A Mallorcan Moment

After moving to the bustling city of Barcelona just over a week ago, and taking on the city life and classes, the vibrant blues, pristine air, and stunning sights of Mallorca sounded more than refreshing. Although we were bummed to miss Barcelona's celebration of the fight for Catalonian independence on September 11th, we decided to live life to the fullest and go to La Palma, Mallorca's capital! The flight from Barcelona to La Palma lasts only a brief 50 minutes and upon arrival, we made our first of many rewarding spontaneous decisions- renting a car! The island has great public transportation but with the short amount of time we had, the leisure and convenience definitely outweighed the costs for our group. Shoutout to our gal Clara for being our island driver, however forcibly this role became when we got the keys to a manual car with only one manual driver in the group:0 Over the next two and half days we dove into finding Mallorca's vibrant beaches, friendly international visitors, and rich history.

As newly self-proclaimed locals, our first stop is consistent with a typical Spanish breakfast: jugo de naranja, pan con tomato, croissants, and cafes con Leche. We have increasingly become accustomed to taking our time, chatting, people watching, and soaking in the sun over the course of all shared meals. This cultural norm is formulated by a cacophony of historical, social, political, and economic forces that surely helped convert us into island mode. After checking out our hostel's area, we headed up to Castle Bellver, to learn more about the history and context of where we were. Free to enter and surrounded by hiking trails, the Bellver castle is an incredible architectural piece, as it is one of the few circular castles. The structure was built for Mallorcan Kings but later served as a political and civilian prison. Today, the castle provides picture-perfect scenery and breath-taking panoramas of Palma. The castle's rooms are full of informational panels, sculptures, artifacts, and timelines educating visors on how Mallorca came to be what it is today.

Twenty minutes up the road from the Castle is Platja de Ses Illetes, a beach located at the base of a steep nook on the Mallorcan coast. Our first beach did not disappoint! Platja de Ses Illetes has warm and clear blue water with a few surrounding eateries and picture-perfect nature. We were able to swim to a mini island a few hundred meters from the beach and walk around, getting views looking at our beach and the continuing coastline. I admit our post-swim nap had drool so the quality of drifting to sleep under the murmur of foreign languages really did it for us. With one (or three) shades of tan down, we went back to check-in at our hostel. I spoke a lot of Spanish with the woman working at our hostel, making me proud and pleased with our excitement! The hostel was complete with quality amenities and a fun roof-top terrace! We walked into town and got a lucky last-minute reservation at Bunker's, a high-quality Italian-street side restaurant, and laughed the night away like real adults! In Spain when you reserve a table it is typically yours for the night so we had a leisurely time and highly recommend this place! The nightlife of Palma, despite COVID, was popping! Bars and restaurants spilled out into the street sides provided. The lively vibe, especially at our pick the SOHO. We ended up at this retro-themed bar where we enjoyed meeting new international friends until we decided to call it a night to enjoy our hostel's terrace for the rest of the night.

We packed day two with electric beaches in Campos, like Calo des Morro, Cala s'Almunia, and Cala Llombards. The beaches are very rocky so you can hike around, swim far out without reaching windy water, and jump from the sides of the bay into the water! The water is extremely salty and will burn your eyes, nose, and throat! I luckily brought some goggles which helped somewhat, if nothing to see the schools of fish and wavering seagrass?! We finished off the afternoon by finding an incredible tapas restaurant in a plaza on the side of the road on our drive home. Again, a spontaneous moment like this made all the difference when looking back o the highlights of our trip. We enjoyed sunset cocktails and new friends at Roxy's Beach Bar and salsa dancing at Bulldog's. But by the end of the night, exhausted from the sun, we opted for another low-key night in Palma at the comforts of our hostel terrace.

For our last and final day, we were able to go downtown and walk through many small churches and around the famous Islamic-style Catherdral, the last standing edifice from its time since the Spaniards destroyed much of the Arabic influence after taking over Mallorca. We began our day enjoying chocolate, creme, and apricot ensaimadas, a classic Mallorcan pastry, at an old established bakery, tucked among twisting cobbled streets. We walked the promenade and tried to stay cool! Our last stop was Cala Blava, another stunning beach to nap and relax on, before heading back to Barcelona. Coming back to the apartment in Barcelona made the reality of living here more real, scary, and exciting. I am so thrilled with how smooth our weekend went, how much we saw, learned, and conquered. I can't wait for more weekend travels like this! What an incredible mix of relaxing moments, belly-aching laughs, and vibrant memories made in the moments between studying here in Spain.