down to

The Milano, and deep sleep.  This

Was the twenty eighth.

 

Jo Edwards