Cabrera is an island in the Balearics with a rich history and an iconic 14th century castle built to protect the island from the attacks of Berber pirates.
Declared a National Park in 1991, a small number of park employees and military personnel live and work here but you will find no hotels, resorts or Airbnb’s. Just peace and quiet and sailboats.
50 mooring buoys are provided for cruising yachts to stay overnight in the protected natural harbor. In the busy summer months it is a lottery to get a space and only one night stays are allowed. This being the low season, stays of up to seven nights are allowed and I could have easily stayed for that long in this pristine and peaceful spot.
On the 2 nights we were at Cabrera there were only 14 and 12 other yachts respectively. I think the island would have a very different vibe when all 50 mooring buoys are in use.
In order to protect the environment here and for everyone’s enjoyment, there is a very long list of things you are not allowed to do, which is actively enforced by the very officious Guardia Civil. However, the much shorter recommended activity list included “silencio”, silence, love it!
This could feel restrictive to some, but I could appreciate how these rules keep this place special.
One rule Mike and I didn’t notice was that the speed limit in the harbor is 2 knots. When we took Beyond to shore, we opened her up full throttle for a moment to try and clear some of the rain water through the drain plug and before we knew it we had the flashing blue light of the Guardia Civil on our tail. “Dos Nudos” they called out to us. Two nudes? Nope, we were fully clothed. Oh wait, dos nudos…2 knots. Mike slow down!
“Lo Siento” I called out, “I am sorry”. I then realised I need to learn Spanish for “we are sorry” or “he is sorry” so that I don’t take the blame for Mike’s future transgressions.
There’s not a whole lot to do on Cabrera island, but for me that was the attraction. We’ve been on the go constantly for the last month, and when we have been stationary we’ve been doing boat jobs, route planning, researching, provisioning and just generally not taking much time to quiet our minds. At Cabrera we agreed on no boat jobs and to take the time to chill out a bit.
We swam in the frigid water, briefly. We walked, but not too far. We had a few gin and tonics, but not enough to have a hangover. We watched the workers go about their day and fabricated elaborate stories about their life on the island. We slept. Our batteries are fully recharged. Thank you Cabrera!
Thank you Toni for the enjoyable blog. We appreciate the information, and we really like your writing style.
Fantastic to take time for yourselves. it is something we all need to do no matter where we are.