Great Pictures! will have to see what we've got hidden away.
As a family we have been visiting PP for 29 years. We have a particular affinity for the
Hotel Daina where many of the same friendly and welcoming staff are still in post, notably Louis the head waiter. (Still referred to by the kids as ‘Uncle Louis’ even though they are now 20 and 23!)
Over the years our choice of accommodation in the resort has varied to meet the changing needs of our party. Given that the eldest are now 79 and 83 they now appreciate the home comforts of a front line
apartment.
This years visit saw us in the roof top penthouse rooms at the Daina for 3 nights before moving to our beachside apartment. Views of the resort from floor 6 at the Daina are spectacular . The buffet style meal there we find excellent . This year they have introduced a ‘speciality’ table from which we have enjoyed suckling pig, tumbet, and squid
Having moved to our apartment and being joined by our son, we had a couple of visits to Brisa Marina where an enthusiastic welcome from the two Francisco’s awaited. Again excellent value for money and now home to one of Mom’s cross stitch pictures of fishes (hanging by the bar).
A visit to
Celler La Parra on August 1st found the two brothers there Jaime and Alex sporting extra facial hair ready for their roles La Patrona (re-enactment of the battle between the Moors and Christians) at Pollensa on 2nd August which they explained to us. The wooden swords used were also shown, it’s a wonder no one gets killed for real! However, the John Dory fish were huge. Mom was happy with a couple of fried eggs Mallorcan style and we all rounded off with the Almond cake and Ice cream
After 29 years of looking at Puig de Maria, this year we finally made the assent! An over night thunder storm cooled things down and lingering dawn clouds made it the ideal time to visit the monastery and its refectory for breakfast at the summit. Maybe we were just ready for a good drink after the climb but it seemed like the best cup of coffee we had for the whole of the holiday. Croissants hadn’t arrived yet (that’s how early we were) so more huge portions of Almond cake were substituted instead and dare I say even better than Celler La Parra!
Suitably refreshed, we took time to take in the tranquillity of the place and the spectacular views of the Formentor peninsular and the Port, Tramuntana Mountains and Pollensa far below looking like a satellite mapping image from the internet. Eventually we made a leisurely descent from the peak and made our way to Pollensa to browse some of the beautiful shops there. It is so pleasant to meander around in the cool of the narrow streets in the peace and quite of a non market day, ending up in Placa Major for a large tapas lunch and San Miguel before taking the bus back to the port.
This year we were rather dubious about the water quality in the bay. Maybe it was just our patch but it was not the usual crystal clear turquoise that we are used to and looked very cloudy at times. The sea bed sand it seems had been washed away during the winter thus exposing the sharp rocks of the bay. The jelly fish were also present as some bathers were stung . Needless to say there were no early morning swims to feed the fish this year. Has anyone else found this to be a problem this year? For some quality swimming we visited
Cala San Vicente and Formentor instead, which we had not done for quite a number of years and in fact we enjoyed the change.
The growth in size of PP that we have witnessed over the years that we have been visiting is phenomenal as is the influx of visitors to the resort following the construction of the motorway to the north of the Island. Just how much longer it can retain its charm I begin to wonder with the likes of ‘Souvenirs from Nepal’, Burger King and the Sports Bars appearing along the front line.
For the time being however, it continues to cast its magical spell and I expect we shall be on the beach again next year surrounded by the many folks and friends that we have got to know who also visit at the same time and sit in the same place year on year!