Two videos illustrating the handling and launching of Petit Prince 2 each season using a travel lift. Two machines are needed, one to transport the boat on its cradle and put it under the elevator. The elevator or travel lift then lifts it from the cradle and transports it to the launching area. These operations generally take around twenty minutes. Many thanks to Horizon Marine for services, availability and care given during boat launching and hauling out operations. Thanks also to Cyril from Cyril Marine Services for the excellent maintenance service on the engine of Petit Prince 2.

Port Olimpic has the advantage of having direct access to the sea. It is also close to the city center and you can easily reach the nearby bus and metro (L4) on foot. You will also find many taxis at the exit of the marina on the "Carrer de la Marina" in front of the luxury hotel tower with futuristic architecture "Arts Barcelona Hotel". At the foot of this hotel is also the Barcelona Casino. Facing it, the Mapfre tower houses company offices but also embassies such as the German consulate. By 2024 and hosting the next America's Cup, the port is undergoing transformation, modernization of maritime infrastructure and strengthening of the Shelter Seawall to compensate for the current overrun phenomena in the face of storms but also the opening of a “Gastronomic Balcony” offering new references in the city’s gastronomy and Mediterranean cuisine.

The first three views were taken on the way to the station. La Colmena patisserie is one of the oldest in Barcelona. It is located near the Jaumé I metro station. Very close, almost opposite, Via Laietana at Capuccino Café, you can have an excellent breakfast or a savory or sweet snack. From there you can easily head towards the "Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulalia" dating from the end of the 13th century. In front of the Cathedral square you will find a Tourist Office where you can buy, if you wish, skip-the-line tickets which will greatly facilitate your visit to the Sagrada Familia Basilica. In Plaça Ramón Berenguer el Gran you can see the remains of the Roman wall dating from the 1st century BC. and reinforced three centuries later, by a second wall. The wall, which had 74 towers, stood approximately 16 meters high. This construction delimited a perimeter of 1,350 meters in length around the first city. The old town is alive with many artists. On La Rambla, among other places, don't miss a visit to the "Mercat de la Boqueria". The fruit jellies are particularly delicious there. Then set off to explore the Gothic Quarter, the city’s mecca.

                    

The Picasso Museum is located in one of the five large houses and palaces on Montcada Street. The main building is the old Aguilar Palace, a 13th century building in Catalan Gothic style. The museum mainly contains works created by Pablo Picasso during his presence in Barcelona which was also the location of his very first exhibition. Most of the paintings on display belong to the period between 1890 and 1917.

Antoni Gaudi is a Catalan architect. He is the main representative of Catalan modernism, the Catalan variant of Art Nouveau. This original design has left a lasting mark on the architecture of the city of Barcelona. Seven of his works have been listed as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO: Park Güell, Palace Güell, Casa Milà, Casa Batlló, the facade of the Nativity and the crypt of the Sagrada Família, the Casa Vicens and the crypt of Colony Güell.

The Sagrada Familia is one of the best-known examples of Catalan modernism and an emblematic monument of the city of Barcelona. An unfinished work by the architect Antoni Gaudí, it is the most visited monument in Spain, surpassing the Alhambra in Granada. The part of the monument created during Antoni Gaudí's lifetime, the crypt and the facade of the Nativity, was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 2005. The work is financed exclusively through alms. Gaudí wanted to make this church the tallest building in Barcelona and to support the charge, he introduced the chain arch and hyperboloid vaults. Gaudi dedicated a large part of his life to this work and devoted his last fifteen years exclusively to its creation.

                    

Park Güell, another of the achievements of the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona, is on the UNESCO world heritage list. It was built between 1900 and 1914. Originally it was to be a garden city that Gaudi's patron, Eusebi Güell, had asked him to build on a hill northwest of the city. After the start of construction, the cost of the work became such that only four houses and the park were completed. It is above all a garden. Only the houses built at the start of the project, including Gaudi's house museum which can be visited, remain there. The fountain island which contains the famous salamander which has become an emblem of Barcelona is located on the staircase in front of the entrance gate. The “Place de la Nature” contains the longest undulating bench in the world (110 m). It is decorated in trencadis (mosaic technique using broken and mismatched pieces of earthenware or colored glass).
Without ads or cookies, a very nice virtual tour of the park without a crowd of people around you "here".

The monument is located at the end of La Rambla near the port and the sea and approximately 1,700 m from Port Olimpic. It was inaugurated in 1888 on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition to pay homage to the famous navigator Christopher Columbus who, on his return from America, chose the port of Barcelona to disembark. The column measures 51.3 m in height and 2.25 m in diameter. The statue of Columbus is 7.7 m high and weighs 42 T. He holds a navigation map in his left hand but the finger of his right hand points towards Majorca... An elevator travels the 51 m of the iron column to access the summit which offers a remarkable 360° view of the city (video below).

