We hadn’t been able to connect with the boatyard prior to going to Valencia. When we arrived, Michael met with a nice man from the yard and discussed what we needed. The gentleman told us he would get back to us with the price.

The price was really high.

So, Michael contacted the yard in Cartagena, the place that had come highly recommended by several sailors. The price was much less there. We decided to stay in Valencia and wait for a weather window. That meant we had a few days to sightsee! Yay!

I did a fair amount of research on “day trips from Valencia.” We knew we wouldn’t have a car, which limited us to some extent. In the end, we decided to take a day trip to Xàtiva. That meant walking 30 minutes to the bus station, then taking two buses before taking the train to Xàtiva. That all took about two hours. (We did the reverse on the way back, but with a slower train with many stops.)

The main thing to do in Xàtiva is visit the castles on the hill. There’s actually no interior to speak of, save for a small area identified as a prison. It primarily consists of walking around the exterior and enjoying the views.

Description: “Xàtiva Castle or Castillo de Xàtiva is an imposing twin fortification which embodies the history of not only its town, but the region as a whole. The castle itself is split into its older part, Castell Menor, and its latter counterpart, Castell Major, with evidence of numerous cultures divided between the two including Iberian, Roman and medieval.”

We needed to leave Palma on April 2nd at noon because our berth was needed by another boat. One of the things I’d hoped to do that morning was mail a package. Despite my efforts, I had not been able to mail a package to our friends in Corfu.

Let me give you the background. I’d purchased some flower art – made on handmade paper – in Amalfi, Italy the previous September. I bought two pieces: one to keep and one to give our two friends as a thank you for hosting us at their lovely villa in Corfu. I wanted to frame both, so we took them to the U.S. when we visited in October-November. I boxed up the one for our friends and took it to the Post Office. The cost of mailing it to Greece was beyond anything I would have imagined. The woman working the window suggested I mail it from an EU country, as that would be cheaper. She also told me that I needed to put the box inside another box to protect it.

So back to Seahike went the artwork!

But Seahike (and we) were in Tunisia, which isn’t an EU country. We’d visited EU countries in January and February, but we wouldn’t have had time to find a bigger box and a Post Office, plus we didn’t have a big enough carryon bag in which to put the box. So we waited until we sailed to Sardinia in February. I went to a Post Office there and asked if I could purchase a larger box and mail it. They didn’t have boxes and had no idea where I could buy one. They suggested the market. The market didn’t sell boxes.

So back to Seahike went the artwork!

Michael stayed on the boat on Saturday. I visited two main sights: Castell de Bellver and Catedral-Basílica de Santa María de Mallorca.

Bellver Castle is undoubtedly one of the most original, emblematic buildings in Mallorca’s history. It was built between 1300 and 1311 on the instructions of the King James II of Mallorca. However, the criterion behind the construction of Bellver Castle was defensive strategies planned by the Royal House of Mallorca. It was also conceived as a fortified palace where governors could safely take refuge in times of jeopardy and the monarchs used for longer or shorter stays.

It has a very specific original design, made up of a Gothic building that forms a perfect shape, with four big towers facing the four points of the compass. The keep faces north and it is separate from the rest of the castle, while the other towers are buttressed to the main body.

Some of the most remarkable architectural features on the outer façade of Bellver Castle are its arched mullion windows. Found on the upper story, they comprise two narrow semi-circular arches separated by a column.  This kind of window, which can also be found inside the building, is fairly typical of Palma’s medieval architecture.

Work on the first moat that surrounds the castle was carried out in 1330. The moat prevented enemies from invading the castle, while also increasing its relative height. After this alteration to the castle, it saw few modifications. Only an outer ravelin surrounding the first moat and the third curtain wall were added, both related to the introduction and development of artillery on the island.

Okay, do you know what a ravelin is? I did not. This is the definition: “A ravelin is a V-shaped fortification built outside a castle’s main ditch to cover the area between two bastions. It has two embankments at a salient angle, and is located in front of the innerworks of a fortress, such as the bastions and curtain walls. The word ravelin comes from the Italian word rivellino, which is a diminutive of the word riva, meaning “rim” or “bank”. The word originated in Middle French between 1580 and 1590.”

Google Maps took me through town first, then on a nice little nature trail, then to the stairs. There are more stairs than pictured below.

Michael and I walked around Palma on the 26th. It is such an eclectic and historic city with interesting architecture and an energetic vibe. We wanted to experience more of it.

The two buildings pictured below, Can Forteza Rey and El Águila, located in Plaza del Marqués del Palmer in Palma, were probably our favorites. They are so closely linked that they seem to be one building. They represent different examples of modernist architecture.

Can Forteza Rey was designed by modernist jeweler Lluís Forteza-Rey. It is an example of Modernist-Art Nouveau architecture. The building’s facade is decorated in the same style as its interior, and shows a strong influence from Catalan Modernism, especially the works of Gaudí. The building dates from 1909 and it was assigned to family housing. The façade is decorated with trencadís (a Gaudi inspired kind of broken mosaic tile) and has twisted iron railings, as well as a stone grotesque under the bay windows. Another interesting feature are the traditional Majorcan shutters with their less than traditional shape. It is now occupied by a dental office and other businesses.

