Atlantic Adventurer Cruise: Day 18, Palma, Mallorca, Spain

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Day 18, Palma, Mallorca, Spain

Today we are visiting the island of Mallorca (also spelled Majorca) off the East Coast of Spain.  We got up a 7:30 this morning and when we looked outside we saw that we had already docked in Palma.  It looked like another beautiful day as the sky was blue with just a few clouds.

Palma

Today we are taking a tour arranged by Peter from our Cruise Critic roll call group.  After getting ready and a quick bite to eat in the Neptune Lounge, we met the rest of our group in the Ocean Bar on the ship and then proceeded down to meet our tour guide for the day. 

One thing we always worry about on these types of tours as how many people will be on them as occasionally we end up crammed together in a small van, but today isn’t one of those days.  There are only twelve in our group and we are traveling in a small bus with more than enough room for everyone. 

We were soon on the bus and on our way.  Our first stop was the town of Valldemossa, but we first got a tour of Palma with our guide filling us in on the history and culture of the area.  Palma was a surprisingly large city and looked quite modern although there were still remains of the past.  As we left the city we could see that Mallorca had a mountainous terrain, at least in the southwestern part that we were in.  We also saw many very old fields of olive trees that were quite old, ranging in age from 150 to 500 years.

We arrived in Valldemossa and found it to be a very picturesque town nestled on the hillsides.  Mallorca’s major industry is tourism and that is prevalent wherever you go, but even though there were many shops and restaurants catering to visitors, the town had not lost its authentic charm.  The Carthusian Monastery in Valldemossa is known because Chopin spent a winter there and most of our group toured the monastery and its grounds, but Val and I chose to spend our time wandering around the town and taking photos.  The town is full of winding narrow cobblestoned streets with many flowers and interesting houses.

The Carthusian Monastery

Chopin

After wandering the streets for a while, we headed back to the main street where Val spent some time browsing in the shops.  Mallorca is known for its pearls and Val found some pearl earrings she really liked so she got those as a present to herself.  It was getting near time to meet the rest of the group and get back on the bus to travel on to the town of Soller.

Soller is another charming coastal town, but was a lot busier than Valldemossa.  Our bus dropped us off near the train station as the streets in town are very narrow and buses and trucks can’t drive through the streets.  We walked with our guide to the town square that was bustling with people.  As always, there was a large church adjoining the square and also the city hall.  There were many outdoor cafes, crowded with people enjoying some food and drink in the warm afternoon.  Val and I walked around a bit exploring the area, but our guide had told her about a place that makes their own ice cream so that was Val’s real quest.  After a few false starts we finally found the ice cream place and Val said it was worth the effort as it was very good.  By this time, it was time to join back up with our group and walk back to the bus.

We start our walk to the town square from the bus.

 

The Soller town square

 

Success, the elusive local ice cream shop is found.

Our tour today was only a half day tour so once we got on the bus, we headed back to Palma and the ship.  We really liked our tour as we got to see the Mallorca countryside, but also visit these picturesque Mediterranean towns.  Thanks to Peter for arranging it.

We were back on the ship by 1:30 and immediately headed off to lunch as we were both very hungry.  After lunch we both relaxed for a while as neither of us slept very well last night.  Later in the afternoon Val headed off to trivia and I wrote the blog for our morning in Mallorca.

Unfortunately, I seem to be trying to get a cold so we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and reading as I tried to get as much rest as possible.  Tonight, we were back to our usual routine including the casino, but I left early as I wanted to try and get a good night’s sleep.  Tomorrow is a sea day so there will be more opportunity to rest.