Sa Dragonera island is  the sixth biggest island in the Balearic Archipelago. It is slightly more than 3 km long and just under 1 km wide at its widest point. There are two lighthouses, one at either end, plus one fortified tower on top of this attractive gem of an island. The place is uninhabited, apart from thousands of birds and hundreds of lizards of the Podarcis lilfordi giglioli species (Lilford’s Dragonera Lizard). They are customarily called dragons in the Mallorcan idiom, hence the island’s name.

700 m of Mediterranean water separate the Isla Dragonera, today a Nature Park under thorough preservation and caring protection, from the island of Mallorca.

Sa Dragonera has been used throughout history by pirates and smugglers, thus generating legends and anecdotes around the island. In 1974, a greedy land promoter bought the island and submitted plans for large scale urbanisation plus luxury marine facilities, but luckily, Mallorca’s friend, the G. O. B. came to the rescue and fought, and won, a lengthy court battle for the benefit of all of us. In 1987, Sa Dragonera was bought by the Consell de Mallorca. In 1995, Sa Dragonera was declared a Parque Natural and has benefitted from ecological protection ever since.

During the summer months, there is a daily boat service from Sant Elm to Sa Dragonera. You have to take your own provisions on this rewarding excursion as there are absolutely zilch amenities at the point of destination. But yes, there are toilet facilities on the island. Toilet paper, not always.

The photo was chosen from my archives. It was taken near Sant Elm, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: June 28th, 2004. The time was 12:17:27.