Diario De Mallorca or "The Tragedy of the Red Ball"

The word of the weekend: Spectacular

More than halfway through our Month of Traveling: Poland, Belgium, and The Netherlands were in the past, and Spain was before us. We left on Friday the 6th of May and flew to Barcelona.

We had a layover in Barcelona from 10:00 pm until 8:00 am. Luckily, we have friends in Barcelona who gave us a nice all-night tour:

We've said it before, but we'll say it again: visiting a new city is ultimately better when you have friends there to show you around. A big thank-you to our Spanish tourguides!

It was time to leave Barcelona before we knew it. Luckily, the rising sun clued us in to the coming day:

Arriving in Palma, Mallorca, it was only suitable to take a picture with the palm trees:

We rented a really great little Nissan Micra that served us well over the weekend.

Once we arrived in Santanyi we found the villa we would be staying in. We received instructions from the neighbor in Spanish, which was fun since no hablamos Espanol!

A quick trip to the market to buy watermelon, peas, strawberries, and to look at lots of jewelry and clothing.

But it didn't take long before we made tracks to the beach! Mallorca is jokingly referred to as a German colony, because on any given day during June, July, and August there are more Germans than Spaniards on the island. But in May it's still a little early for the hordes of sun-starved tourists, and so we had found the beaches free from the crowds.

Hmmmm.... it's colder than I thought...... but, when else will I swim in the Mediterranean? Going... going....

Gone!

A view of the beach from the nearby cliffs:

We like this picture. It's nice to wear sandals again after the Czech winter.

After a full day of sunbathing, swimming, and relaxing, we went back to Palma to meet one of our friends. We found the cathedral to be spectacular:

Sunset in Palma:

We had tapas in Palma before cruising back to Santanyi for the night. The next day we had a grand plan: Beach hopping! We found it is not as easy as it sounds, because when you get to a beach like Cala Gat (below) why would you want to leave? Look closely and see someone swimming:

After Cala Gat we headed to the northeast corner of Mallorca to check out the lighthouse. This picture is for my lighthouse-loving parents:

Gathered around our faithful little Nissan:

The sleepy town of Santanyi has a lovely square where we had dinner. There are kids playing soccer, live music floating out of one of the cafes, and very friendly people. The square is smaller than most football fields, and without any wind it was very pleasant, even late in the evening.

Preparing for another day at the beach: The cat knows what to do on days like these--but only after you close the shutters!
(If you want to rent this villa, it belongs to my wonderful Danish host mom, Susanne - go to www.casasusanne-santanyi.com)

More time at the beach! They look happy now, but....

But where'd she go? She disappeared!


We drove up to Formentor to look at the view:

Dizzying heights!

Then an incredible drive in the mountains - we wish we had a few more days to hike:



Hey!

Our skin color was starting to match our swimsuit color, which means MORE SUNSCREEN but definitely not too much time at the beach!

A final dinner in Santanyi at yet another charming cafe with outdoor seating. Life is good! Or it's a beach. Or Life is Life. Or something.

Next weekend: Italy and the Giro!

PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRO!