As promised - the Majorca Report (for the full photo album, visit here: Majorca April 2009)! First off, I had asked last time if you'd ever heard of "Mallorca", but I have since been informed that the English spelling is different (with a "j" instead of "ll"), so maybe that's why you'd never heard of it!

So, I made it back safely from Germany's 17th State (they actually only have 16)! Turns out it was even more German than I expected. Here's the report:

Day 1 - Arrival. Late afternoon, so I didn't really get to do much. Basically just walked around in the *drizzle* before the evening meal at the hotel to see what the city where I stayed, Paguera, looked like downtown. I had a real cheap package deal from a travel company, so the hotel (mine was 2-stars, incl. breakfast and dinner), the flight, and the transfer from the airport to hotel (I flew into Palma and had this view) were all included in the price. On top of that, it was still off-season, so not many of the tourists were there, so the prices were also cheaper. This also meant that several of the stores or restaurants were not open as long, which meant after dinner hanging around at the hotel (which everyone did).

Day 2 - Trip to Palma, the capitol city of Majorca. Despite the rain and cool temps, I had a nice day at the capitol. My first stop was an amazing gothic-style cathedral called Le Seu, which deserved a visit inside. This was, of course, after my stop for breakfast tapas, which was a disappointment - I did not think tapas with ham and cheese would just be a ham and cheese sandwich! Made me weary of trusting my travel book, but I later found out it was just an outlier.

After the cathedral I just wanted to walk around town to see the sights, like the Place Major (main square), the Passeig des Born (with photo exhibits and shopping), and the Placa Cort with an old olive tree and the city hall. Other activities included escaping the rain for some typical Majorcan almond cake and a café con leche (coffee with milk), very tasty! Unfortunately the wind sorta broke my umbrella, which didn't make it always that pleasant for just wandering around, but I just dodged into different shops to look around between the drops, and enjoyed the cute little streets.

Day 3 - relaxing in Paguera. On top of the cough I brought from Hamburg, I woke up this morning with a stuffy head and nose due to the heating not working in my room - I slept the night with a scarf wrapped around my head! Perfect opportunity to take it easy and see the beach and the town, relax, and eat some real tapas - and enjoy some native oranges (lots of flavor). I actually found a spot on some rocks where no one went (mainly because the tourists that stayed in Paguera were older couples and not up for off-the-path trips), so I took a rest and took some pics, like this one, a nice coastal view.

Day 4 - relaxing in Paguera, part 2. Since it was my last day, and the whole point of this vacation was to refresh and de-stress, I decided to walk around in a few new places around town, and to save a car rental for next time! It was a few degrees warmer, and the sun shone for a few minutes, so it was nicer for being outside, although still not warm enough to swim. I spotted my next hiking destination, and headed on up for a better view over the island - and found my way there and enjoyed this view! This was a spot without any people as well, so I could enjoy it as long as I wanted, undisturbed. All that hiking made me hungry, so I headed back down for some more tapas.

All in all, my hotel was fine for the price - the food was actually really good (fresh fish every night with veggies), but the amenities were frugal (no TV, alarm clock, telephone, or soap in the bathroom...and I think I blew the circuit breaker one night while using my water cooker - oops!), and it was very close to a bus stop to Palma and the shore. Assuming there is a "next time", I think a week would be a good amount to stay, which would give me time to rent a car and see some other cities, like Valldemossa, a cute city where Chopin stayed one Winter. I would not recommend going in July or so, during the main season, since the partying would be sooooo crazy - all the late-year teens go there to drink and party (mainly in Palma)!

So, to see my whole album (only some pics I included in this post), visit: Majorca April 2009. Til next time!

 

 

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