We left Ceuta on Independence Day. The wind was blowing hard, over 30 knots from the West. The marina was sheltered from the West wind and as soon as we popped out into the Straits it was blowing like a big dog. There were white caps as far as you could see. This is the winds we were hoping for but did not get on our way into the Straits. In fact, we got just about the opposite winds.
We left the marina at the same time as couple that we met from California. Jim and his wife Janie were on the Jungle and heading to Smir for the next night so they were turning South around the tip of Morocco and we were heading Northeast up into the Med. If you look closely in the first picture you can see Jungle off our stern.
This part of the sail was the point at which we had our last chance to get a photo of the “classic” profile of the Rock of Gibraltar. All of the other pictures I was able to take were of the “back” side. Obviously, we were at the wrong angle now and we never did get that Prudential-made-famous shot of the Rock. Oh well, I did throw in a photo of our last glimpse of the African coast.
The strong winds from the West were a great direction for us and the first day offered some exceptional sailing. Much of the day we were making a VMG over 9 knots. That is some serious speed in the right direction. We were feeling really great about our situation when the sun went down. Not too long after that the wind died completely. We still felt good, we just had to motor. We saw some beautiful sunsets over the mountain of the Spanish coast.
It took us a little over two days to get to our next port. We first sighted the island of Formentera in the Balarec Islands at sunrise. We were still motoring at this point and kept going around the Western side of the island. Formentera has a very low, flat geography with no mountains and the sea is typically met with either beaches or rocky outcroppings. There is one major city on Formentera (Formentera) that is kind of an artsy community with a lot of hippie-types hanging around. We avoided going into town at all on this stop. What I heard about the community is all hearsay, I have not been there.
Technically speaking, we did not stop at the island of Formentera either. The very North end of the island is a very narrow strip of land that floods during high tide separating it from the tiny island of Espalmador. We dropped anchor in a bay off Espalmador about mid-morning.
Our anchorage is a beautiful little place that is getting too popular for its’ own good. As the day progressed more and more boats began to fill in all of the empty spots in the bay. Soon it was very crowded around us with sailboats, powerboats, commercial catamaran rides, jet skis and all manner of paddle vessels. The bay is half moon shaped with a beautiful white sand beach. The bottom of the bay is white sand and seagrass. There is only one set of buildings on Espalmador at the far end of the beach. It is some kind of a small resort. The rest of the island is very natural.
Besides the absolutely beautiful setting one of the big draws to this particular cove is the mud. A short walk over the dunes brings one to a large wetlands area. The wetlands are somewhat tidal but there really is no standing water to speak of. To me it looked like a big green mud field. It is said to be rich in nutrients and minerals from evaporating sea water which gives it a green tint.
People come here to get in the mud and cover their bodies with it. Supposedly it is good for the skin, etc… whatever, I was not falling for it again this time. Many visitors get in the mud and slather their whole bodies with this green muck and then let it dry. The view of the beach from the anchored sailboats is one of naked green people strolling the beach. Eventually the mud would dry and harden up and they would jump in the water to get cleaned up again.
Speaking of naked people... There seems to be a plethora of clothing-challenged folks here. I think they probably put most of their money in their million dollar yachts and did not have enough left over for a swimsuit or at least not a whole one. Charlie and I considered organizing a telethon for them but soon thought better of it as we had no phone. We decided just to live with it.
We stayed in the anchorage at Espalmador for two nights. The next island up in the Balarecs in Ibiza. The day sail up to Ibiza was beautiful. The Southern end of Ibiza has towering sheer rock cliffs dropping straight down into the water. The waterway was very busy with recreational boaters, guided tour boats, big party catamarans, tall square-rigged ships and of course the fast ferries. This passage was where I took the previously posted video of the fast ferry.
We bypassed Ibiza City and headed up the Western coast to a city known as San Antonio. It is the second largest city on the island. We needed to re-supply and it’s a good place to get anything you need. The harbor at San Antonio is huge and we anchored way out. We never did nail down good Internet access on the boat, even with our wifi harvesting equipment.
The island of Ibiza is a party tourist destination for many young Europeans. San Antonio seemed to attract the British youth in droves. We arrived on a Saturday and went into town to get some Indian food. It was pretty much just crazy. The party kids were all decked out in “club ware”. We figured out that one of the big clubs in Ibiza City was having a Zoo Party, I think it was actually at the Zoo but I’m not sure.
Don had to go find some postcards or something so Charlie and I sat to wait for him. In this town there is only one place you can go to catch a cab and it is always a big line of people. Charlie and I were watching people file into this line for the cab ride across the island for a Zoo party or other clubbing events. You would have been amazed to see what the outfits were like.
The girls were frequently painted up like animals and wearing maybe a whole swimsuit or a miniskirt. Many of the guys showed up for the line in gym shorts and a pair of flip-flops. Charlie and I must be getting old. We could not imagine going out dressed in only a pair of shorts or a bikini to ride across an island in a taxi to a big city, party all night long and find your way back home around sunrise. I mean, where did they keep their money? Oh well, not our problem but it was great people-watching.
Late one afternoon we were sitting in the cockpit enjoying the harbor traffic coming and going. We noticed some hotshot coming down the channel of the harbor under full sail. Then he tacked back across the channel heading for the anchorage. Then he gybed back across the channel still making great speed and we began to wonder where he was heading. I was thinking I had a good video opportunity coming up.
With considerable remaining momentum he doused the sails (good crew) then reversed back up into the channel and was now heading for the marina. We thought he must have his engine on by now because he was still moving. The momentum was still carrying him along. Soon we saw a dinghy coming out to him from the marina. The dinghy captain tied lines in a bridle fashion on the bow of the sailboat and eventually wrestled the vessel into a waiting slip. It was a very impressive show and quite a nice service that the marina supplies for boaters who lose their engines.
A great contrast to the British party kids in San Antonio is found not far away. The second night we were heading into town for some food and decided to go to the other end of the harbor. There is a small peninsula that juts out into the harbor kind of separating the commercial side from the residential side. We tied the dinghy up on the more residential side and walk up the hill a bit. We began to hear somewhat familiar music and a crowd was gathered. In a small outdoor amphitheater a gentleman was on the stage with a little electronic organ and a microphone. It was one of those fancy keyboards that plays the cheesy accompaniment music along with you. We arrived to “Tie a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree”. It was great to hear that old tune being sung in broken english and seeing the crowd enjoy it so much.