A Question for Mallorcaboy

[Joanne]

I have always wondered what Puerto Pollensa is like in the winter. Are all the shops along the pedestrianised front closed, does it feel like you are in a ghost town, or is the rest of the Port still bustling? Would love to visit in the winter to see for myself but having to have our main holiday in the school summer holidays there is not much budget left.

I remember watching one of the Passport to the Sun programmes where a family had moved out to Mallorca and when Nadia went to see them the next year they hadn't enjoyed the winter as they reckoned most of the restaurants were close and were moving back to England, mind you I think they had a villa out in the countryside somewhere so I imagine they would have felt more isolated.

 

[sandy]

I'm sure Mallorcaboy will give you a local's account of the winter months, but we visited in February for a week, to do work on the flat and thoroughly enjoyed the town out of season. Yes, a lot of restaurants and shops are closed, but there are still a fair few open and the Pine Walk was tranquil. There was a lovely laid back feel to the town, those restaurants which were open were full, and as there were fewer tourists about, we saw PP as a true Mallorcan town. And although it poured with rain for a few days, we also managed to get a walk in the hills in t-shirts and jeans in hot sunshine. It was great to get a feel for the town in all seasons.

 

[trinitycottage]

I am also interested in this as we came out in January and the town was dead we where staying in Palma so we eat out there, however we would like to spend a christmas out in Pollensa next year and want to know if anything is open, also when do most of the main summer resturants tend to re open for the season.

 

[JMD40]

Hope you do not mind other members replying to your question for Mallorcaboy. Not everyone enjoys PP in December, January and February which are definatley our quietest months. You can go for a long walk along the sea front towards the Illa D`or and not see anyone. Market days there is a bit more movement on Wed ams and the Fiesta Days - San Antonio on 16th and 17th Jan and Carnival which varies but usually around mid to end of Feburary the resort comes alive and you really wonder where all the people have been hiding!!:eek The Hotel Illa D`or usually opens about 10th February so things slowly start picking up from mid February. Most of the main summer restaurants start to open up during March which is a lovely month with a sense of anticipation - everthing is being painted, cleaned and opened up for another season. I

 

[Joanne]

Thanks for the info, I addressed it originally to Mallorcaboy because I can't keep up with who lives out there (you lucky things), just been reading the back editions of the Talk of the North and there looks like there are quite a few different activities for ex-pats to join.

 

[mallorcaboy]

Hi Joanne,
well it's a different place in the winter, but we love it. It's fairly quiet, but more of a sense of a community. It's difficult to walk around the Port without saying "hello" to about a dozen people you know from some part of PP life. Unless you're loaded, people don't eat out as much in the winter, but the weekends, particularly late Sunday evenings, can be great Restaurant evenings. Mostly we snuggle down in our apartment in the evenings with the fire blazing.
Llenaire, where we live, is pretty quiet even in the summer. In the winter, if a car goes by, we all rush to look out the window. The Port though is still alive, and to have a hot chocolate in Bar Cultural on a bright winter afternoon is a real treat.
If you can get a away for a long weekend in the winter, there's a good chance you'll get fairly good weather (we've sun bathed plenty of times on our balcony in the winter), and I bet you'll make it a regular treat.
The only noise we do get is Frito downstairs emptying his weeks consumption of Whisky bottles into the recylce bin!!:lol

 

[Joanne]

Thanks for the info, will have to try a long weekend in the Winter

 

[ChrisLox]

Hi Joanne
Hope you don't mind me joining in this topic too as I also live here with my good lady.
Firstly Mallorcaboy's comments are spot on.
In winter the Port is a very different place. For instance, there are no hordes of cyclists who feel that they have the sole right to be on the road with absolutely no regard for other road users. There are hardly any pedestrians walking down the middle of the street in the town centre like confused animals and who seem to think the highway code only applies in the uk. Likewise no German tourists who seem to like to walk across the crossings holding hands sternly aloft as if they were Superman stopping the traffic! On market day you will still find a parking spot without having to walk back from Alcudia.
There are only a quarter of the restaurants open and the Helado kiosk is closed which is mucho mal! Bar Cultural is the place to be as Bonys is closed.
The sea is as equally inviting in the winter as the summer but if you venture in you will find it colder than a polar bears nose. You hardly see any boats.
Between Trios and the naval base there are probably only five inhabitants but between them they share approximately 57 cats! The prices in Caprabo do not warrant a second mortgage.
You can walk to Cala Boquer and back and see nothing but a few wild goats and the old lady's dog at the fort. The days are warm enough in the sun to walk about wearing one layer of clothes but at night you may need three. You will see several people sporting back problems and broken toes from carrying all the butane bottles you need to fuel the heaters. You will hardly hear any noisy scooters between the hours of 12 and 5am. There are loads of 'Se Trespassa' signs on locale windows.
In the winter you will see grass that is actually green! You will actually witness the phenomenon of water in Torrent San Jordi! The light is bright, the sky is blue and the air is crisp and clean.
You can drive to Formentor without worrying about hitting a caravan of coaches on the way home.
In the shops that are open you will be spoken to mainly in Spanish. You find you make more visits to Alcampo in the winter.
The festivals, St Antoni in particular are brilliant.
To summarise if you love Puerto Pollensa in the summer months for all it has to offer you may hate it in the winter. But, on the other hand if you like the thought of living in a quiet Spanish seaside town on a small island in the Med, the anticipation of the summer on your mind and all the excitement that it brings then this is still the place for you.
We adore it!

 

[mallorcaboy]

Hey Chris, you've got me longing for winter again

 

[Belladonna]

Think Ill cancel the summer break and just stick to February!!

 

[sandy]

What a fantastic response Chris. Makes me want to move out all the quicker!

 

[JMD40]

Chris, Are you by any chance a writer?? How long did it take you to come up with such a fantastic reply?? You were spot on with the comparison - it shows that the summer is not your favourite time in PP - apart from the weather and the chance to eat lots of helados!! Keep up the good work of such great entertaining and spot on posts!

 

[ChrisLox]

Thanks for the kind comments!
No, I'm not a writer - far from it, but I do find it very easy to write about Mallorca. There's always plenty of inspiration. I was up till 1.30 in the morning writing that response!