23 May
Next morning we went into town in the dinghy. Rounding the edge of the inlet we saw a long, low building, somewhat plain, all white concrete and glass. At first glance I thought it was a school but then realised that it was part of the hotel complex, probably a restaurant. Plain it may have been, but it blended in well with its surroundings, and the view from that restaurant must have been awesome, out over the bay, the boats at anchor, the distant shoreline with its rocky slopes, scattered pines and beautiful villas. And in the other direction, the entrance to the bay and the sea beyond.
Further round, there was the sea wall and a marina. In fact, there was the marina, used for pleasure boats and run by the Club Nautica, and then a small port that was used for local boats and by the boats that gave tours round the bay and other nearby calas. Then there is a finger of the bay that is home to a myriad of small fishing boats. Ashore, there are bars and restaurants and a few tourist shops. Our first stop was for coffee. No trip ashore is complete without a stop for café con leche. Then we are ready to face the rigours of finding a supermarket.
That day I also wanted to find a hairdresser. I had been putting it off for weeks, or not finding the time, or the opportunity, now was to be THE DAY. A signpost showed us the way to the hairdresser and the supermarket so off we went. Hairdresser found, there was no appointment available... she suggested the next morning and I was about to say no when I heard Tony say that would be fine. Uh? We were to leave tomorrow, what was he thinking of? So I made the appointment and also one for him to have his hair cut. As we left the salon Tony said, 'hope it doesn't rain tomorrow'.
Next stop, supermarket. Oh dear! I had intended to do a fairly comprehensive shop but this store was geared towards holidaymakers who only wanted the most basic items. The range of fruit and vegetables was poor and there was virtually no meat - and from what I had seen of the town so far, no other source of meat or vegetables existed. Oh dear, indeed. I bought what I could - I still had some fresh food on board - and we headed back into town. There was nothing perishable in the shopping so we put it in the dinghy and went for a stroll around the town.
One of those little trains that go round tourist resorts stopped just in front of us. This one was called the "TGV' and was going to Cala d'Or, a huge tourist complex about 3 kms away. It was very full but a kind gentleman in the last seat of the last compartment moved over to let us in. Not a lot of space for four of us... but we were in, the safety bar locked, and off we went. I have to say, it was quite scary. I had expected a slow, pleasant journey along leafy lanes. What we got was the main road into Cala d'Or, lots of traffic and me hanging over the edge, not quite fitting. My elbow soon took to hugging my side as we seemed almost to brush past lamposts and shrubs. On the way back I would be sure to find a better place to sit.
(We are still on passage to Ibiza, by the way, and have just pulled out the sails but the engine is still on. Motor-sailing again!)
We have been to Cala d'Or before, by road at Christmas, when almost everything was closed, for the holiday period or, more likely, the winter season. We had found a beautiful cala there, the usual sort, stony shore, pine clad, narrow U-shape with sandy beach at the head. There was a yacht at anchor and I thought at the time, 'this would be a good overnight anchorage'. Tony hadn't been with us that day so I wanted to take the opportunity to show it to him. Maybe we could go there the following night, if he was in agreement. It was a short hop from Porto Petro. (Tony, having read this, says I should explain that Cala d'Or is the name of the town and that 'cala' means a small bay, or creak. Within the area that is the town of Cala d'Or there are several 'calas'.)
Of course, I couldn't find the cala I wanted! I remembered that it had been a short walk from there to the marina so I thought we could retrace our footsteps. Now for another confession. As well as not remembering the way, I had the wrong cala! I thought we were looking for Cala Esmeralda when in fact we wanted Cala Gran. I recognised it immediately when I saw it. The beach, deserted at Christmas, today was a mass of sun loungers and umbrellas, sunbathers, children playing. The restaurant had re-opened and was doing a roaring trade. I took a picture to send to our grandson, Oliver. He'll never recognise it. The bad news was that Tony didn't like it, thought it was too narrow for safe anchoring. It didn't seem any narrower than our current anchorage but... well, Captain knows best.
We thought we may as well have a look at Cala Esmeralda and so continued our walk. It was a lot further than we had anticipated and there was nothing interesting to look at. After a while one white house looks pretty much like the next one, especially when it is situated inside a white wall, gardens all the same, pretty, but in the end, not special. Especially when the sun is growing stronger and there is not a lot of shade. And Tony had failed to bring a hat and should stay out of direct sun because of some pills that he pops.
Cala Esmeralda is obviously the main hotel area of the town. Huge hotels, swimming pools... and people enjoying an early summer break. The sound of laughter was everywhere. However, the cala itself, when we reached it, was disappointing from the point of view of anchoring. Much too small. Pretty, but too small.
The walk back into town, past Cala d'Or and on up the hill to the main drag, didn't seem as long as the walk out. Funny that, isn't it, how so often the return journey seems shorter. We were glad of that, thinking as we were, of lunch. We found a simple little restaurant that didn't seem to be offering the usual tourist menu and settled down to enjoy the menu del diá. The menu del diá seems to us to offer great value for money but also, the portions are smaller. Choosing a three course meal à la carte generally means portions that are much too big for the average appetite or even my huge appetite - I do love food. Our menu del diá in Cala d'Or, at €7.90 including three courses and wine, was just perfect!
After lunch we went into a nearby supermarket but food shopping after a good lunch is almost impossible. We didn't buy anything opting instead to take a taxi back to Porto Petro and so to Ganymede, still safe on her mooring.
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