The west coast of Majorca/Mallorca is perfect to explore from the sea. Good starting points for Kayaks and Kanus are Sant Elm, Puerto Soller and Cala Tuent.
Did you know that there are dragons in Mallorca? Very, very big ones and very, very small ones?
The big dragon is called "Sa Dragonera" and is located off the southernmost tip of the west coast of the Balearic island. Amazed, we stood on the cliff the day before on our hike from Sant Elm to Sa Trappa and looked at the monster.
"Where is the head?" we asked ourselves, and where is the tail?
To give wings to our imagination and hopefully to the dragon, we rent a kayak the next day and want to paddle across from St Elm. But no luck. Kerstin from Keida Kayak Hire calls us an hour before our booked start time: "The wind is increasing all the time and by now there are almost 3m high waves in the channel, we can't let you out". We are disappointed, but there is no use arguing against nature - after all, we don't want to capsize in the presence of a giant kite and so we try a second time the next day.
The weather gods are kind to us. There is still a wind blowing, but Kerstin gives the green light.
Our stable canoe looks seaworthy and so we paddle off happily. As soon as we leave the shelter of the harbour, we clearly feel the swell. The second boat disappears in every trough of the waves only to reappear again immediately. Before we can think too much about it, my friend calls out "A dolphin!" and sure enough, just a few metres away from us, the stern fin appears and lures us out to sea.
"A dolphin!"
From below, "Sa Dragonera" looks even more impressive:
353 metres the highest point of the island rises out of the water, because fortunately we are not paddling towards a fire-breathing monster, but towards a dangerous-looking island. Sa Dragonera is an uninhabited nature reserve and may only be entered between 10-17 hrs.
The ranger Oscar is waiting with information at the jetty. When we tell him about our dolphin sighting, he is thrilled: "You were lucky - I haven't seen one yet this year! As we are lucky, we decide to climb on the dragon's back.
There are four hiking tours on the island: to the lighthouses at the head and tail and one to the summit.
Along stone walls, the path moves away from the sea. Seagulls circle over us lonely walkers, almost as if they are not used to sharing their territory ... The south coast drops steeply into the sea, the hiking trail on the other side climbs rather leisurely. And then we see a dragon! Ok, it is very small and looks confusingly like a lizard, but it is the famous "dragon lizard" endemic to this island. They are just everywhere, scurrying across the path, sunbathing on the stones, they are not particularly shy - you rather have to watch out that you don't accidentally step on one.
Check your bag before descending, there might be a little dragon in it …
There is an abandoned lighthouse on the summit. Yellow and green lichen give the building a weathered appearance, it almost looks as if it has grown out of the stone. Up here on the cliff we take a short orange break - much to the delight of the mini-dragons that flit around us and don't even stop at the bread bag. And so we do a thorough bag check before descending, because who wants to take a dragon home with them?
Click on the first picture to start the photo gallery of Sa Dragonera:
We are so thrilled with our first kayaking adventure that we want to get out on the water again the very next day.
This time the starting point is the beach of Puerto Soller.
As in Sant Elm, we have to return to the starting point. Too bad, because otherwise we could paddle north to Cala Tuent. We have the boat for 4 hours and paddle blithely north. The friendly gentleman at the rental said that the way back was easier because of the current.
Click on the first picture to start the photo gallery of Puerto Soller:
As soon as you leave the harbour of Puerto Soller, the cliff rises mightily and imposingly above you. Down by the sea, there are no moorings - only smooth rock. An exception is the bay Cala Ses Cambres: the water is turquoise blue and crystal clear, so we also see the jellyfish and decide to skip this bathing opportunity ... We prefer to paddle on.
On the small offshore island of Sa Ileta, comorants and seagulls sit and watch us with interest as we navigate past them through the rocks.
Indiana Jones feeling comes up in the Torrent de na Móra.
The initial mini-fjord becomes narrower and narrower with every metre paddled - at the end we can push the boat on with our hands to the right and left until it can go no further. Back on the open sea we kayak a little further north - we want to find the cave the landlord told us about. Even a motorboat could get in here. Mighty stalactites hang from the cave ceiling and bats fly excitedly back and forth above our heads.
What makes paddling on the west coast of Mallorca so fantastic is that it is almost completely unspoilt.
There are individual villages - and even these are pretty - and otherwise only blue sea and wild cliffs. Sounds like a paddler's dream? It is!
Kayak hire:
Sant Elm for trips to Sa Dragonera
Keida, Plaça de na Caragola 3, Sant Elm Phone: +34 971239124, email: booking@keida.es
45€ for 4h, 55€ per day
Also offer guided tours
Puerto Soller
Nà utic Sóller, Carrer de la Marina, Port de Sóller, Tel: +34 609 35 41 32, info@nauticsoller.com
30€ for 4h, 50€ per day
Also offer guided tours
Cala Tuent
Directly in the bay. +34672091779 and +34655065456
15€ the hour