The building of El Águila was built in 1908 by architect Gaspar Bonasera in the art Deco style – an eclectic style which is a synthesis of modernism and Neoclassicism. On the facade are balconies with wavy iron railings, polychrome ceramics, and an abundance of vegetable items. The El Águila building offers a beautiful solution to the structural need to create large bays and meet the commercial demand that it was created for. The geometric iron structure with oversized rivets on the first floor, evolves into vegetal shapes on the upper railings and presents a sharp contrast to the multi-colored ceramic and decorative rounded arch that finish off the building.

When I sent this picture to Heather, she replied, “Makes me want to go to the dentist.” She’s a funny one, she is! 🙂 🙂

It was time to go to Mallorca. We traveled 25 nm from the anchorage on Minorca to the one on Mallorca. We anchored at Cala Moltó, on the northeast side of Mallorca. We were the only boat in the bay. 🙂 We anchored in sand in 11 feet of beautiful clear water. We took the dinghy ashore and walked to the town. We were surprised and delighted to find that we’d anchored right next to a nature reserve! We walked through a beautiful forest of trees before reaching a beach right next to the one at which we had anchored.

We stopped at a little German restaurant located next to a car rental. It wasn’t exactly a pretty area, but the chicken nuggets and accompanying sauce were the best we’ve had!

We left Sardinia on March 13th to take the 200 nm trip to Minorca. We got to Minorca on the 15th. We’d heard that the Balearic Islands were beautiful, and we were not disappointed! In fact, we were rather stunned by their beauty!

Our first anchorage in Minorca was Calo Roig. We arrived at 2:30 a.m., so we didn’t know what it looked like until the next morning.

We cannot say enough good things about this anchorage. It is gorgeous, has a nice walking path on shore, and a beautiful beach. We anchored easily (even in the dark) in sand. Good holding. We took the dinghy ashore and enjoyed the short hike.

The last time we saw Seahike, she had a very dirty bum. When we went to the boatyard to check her out then splash her, she looked like a new boat! She’d been polished (sides and top), her bum’s nicks had been repaired and she had new antifouling paint. In addition, her engines had received some TLC, she had new sacrificial anodes, and her saildrive had received some attention.

Regarding the last thing, our starboard engine had been shaking a bit for some time. Michael asked the mechanic to check the saildrive while Seahike was on the hard. The mechanic discovered that the propeller shaft was slightly warped. We provided the requested parts and he replaced them. The problem with having the boat on the hard is that you can’t run the engine to see if the “fix” actually fixed the problem. (Spoiler alert: it didn’t.)

The downside to being on the hard is that two of Seahike’s front windows cracked. One by the portlight on the port side and one on the portlight on the starboard side. Dang. The one on the starboard side is big. The one on the port side is about three inches tops.

Here’s our “new” girl:

We visited Annecy on the last day of February, which happened to fall on a Leap Year.

Annecy is an alpine town in the south-east of France, with a population of over 50,000 inhabitants. It is located on the border with Switzerland. The city is crossed by the Le Thiou river, which flows directly into Lake Annecy. Annecy has a superb historic center, and is crossed by numerous canals and pedestrian streets. The city is also called “Little Venice of the Alps.”

It was absolutely beautiful in my opinion. How lovely it was to see the mountains in the distance next to the lake with crystal clear water! It is fun to just walk about and enjoy the views of the town and its surroundings.

NOTICE TO READERS: Today’s post is quite long and mostly about movies.

Michael wanted to take it easy the first half of the day in Lyon, so I walked to the Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière and Théâtre Gallo Romain de Lyon-Fourvière by myself then met Michael at the funicular.

One of the first things I saw on my walk was the Place des Jacobins, a square located in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon. It was created in 1556. It lies on a former Jacobin convent, which was destroyed in 1808. It is named after the Jacobin monks, who resided in the building. The white marble fountain standing in the middle of the square was sculpted in 1885 by Gaspard André. It represents four famous local artists and has four sirens.

Another thing that caught my eye was this statue. I didn’t know what it was but it was intriguing, so I took a picture. I have since learned that it is called The Weight of Oneself. A marble figure almost three meters high, it appears to be a savior. But upon closer reflection you can see that the man is carrying his double, and in so doing becomes his own savior but also his own millstone. These philosophical concerns echo the questions of civil and individual responsibilities which are debated every day in the nearby Palais de Justice. The artists are Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset.

The last time we posted we were at the Beehive in Montpellier. We were still on the fast track through southern France, so we took the train to Avignon the next day, visited, then took a later afternoon train to Marseille. I know.

We spent enough time in Avignon to get a feel for the town. We left our luggage at a locker at the train station which left us free to enjoy our visit.

Our first visit was to the Palace of the Popes. The Palais des Papes is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. Once a fortress and palace, the papal residence was a seat of Western Christianity during the 14th century. Six papal conclaves were held in the Palais, leading to the elections of Benedict XII in 1334, Clement VI in 1342, Innocent VI in 1352, Urban V in 1362, Gregory XI in 1370 and Benedict XIII in 1394. Since 1995, the Palais des Papes has been classified, along with the historic center of Avignon, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for its outstanding architecture and historical importance for the papacy.

I am going to share some pictures of the actual space compared to that displayed on the histopad.