24th June

Lucinda was woken by the lads on the adjacent boat returning at 5 am. Otherwise all was tranquil. In the town we watched the same hundred or so horsemen parade round an open area at the top of the harbour. Do they have a change of clothes? The horses were immaculate and once again the riders showed off with turns and Lone Ranger rearing up moments. After about an hour of this they formed up at one end of the arena holding lances. A light turned green and a bugle played over the speakers. A rider set off down the arena lance held upright. As he went into a flat out gallop he bent low over the horse and moved the lance in his right hand into a horizontal position. He charged directly towards a dense mass of people over whom a tiny target dangled from a wire. The crowd opened in front of the rider and closed behind him as the horse passed. The idea was to insert the tip of the javelin into a hole in the centre of a small metal plate dangling above the crowd. It was a tiny target. If the rider was successful a big cheer went up. But there were few of those. Most attempts were rewarded with a collective groan. We then went for a drink before coming upon the horses again performing their way through the centre of town. Too scared to brave crossing the column we cowered against the wall as hoofs and rumps gyrated in front of us. This was all rehearsal for tonight. However, by this time we had seen enough of the horses. The weather was predicted to deteriorate so we decided to set off for Mallorca. The windy was fluky, the sky leaden and the atmosphere oppressive. We arrived off the Puerto De Cala Ratjada and the starboard engine overheated. There's always something. Anyway the marina didn't look too inviting, especially on one engine, so we made our way 1.5 miles up the coast and are now at anchor in the Cala De Sa Font, and here we will stay for the night.