MALLORCA IS NOT SICILY! Of this I am certain. Mallorca is tiny compared to Sicily with one-fifth the population. Drivers are courteous—most of them obey most of the rules most of the time. People don’t shout in Italian. Here they speak Spanish and a form of Catalan, Mallorquin—we’ve also heard a lot of German and Dutch and English, both American and British who, incidentally, call the island “Majorca.” The weather is nicer than Sicily, too—20°C and sunny with a forecast for more of the same.
Our newest friends, Las Cinco Viudas Españolas
Mallorca, Largest of the Balearic Islands
The adventure began before we boarded the Air Europa flight when five widows, Las Cinco Viudas Españolas, absentmindedly jostled their luggage in front of us at check-in. We laughed and traded stories in Spanglish-Catalan and went our separate ways, only to meet up again at boarding. This time they insisted we go first so they could continue gabbing. We last saw them gathering their bags from the carousel and planning how to conquer Palma.
Air Europa flight approaching Palma
Too much Technology for John. At least there is still a steering wheel!
It took us less than an hour to drive from the airport in Palma to Can Picafort on the other side of the island. The beach town of Can Picafort is quiet this time of year and our AirBnB has everything we need. John thinks our brand new Opel Corsa from Avis is too tech-y and the one-way streets and dead-ends have confused our GPS. Given time we will figure things out.
Sixteenth Century Windmill "Stubble"
Soon to be renovated, Muro Valley
Not so pretty...but functional
The first thing we noticed—besides the sane drivers—were windmills, molí de vent in Catalan. So after we hit the supermarket and settled in, we took a ride to the Muro Valley to find out what they were all about. Most of the 3000-or-so windmills in Mallorca most were used for irrigating the fields. They date from the 16th to 19th century and many are derelict today, their short stone bases with rusty metalworks to support absent blades dot the landscape; Connie calls them “stubble” and “stumps.” The government has begun to restore some as tourist attractions and their colorful blades flash in the sun.
Moli d'en Xina, Algaida
"They might be Giants!" Montuiri Windmill
There are also about 600 windmills for grinding grain to flour, whose conical caps and wooden blades Don Quixote might mistake for Giants. We had to negotiate the narrow, hilly roads to reach some the gristmill types which were usually just on the edge of town, which makes sense from a farmers point of view if you think about it.
"Far de Capdepera"
Castillo de Capdepera
While we were out and about we detoured through the town of Capdepera all the way out to Far de Capdepera, a lighthouse on the easternmost point of Mallorca. It isn’t much of a lighthouse—far in Catalan—but the seaside cliffs made for a nice backdrop.
