Mallorca

Mallorca was the summer beach vacation we needed. The weather was inspiring and the pace was relaxed.

We stayed in Palma, the bigger city that hosts the airport. If we were to go again, I think we’d choose one of the smaller towns around the island. We did a day trip to one and it ended up being our best day.

We did walk around Palma a bit. It’s got 1-car wide roads between old stone buildings. The Spanish cathedral on the hill is a stoic backdrop for photos. There weren’t a ton of beaches, but the one we went to was nice enough. No waves, but well-temperatured water and sand that worked for sand castles (what more can toddler parents want). I liked it enough to sacrifice my back to the sun gods.

On our last day, we took an old wooden train across the island to a port town called Sóller. The train wound through the countryside and gave glimpses of orange and lemon trees fleecing the valley. The train stopped at an inland town and we took a tram farther on to the beach.

It was a beautiful marina with scattered beachfront. Exactly what I think of when I picture Mediterranean beaches. We bought several local oranges and some froyo, sat under our $10 beach umbrella, and enjoyed the day. The salt content of the water was high enough that floating was easy. I gave Stella several “taxi rides” where she would sit on my stomach as I floated on my back and paddled around. She thought it was quite funny. The end of the day was a little rough because we accidentally booked the last train out. That got us home later than we wanted, but altogether we were happy for the experience.

Thanks for reading,

Abe