Mallorca

18.4.2013.

Glenn carefully drove our rental car to the coast today and we lazed on the sand at Sa Rapita ( beach) and had a wonderful swim in the ocean. The water temperature was very pleasant...someone said about 18c but it was warmer than that and clear as crystal. We took a picnic and ate it on the sand. We had access to a beach umbrella and beach towels courtesy of our house exchangees which makes life easy. It was a pretty spot with a marina at the end of the beach and an ancient turret dwarfing the masts of the yachts. On our return we had a cold beer and then ate Tapas for dinner.

Next day we ventured further afield and drove through tiny Medieval villages, down narrow lanes flanked by stone walls and with sharp, blind, bends. It was a bit hair-raising when a car coming the other way suddenly confronted us but people are very careful and tolerant and back up when necessary. It was very picturesque and rural.

The island is famous for leather goods and has a factory outlet for Camper shoes in Inca. I was disappointed with the range on offer and I didn't find anything exciting but Glenn got a beautiful pair of casual shoes. Lately he has found great shoes and is fast becoming known as 'Mr Centipede'! Maybe Barcelona will have more choice.

Cold change blew in last night and today and we are back in long pants and another layer. We drove to Cala Pi on the south coast of the island today and walked along the cliff tops and around narrow inlets. There were some beautiful yachts moored below in the stunning blue water. The white sandy bottom creates patches of turquoise water in the deeper blue and the colours are striking under the blue sky. Along the cliffs are closely built homes and hotels, mostly without acces to the water below, but there is a sandy beach at the end of the large inlet where lots of people were swimming and sun baking. Topless swimwear is very common and children largely naked.

Raining today and quite cold so we holed up and played with our computers, read books and planned the next day.

Tuesday. 23.4.13. Palma.

We caught the bus into Palma which was easier than driving into the city. We had a great day wandering around the city which was vibrant and so interesting.

 

We meandered down narrow alleys looking for a second-hand English bookshop we'd read about because we wanted to buy a decent guide book for Mallorca. We found the shop number but it had closed down. We found another book shop with English books and bought a 'Lonely Planet' which gave us all the help we needed.

First stop was the famous cathedral, Le Seu, which is the city's major architectural landmark. Originally predominantly Gothic, the facade was damaged by earthquake then repaired in the neo-Gothic style, described by the Lonely Planet as "startling, quite beautiful and completely mongrel". Only an Australian publication ( printed in China of course )... could be so succinct!

The cathedral has seven rose windows and some say the 20th century restoration of this windows's colours was too strong. This one is said to be the largest rose window in the world.

The cathedral is known as the 'Cathedral of Light' because of the way in which the light from the Meditteranean is reflected through the windows. It also has the most space with the least stone of any cathedral in the world.

It is notable also for the renovations made by Antonio Gaudi which improved the lighting, but particularly the strange Baldachin which hovers over the main altar like the gaping jaws of some oversized prehistoric shark. This was a temporary version of the final one which was never made and which hopefully would have been different.

Interesting large urn in a courtyard of the cathedral with suture clips!

The next interesting place was the Arab Baths, all that remains of the 10th century Arab city of Medina Mayurqa. They were probably part of a nobleman's house and this esction most likely the tepidarium or lukewarm room. There would also have been a hot room and a cold plunge.

The adjoining courtyard was cool and scented with orange blossom and a pleasant place to linger after a relaxing wash.

Street musicians in Palma.

Street scenes

Seafood paella

Extremely old olive tree with wonderful trunk and handsome man eating icecrem!

23.4.13. Valldemossa.

Today we had a big day out. We drove to the small, picturesque town in the mountains which is in the NW of Mallorca. That meant negotiating the motorways around Palma which Glenn did admirably, assisted by navigator Jenni who can now read a map in a moving vehicle without being car sick. We parked the car and started to explore.

There were a lot of tourists and the town was beautifully decked out in flowers and shops with merchandise spilling onto the pavements. It was made famous as the place where the composer Frederic Chopin and his lover George Sand lived in rooms rented in the former monastery. They were shunned by the locals and had a miserable time as portrayed in her book 'A winter in Mallorca', which is now sold in every shop.

We explored the monastery complex which includes the church, cloisters, pharmacy, library, Prior's cell as well as cell #4 where Chopin and Sand lived, and the Palace.

Floor tiles in church

Finely carved ivory altarpiece.

Loved this candle!

Lunch in the square with beans instead of flowers. Novel and creative I thought.

On the walls of the Monastery complex beside us were about 15 of these heads which would be surrounded with ivy when the spring has completely sprung.

We walked the old town which spills down the hillside, surrounded by farming terraces and stone walls built a thousand years ago by the Moors.

Near the bottom of the old town is a rustic, Baroque church built in 1245, and nearby the birthplace of Spain's only saint, Santa Catalina Tomas. Almost every doorway has a decorative ceramic plaque which translates as "St. Catherine, pray for us".

