Travel with Manfred

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Copyright © 2001 by Manfred P.. All rights reserved.

May 27 - June 3, 2001

Sunshine, Beaches, and Ensaimadas

On Bus through Mallorca

by

Manfred P.

Keywords: Spain, Mallorca, Palma de Mallorca, C\'an Pastilla, Soller, tourist, travel trip report, travel log, travelogue.

Many times I have invited my oldest brother to join me on one of my vacations. So far he was always a "no-show". This time, however, he said he would really come. Seeing is believing. The plan was to meet in Palma de Mallorca. My girlfriend and I would fly in from Spain and he from Austria. We arrived at night and he had not checked into the hotel even though his plane arrived in the morning. Strange. I was too tired to think about it. I just wanted to go to bed.

The next morning my girlfriend and I sit at the breakfast table. Who shows up? Sure enough, it is my brother. There was some mix-up with his reservation at the front desk so he had checked into the hotel just across the street. The day before the departure he was so overwhelmed with work and work problems that he had decided to drop the vacation and just tear up the tickets. In the last moment he changed his mind and decided that he would come despite the ongoing work issues. He changed his mind so late that he nearly missed the flight. But now that he was here, everything else is history. This is the first joint vacation ever for us.

We had picked an easy destination: Mallorca. It is the average island destination if you live in Europe. The living standard is high, the weather is pleasantly warm but not too hot, the infrastructure is excellent, and it is easy to get around. Mallorca also offers something for everyone; a big city, idyllic villages, lots of beaches, nature, cheap food, bars, nightlife, Internet cafes, and more.

Despite this large tourist offer we wanted to do just one thing: relax and see a little bit of the island. Mallorca attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over Europe. It has a bad reputation: overrun with tourists, crowded, every store with German and English signs and every restaurant with a German and/or English menu. Mentally I was prepared for the worst. To our surprise it turned out a lot better than we had feared. The hotel was nice and humble, 100 yards from the beach. It was not high season and the beaches, village, and city streets were not crowded. A modest amount of tourists were everywhere. So you didn't have a beach to yourself; but you didn't have to fight for space at the beaches either. No big masses, but no solitude. Everything was comfortable and convenient.

The cheapest way to spend a week in Mallorca is in a package that includes flight and hotel. Just wanting to relax that was fine with us. Our hotel was in C'an Pastilla, the beach town to the south of Palma de Mallorca. This way we had the best of both worlds. We could take a morning or a late night swim in the ocean and at the same time be in the center of Palma in 30 minutes by bus.

C'an Pastilla is the longest beach on the island. It stretches for about 10 miles (16 km). You can walk as long as your heart desires. Despite walking for hours we actually never made it to the very end of the beach to the south. Being so large the people spread. The sand is average yellow, light brown. People hang out, swim, jog or play beach ball. The water is pleasant. I was surprised by its cleanness, again I had expected the worst. It was also warm, a lot warmer than in the Atlantic coast in the north of Spain.

But always being at the same beach also gets boring. Therefore we toured the island everyday with its public buses to see other beaches and villages.

The most popular daytrip on the island is the historic train from the beginning of the century that connects Palma and Soller, located in the north. This ancient train works its way up into the hills in the center of the island to drop down to sea level in the north. It is a short 1-hour ride. Soller is a village, with a nice town square and tens of bars to enjoy a coffee or a glass of orange juice. A trail leads from the village through olive tree and lemon fields to the sister village Port de Soller on the coast. Port de Soller has a beach, a port, a hill with an old military fortification and a lighthouse. We rented a paddle boat to leave the port and take a swim just outside the bay.

It is the norm that the old historic towns are a few miles away from the coast and that in later days the town were joined by a twin town right on the coast. This was the case in Soller. It is also the case in Alcudia and Port Alcudia. Alcudia has a large old fortress and 30 feet tall city walls. The town however dates back a lot more than the age of the city walls. The Romans had constructed houses here and a few left-oves including a handful of columns are still visible in a small open-air museum just outside the city walls.

Port Alcudia has a large shopping complex and a formidable yacht harbor. To the south stretches the beach. It is wide and long. The hotels and apartment complexes line it for several miles without interruption. It seems to be a popular family vacation destination. Dozens of young moms stroll along the ocean walk with their kids in the buggy.

