A good part of the sailing life is taken up by waiting; for a storm to pass, for the harbour office to open, for the harbour official to check the paperwork, for the tide to turn, for the wind to change direction…. At the end of the winter, it seems that everyone at the Spanish east coast waits for the appropriate conditions to cross to the ‘promised land’: The balearics.
We slowly climbed up the coast from Cartagena to shorten the trip. Our first stop at anchor is just outside Mar Menor, a huge inner sea which is sadly badly polluted by the enormous amount of tourist hotels. The area is in this time completely deserted so the ghost town and absolutely flat sea contribute to a feeling of being in between places.
After one night we sail on to Santa Pola, a pleasant small town just south of Alicante. There we tried to do a cycling tour to the salt ponds to find out that Spain is indeed different from the Netherlands in respect of bycicle safety. After an interesting trip via busy roads, plantations and holiday resorts we did reach the salt ponds but, as there was only a highway back, treated ourselves to a taxi for the way back. Folding bikes have their advantages…
The main attraction of Santa Pola is the island of Tabarca, which can be reached by any of the various ferries aggressively advertising along the sea promenade.
Luckily we have our own private tour boat, so together with Nacho and Marta (yes, more Spanish family members) we sailed to the island where we had lunch and even swam for the first time this year.
The next step in the approach to the Balearics was Altea, the last waiting room.
After much debate and weather checking, we decided to motor to the other side of Peñón de Ifach and wait there at anchor for the best moment to cross. The wind forecast changes constantly and the decision had to be made between sailing with changing winds at night or motoring in daylight. Of course, Sunriser is a sailing boat, so when in doubt the answer is always SAIL.
We arrived to Ibiza in the morning, a bit more tired than we’re used to after night sailing, and in view of the strong winds forecasted, decided to moor at the marina of Santa Eulalia on the east coast of Ibiza where we would wait for our friends from Equinox who bravely went for the crossing nonstop from Cartagena . That proved to be no small accomplishment as they had some rough sailing conditions.
The good weather let us wait still some more days which we employed in checking out the Ibiza relaxed vibe, including a hippy market, which is a big thing here and an Easter procession.
And finally, the weather is settling down and the waiting comes to an end. We are now enjoying a relaxed anchorage, exploring the beautiful coves and beaches of these islands away from the marina hustle with the temperature going up everyday.