Mallorca Travel: The West Coast And The Capital Of Palma De Mallorca
Our location in Palma Nova on the western bay of Palma was very convenient with one
exception: several of the hotel guests came home between 3 and 6 am in various states of inebriation and were hollering loudly to each other. Their incomprehensible utterings reverberated in the concrete hallways and inevitably woke me up. Just as I was ready to fall asleep again, another group of lager louts was coming in and making their presence known to everyone.Apart from that our little apartment at the Torrenova Aparthotel had been a great choice, because in the morning I could sit down on our large balcony overlooking the Mediterranean and enjoy a good home-made breakfast. The weather so far had been perfect and not a cloud covered the sky.
Shortly before noon we started our drive to explore the western side of the island. West of Magaluf are a large number of tourist developments, many of which are still under construction. We drove on the C719 highway to Santa Ponsa, a pleasant resort town on the west side of the island.
Santa Ponsa is particular popular with tourists from Ireland, Scottland, Wales, Holland and Germany. Many of the store windows feature English or German advertisements. This town also occupies an important part in Mallorcas history: it was here that King James the First landed in 1229 to reconquer Mallorca after more than 300 years of Moorish rule. A big festival celebrates this historic event every September with a mock battle between Christians and Moors on the beach.
From here we drove further northwest to Port dAndratx, another popular coastal village. As in many other Mallorcan towns, the harbour is fringed by an attractive promenade and several restaurants. Port dAndratx is generally not a mass-market destination and attracts more independent travelers as well as Northern Europeans who have bought holiday homes here.
Real estate prices in these coastal towns are extremely expensive. I picked up a local real estate magazine that showed many villas and apartments that were selling for hundreds of thousands of Euros. Many properties were listing for amounts way above the million Euro mark.
Mallorca is particularly popular with German and British home-owners who either own vacation homes here or have permanently relocated on the island. As a result, real estate prices in Mallorca have increased dramatically over the last few years.
During our stroll through town we came across an Eroski Supermarket and decided to do some food shopping. We were amazed at the reasonable prices for fruits and seafood. What really surprised us was that the price of food was so low while prices in the local restaurants were much higher than in Canada. Most main dishes and seafood dishes were priced at a minimum of 20 Euros and going up into 30, 40 or even 50 Euros. Supermarket food in contrast was significantly less expensive than in Canada.
We drove back through the historic mountain town of Andratx and stopped briefly to explore the historic town core. We arrived back at our apartment with our loot, made a comfortable lunch and relaxed on the sunny terrace of our apartment, overlooking the glistening blue waters of the Mediterranean. In the evening we decided to explore the capital of the island, Palma de Mallorca.
With about 400,000 inhabitants, Palma is by far the largest city on the island; it is also the commercial and cultural centre of Mallorca. Its history dates back all the way to Roman times when Palma was founded as a Roman camp. The Moorish period lasted from 902 to 1229 when King James the First reconquered the island.
From the 1600s to the 1800s the city suffered many pirate attacks. Economic growth occurred in the 19th century and from the 1950s onwards, mass tourism started to have an impact on the city. In 2001, almost 20 million people passed through Sant Joan International Airport, which is located 8 kilometres from downtown Palma.
Despite these enormous changes, Mallorca has managed to retain its historic ambience. We parked our vehicle on the Avinguda de Gabriel Alomer, one of the so-called avingudas, or avenues a ring road that was built after the citys fortification walls were taken down. From here it was a convenient walk into the centre. We walked past the Arab Baths, the only building left that dates back to Arab times.
Through the narrow streets of the Old City we reached the jewel of Palma: La Seu, which was built between 1229 and 1601, on the site of a pre-existing mosque. With its length of 155 metres and its 44 metre high nave, it is one of the largest cathedrals in Europe.
The Gothic exterior with its flying buttresses is impressive, and the golden limestone was glowing in the late evening sun. The interior features 14 octogonal pillars that support a vaulted ceiling. The magnificent rose window on the east side has a diameter of 12 metres (40 feet) and contains 1,200 pieces of stained glass. A wrought-iron chandelier designed by Antoni Gaudi overhangs the altar. The cathedral also holds the tombs of Jaume II and Jaume III. An organ concert was just starting as we admired this imposing cathedral, and we sat down for a good twenty minutes to enjoy the impressive sounds of the organ.
Across from La Seu is the Palau del Almudaina, an Arab word for citadel. Built on the walls of the original Arab fortress, this was the royal residence of King Jaume II. The Gothic-era palace also includes a variety of Moorish-style details. Just north of this palace is the Plaa de la Reina, a large public square that adjoins the gardens of the Palau del Almudaina.
Further up the Calle Conquistador we saw the government building of the Balearic Islands and Palmas City Hall on Plaa Cort. This public square features a very large, gnarly and old olive tree which is a favourite spot for tourists to pose for photographs. Through the narrow Calle Colom shopping street we reached the Plaa Major, Palmas main square, which is surrounded on all four sides by adjoining buildings with an identical faade. A lone guitar player was entertaining the caf crowd with his passionate Flamenco melodies.
We continued on through more narrow streets to finally reach the Plaa dEspanya, Palmas transportation hub. This large square is anchored by the Estaci Intermodal, which is the citys bus and railway terminal. We went down the escalators and explored this ultra-modern public transportation complex and admired the colourful artistic armchairs and furniture arrangements that were exhibited in the stations caf.
As it was now starting to get dark we turned around and made our way back through the narrow streets of Palmas Old City. It was amazing to see cars coming at us in these very narrow passageways although on this Sunday the streets were extremely quiet. We continued to be fascinated by the garbage machines, bronze-coloured metal garbage collectors that, with their round heads and square bodies, appeared like aliens, ready to devour civilizations garbage.
The sun was setting by the time we had reached our car and drove back westwards on the Passeig Maritim towards our home base in Palmanova. The sunset produced orange-coloured flames that were dancing playfully in the waters of Palma Bay. We had spent another beautiful day in Mallorca.
by: Susanne Pacher Prague Travel: A Dinner To Remember: The Last View Of Mala Strana, Petrin Hill And Prague Castle Prague Travel: A Visit To Prague's Captivating Jewish Quarter Prague Travel: Art Deco Splendour At The Historic Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel In Prague Prague Travel: Memories Of The Cold War At The Hotel Jalta On Wenceslas Square Prague Travel: Sampling Czech Beer At U Medvidku Beer Hall Prague Travel: Two Of Prague's Gems: Strahov Monastery And Prague Castle Holiday in Gerona – have Preparations Ahead in Time!!! San Francisco Travel: A Culinary Tour Through North Beach San Francisco Travel: A Ride Through Golden Gate Park And Dinner At Colibris San Francisco Travel: An Interview With San Francisco Tourism - Part I San Francisco Travel: Downtown Luxury At The Handlery Hotel And Exotic Entertainment At Asia Sf San Francisco Travel: The Queen Anne Hotel & Fishermans Wharf The Most Important Thing To Have When You Travel!