Day 56 ~ Palma de Mallorca, the Hawaii of Spain

 March 6, 2022

51 degrees, spitting rain occasionally, blessedly no wind! 

"If at first you don't succeed... skydiving is not for you!" ~ Damian, our interim Cruise Director. 
We lost Aaron in Madeira when he left to join the maiden voyage of the Viking Mars. (Dave claims that makes him the first Martian cruise director!) Damian is doing a great job, but we'll be joined by Aaron's permanent replacement in a few more days.

I call Mallorca the Hawaii of Spain because it is considered one of Spain's "autonomous communities," like our states, instead of like Puerto Rico which is a US territory. Ordinarily, it is reputedly sun-drenched like Hawaii, but sadly, we didn't see evidence of that. However, after seeing what lack of rain has done to Cape Verde, I am grateful for every drop that falls from heaven!

We woke to room service this morning because we had an early excursion to meet. It's quite lovely to have breakfast delivered when you're on short time. After a quick peek out on the verandah for an environmental check, we bundled up appropriately and hurried to meet Bus # 4 for the included "Scenic Mallorca" tour. Since the sky was threatening rain, I was glad the description of this excursion sounded like it would be mostly riding around in the bus. (Little did I know I'd return at noon with more than 5K steps recorded on the phone in my pocket!) Not only did we get some good exercise, the entire morning was feast for the senses!

14th century Castell de Bellver

When we stepped off the bus, we were met by the sharp scent of pine. It reminded me of northern Minnesota, all fresh and rain-washed and infused with the sweet breath of green growing things. (We had a similar experience on Madeira I failed to share. When we viewed the sea cliff there, we enjoyed a lovely blend of eucalyptus and mimosa blossoms! Heavenly...)

We were unable to enter the castle, but we walked around it a bit, taking in the moat, which our guide told us had never been filled with water, and the unusual arrow slits in the circular towers. Normally in an arrow slit, there is a thin horizontal opening as well as the vertical, which gives a defender a wider field of fire. I was puzzled by these only vertical openings. Our guide told us that the castle will be used as the site for shooting a new Lord of the Rings TV series. Someone has made up new stories based on Tolkien's intricately devised world. (Sacrilege! I'm still fuming over what the film makers did to The Hobbit!)  

We had to watch our step on the slick and uneven walkways. (But my mom would've been captivated by the different colored rocks!)

La Seu Cathedral

Then we drove through the town, past the home of the artist Miro, and the merchant district where even the Queen of Spain comes to shop in its high end stores. We drove by 750 year old La Seu Cathedral and the adjacent Arab-built Almudaina Palace. It's Sunday so we couldn't enter the cathedral without interrupting a worship service. The architecture is pure gothic, complete with flying buttresses and a Rose window that measures 40 ft across. Then we headed for the village of Valldemossa in the mountains.

An almond grove in bloom!

 Valldemossa is a charming village with a scandalous liaison in its past. Romantic era piano composer Chopin spent a winter there, renting out a cell in a former monastery with his lover, George Sands. (She was quite a rebel for her time. She wrote under a male name because female authors were not taken seriously in the 19th century. George wore trousers, invaded all male clubs, and smoked cigars.) The conservative villagers were aghast at the pair at the time, but they make plenty of tourist hay out of them now. Sadly, the winter in Valldemossa didn't work out well for Chopin. He suffered from tuberculosis and his doctor had advised him to relocate there. Unfortunately, the island often has high humidity, which is terrible for any lung condition. 

Here's the DH's photo contribution for today:

Our chilly, damp visit ended with a cupful of the hot chocolate so decadently thick and sweet that I predict will be served in heaven! It was like drinking a melted chocolate bar and redefined the word "rich!"

Dave (yet another one), Brian (Not my Brian. This is yet another one! Both Dave & Brian are popular names on board) & Keri, our new friends

We had a church service on board and afterward went to supper with some new friends, Keri and Brian from Washington state, Dave and Carol, and Kristy and Dave. It was like an impromptu dinner party and our junior waiter added to the festivities with a bit of a magic trick. Dani balanced two forks on the head of a pair of toothpicks! I have no idea how he did that.

More soon...