4 Ready to continue on west, but first we have to get past the "dragons"!
4 
Why do we travel? One reason is to experience and enjoy different cultures of which, food plays a large part. Sailing around the Mediterranean has amply fulfilled this desire, however, an occasional reminder of home is very welcome. And for the wandering Brit in the Med, Gibraltar provides a little taste of home from home.
Sailing to Gibraltar: A Taste of Home
Leaving the Med was not as easy as it originally looked on paper. With fickle forecasts, we bit off chunks as best we could
Leaving The Med – It Won’t Let Us Go
Time had caught us unawares and it was time to make plans to head south and west.
With a distance of 550nm to Gibraltar, we were keen to break the journey into small legs. For that we needed the cooperation of the weather. Did it play ball?
We had some great moments - encounters with local legends, live music, old friends and a chance meeting with a sister boat.
Time to Leave the Med
2 We spent almost two weeks in Menorca, visiting a variety of anchorages. Softer than it's big sister, but no less beautiful - the jagged coastline softened by idyllic sandy beaches and calas.
Sailing Magical Menorca
We'd left the west coast of Mallorca to visit the large bay of Pollenca, known for being an all weather anchorage. The all round shelter was very appealing. Being on constant alert for changes in the weather can be exhausting! It was a safe place to catch up with some boat jobs, to have some fun exploring the area and restock the stores.
Playtime in Pollença Bay
A weather window gave us a chance to move on from Soller and visit two stunning calas on west Mallorca's coast - Cala Tuent and Cala Sa Calobra, famed for the stunning Torrent de Pareis - a river that has cut a narrow passage between two tall cliffs.
After two great days we continued north, with winds that couldn't decide what they wanted to do.
Wild West Mallorca
5 Third time lucky! We took a chance to visit the anchorage of Soller on Mallorca's west coast, having been thwarted twice before.
It's a beautiful horseshoe bay, surrounded by the towering mountains of the Tramuntana mountain range.
Sailing to Soller: Third Time Lucky
A wind free day had us motoring from Santa Ponca to Cala Deia on Mallorca's west coast.
It was a beautiful day for enjoying the scenery.
The cala is very pretty, backed by the Tramuntana mountains.
And amazingly, we had the place all to ourselves overnight!
A Compromise Win at Cala Deia
3 Whilst sailing from Ibiza to Mallorca, the wind died and we had to motor. Just after switching on, the engine stuttered and died. Diesel bug had blocked one half of our fuel system. Read on for how we dealt with this.
Attack of the Diesel Bug
1 We had our best passage ever in the Med, sailing between the Spanish mainland and Formentera.
After a few days relaxing, we headed on to the north of Ibiza and the visually stunning anchorage of Punta Grossa.
Our New Best Passage in the Med
2 We'd been chased away from the rugged peninsula of Cabo Tinoso by swell which was bending around the headland and making life uncomfortable. We headed east to Mar Menor and experienced one of those days that are memorable for the wrong reasons.