Formentera, Balearic Islands, Spain

Where to start with our stay in Formentera?  After having enjoyed mainland Spain so much we were unprepared for the beauty of the first of our Balearic Islands.  We knew it was going to be busy – after all, this group of islands in the Western Mediterranean are probably the most popular holiday destination in Europe, plus the fact that it was August – the most popular holiday month for Europeans.

From our chart plotter, we are able to see other vessels with AIS (Automatic Identification System through the VHF radio), and we tried to have a guess as to how many boats there would be on our arrival into the planned anchorage at Formentera.  Now you have to realize that in order for an AIS vessel to appear on the chart, they have to have their VHF radio turned on as well as transmitting their AIS which most vessels at anchor do not.  Still, it gives one some idea of the vessels in the area.

Imagine our surprise as we approached the anchorage to see literally hundreds of boats anchored along the two to three mile shoreline!  This made us a little anxious to say the least, but by the time we had our anchor set and a little swim many of the boats had cleared out.  What became obvious over the next few days that we spent in various anchorages around the island was that most of the boats are day-trippers and come in between noon and 2pm and depart between 6pm and 8pm (in order to get back to wherever they came from by dark).  So what may seem a crowded anchorage at first, is often quite lovely by the time the sun sets!

So our first anchorage in the Cala Raco d’es Mares was chosen to protect us from the southwesterlies and southeasterlies that were blowing when we arrived and continued for the next couple of days.  The beautiful rock formations, the clear blue water, the sandy bottom and the cute little ‘village’ nearby made it ideal.  The ‘village’ was made up of a couple of restaurants, shops and some accommodation but had a decent concrete dinghy dock that you could tied up to and go ashore. The fact that ‘jetski jerks’  did their best to annoy everyone in the anchorage by zooming in and out of anchored vessels, either towing skiers/wakeboarders/donuts, or just on their own, did not detract from our enjoyment of the place.  The Australian boating rules definitely do not apply here and we are continuously amazed at the apparent complete lack of safety where boaters are concerned.  Motorised vessels (from dinghies to large motor cruisers) wend their way at a decent speed through anchorages, seemingly oblivious to swimmers, snorkelers as well as anchor lines and the assortment of toys tied to the back of most of the boats.

Probably the highlight of our stay at this anchorage was our visit to one of the many ‘beach bars’ in Formentera – with ‘doof doof’ music blasting and crowds of young people enjoying themselves, we bought a couple of mojitos and a plate of doritos with salsa (I won’t embarrass myself by divulging the ridiculous cost – suffice it to say that place has a licence to print money!) and sat down on the beach to enjoy the spectacle.  The scantily-clad (as well as the unclad, since nudity is completely accepted here) assortment of people of all ages, drinking, eating, dancing, chatting, etc. made for a fun couple of hours of people-watching.

As the winds became more easterly, it was time to move on and we headed for the Isla Espalmador at the very northern tip of Formentera.  This is a private island, however there is a mooring field in which you can stay upon reserving a mooring in advance.  Of course in August, this is completely booked out so we had to look elsewhere.  Just south of the island, there is a long sandy strip of land where boats anchor all the way along right up to the harbour at Puerto de Sabina.  It’s all sand, and although there is not much protection from the wind due to the low-lying land, it’s good holding and the water is crystal clear and blue (due to the beautiful sandy bottom).  The only downside of anchoring on the western side of the spit is the continuous wash from the passing ferries (every 30 minutes from 6:30am to 10:30pm) and other large motorboats passing between Puerto de Sabina (Formentera’s only harbour) and Puerto de Ibiza (Ibiza’s largest harbour) just to the north.

We took our dinghy into the port on our first afternoon to have a look around, fill our dinghy fuel tank and stock up on fresh veggies and fruit.  Puerto de Sabina is a cute little town with more rental car/motorbike/scooter businesses than I have ever seen in one place.  There must have been twenty or thirty shopfronts!  The ferry terminal is quite impressive, especially for such a small harbour.  Ferries go to Denia, Barcelona and Valencia daily from here, as well as multiple times a day to Ibiza.

On our second day at anchor, we noticed a Lagoon with an Aussie flag and met Mike and Leanne from “Ooroo 1” – this is their second season in the Med and they are on their way out and across the Atlantic this November with the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers). Originally from Fremantle, they are following most Aussies’ plan of Med, then Caribbean, then East Coast USA then Panama Canal and then back to Oz via the South Pacific (eventually).  We hope to cross paths with them again in the future.

With the wind shifting again (as it does) we decided to make our final anchorage on the west coast of Formentera at Cala Sahona.  Another lovely (but crowded) sandy-bottomed anchorage surrounded by cliffs, this anchorage was a little more exposed.  Once again the ‘jetski jerks’ were in full force!  The size of some of the motor yachts anchored a little further out were mind-blowing. They would lower their tailgate and out came the assortment of water toys, deck chairs, umbrellas, etc. ; the smartly-dressed staff in their white shirts and beige shorts (almost all the superyacht staff seemed to have the same uniforms) running around getting things set up, or polishing stainless steel or simply ‘standing guard’ (against paparazzi?) was amazing.

As one can imagine in such a destination, there is a plethora of charter yachts; I am not sure what kind of qualifications one needs in order to rent a yacht/motorboat in this area, but there appears to be a large proportion of what we have called ‘anchor wankers’.  They will spot a ‘hole’ in a group of boats and charge straight through an anchorage, hell-bent on dropping their ‘hook’ in that spot regardless of whether they will fit or fall back onto another yacht already anchored in the area.  After a few nervous episodes of sitting and watching these ‘anchor wankers’ in action, we decided that they are actually the ‘norm’ rather than the exception and have learned to take it as part of the experience.

On our second day in Cala Sahona I decided to take one of the bicycles ashore and ride to Formentera’s capital city – San Francisco Javier.  The dirt road that leads from the beach to where it joins the main paved road was quite an adventure.  The interior of the island is quite pretty if rather barren, with hand-built stone walls lining the roads and the properties.  Beautifully crafted, these walls are simply stones fitted without mortar but amazingly plumb and even.  There were a few fields with grape vines and several fig trees as well so apparently there is enough water to sustain these.

I also passed a couple of old windmills (still turning in the wind) on my way into town.  I am not sure what they might have been used for but they clearly had been useful at one time.

The road became paved a couple of kilometres outside of town and my long slow ascent became a rather steep descent into San Francisco Javier.  Another pretty little town with a large paved pedestrian area, San Francisco is obviously an attraction in itself.  Lots of cafes, boutiques and shops have attracted people to the area and I noticed several small hotels as well.  I explored a little, bought a few groceries and headed back to Cala Sahona before it got too hot.

The beach area at Cala Sahona has a hotel behind it as well as two or three restaurants, and seems to attract people from all over the island.  We didn’t eat ashore while in Formentera but the fare seemed plentiful and not overly expensive (with the exception of our mojitos and corn chips!).

One of a couple of windmills on Formentera

                                      
                   The beautifully crafted stone walls lining the roads and properties on Formentera

Big boys' toys

Tad in our dinghy and Bisou in the background

                                           One of the caves in the gorgeous rock formations

Love our inflatable Walker Bay Airis kayaks!

Cala Sahona and the beach

Although it was fairly crowded during the day at our various anchorages in Formentera, there was always a good sandy spot for us to anchor in, and many of the ‘day trippers’ disappeared between 6-8pm (arriving again the next day between noon and 2pm!) giving us delightfully quiet evenings!