Less than a stone's throw from the Mirador de Colom, the maritime museum is located in the former royal arsenals, the Drassanes building, intended for shipbuilding between the 13th century and the 18th century. It is the largest civil Gothic building in the world. The museum therefore tells the long history of Barcelona with the sea. There you can observe the replica of a life-size royal galley, used during the Battle of Lepanto where John of Austria defeated the Turks in 1571. It is reproduced exactly according to the plans of the time which have been preserved until today. We also learn about life on board and the terrible fate of the galley slaves, who generally did not survive more than two years, tied to their place. The Maritime Museum has, on the ground floor, a restaurant which aims to disseminate the gastronomic culture linked to traditional maritime cuisine. For all budgets, you can eat there between the old walls of the shipyard in a pleasant and unusual setting.

The schooner Santa Eulalia was built in 1918 in Torrevieja (Alicante). She was used to transport goods such as grain, timber, salt or minerals, in the Mediterranean and also across the Atlantic to Cuba. She received her first auxiliary engine in 1928, has an overall length of 47 m, a width of 8.50 m, 12 sails, 6 crew members and can also take 30 passengers on board. She was acquired by the Maritime Museum of Barcelona in 1997, during an auction, with the aim of preserving one of the last schooners existing in the Mediterranean. In 1997 and 1998 the Museum had restoration work carried out to restore her original appearance. The Santa Eulalia is moored at the Moll de la Fusta quay, Port Vell in Barcelona in front of the Maritime Museum and on Saturday mornings she weighs anchor for a stroll along the coast. She also regularly participates in cultural and maritime events.

Created in 1970 on the hill of Montjuic, The Gardens of Mossèn Costa i Llobera (mossen means priest in Catalan) owe their name to the Majorcan poet Miquel Costa i Llobera. Their surface area exceeds six hectares and many types of rare plant species from tropical desert and sub-desert regions can be observed there. It is populated, among other things, by 800 species of cacti and superb subtropical trees, most of them century-old. There are also several belvederes offering beautiful views of the city, the port and the coastline. At the Miramar viewpoint, there is access to the Port Cable Car which crosses the port of Barcelona to the Tower of San Sebastian on the Barceloneta Beach.

The Port de Sóller is built around a small bay inland from the coast, thus constituting a natural port in the middle of a spectacular mountainous landscape. Arriving from Barcelona, it is the only port and refuge for sailors in case of bad weather along this rugged and inhospitable coast. Approach and entry may, however, become difficult to dangerous in northwest, north or northeast storms. It is also one of the first seaside resorts on the island.

About thirty kilometers south of Sóller by land, visit of Palma, port, seaside town and main city on the island of Majorca. It is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is located to the south of the island and at the bottom of the bay to which it gives its name. The city is also characterized by the Catedral-Basílica de Santa María de Palma, begun in 1229 and which dominates the medieval fortifications and the shore very close to the sea. Right next to it, the second important monument is the royal palace of the 'Almudaina. Very pleasant walk in the old town and on the port.

After a second stopover in Barcelona, we move up the coast towards Rosas and meet the Medes Islands archipelago made up of seven islands and a few uninhabited islets about half a nautical mile from the seaside resort of L'Estartit. These islands are part of the Montgri Natural Park. Although there is no port or beach, there are nevertheless a large number of anchorages. Be careful, the surroundings of the islands can be somewhat a little rough. The Meda lighthouse, built in 1868 on the largest island, marks the dangerousness of the area.

A last stopover, already known because Little Prince 2 stopped there briefly during the 2019 trip. Well protected, this wide harbour is pleasant and comfortable enough to wait for the right moment to pass Cape Creus (the easternmost point of the Spain) and crossing the Gulf of Lion to France.

At sea, far off the coast there is no longer an internet connection. The weather reports transmitted by stations on VHF channels are not very detailed. The voices (synthetic or from an operator) transmitting the reports are not always clear, the English pronunciation is sometimes very approximate, and let's not talk about reports transmitted in a foreign language that we do not understand. In addition, the VHF waves are only received a short distance from the coasts. To overcome these inconveniences, aboard Petit Prince 2, the reception of the meteorological bulletins intended for navigation in the Mediterranean Sea can also be done through shortwave radio. The radioteletype DDK9 station located in northern Germany is continuously broadcasting a weather bulletin covering the European seas and the North Atlantic. The bulletin for the Mediterranean Sea is divided into detailed specific areas. The brief video opposite was filmed in navigation.

Thanks to Doc Polo, country doctor, devoted to his patients, sailing also on his own aboard S/V Docpolo for the friendly meeting in Barcelona and to Dave and Diane aboard the catamaran S/V Stray Cat, OCC members, met in Rosas and found in Marseille.
And warm thanks to Jean operating the station ON5JV / EA5HZB for the daily radio contacts throughout the duration of the journey.