Autumn Holiday in Mallorca

It's officially November and the clocks have fallen back another hour.  This momentous occasion did not happen, however, without the first necessary passing of autumn break.  Having desired to spend the three days off school (October 26-28) traveling out of country, I was pleased to find two traveling companions--on American and one Czech.  After finding cheap airfare and cheap accommodation, we booked our places and set off for sunny Mallorca.  

I was grateful for the opportunity to see somewhere new, but even more grateful for the companions and for the change in climate.  Palms greeted us at the airport and we could hear the rushing of the waves from our hotel room.  The morning brought a simple breakfast of mini croissants, meat, cheese, juice, and coffee in the hostel’s bar.  
 

We all agreed that a trip into Palma was necessary our first day.  My companions thought it might be a half hour or hour walk into the city.  We consulted the British owner, who promptly recommended a different course of action.  “You could walk there, I suppose,” he conceded, “but it’d take you about three hours.”  Being an amiable chap, he didn’t stop there but recommended that we rent bikes.  For 6 Euros apiece, we rented bikes for a day and set off along the beach.  

A bike path ran almost the entire route, guaranteeing both our safety as well as a spectacular view of the beach and the waves.  At times we even got a bit of sea mist on our legs.  As we approached the city, we had a spectacular view of the cathedral.

The day was spent lazily walking through Palma and perusing shops prior to seeing the main attraction of the city, La Seur, a Cathedral in the Gothic style built over the sight of an older mosque. 

We then enjoyed a luxurious three-course lunch.  Fueled up, we mounted our bikes again with the Castle of Bellver our chosen destination.  Keep in mind that since castles were made to be defended, they often occupy hills.  We first biked further past the city and then--with Herculean effort--up the hill on which the castle was located.  Ashley and I enjoyed the views around the castle while Zuzka went inside.

 

After a lovely ride back along the beach, the rest of the evening was lazily spent, first with some dinner—including muscles—and then with some dancing.

The next morning we rose early and rented a car.  We opted for an automatic, since Ashley or I (really just Ashley) would be driving.  Ashley made the mistake of telling the car rental man where we were going (Soller) and he promptly advised us against taking such winding roads and sternly warned us against scratching his car.  Undeterred, we set out with Ashley in the driver's seat.  Our first disappointment was in the noises made by the car—familiar to me as I typically drive cars that are older than I am.  We thought we would comfort ourselves with some tunes, only to find that there was a needed code to unlock the radio and CD player. I wasn’t the only one silently praying, and once we were clear of Palma and headed toward the mountains, we all experienced some peace of mind.

For our destination, we had settled on the mountains in northwest Mallorca and some surrounding historic towns.  We took the road which took hairpin turns up the mountain, rather than taking the tunnel through the mountain.  The route was mostly abandoned, and we enjoyed the mountain views.  Our first destination was Soller.

Journeying from Soller to the Port de Soller, we found the surrounding streets filled with markets and shops.  Ashley spotted a bright yellow building on a hill and declared it to be our lunching location.  It overlooked the port (see below) and the food did not disappoint.  We then sought out a couple more towns notable for their quaint style as well as some of their previous inhabitants.  One boasted the grave of Robert Graves.

Our view of the Port de Soller from our table at lunch

Deja

Ready to defend themselves against rain in Valldemosa

 

Our final adventure with the rented car was to  yet another port.  This one was accessible only by a road so thin that we often worried we were on a bike path.  At times companions coming the opposite direction had to back up in order to allow space for us to pass one another.  I had never seen anyone so brave in those moments as Ashley was, and she won my fierce admiration.

 

Once home, and fueled up (so as not to incite the wrath of Senor Garage Man), and on our balcony, we enjoyed a small dinner of cheee, French bread, and a very large red pepper.

Our final day, we rented no means of transportation, but rather walked along the beach looking into shops.  We finally decided that better shops were to be found in the city center and joined German tourists and native Mallorcans alike on a stuffy bus.  It wasn’t nearly as pleasant as our biking had been, but it dutifully brought us to Palma and we there perused shops and enjoyed the general atmosphere.

Alas, our lovely holiday had to end, so we donned our jeans, shook out our coats, and loaded ourselves up with our packs.  We flew to Bratislava and met with the cold air once again.  However, we were thankful rather than mournful and enjoyed a lovely dinner somewhere in Bratislava’s downtown before parting ways at the train station.  My companions returned to the Czech Republic, and I ventured on a night train to a tiny village in northwest Slovakia.