Armstrong Global - Balearics yacht charter, private journeys and sailing directions

SAILING DIRECTIONS

Palma: Palma de Mallorca - the capital city of the Balearics - is one of the most beautiful, cosmopolitan and interesting citites in the world -day and night. It is a very good place to start a short sailing holiday, which can be combined with sightseeing, good restaurants, shopping etc.There are lots of small bays, coves and marinas dotted all around Mallorca, which makes the island a yachties paradise. La Llotja the Old fish market in the Old Town is an area full of narrow city streets crisscrossed by narrow winding lanes, among old imposing buildings. It is close to the most important monuments in the city of Palma such as the Cathedral, the fish market etc. Here you can find bars and pubs that have a certain bohemian charm -bars with a limited capacity, but full of atmosphere. It is also an extremely good idea to start your evening here because of what's on offer gastronomically.

Soller: Soller shares its valley with the village of Fornalutx and the hamlet of Biniaraix, the combined population is around 12,000, and the valley is famous for its orange groves and terraces of ancient olive trees. The village of Deia is just down the coast. The valley and its surrounding mountain range, the 'Serra de Tramuntana', is a favourite destination for people from all over the world, especially those who enjoy walking, nature, ecotourism, swimming or simply a peaceful rest away from the hustle and bustle of the better-known tourist traps.
Calas Truent and Calobra, Cabo Formentor: The northernmost end of the Mallorcan world was formed quite bizarrely by the wind and water. The steps, walls, paths and the lighthouse on Cap de Formentor were built from the cliffs in 1892. When the poet Miquel i Llobera, who owned the Cap de Formentor peninsula, died, it was divided into lots and sold. In 1928 Adan Diehl, a native Argentinian and art lover, decided to build the Hotel Formentor and to endow the purchase of art. Since then this hotel on the Platja de Formentor has been the meeting place for personalities from all over the world. It is located somewhat apart from the main street; by following the street further, one can reach the lighthouse, which is surrounded by protected rare plants.
The original inhabitants have been giving the winds that meet here names for centuries: Tramuntana, Ponenet, Migjorn and Llevant, the four big brothers, and their cousins Gregal, Mestral, Llebetx and Xaloc. Features of the landscape, including the mountains, have also been given names from the wind in many cases, for example Sierra Tamuntana or Sierre de Llevant.
On an island like Mallorca, where the people relied on fishing and agriculture far into the 20th century, it was essential to know the winds like they were another family member. Which wind brings rain, which dries out the tender grapes, which turns the sea into a mass of perilous waves? Which cools the face, which presses the laundry, which dries the cut grain for threshing, which brings the fishermen back safely to the harbor? Friend or foe, refreshment or catastrophe?

Deià (Castilian: Deyá) is a small coastal village in the northern ridge of the Spanish island of Majorca. Its idyllic landscapes of orange and olive groves on steep cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean served as refuge for English and American expatriates after the First World War. English poet, novelist and scholar Robert Graves was one of the first foreigners to settle in the village, where he collaborated with Laura Riding, with whom he set up the Seizin Press. Graves returned after the war and remained in Deia until his death, using the town as the setting for many of his stories, including the historical novel Hercules my Shipmate. Anaïs Nin visited the village in the 1920s, and wrote a short story set on the village's beach, and acclaimed Spanish writer Carmen Naranjo recently wrote a short story about that one. The town is also the unnamed setting of Uruguayan novelist Cristina Peri Rossi's "The Ship of Fools" (La nave de los locos), one of the most acclaimed novels of the last 20 years. Nicaraguan poet and novelist Claribel Alegría is also one of the current residents of the town. In recent decades, the stars of literature have been eclipsed by the stars of rock and roll. Virgin Records mogul Richard Branson has a luxury residence in the town and his label's stars have often visited the village and sometimes jammed at the local bar 'Sa Fonda'. Deya was home to several Canterbury scene musicians over the years including Kevin Ayers, Robert Wyatt and Daevid Allen. Mick Jagger, guitarist Mark Knopfler and European music icon Mike Oldfield played there often in the late 1980s; and Caroline Corr. The small village has today around 20 restaurants and bars which are popular amongst visitors from all over the world.

Pollenza: The city of Pollenca, created by the population of Alcudia in the 13th century to escape pirate raids is today a place for artists and presents every year an international music festival of high quality. Puerto Pollenca is an old fishing port which nowadays is dedicated to tourism. It is well known for it's long and narrow bay which is simply superb. At the tip of the peninsula is the Cap Formentor, from which you'll experience the most breathtaking views. On the other side of the bay is the oldest city of the island, Alcudia, founded by the Phoenicians and once the capital of Majorca.

Fornells: Blues, whites and ochres. The blues of the bay, immensely present, opening out almost like the true village square. Ochres from the earth and the occasional village house. Whites from the sails dotting the water and the curious, ancient Minorcan village houses of Fornells. Lobster represent what Fornells is and always has been, a fishing village. A natural harbour that has always earned its living by fishing lobsters. Here, moored in the tiny harbour, you'll see the llauts, the traditional Minorcan fishing craft. Fornells is still a modest village. There are no palaces, nor large modern hotels or apartment buildings. Fornells still lives for and from the sea. There are lots of great beaches close to Fornells and there is where the modern hotels are located. Fornells has not been ravaged by mass tourism. In fact, almost all Minorca has escaped the scourge of excessive tourism.

Port d´Andratx is a natural port at the west tip of Mallorca and it has been used by navigators since old times. It has gone from a small fishermen village to a first-class touristic spot, though the fishing field is still present, fact that favours fresh fish offer by the restaurants in the area. Now the harbour is mostly taken by sailing boats and luxurious yatches. Port d´Andratx´s main charm is the landscape of the Tramuntana mountains and coves in the area, which attract many tourists to spend their holidays in one of the hotels, villas or holiday houses.
Cala Fonoll lies between imposing cliff walls. There is a vast nine-floor building at the bottom end of the beach and on the other side there are some villas. The shore and the seabed of this beach, which is 55 m long and 15 m wide, are covered with grey pebbles.
Cala Algaiarens: On the north coast just east of Cala Morell is a robinson crusoe style beach set in a grand bay.

Ciudadela: In the 17th century, many beautiful civil and religious buildings were built in the Italian style there and give Ciutadella a historical and artistic unity. Worth seeing is the old town. Ciutadella's town hall is the former palace of the Arab governor and later served as a royal palace under the Aragonese and again as a governor's palace until the British moved the capital to the eastern town of Mahon in 1722. Port of Ciudadella The former capital of the island is now known for its medieval charm. Ciutadella is considered a "Guardian of Traditions", while at the same time remaining one of the two bustling metropolises of Minorca. Its harbor is a very picturesque and lies on deep bay.