Postcard from Mallorca
Sometimes, you just need to relax!
Since coming abroad, I have had the most incredible time traveling from city to city, enjoying tourist attractions, and embracing the busy, on-the-go lifestyle. But I’m now at the point where some destinations are beginning to blend together. Mallorca, Spain was the first destination that I’ve traveled to that felt completely unique as compared to any of my prior trips. This vacation was about sheer relaxation, which I needed.
DAY 1
Our trip to Mallorca started Thursday night after my classes were done. Kieran flew in earlier and was able to pick up our rental car for the weekend before I landed. For anyone wanting to tour the island of Mallorca, it is imperative that you get a rental car. I landed in Palma around 11 p.m. Kieran picked me up from the airport, and we drove for an hour to our Airbnb in Cala D’or. This Airbnb, situated within a hostel, was absolutely adorable. The hosts were reliable and responsive, giving us many suggestions for the weekend. After checking in, we sat on our balcony for a bit before heading to bed.
DAY 2
Friday began with an early wake-up as we had an hour's drive to our boat tour meeting point in Palma. We got into the city with time to spare but ended up almost missing our tour because there wasn't long-term parking available near the marina. After calling the company director a couple of times, they held the boat and we made it just in time. The boat cruise was on a beautiful 250-person catamaran that toured along the southern coast of the island. The tour consisted of two stops where we anchored for people to snorkel, with freshly cooked kabobs and delicious drinks. It was a bit chilly when the boat was moving but warmed up a lot when the wind settled. We spent time meeting a group of kids who were also studying abroad in Barcelona and shared many mutual friends. This was an incredible way to spend our day and reminded me of spring break trips with my family growing up.
After docking, we decided to walk around the city of Palma. Our first stop was the beautiful Cathedral of Mallorca. We were in our beach clothes, so we weren't able to go inside, but it was definitely worth the stop. After that, we visited a couple of local stores, where I bought a gift for my brother's girlfriend and a fun necklace for myself. We left Palma and drove back to Cala D’or to freshen up for dinner.
A ten-minute walk from our Airbnb was a beautiful marina where we walked around admiring the enormous yachts searching for a place to grab dinner. We ended up settling on Yüma Restaurante, where we enjoyed our dinner with a view. The service was amazing, but the food was even better. So good that I left my first-ever Google review. We split a couple of appetizers, and I had the fresh red tuna over vegetable stir fry. I’m quite certain I will never experience red tuna this fresh and delicious again. We left dinner stuffed, walked back to our Airbnb, and enjoyed time on the balcony before bed.
DAY 3
As if I thought the trip couldn't get any better, Saturday blew this vacation out of the water. We started our day at Caló Des Moro, a hidden beach 15 minutes from our Airbnb by car. After a small hike, we arrived at the beach and were taken aback by the views. At first, the beach was nearly empty, but over time, it filled up with tourists. Though the water was cold, we eased our way in because there was a cave with a hot spring located about 50 yards from shore. I was nervous to enter the cave because the ocean scares me at times, but we could see the bottom the entire time, which put my mind at ease. Once we returned to shore, we met a group of German men on “holiday” for the weekend. They explained to us that the beach was purchased and restored by a family. The family spent months cleaning up the land, opened it up for public use, and refused to sell the land to multiple hotels and resorts that wanted to buy it for commercial use. I couldn't believe that one singular family owned this whole piece of property and were generous enough to let the public use it for free.
As we were leaving, we happened upon a little sign that pointed in the opposite direction of the beach and decided to follow the path. After a 10-minute walk, we ended up at one of the most incredible places I have ever been, with pools of water, cliffs, a little house, and multiple caves. This beach was exquisite and a must-see when visiting Mallorca.
After a long day at the beach, we were hungry and decided to return to Yüma for lunch because of our incredible experience the night prior. The servers recognized us and brought blankets so we could comfortably sit outside while eating.
We hopped back in our rental car and drove 45 minutes to Nova Esglesia, only to find out that it was closed for the season. We stopped to take pictures and walked around the area for a bit.
We ended Saturday with a magical night at Cala Esmeralda Beach, located just down the street from our Airbnb. On our way there, we picked up a pizza and a bottle of wine and sat for hours on the beach enjoying each other's company. Luckily for us, we were the only people at the beach, so we could play music while we ate dinner.
DAY 4
Sunday morning, we woke up early, packed, and checked out of our Airbnb so we could have some time in Palma before leaving for the airport. We spent our morning relaxing at Can Pastilla Beach located six minutes from our rental car drop-off point. We had a smooth drop-off, and the rental car place provided transportation to the airport free of charge.
There is something so special about a relaxing vacation that feels like a luxury after weeks of tourist-focused trips. Mallorca is truly an incredible island, and I am so grateful that I got to spend it relaxing on the beach, swimming in the ocean, and enjoying its sheer beauty.
Stay tuned for a postcard from Copenhagen!
With love, Julia