Not far from Alcudia is Pollenca and Port Pollenca. Port Pollenca is just like Port Alcudia but a lot smaller. It has a smaller port, a smaller beach, a beach boulevard and we found it with empty streets and empty bars in mid-afternoon. There was not a lot happening, everything was rather tranquil. Nearly everyone was at the beach boulevard. If you went just one single block inward, the streets were empty and silent. Beaches are in abundance here. The complete distance between Alcudia and Port Pollenca is a string of beaches.

North of Port Pollenca is the peninsula Formentor. It is a protected zone with a rocky hill range in its center and cliffs that fall into the ocean surrounding it. A single road runs along the center of the peninsular and terminates at the Cap de Formentor. We didn't make it that far. We got off the bus at Formentor Beach. The beach is precious here. Even more precious is the water. It is crystal clear and sparkles in the sun. It is a relaxing place. You can watch other islands and peninsulas in the distance, you can watch the sail boats go by, or you can watch a few yachts anchoring in the waters off the beach. Fir trees grow right on the beach, so you can find shade if the mid-afternoon gets too much for you. We found it to be one of the nicest beaches on the island.

If you want to be impressed by yachts, you best head for Cala D'Or, the Golden Bay. The line up of big expensive yachts is breath taking. It is really incredible. The new harbor of Cala D'Or has a higher concentration of leisure yachts that I have ever seen. As we took a harbor stroll in the morning, the cleaning crews were out in forces to polish the last square inches of these expensive toys. Any just when you think they can't get any bigger and more expensive anymore, you'll see another one even more swank than all the ones before. Everything sparkled in shiny white carbon fiber or black, mirrored glass windows.

Not too far south, you can actually walk it if you have sufficient time is the national park Mondrago with the public beach Cala Mondrago. It is a picturesque spot. There is a bay in triangular shape. In one point of the triangle is the opening to the sea, in the two other points of the triangle are two beaches. The two beaches are connected by a small trail made into the cliffs and rocks. These black rocks and cliffs surround the beaches to all sides. Further up on the rocks grow pine trees. The water is splendidly warm, the waves are small and the sand is fine and soft. In the center of the bay a dozen yachts are gently lifted up and down with the waves. You won't have the beaches to yourself, but even if you have to share this marvelous place with a few hundred other people it is still beautiful and enjoyable.

The water is turquoise and clean like on post cards and tourist brochures. It has a special natural beauty that will capture you. It certainly captured me. We were very impressed by this bay. For me it was the most magnificent spot on the island. If you leave Palma for just one day, make Cala Mondrago your destination.

In contrast a beach that you don't need to visit is Porto Cristo and Port de Manacor. The beach there is right between to the harbor and the beach boulevard with heavy traffic. The water is dirty in comparison to all other beaches; and the guilty party is most likely the adjacent port. If that is not enough, the smell of oil and car exhaust make the beach even less desirable. The port seems to be a mix of leisure sailboats and fishing boats and the entry to the port is adorned by a cement monument from the Franco era.

To the west of Palma the hotels and golf courses and amusement parks stretch for more than 10 miles. Nearly until Andratz and Port D'Andratz. Port D'Andratz is the second most impressive yacht harbor on the island. The beach is less impressive but there are plenty of opportunities to go for a swim. From Port D'Andratz leads a trail over the hills to the subsequent beach at Sant Elm. Since Mallorca has two official languages, Spanish and Catalan, one can also find signs of "San Telmo" which is the same as Sant Elm. Most signs are in Catalan. While we were there the beach of Sant Elm was a nightmare. The construction boom is continuing along the coast between Sant Elm and Palma and in Sant Elm they were preparing the grounds for new hotels or apartments. Heavy equipment with jackhammers was tearing down the rocky mountain to make room for the new houses. The noise just some 100 yards away was unpleasant to say the least. At a few hundred yards off the beach a small island is a protected biosphere for birds. Swimming to and from the island is a good exercise.

The best-known villages on the northwest shore of Mallorca are Valldemossa and Deia. Both villages have their own ports. Valldemossa is quite a large village that has kept its village charm. Many houses are made of rocks and are decorated with flowers. The center of the village has been transformed into a pedestrian zone with nice bakeries, restaurants, souvenir shops and coffee bars. The renowned musician Chopin has lived and worked in the monastery for a few years and since then the string of visitors doesn't stop. The book written about Mallorca by his partner and girlfriend can be found in all major languages in every bookstore in the village.

