Days 92-117

2nd September – 27th September

Menorca – Mallorca – Ibiza

We arrived in Menorca knowing very little about the island and after reading our pilot book and learning that it is often called the ‘Windy Isle’, it soon became very obvious why. Holy moley. The wind just kept coming and coming. We’ve learnt that the Mediterranean either has too much or too little wind but this was off the charts.

The kids enjoy being anchored in a bay way more than being in a marina as it means they have the freedom to jump on and off the boat constantly, all day everyday, non-stop (they still haven’t tired of doing so), so they were extremely frustrated at being berthed in Mahon for what ended up being close to 2 weeks.

Matt and I were actually pretty excited about being marina bound for the first week. Having spent a lot of time in Spain over the years, it felt familiar, easy, relaxed and the supermarkets were amazing! (I’m completely obsessed). The variety of restaurants was exciting too. The food in Italy had been delicious but very similar so we quickly booked ourselves into an Asian restaurant called Way and munched our way through some crispy duck, sushi, dim sum, noodles…the kids woofing it all down too.

We spent a day mooching about the shops and finding our way around the town, we jumped in a taxi and went to a beach for a day, me and the kids went to the hairdressers (first time for me in 4months…desperate times) and generally got the boat ready for Mum and Baz arriving on Saturday 7th.

It had been 3 months since we’d seen Mum and Baz and excitement levels were through the roof! The wind was still blowing a hoolie and lightening storms were constantly rolling through so we decided to stay for the Gràcia Festival which was truly a sight to see. It’s thought to be lucky if you can touch the horses chest as they rear up walking through the narrow cobbled streets but to us it seemed utterly bonkers! Putting yourself underneath one of these huge magnificent creatures looked terrifyingly dangerous so we watched from the sidelines (which still gave me the willies).

The wind had given us a break for a change so that afternoon we left Mahon and sailed round to a lovely little cove called Calles Coves. It was a beautiful little bay surrounded by steep cliffs, hidden caves and the clearest water. After breakfast the following morning, we went exploring along the cliffs, found some hidden caves and built a den. It really was a lovely little spot but as the wind had decided to show it’s face again, we had to leave and head back to the safety of Mahon harbour.

We booked into the marina for the next 4 days as it really wasn’t suitable sailing weather so we visited the Mahon museum which turned out to be brilliant and well worth going to. The kids really enjoyed it and I felt smug using this as an opportunity for a history lesson.

A quick visit to the chandlery resulted in a BBQ purchase so Matt was a happy chappy. Simple pleasures.

The history lessons continued the following day as we visited Fortaleza De Isabel II, the largest fortress in Europe. Built between 1850-1875, it was a stunning building with lots of interesting history situated on the tip of Mahon harbour.

By the following morning we were ready to leave Mahon and start exploring the rest of Menorca so we got the boat ship shape and headed out of the marina. The wind was blowing stronger than had been forecasted but we pushed on, keen to find new places on the island. The waves increased as we approached the mouth of Mahon harbour and I was starting to think this may not have been our best idea. What an understatement. The waves were all over the place, 3m high and coming at us from all directions. It wasn’t dangerous in the slightest but it was really uncomfortable and quite scary for the kids which caused a lot of upset from Mia and some seasickness from Mum…it was definitely time to turn back.

It was starting to feel like Groundhog Day. We returned to the marina to batten down the hatches, hired a car and spent the next few days at the beach and visiting Citudella.

Finally the time came where we were able to leave Mahon and head south so we spent one (very rolly) night in an anchorage on the SW of the island before leaving for Mallorca.

Arriving into Puerto Pollensa was a welcome relief to see how protected and calm the bay was. Being a huge bay with plenty of space, lots of boats were anchored and unoccupied which was unusual but proved how secure the anchorage must be.

We hired a car and did some exploring during Mum and Barry’s last few days. We visited Cuevas del Drach which was stunning and popped into Pollensa town, another picturesque place I would like to return to and then dropped Mum and Baz off at the airport with a teary goodbye. We’d had the best time with them and were going to miss them loads but it’s not too long before we’ll see them again which we know is going to fly by.

We saw a flamenco show in Alcúdia which was pretty amazing. It took place in an old bull fighting ring, felt really authentic and intimate. The musicians and dancers worked so well together, we all loved it.

We left Puerto Pollensa with a little flyby from one of the seaplanes and headed south to Port de Soller, another gem of a place.

I love arriving in a place and not knowing anything about it so finding out that there was a vintage tram running from the port to the main town of Soller was great fun. We ate some delicious tapas for lunch and spent the afternoon on the beach in the port and watched a beautiful sunset that evening.

We headed south the next day and spent one evening in Andratx but didn’t get to explore as there were boat chores to be done before our passage to Ibiza. It looked lovely though and somewhere we’ll definitely come back to next summer.

The crossing to Ibiza took around 8hrs. It was calm, quiet and we were visited by lots of dolphins along the way so ended up being the perfect passage.

We’d been in contact with a family who were sailing a very similar route to us and we finally managed to hook up with them in Portinatx, NW Ibiza. It was great for the kids to have some company, they quickly hit it off and enjoyed hanging out over the afternoon and evening. It was also lovely for us to chat to people doing the same as us and to be reassured that our issues and concerns are completely normal! Needless to say there were a few hangovers the following morning..we are in Ibiza after all.

We knew that some friends were in Ibiza this weekend and we were super keen to meet up with them so we headed south to Cala Jondal and spent the afternoon catching up with them at Blue Marlin Beach Club. Very much the Ibiza club scene, Mia and Seb were the only kids there so rather than cramp their style any longer, we left them early evening to party the night away and headed to a more sheltered anchorage. It was so lovely to see them all, Tara, Sammy, Jackie and Rachel (so sorry to miss you Nichi x), I hope we don’t leave it as long next time. Thanks for the photo bomb Seb!

Being away for 4 months means I’ve missed some very special birthdays which I’m gutted about but I’ll just have to make up for when we get home which is only a month away now. Matt was offered a job working from home which was too good to turn down and as we had already decided that the Atlantic crossing was not for us, it made complete sense to end the season in the Med and head back for Matt’s job starting at the beginning of November.

We’ve decided to keep the boat in Valencia and holiday on it next year which feels like having the best of both worlds but as we don’t have long left of this trip, we’re going to make the most of every minute and treasure every moment.