So, after several months for the purchase (remember, this is Spain so nothing happens quickly) we got our day motor boat back to Puerto Pollensa from the other side of the island thanks to some very kind friends with a car in possession of a much sought after tow bar. Tow bars in Spain must be factory or dealer fitted and therefore most cars don't have them as it's not as simple as it is in the UK. Anyhow, we got our boat back here following negotiation with 'el jefe' in the Port Authorities office to ensure a boat/trailer parking space. I say negotiation but in reality it was more of a cap-doffing humble request, but we must have been suitably respectful as we secured our 'berth' (note my use of a nautical term term there!). Over the next few days Ian did some minor work on her including anti-fouling. Now this term is not unfamiliar to us, given our dog-owning status and the fact that we take anti-fouling measures every day courtesy of a poop bag, but in nautical terms this means treating the hull (ooh, check me out!) i.e. the body of the boat, below the waterline and after it has been thoroughly cleaned, with a paint which slows the growth of subaquatic organisms that attach to the hull whilst the boat is in the water. Was it wrong to be girlishly pleased there is a modest range of colours? Probably, but anyhow, blue anti-foul was duly applied - next step, get her in the water.
I will draw a veil over the stresses and strains (quite literally) of getting a mooring sorted but in due course and thanks to a couple of amazing genuinely nautical friends, we got her out and onto the buoy marking the mooring. And so it came to pass that, on a quiet morning we took to the water from the dinghy jetty where we have one of the little inflatables and headed out. We managed to successfully draw alongside and get from one to the other. I'm quite handy with knots as an ex-scout leader and climbing instructor but it did take me a bit of time to get acquainted with detaching and re-attaching us from the buoy safely, not to mention transferring the dinghy (or tender as we nautical types call it) onto the buoy in our absence but we managed. We made a successful maiden voyage and also managed to get back onto the mooring first time. Subsequent trips have all been a learning experience including our first time dropping anchor - out in what's known as Chicken Bay, or by La Fortaleza if you want to impress people. Once successfully anchored we did then wonder what we would do if we couldn't raise the anchor successfully(!), but in fact we managed like pros.
However.....and there has to be a however as this is Spain after all.....last week the Port Authorities put out the large yellow swimming marker buoys to mark out the swimming area from the marina parallel-ish to Pine Walk. And, this being Spain, they put them twice as far out as ever before (I mean who really comes to PP to go on a marathon swim?!) and our boat was right on the 'line'. Many boats were much further inside the line than us but anyhow, we have been told by a number of people that this means the authorities can impound our boat in due course. Others have said it just means we can't use our engine inside the line but precisely because this is Spain and we have been unable to establish the facts, we have only today moved (don't ask!) 400kg of blocks 10m along the sea-bed. No really, don't ask!
In other news it has been incredibly hot here earlier than usual with temperatures recently up into the late 30's! Even the Mallorquins have commented on the heat so you know you're not just being a sissy Brit. In any event we have learned rapidly how to live in consistently high, not to mention humid, heat. During the middle of the day when it's hottest all the locals, unless they're working, vanish from sight and only those on holiday tend to be out. But we are adapting and are resolute in our determination not to use air-conditioning, partly due to the cost of electricity and partly because it just makes going outside even harder.
Finally, speaking of electricity, we returned to the dreaded Endesa office in Inca in order to change our address with them. We don't scare easily! After an hour and three quarters spent waiting for our turn in a premises that seemingly agrees with our view of air-conditioning i.e. it wasn't in use, we dragged our melting bodies over to the world weary young girl for our five minutes of her undivided attention after she had spent comfortably 25 minutes seemingly passing the time of day with an elderly lady. We now bring every official document and piece of paper we possess to do the simplest of things, even something as simple as a change of address. Good job because she required a copy of much of it including the guarantee for our kettle - just kidding but not far off! - and we emerged battle weary but triumphant following two mind-numbing hours of our lives we'll never get back. A spot of retail therapy at Jysk home store nearby I hear you cry? Why yes, let's! Only it was closed for stock-taking. We went home. Not our most productive day.
Hasta luego amigos!