Last week we met Jutta when we were having coffee just below our apartment. She and her husband live in Hamburg but regularly come to Llucmajor for holidays to escape the German winters.

A few days later we met them for dinner at Cafe Joan and had a really interesting and enjoyable time with them. Maximillian is a surgeon in accident and emergency in Hamburg and was enjoying some time away from work. He and Junta introduced us to a very tasty and potent drink called Hierbas Secas, a bit like Raki or Ouzo. The restaurant was jammed full of diners watching the soccer match between Real Madrid and Dortmund, a German team, and the support was good humoured and rowdy. We ate pizza, squid and lamb chops, all washed down with a local red.

 

Mallorca 4

Yesterday was market day ... A wet one so not as busy as usual.

These views are from the windows in our living room which look down the street and onto the square.

We bought supplies of fruit, nuts and vegies for a few days.

 

Mallorca continued.

Another two hour walk today which took five hours.The guide book we have works on the average walking pace of 4kms per hour with no allowance for a hard up-hill slog, smelling the roses, resting or stopping for lunch, all of which we did. We walked up to the Sanctuary de Gracia, an ascent of 200 mtrs through shady woods with panoramic views over Llucmajor and its surrounding countryside, towards Palma the capital of the island of Mallorca and then across to the Isle of Cabrera in the Mediteranean Sea..

Taking a short cut.

Lunch break.

The sanctuary is cut into the cliff face protected by a heavy overhang of rock. It has been completely restored in recent years and is quite beautiful. The walk was idyllic, starting on the flat where we passed farms and clucking chickens, then climbing to the top where the stillness was tangible and the scent of the pine trees filled the air. We could hear the 'cow' bells on the goats far below and a tractor in the distance. No traffic noise at all. Wonderfully peaceful!

We picked wild poppies for our vase on the way back.

The next day we caught the bus into Palma, the big smoke, to pick up a hire car. We really need transport in order to see the island and it's coastline, where there are some great walks we want to do. We now have a Ford Fiesta which cost us $20 per day for 20 days with complete insurance cover. Not too bad at all.

These musicians serenaded us during lunch in Palma.

Some sights around Llucmajor.

Young shopper at the market.

Town square.

Cathedral doors.

A highlight of our day was talking to Ben and Angie and the children on Skype and watching little Eden have her bath. She loved every minute of it and kicked her legs like a long distance swimmer. She is now four weeks old. What did we do before the Internet?

 

Mallorca

The two hour train trip from Paris to Beauvais was through pleasant rural countryside. We caught a taxi to the airport, caught our Ryanair flight and arrived at Palma airport in Mallorca. We rang Kersten, a friend of our absent house exchangers as arranged, to tell her of our arrival. When our taxi pulled up at the front door she was there to let us in and give us a run-down on the necessities.

Over the next two days we caught up on some rest after hectic Paris. The pace of life is quite different here with siesta between one and four each afternoon. Our flat is very interesting. It is in Llucmajor, a village dating back before 1259 when the first church was erected. It looks directly onto a square with a fountain and shops. Most of the village is car free and the kids play in the square while the adults have a refreshing drink. We have all the mod cons but the layout is different with little nooks and crannies. The windows are shuttered and we can hang out of them and look down on passers-by as we are on the first floor.

Dinner with view of the square below through our windows.

looking onto the square which is lit all night.

There is a market three days a week with the extra large one on Friday so the town was very busy yesterday. The large supermarket has the most astonishing selection of meat and fish and everything we could need.

Lollies!

Cheese

The most amazing thing we saw was all the little pre-school children tethered together and to the teacher, by rope around one wrist. They had a great time chatting to people as they followed along through the market ... and not one got lost!!

 

Today was a warm, sunny day and we went for an 8km walk out of the village into the surrounding countryside. We passed an old disused water pump on the outskirts of the village which was dated 1700 and later stopped for lunch under the shade of trees beside a 'fountain' where fresh water was gushing from under the road. Two men who stopped assured us it was pure and we could fill our water bottles. We did and the water was cool and beautiful.

We strolled past farms which were productive but seemed to all be quite small. Most of them had the same trees growing... olives, oranges, mandarin, loquats and almonds and carob pods and there were rows of artichokes as well planted along walls. Most of the walls were dry stone walls using the rocks collected when clearing fields.

Artichokes,

Glenn down a country lane playing with his camera.

Wildflowers called 'Small fruited asphodel.'

Almonds.

We enjoyed the walk immensely. It was so peaceful with few cars in the narrow lanes. The air was fragrant with blossom and hummed with bees. No flies, probably because there are no large animals. We saw two horses and a few goats, otherwise the animals were generally poultry. Homes varied from large wealthy establishments with extensive gardens to small buildings of no more than two rooms. All were fenced and secured.

After our walk we had a cold beer at the bar just outside our front door. Convenient!