SPRING INTO SUMMER MALLORCA IS A MEDITERRANEAN PEARL

To be sure of sunshine outside summer you usually have to go to the Canary Islands Madeira, the Caribbean or the Seychelles, to destinations well beyond the Mediterranean, but in spring Mallorca has got a lot going for it.

Picking up a cheap last minute flight bargain we found that the inconvenience night travel was offset by the fact that we were able to sleep for most of the journey.

Such is the popularity of Mallorca that the airport at Palma has been greatly extended and is now capable of handling the same volume of traffic as London Gatwick.

It is a big place so allow plenty of time on the way back. It can be quite a hike from where you check in the bags to the boarding gate.

We picked up a hire car at the airport and were soon motoring along Palma’s waterfront on the Paseo Maritimo.

There were a profusion of palm trees, boats were bobbing on the water and at the end of the bay a cruise liner was festooned with a string of lights.



We enjoyed the balmy warmth of that pre-dawn morning and when we reached Illitas and the Hotel Bon Sol we found that the balcony of our room had a magnificent view of the Mediterranean.

A series of lifts and tunnels connected from our lofty perch to a private beach and the breakfast room overlooked the swimming pool.

The great thing about the beaches at Illitas and Cala Major is that being to the south of the mountains , in winter they are protected from the colder northern winds.

You will find people swimming there all year round, it is also quite near to of Palma and about every ten minutes there is a bus into town that will take you as far as the Plaza a Espanã.

The city has excellent shopping in large department stores or in a labyrinth of ancient lanes that lay beyond the Cathedral.

Cafés and open air restaurants line the Avenue Antiono Maura and in the evening entertainment can range from disco to the Balearics Symphony Orchestra.

One of the benefits of being in Majorca off season is that car rental rates are cheaper. On the first day we drove west to Andratx where narrow shaded streets ran up towards the brown church on the hill.

The traffic was busy and police in bright yellow jackets were herding tourists in the general direction of the Wednesday morning market.

There was a mingling of scents as locals crowded around the fruit and veg., and tourists tried to sniff out a bargain amid the leather belts, shoes and handbags.

Others inspected strings of Mallorcan pearls while bored children added to the atmosphere by rattling maracas.

We passed a girl carrying two bags, one full of giant leeks the other a massive bunch of bird of paradise flowers, then taking to the car, found the quiet winding road that took us to Sant Elm which sits on the far west of the Island.

We played in the surf that rolled in on the sandy beach and relaxed in the sun while we worked on our Winter tan.

Generally eating out was cheap and driving round the island you could even find places that offered a full English breakfast at budget prices.

There are a large number of cars and parking can sometimes be a problem.



On a north coast road, after a rain storm that made us think we were in Jurassic Park, we came to a sign bids you park and walk into Banyalbufar . It read, “Without cars on the street the village is more friendly!”

Certainly if you are going into Palma I would recommend using the bus, but as for the rest of the island, there is much to explore and a car is a great asset and a ring road helps you avoid the city traffic.

As we approach the airport I was surprised to find an accumulation of windmills.

There are many windmills on the island and sometimes you discover that rather than grinding flour their mighty arms turn out to be a landmark for a posh restaurant.

They are certainly attractive and the island council of Mallorca restored a hundred and twenty of them over the in a training programme to maintain traditional skills.

Should you have time to spare before catching the plane home you might fit in a last swim at Playa del Trench which you reach by small country roads beyond Llucmajor and Campos. It is, I think, the best beach on the island.

Fortunately, not everybody knows about it, the name is printed so small on most maps that you need a magnifying glass to read it.

It is a perfect place to escape from the bustle of the resorts.

The long white powdery sands and the bluest of seas present only one problem, and that is, the effort you have to make to leave them behind.

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FACT FILE
Spanish National Tourist Office, London 020 7486 8077 or 0891 669920 (Brochure Request)

SPANISH NATIONAL TOURIST OFFICES. IN THE UNITED STATES. Spanish National Tourist
Office in Los Angeles San Vicente Plaza Building 8383 Willshire Blvd., Suite 960 ...
www.spainemb.org/information/tourist.htm

Hotel Bon Sol Mallorca: http://www.ila-chateau.com/bonsol/

003471 40 21 11

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