Mallorca, you beautiful island!
When we were in Alsasua during our on-arrival training we met a lot of other volunteers who are also doing EVS projects all over Spain. Two of these were Ádam and Pier who just so fortunately happens to live in Mallorca. At the beginning of September Lucia and I (Evelina) decided to go visit them.
Day 1:
Our flight left Valencia in the evening so Lucia and I had plenty of time to be stressing out about packing enjoy the beautiful Valencian weather. Around 10 pm we arrived in Palma airport where Pier and Ádam and two more of the people we had met in Alsasua (Linda and Bela) picked us up. Since we were tired after the very long flight (40 min ) we decided to have a chill night in the flat with good food and pleasant company.
Day 2:
In the morning we spent some time discovering Palma and did some much needed last-minute shopping (water guns and a yellow t-shirt) before embarking on the grand adventure of the Gran Batalla de Canamunt y Canavall, a massive water battle reenacting the historic fight between two noble factions who fought in the 16th Century, now in a less violent, albeit significantly wetter, way. Having met up with our fellow Canavalles in a nearby plaza just before the battle was to start we felt confident we were going to win, until we saw the size of the red team… All in all we had a great time!
In the evening we went to an outdoor cinema which screened Interstellar. Dylan Thomas´ rendition of “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” lost a bit of its glory being dubbed into Spanish, nonetheless we all enjoyed the film and the view of the Cathedral in the background.
Day 3:
The third day we rented a car and drove towards Cap the Formentor, which is the northernmost tip on Mallorca and where, at the end of a long and winding road, a beautiful old lighthouse is located. The Mallorquines apparently call the place the “punto de encuentro de los vientos” but we didn´t find it particularly windy nor crowded (bearing in mind that it is atotal tourist trap). It did however, offer some spectacular views both of the landscape and of mountain goats roaming freely on steep cliffs.
Day 4 & 5:
On the Tuesday we had to say goodbye to Linda who was heading back to Andalucia. We spent the rest of the day discovering the heart of Palma and at night we went for a round of tapas and eventually had to say goodbye to Bela as well. Goodbyes are difficult!
The Wednesday was a rather calm day spent at a local beach in Palma before welcoming some more of our friends from the formación in Navarra.
Day 6, 7 & 8:
We had planned on going to the beach, but surprisingly enough the weather did not agree with us. Instead we spent another day walking around Palma, taking splendid selfies like the one above before heading out for a dinner at a Mexican restaurant in the evening, where we also met up with a former collegue from IDEA who had moved to Mallorca.
On the Friday Lucia had to leave to go back to Slovakia for the weekend. The rest of us spent the whole day at one of the local beaches in Palma (spending 12 hours+ in the sun with pasty skin is not to be adviced unless you want to look like Donald Trump and Elmo had a lovechild). At night we finally found a club with music other than Spanish Reaggeaton. I do not think I have ever been so happy to hear Bruno Mars before, even though cheesy pop is not normally my cup of tea.
On my last day we rented another car and went on a road trip to the southeast of Mallorca and a day full of cliff-jumping (for those who dared), sunbathing and many a laugh karaoking to Enrique Iglesias in the car, before I reluctantly had to leave for the airport.
A special thanks to Pier and Ádam for a wonderful week and great memories!
Muchos besos,
Evelina and Lucia
