Beautiful Mallorca

As I mentioned somewhere before, Mallorca really has it all. On quite a small island you have an amazing variety of landscapes and things to do.

The Tramontana mountains you will cross most probably when you are heading to the West of Mallorca. Great views (hey, I think we had that before, right?), sometimes a stunning silence when you are out there on your very own, and sometimes you meet bikers and bicyclists winding their way up and down the endless curves.

Then of course there is Palma. When you arrive out of the quietness of the mountains you are overwhelmed by the hussle and bustle of this busy city. It is a big and often loud city - for me no difference to other big and crowded cities in the world, no place I would want to LIVE - but it is definately worth a day trip or two. We spent a day there and thinking back it was a day to remember, I absolutely would go there again for sightseeing next time. But I would never want to book an appartment there - there are many better and more quiet places where you would want to stay while on holiday.

Here you have the famous cathedral of Palma - definately a must-see when you are there.

Lots of things to see in Palma, for example the Arabian Baths and other places. But in case you want to take it easy, then just do a bit of shopping. There are many specialities you can get here. I especially recommend the Almond cake!

And of course this is what Palma is famous for, and what you also find here: The Jetset and their boats...

When you turn down to the South you find a more quiet area of "the island". Not so many hotels, not so much tourism, again you drive on quiet lanes in the middle of nowhere, and you have to be really careful not to miss one of the most important excavation sites on the island: Capocorb Vell. Here you see some of the mysterious Talaiots - stone piles (pyramids? houses?) - which are the ruins of a settlement from 2000 years b.c. When you are coming from Llucmajor down to Cap Blanc you should be able to find it - and you will enjoy the "vory stroinge" air of the Signora guarding the place. I hope she has solved her marriage problems.... Anyway, being Indiana Jones Jr. I really loved the place.

Even further down South there is Cala Pi - a place just to sit high above the waves and stare at the deep blue sea around you. Hardly anybody there, maybe because there is just a tiny beach and a very rocky and steap shoreline. Definately my place.

Another place you might want to go there is Es Trenc, one of the beaches down there they tell you about as a "secret spot" which hardly anybody goes to because there is almost no infrastructure. Yes, there is almost no infrastructure, but it also was the place I met the most people. So this little "hideaway" is no hideaway anymore. I would settle for Cala Pi any time instead, but never mind Es Trenc was still beautiful.

So it is bye-bye island, bye-bye beaches - so many things left to do and see next time....

Mallorca - the East

Travelling distances are not very far on the island. We came with US distances in mind, prepared to drive for many hours but nothing ever is really far away. So you can cover a lot of places in the course of a day or simply stroll along by car, taking it as it comes. I recommend to split up your daily tours into North, South, East and West, all of the directions having their own special flair, sights and landscape.

Artá is a little village in the East with a keep of the same name. We stayed there for a while and strolled around, there is a cafe were we had a typical Spanish "cortado" - just ignore the host, he was very sulky and this probably is his usual attitude.

As we moved on we went into Cala Rajada where we fell into the weekly market and later headed up to the Far the Capdepera. You find a lot of lighthouses on the island due to its prominent position in the Mediterranian Sea.

Guys, now we talk "caves". Forget the caves you have seen until now, most probably the better ones are here on Mallorca. We went to the Coves d´Artá, smaller ones, less kitschy and you are allowed to take photos - but when we took a tour inside it was like "wow, wow, wow".  There are caves everywhere, the most famous ones being the "Coves de Drac", but they are obviously extremely kitschy, with colours and lights, an orchestra playing on the lake when they take you around by boat and whatever. I definately recommend the Coves d´Artá, it was one of these typical surprise things, you expect nothing and get a huge load of everything.

The evening took us to Porto Pollenca, my favorite town on the island.It is occupied by the British and enjoys this nice 70s flair with boardwalks, half-board hotels and a little dusty charme - I fell in love with it instantly. From Alcudia you drive up alongside the beach taking in nice views everywhere, this evening we saw many kite surfers doing their hillarious jumps and races on the waves.

In Porto Pollenca we dined at the famous STAY which is situated directly at the harbour.

Excellent choice - try the tasting menue, it comes with four courses and coffee and liquors and and and... A big thumbs up, when we are in town we will definately go there again. We really, really enjoyed this evening...