Porto Cristo

We spent 7 May very gently sailing north up Mallorca’s east coast. We are not talking big distances, only about 12 miles, but it was nice not to feel any pressure to start the engine and press on to a cover longer distance. We have stopped at Porto Cristo primarily to restock the fridge after our extended stay in Cala Mitjana but it seems to be a pleasant place. We have moored on the west side of the harbour on the town quay primarily because you don’t have to walk all of the way around the harbour to get to the shops; important when carry lots of shopping. However, we were pleasantly surprised that the mooring fees are about half of what they would be if we had stopped on the other side of the harbour at the Club Náutico marina.

There is easy access up to the cliff tops with great views up and down the coast.

The path along most of the cliff tops, weaves amongst the rock formations, and there are no barriers or safety rails to spoil the view; it is just a straight drop down to the sea. There are also watchtowers on the cliffs dating from the early 1800s.

Porto Cristo is largely modern build but it is nicely done and you get the feeling that it is the Spanish equivalent of a ‘slightly off the beaten track’ Cornish holiday town. Tucked away there is the odd rustic villa or two.

The major tourist attraction of the area is the underground cave network.  Cuevas del Drach is the closest which has a large underground lake, Martel Lake, inside which is about 115m in length and 30m in width. Apparently it is one of the largest underground lakes in Europe and is named after the French explorer and scientist Edouard A Martel, who explored the cave 1896. Judging from the busloads of tourists being delivered here it is one of the main attractions on Mallorca. The visits are scheduled, lasting about and hour, and they end with a short classical concert performed by four musicians on a boat.

After a day of sightseeing, provisioning and lazing, we now have the best intentions of scrubbing the decks and cockpit and of giving BV a bit of a clean-up before heading on towards Menorca. [Ed: the thought of cleaning was so traumatic to Reg that he cooked biscotti instead, and then used them as an excuse to stop work and have a coffee break! It’s all go here.]

Porto Cristo, Mallorca, Spain