Mallorca Travel: Exploring Port de Sóller and Palmanova
We had thoroughly enjoyed our drive through the Tramuntana mountain region yesterday and our discoveries in the town of Sller
. After a restful night of sleep I got up at 8 am and walked to the main house of our rural hotel, Finca Ca's Sant, to use their Internet connection. Then it was time for an outdoor breakfast on the terrace of our hotel, surrounded by palm trees. Fresh croissants, yoghurt, home-made orange marmalade and an egg were waiting for me.My breakfast also included a traditional Mallorcan specialty: pamboli (literally translated: bread and oil), which are slices of fresh Mallorcan bread that are rubbed with olive oil and sometimes covered by a slice of cured ham or diced tomatoes. Sitting under the palm trees, admiring the historic mansion against the backdrop of the peaks of Mallorca's highest mountains it doesn't get much better than that.
Even though we had already checked out, we asked owner Rafael Forteza whether we would be able to leave our car in the parking lot. Not a problem at all. So we left our car parked and walked the 10 minutes into the centre of Sller which was extremely busy this Saturday morning: it was market day.
Dozens of traveling merchants had set up their stalls all over the downtown streets. Clothing, houseware, shoes, leather goods, toys, electronic products and many other things were on sale. Food vendors were selling all sorts of candy, a wide assortment of nuts and a great selection of olives. The "Mercat Municipal", the permanent local food market, was full of local shoppers, buying groceries, fish, vegetables and fruits. The town was hustling and bustling.
We wanted to explore one of Sller's main attractions: the vintage electric tram to the Port de Sller, also locally known as the "Orange Express". The ride on this historic streetcar costs 4 Euros each way and is extremely popular with the tourists. Many of the carriages are open, so one can enjoy the fresh breeze during the 20 minute ride down to the waterfront town of Port de Sller.
The harbour town of Port de Sller has a beautiful location on the northern coast of Mallorca. The town is built around a large round bay that is almost fully enclosed and surrounded by coastal mountains. It has an attractive waterfront promenade with many shops and outdoor cafs and a great Mediterranean ambience. Two lighthouses are located on the headlands that demarcate the bay on either side.
We strolled along the bay-front promenade, bought some ham sandwiches and drinks in one of the local grocery stores and sat down on a bench by the sailboat harbour. After a couple of very packed days on this island, it was nice to just sit and relax and take in the atmosphere of this port town on this warm and sunny afternoon.
In the mid-afternoon we took the tram back to Sller. I admired the engineer who was piloting this ancient looking streetcar although he did not seem to be in the mood for interacting with any of the tourists. After getting lost in the maze of one-way streets of Sller we finally found our way out of town and started heading towards Palma de Mallorca. Rather than taking the old winding road over the Sierra de Alfabia mountain we took the tunnel which is over 3 km long.
It took us less than 20 minutes to reach the outskirts of Palma de Mallorca. Once on the ring highway that surrounds the capital city, we turned right to drive to the western bay of Mallorca into the town of Palmanova. This suburb of Palma, together with neighbouring Magaluf, is one of the most popular resort areas in Mallorca.
Through an online booking service we had booked a one-bedroom apartment at the Torrenova Aparthotel complex which would be our home base for the next 5 days. Personally, I am not a big fan of big resort complexes, but our inexpensive apartment would be a convenient way to look after ourselves. The cost was amazingly affordable: for 5 nights the cost was less than $150 which made it an extremely good deal. I had booked this apartment in a complex that was located directly on the waterfront because I just wanted to be right next to the Mediterranean.
The coastline west of downtown Palma de Mallorca is pleasantly hilly, as the mountains of the Serra de Tramuntana peter out in the Bay of Palma. It takes about 20 to 30 minutes to get from downtown Palma to Palma Nova, and you can either take the coastal road or the inland highway.
The resort areas of Palmanova and Magaluf are among the most popular resort destinations in Mallorca, along with Can Pastilla on the southeastern Bay of Palma. They are among the first purpose-built tourist destinations on the island, and numerous high-rise and low-rise hotel buildings line the coastline. Package tourism really started in Mallorca in the 1970s and with the advent of low cost airlines, Mallorca has become of the most popular tourist destinations in all of Europe. Much of this mass tourism, particularly coming from England, is concentrated on the western bay of Palma.
We arrived at the Aparthotel Torrenova and were pleasantly surprised at its location on a rocky promontory right next to the Mediterranean. The receptionist said that we were the first Canadian guests that she can remember ever since she started to work there several years ago. The vast majority of vacationers here come from England. The boxy 1970s architecture of the complex was not particularly appealing, but the apartment itself was clean and well organized.
Our room at the eastern edge of the resort on the highest level had a decent-size one-bedroom layout with a large Lshaped balcony from where we had a great view in a southerly and westerly direction over the sea. A functional mini-kitchen and a simple living room with 2 single beds would make this a comfortable apartment for up to 4 people. Although the furniture and dcor was a little dated, I was pleasantly surprised at the location and the amenities of our apartment. And the view from the balcony was absolutely magnificent!
To stock up for some simple meals, we went across the street to a small supermarket which was convenient yet overpriced. All in all though, we realized that vacationing in Mallorca can be extremely affordable in a self-catered location. While restaurant meals can be very expensive, store-bought food overall is very reasonable. Decent accommodation options can also be found in a very low price range, and car rentals are quite affordable when compared to other European destinations. It is no surprise that Mallorca is also a favourite destination for long-term vacationers who stay here during the winter and spring months for three, four or more weeks at a time.
The clientele in the summer changes when families with young children and a crowd of hard-partying 18 to 30 year olds descend on this island. We were there in late May, before the adventure-hungry and thirsty masses descend on these areas. From the large bargain bins full of hard liquor bottles, the presence of pre-packaged foods in the supermarkets and the scarcity of fresh fruit and vegetables in the small supermarkets, we could tell that the crowd that comes here likes to party hard.
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As the majority of vacationers in this area come from the British islands, the entertainment area of Palma Nova features a large number of British-styled pubs and bars. A large selection of restaurants lines the main streets, and the attractive waterfront promenade in Palma Nova.
We went for a stroll in the evening and enjoyed the busy atmosphere as the sun started to set over the Bay of Palma Nova. Expensive sailboats were anchored in the bay, and couples and families were going for a walk. Live music sounded from many of the restaurants and the lively atmosphere carried on into the night. A young gentleman had just finished building a huge sandcastle, and many people stopped to admire it. As we strolled back to our hotel, many of the bars, pubs and discos were full of revelers who were getting ready for a long night of partying.
Mallorca Travel: Exploring Port de Sller and Palmanova
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