On the 8th July and our third attempt we finally made a safe crossing to Ibiza and dropped the hook after a 13hr passage in a breathtaking cala on the North of the Island. We spent 4 days here soaking up the secluded surroundings, snorkelling the crystal waters, relaxing and enjoying a long awaited reunion with our American friends Jack & Patricia and their beautiful boat 'Whoosh', whom we'd not seen for 11 months. After making one more stop at a livelier cala to experience the 'party' side of Ibiza, a week later we made our crossing to the largest Balearic Island Mallorca.

Making landfall in Andraitx on the West coast, we spent several days here in a large anchorage off the cosmopolitan port town. Many main towns here are 2-3 miles inland, originally built this way as a defence against pirate attacks. Here we enjoyed good shopping, the fiesta of Virgen de Carmen (the feast of the patron saint of sailors and fishermen), and Angie treated herself to a long awaited professional hair cut. Travelling clockwise round we again visited several more calas before once again sailing offshore to Menorca.

After an initial attempt to make landfall on the south coast which turned out to be unsafe due to strong southerly winds, we continued eastward and made landfall in Mahon, the Capital of Menorca and said to be the safest natural harbour in the Mediterranean. Here Wayne celebrated his Birthday and as a treat we paid the high season price of €43.61 per night to moor to a floating pontoon (with electricity and water) in the middle of the historic harbour with a gorgeous 360-degree view. After a few decedent days in this city we refuelled and headed north to Fornells, a sleepy village on the NE tip of the island. Here we are preparing and waiting fair winds for our crossing to Sardinia. After our little holiday in the Balearics we feel ready to leave Spain behind and are looking forward to Italian adventures!

From Cartagena we rounded Cabo de Palos and headed to the anchorage outside Torrevieja, from where we intended to depart the mainland and head for Ibiza in the Balearic Islands. We headed out on the 110nM passage to Ibiza, but unfortunately after 4hrs of motoring into a moderate NE-E headwind and choppy sea (the forecast was for a SW wind) we decided to divert back to the mainland and head North for Villajoyosa. The following day, still with headwinds, we continued up the coast past Benidorm & Calpe toward Moraira and by doing so, crossed the Greenwich Meridian line (000°00'.00) passing from West to East. We are waiting in Moraira for a favourable forecast for the now shorter crossing (60nM) to Ibiza.