Back From Barcelona – Mallorca – Touring Around

Mallorca is such a pretty island. It is a lot bigger than we first imagined too. Though Palma is the biggest city on the island, and as we noticed from our travels, all roads lead to Palma, there was still plenty to see in other parts as well. We drove all through the mountains and around the coast, stopping wherever we happened to be at the time. We saw so much, including castles, towers, wineries and so much more.

This area called Puerto Andratx is most definitely a playground for the rich and famous, and you can see why. Brad Pitt has a home in this area, though we didn’t see him while we were out and about. He must have forgotten we were coming. 🙂

Lots of tunnels to go through too.

This painting is painted right at the entrance of the tunnel. Maybe as a warning to be careful or cuidado? I don’t know, but I had to stop and take a picture.

We saw lots of windmills all over Mallorca, though many were in bad states of disrepair. This one is still in great shape. They are iconic features of the landscape of the the island dating largely from the 16th to the 19th centuries, on water and flour mills as symbols of the engineering acumen of Mallorcan farmers, harnessing the wind to grind grain and pump water.

Of the 3000 or so windmills on the island, about 2,500 are water-extraction mills mainly seen in the areas of Campos, Ses Salines and in the middle of the island near Sa Pobla and Muro and 600 “classic” windmills recognised by their wooden vanes and conical  “cap”, used for grinding grain.

The oldest and most common type of water-extraction windmill is the “Ramell”, meaning `flower´ which have wooden vanes opened manually, hence the need for a flat topped tower.  These sadly are often in a poor state of repair, with maybe just the tower remaining. Later models had metal vanes, some with `tails´ or `arrows´ used to pump water into a “safareig” or water reservoir and these have fared better. 

The Mallorcan government has developed a project dedicated to collating an inventory of all the windmills on the island with the help of the Association and plan  for their restoration.

Castles and towers are spotted all over the island as well. Some are in great condition and have been restored, and others, not so much. If you can get to them, most are available for people to visit. Most of the them sit atop high spots where they were used as fortresses to peruse the areas to spot and prevent enemy invasions. Many are overlooking the waters too, for the same reason.

Some are just lighthouses, both old and new.

After touring the castles and towers, we worked up a bit of a thirst, and some wine tasting was in order. We had planned to go visit one winery, but we never found that one. We did however, find another one that was just beautiful, and the wine was very good too. We literally just stumbled upon it by accident, but it turned out to be a very pleasant surprise indeed. It was nestled in a valley between the mountains. It was called Can Vidalet.

This cool, crisp white blend was a perfect way to enjoy a mid-day siesta. We brought a bottle home with us too.

Larry is a planner and I am not. I like the element of surprise. Some of my best experiences are the ones that are not planned, but are treasured little gems just waiting to be uncovered and discovered. This winery, Can Vidalet was definitely one of those little hidden gems.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well, and always keep an adventurous spirit. ‘Til next time.