Mahón
4 May 2024 – Mahón, Menorca, Spain
The passage from Sardinia to the Balearic Islands in Spain was, as predicted, a calm one, the only exception being when we were about an hour away and Jonas caught a giant bluefin tuna. The line went out so quickly that it smoked the reel so he and my dad had to pull it in by hand as we rolled around hove to. They eventually got it in and measured it at thirty four pounds and over a metre long. It lasted for days even after they froze a lot of it and gave some away to other boats.
Bluefin tuna – off the coast of Minorca, Spain
We arrived last Saturday evening and have been here ever since. Festina Lente is anchored in a bay between the 19th century fortress La Mola and an island with an equally fortified quarantine station and TB sanatorium. The anchorage has the best of both worlds, as it is rural with rugged coastal paths through the surrounding hills, but a dinghy ride up the bay leads to the town of Mahón where we could go grocery shopping. My mom and I got our folding cart out of the hold and lugged it up a hill to the store.
Mahón, Menorca, Spain
The only downside to being here is the popularity of this anchorage, as it is the only all weather natural harbour in the Mediterranean. It’s not that crowded but busy enough that we worried about other boats dragging into us. One boat anchored too close and Jonas had to push Festina Lente to the side with the dinghy so they could pull up their anchor without running into us.
Mahón, Menorca, Spain
Since we had visited La Mola when we were here in the fall, we didn’t go inside but were able to walk around the outer wall of the moat. We got there by climbing up a hill from behind the fortress and it felt like we were secretly invading, especially because an earthquake had caused the thick wall to crack down the middle, a weak point in its defence. It was my dad’s birthday, so we packed tea and rolls had a picnic there.
La Mola – Mahón, Menorca, Spain
La Mola – Mahón, Menorca, Spain
My dad and Jonas did a bunch of boat work, including re-bedding the shroud chain plates, getting the forward scanning sonar display working in the cockpit, and repairing the cabin night lights down below.
Other than that, we haven’t been doing much except hanging out and waiting for the wind to stop blowing from the southwest so we can continue heading to Gibraltar. Eventually we decided to bite the bullet and just head upwind while it’s light and a close reach. We will be leaving Mahón this morning for Majorca.
