Sant Antoni

The North and East of Mallorca celebrate Sant Antoni every year on 16 and 17 January. This is a very local party, with bonfires lit in many places in town on the evening of the 16th. The neighbourhoods meet around barbecues that the city or local businesses erect close to the fires. The party then goes on all night with loud music and fireworks. On the 17th animals are blessed in the front of the church and later in the day, the youths show their mettle by climbing up a 25m high pine tree that is coated in soap. This year the weather was very windy, but that did not inhibit anybody..

Port de Pollenca

We are still in Mallorca, enjoying time with family and friends. This week my sister and her husband joined us. The weather continues to be sunny and warm.

 

Sunset in Port Pollenca

Back in Mallorca

We had a great time with the family over Christmas, and flew back to Mallorca yesterday. In the evening we met friends from our time in Canterbury for dinner, and it was great catching up after the hiatus caused by Covid. The weather is sunny and warm.

 

Sunrise in Port Pollenca

In Orient for Sheila’s birthday

We came to the small village of Orient in the middle of the mountains (Tramuntana) to celebrate Sheila’s birthday yesterday. The hotel we are staying in, Dalt Muntanya, is run by an Austrian couple, who welcomed us warmly and provided an excellent birthday dinner. The weather is mixed, but the sun came out this morning.

View of Orient from our bedroom

Happy Birthday!

Palma at Christmas

We went for lunch with friends in Inca today, and then drove into Palma for some shopping. We also took the time to walk through town and enjoy the Christmas lights. Town was very busy and the traffic crazy, so it is nice being back at our quiet flat now, listening to the ocean.

Restaurant Es Garum, Lloseta

Today the sun came back out and it was very pleasant weather. We went to Lloseta, a small, attractive village about 30 minutes away from us for lunch. David Palamo at his new restaurant Es Garum (opened last April) provided us with excellent food, and also showed us his own garum, which he makes to flavour his dishes. Garum is a fermented fish sauce, invented by the Greeks or Phoenicians, and heavily used by the Romans throughout their empire. David´s modern version was certainly flavourful! A very nice afternoon out and about.

 

David with his garum fermentation (left hand) and finished product (right hand). Very tasty!

Puerto Pollenca

I came back to Mallorca yesterday, Sheila will follow on Saturday. The weather is sunny with top temperatures of 22 degrees, very pleasant and great to be back.

s’Albufera

The weather continues to be sunny, but rather cool. Nightime lows are close to freezing even on the shore here, but it is nice and warm in the sunshine in the afternoons. Today we met with friends to walk around the bird sanctuary in s’Albufera close to Port d’Alcudia where we spent a couple of winters on our sailboat. There were not many birds there, but we enjoyed the walking and then had pizza and cake on our patio.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/MLaWn7bSSRQ9eAFk6

More swimmers

Andrea is visiting us this weekend, the weather continues to be quite nice, albeit a bit chilly in the mornings. This did not deter Sheila and Andrea to go for a brief swim today. Now it is off to a hike to warm up again.

Enjoying nice days

We are alone again, enjoying the nice weather in Mallorca.