Palma de Mallorca is the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is located on the island of Mallorca (Spain) and is the largest city in the archipelago, with 422,387 inhabitants.
Palma has a mild Mediterranean climate with an average annual temperature of 19 °C and an average annual precipitation of 410 mm.
The coasts, beaches, and ports are Palma’s dominant features.
The city has a civil and military airport, which is located 8 km to the east of the city centre: Palma de Mallorca Airport.
It has the largest and most important port of the Balearic Islands. It now covers an extensive stretch of coastline between the Moll Vell (“Old Pier”), opposite the cathedral, and the Dique del oeste (“West Dike”), next to the quarter of Porto Pi. The port is used for transporting goods and passengers, and by fishing and pleasure boats, as well as by military vessels.
Portals Vells is a cove in the Spanish municipality of Calvià, in Palma de Mallorca. It is adjacent to the sea to the south and to the residential subdivisions of El Toro to the west, La Porrassa to the east, and Son Ferrer to the north. The area is surrounded by a golf course called Golf Poniente and a pine forest. The town has a small nudist cove, El Mago, and another small cove with two small beaches. Here are the quarries from which the stone blocks used to build the cathedral which gives the town its name were supposedly cut.
The beach of Portals Vells I is surrounded by a dense pine forest. It is open to the eastern/south-eastern winds and has a five-metre-deep sandy bottom with seaweed.
Crystalline, tranquil waters reach up to the small sandy area (with fine, white sand) of the beach of Portals Vells II, known as El Mago. This makes it possible to enjoy excellent underwater and sea conditions for anchoring boats.
The beach of Portals Vells III or Platja del Rei is another beautiful but smaller beach. It has a beautiful, tranquil sandy area with fine, white sand. A dense pine forest with very tall trees surrounds this section of the coast which almost touches the crystalline water, beckoning you to take a swim. The left side is sandy, while the right side is rocky and has a slight incline. One hundred metres from the shore, the water is a meter and a half deep.
Located on the southwest of the island of Mallorca, Andratx belongs to the county of Serra de Tramuntana and is 30 km away from the capital. It borders Calvià to the east, Estellencs to the northwest, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north, west, and south. The town has 6 populated centres: Andratx, Port d’Andratx, sa Coma, s’Arracó, Sant Elm, and Camp de Mar.
Three nautical miles before Port d’Andratx is Cala Llamp, and Cala Marmassen is 2.7 miles away. Both are surrounded by rocky land.
As a pebble beach, Cala Llamp is completely free of sand. At Cala Marmassen, there are very few local swimmers who frequent this corner of the coast. They look for the right platform on which to lie down and which also allows them to easily access the crystalline water so they can discover its luring rocky bottom. These two features make it ideal for snorkelers.
There is also Cala Fonoll, at a distance of 2.2 kilometres from Andratx, which is located in the inlet of Port d’Andratx and is surrounded by cliffs. On one of the sides, a beachfront hotel has been built, while on the other side residential houses have been built. The slope and the seabed are both covered in pebbles and grey boulders.
Port d’Andratx (the port) is the perfect place to moor the boat for the night.
Cabrera Island is the main island in the Cabrera archipelago, which is located facing the southern coast of Mallorca. The military presence since 1916 prevented a tourist invasion in the area, which has made the conservation of this exceptional ecosystem possible. Beginning on 29 April 1991, the island belongs to the Cabrera Archipelago National Marine and Land Park.
Its name comes from the mountain goats that inhabited the island. This is the most important island in the archipelago, which comprises 19 minor islands and islets which surround it. It has an extremely short coastline, with a perimeter of 39 kilometres, very beautiful cliffs, and other coastal features, such as capes, coves, sandy and pebble beaches, and extremely beautiful coastal caves like Sa Cova Blava.
The local climate is semi-arid Mediterranean, with average annual temperature of 18 ºC, which is just slightly higher than the temperature on the nearest Mallorcan coast, with little rainfall (an average of 350 mm).
The Cabrera archipelago contains one of the best conserved natural spaces in the Mediterranean, brimming with life, both on land and in the sea. The exceptional transparency and visibility of its waters is surprising, as are its underwater caves, in which unknown species are still being discovered, such as the various endemic crustaceans found in the waters of a cave. To arrive in Cabrera on personal craft, you must request a navigation permit from the management of the National Park. All of the natural resources are protected and therefore sport fishing and hunting are not permitted; also prohibited are gathering natural products and extracting minerals.
Platja d’es Carbó is 0.9 kilometres away from Colònia de Sant Jordi, opposite the islet of Na Molina, and it is the undeveloped sandy area most frequented by the neighbours and vacationers of this tourist residential area. Since it is only accessible by foot from Colònia de Sant Jordi or Cap de Ses Salines, very few local swimmers and tourists visit it. This large sandy area with extremely fine sand is covered by seagrass and branches brought in by the sea. The first dune line is covered in white sea lilies, sea thistles, pines, savins, and wild olive trees.
The best option is to arrive by sea, although the skipper will have to be very cautious when anchoring the boat, since 250 m away from the shore the water is 2.5 m deep (with a sandy seabed covered in seaweed), not to mention the presence of islets. The closest port facility, the port Colònia de Sant Jordi, is 0.9 nautical miles away.
Once in Sa Ràpita, the boat can be moored at the Sa Ràpita marina, in the municipality of Campos. This port is managed by the Sa Ràpita Nautical Club and has 451 berths.
The beach S’Arenal de Sa Ràpita is located just before the port and 11 kilometres away from the municipality of Campos. This beautiful sandy area forms part of the border of the residential area Campaner de Sa Ràpita. It is characterised by its magnificent natural environment: the fine sand of its dune system, the pine forest behind the sandy area, the tranquillity; and it is the perfect place for surfing and windsurfing.
These waters make it possible for the boats to anchor in front of the beach, to the south and the southeast of the entrance to the nautical club, on a sandy bottom which is around four metres deep and is three kilometres away from the shore. However, anchoring here should be avoided if the winds are coming from the south, southeast, or southwest.
If you wish, at dusk we could visit the coastal centre of Sa Ràpita.
Cala Pi takes its name from the pines surrounding it and the torrent that flows into its waters. It is 17 kilometres away from Llucmajor and 4 kilometres away from the Talaiotic village of Capocorb, which was declared a National Historical-Artistic Monument in 1931, and which can be visited daily upon purchasing a ticket.
This beach reaches a half kilometre inland between two vertical walls which are more than 30 metres high, with a 16th-century defensive tower welcoming the visitor. It has fine sand and presents very little unevenness. Occasionally, the bottom is full of seaweed. The beach is surrounded by a residential area.
Navigators should know that this sandy area is the most sheltered of this part of the coast of Mallorca, which is open to the south and southeast; that when there is wind blowing from the south it is difficult to get out; and that next to the entrance there are three rocks to port, so boats must access through the middle part to anchor.
Return to Palma.
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