Deia is seen as a retreat for artists. There are a few tiny expositions in the village. But I am not convinced if it is artsy or just trying to appear artsy. Artsy or not, from the cemetery is a great view down to the coastline. Just a handful of miles to the west the coastline encircles the peninsula of Sa Foradada where Michael Douglas has his mansion. He is said to spend 2 months every year here and to sponsor art venues in Deia.

If you are less into art and more into beaches or nature, head down to Cala Deia. This tiny port has a lot of charm. Some wooden fisher boats still line the trail to the beach and others are stored in special rock houses built into the cliffs. A bar is tastefully built overlooking the bay. It is built in rocks and has the same red roof tiles as the rest of fishermen buildings. Therefore it is hardly noticeable as a bar. Well done. The water is inviting and after leaving the bay of Cala Deia one can explore neighboring bays by means of swimming around.

Another famous bay is Sa Calobra. It is a bit out of the way as it takes an hour just to drive the uncountable serpentines down from the main road to the bay. The turns are scary or pleasurable depending if you are afraid of heights. Reaching the tiny village you have to park your car in the rather large parking lot. On foot you can continue down to the coast. A handful of restaurants are built one right next the other along the pedestrian beach walk. The best spot is at the very end of the trail. For a few minutes the trail follows the cliffs. Then the cliffs turn into a vertical wall. A wooden trail once ran along the cliffs, hanging off the cliff, but it has been destroyed by the waves. If you can't go around the cliffs, you have to go through them. Now a tunnel has been cut into the cliffs large enough for an adult to walk comfortably. The moment you leave the obscurity of the tunnel, you pop up in a bay that is encircled on both sides by vertical cliffs. It is an unusual setting. Mother nature sometimes creates strange environments. The opening between the two walls was a mere 20 yards. This was the width of the sandy beach. A couple of sailboats were anchored in the shallow water. Further back, away from the ocean, the cliffs open up and form a wider valley. In its center stands a large tree. This is one of the most famous photo locations. The steep cliffs to the left and right of the beach, the blue water in the background and the green-leaved tree in the center of it all. You will find postcards of this setting anywhere on the island. Photographers frequently climb the cliffs in the background to get the absolute best angle for their pictures. We were no exception.

On the way back from Sa Calobra to Palma we quickly stopped at the monastery of Lluc. It is a set of buildings of large dimensions. Large courtyards, large church, large living quarters for the monks, and today even with a large parking lot.

Palma itself is also interesting for a day or two. It is nothing sensational, but has several highlights. Castell Bellver (freely translated as "Castle Goodview") is one of them. From here you most likely have the best city views. Another interesting sight is the cathedral of Palma. It boasts some interior design from Gaudi, specifically the lamps that hang down maybe 150 feet from the high cathedral ceiling are designed by Gaudi. The third highlight is the fortress right next to the cathedral.

If you are more into nightlife than daytime sight seeing there is plenty for you. Especially if you are German speaking you will have no problem at all finding a wide range of bars and discos. In the southern half of C'an Pastilla are several street blocks that exclusively consist of bars and discos that cater to Germans or an international crowd. Here you can drink German beer and eat German sausages and the only language you will hear is German. For $8 you can even drink as much as you want at the disco. No wonder, there are a lot of drunks "littering" the beach boulevard in the early morning hours. Drinking and singing seems to be the main sport here at night. Beer and sangria is served in transparent plastic tubes of 6 feet height and 4 or 5 inches diameter. That's about 5 gallons. A nice unit to buy the beer by. If you don't like the plastic tubes you can also buy the sangria in earthen pots of 5, 10 or 15 liters, that is roughly 1.3, 2.6, 3.9 gallons. Not small quantities either. Lang lebe Deutchland!

As you see Mallorca has something for everyone. It might not be culturally interesting or offer you a place of solitude, but it is a pleasant getaway to relax and laze time away. It has dozens of nice beaches and a clean ocean that invite you to swim and sunbath. It is warm and the infrastructure is good. What else do you want for a 1-week escape? And don't forget to buy at least 3 ensaimadas before you leave from the Palma airport. Ensaimadas are traditional sweet, flat cakes that are offered with various different fillings. Usually they are eaten with coffee for breakfast. Once you are at the airport you will see everyone running around with several large pizza-sized cardboard boxes with ensaimadas. It seems to be the law that you have to take a few with you for yourself or your loved ones when you leave. Everyone in the airport building carries these boxes. So, don't break this tradition!