Going to the Balearics
What you need to know to prepare your stay

When you sail along the coast of Mallorca or Menorca aboard a catamaran, one thing strikes you immediately: everything here speaks of history. In the shapes of the coves, in the stones of the watchtowers, in the calm harbors where traditional boats line up. You're not just looking at a landscape, you feel you're passing through something older.
The Balearics have always been a crossroads. Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Moors, then Catalans: all have left their mark. The islands have changed hands, languages and religions, but they have kept their course: that of the sea, the wind and a certain gentle way of life.
Minorca, the more tranquil of the two, has an astonishing past: in the 18th century, it was briefly British, and you can still drive on the left in certain bends! There are also those strange prehistoric constructions, the talayots, which passengers often discover with curiosity: we don't know everything about them, but they seem to have been watching over the island for over 3,000 years.
Majorca, on the other hand, has seen the grandeur of the Aragonese kingdoms, corsairs, invasions and revolts, but also the music of a certain Frédéric Chopin, who spent a winter here in 1838 with George Sand. He took up residence in a former monastery, and despite the damp, composed some of his finest works there. George Sand herself wrote a famous book: Un hiver à Majorque. 
But what you'll remember aboard the ship are the traces: a Moorish tower at the bend in a cove, the outline of a Catalan bell tower seen from the sea, the name of a bay that evokes an old pirate story. Fishermen will still tell you, with a smile, that Roman galleons sleep at the bottom of certain calas. "No one has ever found them, but we're still looking," they say.
And then there's the strong link between the islands and their sea. Here, everything starts from the water: roads, goods, encounters. That's what you feel when you're sailing, when the wind gently pushes you along the coast, and the islands slowly reveal themselves. Majorca, Minorca: two very different sisters, but united by the light, the perfumes and the thousand-year-old history that you can guess without even opening a book.

Local flavours
Taste Majorca and Menorca, CATLANTE version
Both on board and ashore, you're in for a treat. Here, cuisine tastes of sunshine, olive oil and freshly caught fish. The markets abound with heirloom tomatoes, melons, figs and almonds. You'll soon discover that the Balearic Islands are a place of simple yet authentic food.
In Mallorca, we'll tell you about pa amb oli, bread rubbed with tomato and garlic, drizzled with local oil and shared with a bit of ham or cheese. At sea, it's the kind of lunch we love: uncomplicated, but perfect.
Delicatessen lovers will love sobrasada, a spicy, moist Mallorcan speciality that can be spread or cooked. And to accompany it all, a small glass of island wine, red or white.
In Menorca, cheese reigns supreme: mature Mahon, either full-bodied or mild, is the perfect accompaniment to a sunset aperitif on deck. There's also a lot of talk on board about mayonnaise, which some say was born here: a sauce that is said to have traveled all the way from the port of Maó to the French court.
On the sweet side, ensaimadas are a real treat. This spiral-shaped pastry, light and sweet, can be enjoyed at breakfast with coffee or after a siesta in the shade of the boom.
And sometimes there are surprises: a lemon picked from a garden, a glass of hierbas mallorquinas, the typical herbal liqueur. Flavours, too, are part of the journey!