Mallorca July 24, 2015
Yesterday we are out on the bay having a glorious sail, with just the headsail being necessary in about 15 knots of breeze. Of course it was about 34 C on land, just as it's been every day since we arrived here - thank goodness we can escape to the breeze on the water. So far it's already the hottest summer on record and I think the very warm nights are probably contributing to that. We finished the day with a swim and a snooze while anchored off Palmanova beach and then back to the marina where we had lamb koftas and salad for dinner at 10.00 PM.
The previous night we had a tapas dinner at Umbu with Phil Peart from Coolum in QLD, who was only here for a couple of days on business. It's always a pleasure to show people around Palma, wandering around the stone alleyways of the old parts of town, calling in for a drink at the amazing Abaca bar, and visiting the gob-smacking 14th C merchants' guild hall which is now an art gallery for a special exhibit each summer.
We are always discovering something new here and the latest discovery was the street of beautiful old stone windmills where Phil's hotel was located, just one street away from where we usually drive back to the marina from the centre of Palma. We will have to find out the original role of the windmills because they would be there now to help make the area attractive, just as they have in other parts of Palma. (I wonder if these would better suit the artistic tastes of Abbott and Hockey.) The Moors introduced windmills to Mallorca hundreds of years ago for irrigation purposes, which helped the island's agriculture immensely. It's interesting that we noticed during our cruising trip from England two years ago that the new version of windmills were along most of the coastline of France, Portugal and Eastern Spain, as well as hundreds of them in the English Channel, serving a different and very sensible purpose now - powering entire villages with clean energy. What a pity that we have politicians in Australia who are either stupid or in the pockets of the mining companies, or both.
Our other recent discovery was an area of Portitxol we did not know existed, just the other side of old Palma, along the waterfront. We have been to a number of very good cafes and restaurants in the charming area of Portitxol, past the harbour for small fishing boats, but we went to Bite Restaurant for dinner on Tuesday night and were amazed to find a lovely tree-lined promenade along a beach before the harbour. There are
several cafes/bars and restaurants to have a drink or meal and watch the world go by, mostly local families. The food was just OK, so considering there are many much better places to eat we probably will not return for a meal, but the area is very attractive and we are happy to have found it.
Today we are indulging in another form of relaxation - lounging and swimming at Palmanova beach, a relatively long and wide sandy beach only about 10 minutes drive from the boat. We have purchased some decent beach chairs and an umbrella now, plus a little eski to keep the water bottles cold, so we are set up like the locals.
It is hot every day, so there are really only 3 options - go swimming at a beach, go sailing and swim off the boat, or stay at the marina and relax down below in the air conditioning. Not bad options.