September 16 , 2001 Gaeta, Italy September 3 , 2001 Stromboli: The Lighthouse Of The Mediterranean August 26 , 2001 Cefalu: Another Medieval Jewel August 23 , 2001 Sicily: Land of Lovely Desserts August 15 , 2001 En Route to North Africa August 10 , 2001 Ormeggiatori August 8, 2001 Supermarkets and Amphora August 6 , 2001 Sailing South in Sardinia August 2 , 2001 La Vie en Corsica July 30, 2001 Jonathan Joins Us July 27, 2001 One Sea, Seven Colors July 24, 2001 Say What? July 23, 2001 "Va Bene" July 21, 2001 Venturing Into Italy July 20, 2001 And The Mistral Blew July 18, 2001 The Spell Of Menorca July 12, 2001 Culture And Concerts July 7, 2001 Cha Chas July 6, 2001 Red Dust July 4, 2001 Rare Birds July 3, 2001 Clear Empty Water June 27 , 2001 Quick Friends June 22 , 2001 Reconnecting June 13, 2001 Eastern Hemisphere June 6, 2001 A Weekend in Cartegena May 30 , 2001 A Time Or A Place May 29 , 2001 Several Lovely Sails May 21 , 2001 Free At Last May 25, 2001 On The Hard May 18, 2001 A Boat Again May 14, 2001 Time Warp to Morocco May 03, 2001 Still On Stilts in Malaga

 June 27, 2001 

From Palma, we gunkholed west, sticking our nose into every cala and cranny, finding the coast lovely with rocky cliffs and outcrops on the steep to shore and some few perfect anchorages, interspersed mostly with coves that have been ruined by over-development. Just as we had decided against anchoring in the harbor of the town of Puerto Andraitx and were motoring out, we got a call on the radio from our Brit/Dane friends whom we had left in Ibiza days earlier. They had just sailed across and were about to go into Cala Egos, just north of the town, when they spotted us. We followed them in and had yet another delightful evening and dinner with them aboard DOVKA in a spectacular cove with a white sand beach to which to swim and wonderful cliffs to climb.

The friendships that develop while cruising are unique. The superficial layers of social order are stripped away as one spends a great deal of time with strangers who quickly become intimates. One of the special things about this lifestyle, especially for us here in Europe, is the opportunity to meet so many different people from so many different cultures. As we cruise and explore at sea and on land, we share our reactions to our new experiences, from our different perspectives.

We are back now in Palma tonight, to await the arrival of dear friends for five days of sailing and exploring. The city of Palma, in the huge Bay of Palma on the South coast, is a bustling city of 300,000 with history, good restaurants and museums. Puerto Andraitx on the southwest coast is a quintessential Mediterranean port where one ties the dinghy up to the quay and falls into a quayside café for the ever-excellent café noir or con leche. In between are many calas, most overbuilt with hotels and houses, but some still pristine and perfect for the hoards of daytrippers in all kinds of craft, who provide great entertainment for us during the day and whom all leave in the early evening so we can share the anchorage with only the gulls and the crickets.