2019 - Mallorca

Early Morning Dawn - Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

MALLORCA IS, as the crow flies, some 500 miles across the sea from Naples. The crow can fly right over the center of Sardenia. A cruise ship cannot. 😊 We had to jog south and then back north to miss Sardenia. So a couple of "at sea" days were in order. By the time we arrived in the early morning 2 days later, we were rested and ready for another port adventure. We had signed up for an excursion that would take us first to a short tour around Palma, stopping at the uniquely circular, Castell de Bellver, high above the cruise port. I made the opening image here from up at Castel Bellver. The Gothic Style castle was built for King James II (son of King James I of Aragon), of Mallorca in the 14th Century. It was later used for a Military Prison. Today it serves as the history museum for Palma.

Castell de Bellver - Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

AFTER SPENDING some time walking around the Castle, we headed up into the mountains, to the very old village of Valdemossa, and The Royal Carthusian Monastery. Valdemossa is about 10 miles north from the cruise port, nearly to the northern edge of Mallorca. Originally settled by the Moors, the Monastery and the village came about after the Romans re-captured the island from the Moors in the early 13th Century. Mallorca was thereafter ruled by the Kingdom of Aragon and later Aragon and Castile. The Monastery was originally a Royal Palace, but was donated to the Carthusian Order in 1399.

Valdemossa - Mallorca, Spain
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

THE BUILDINGS in Valldamossa range from Medieval Gothic to Gothic Revival during and after the Rennaissance.

Monastery at Valldemossa - Mallorca, Spain
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

MALLORCA, AND especially Valldemossa is also known for its unique pastry: a Potato-flour sweet bun known as Coca de Patata. There are a couple cafes in Valldemossa that are famous for the pastry, and our tour guide took us to the one below, where we tried them, along with a cup of coffee. Pretty good.

Sa Foganya Cafe, where we tried the Coca de Patata
Valldemossa - Mallorca, Spain
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

PERHAPS THE most famous thing about Valldemossa is the residency of George Sand, one of the world's earliest celebrated feminists. The French citizen Sand was a prolific writer and critic of the institution of marriage, among other things. She was an early adopter of "non-binary" pronouns. But it wasn't even really her that is what is famous about Valldemossa. It is her perhaps more famous partner and presumed lover: composer Frederic Chopin. The Polish born Chopin was a celebrated composer and pianist. He suffered from a chronic respiratory condition (at one time misdiagnosed as Tuberculosis - it is historically probable that he never had TB). Physicians of the time strongly suggested that he reside in the temperate climate offered by Mallorca - particularly during the harsh winter months. He spent several years living and composing at the Monastery. While we were there, we were treated to a 15 minute concert using Chopin's piano and a pianist in period costume.

Inside the Monastery - Valldemossa - Mallorca, Spain
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

BACK IN Palma, our tour dropped us off near the huge, statuesque Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma, and we walked around the grounds and inside. The cathedral faces the ocean, adjacent to the Port of Palma. Fronting the massive church is a rather large reflecting pool, making for a majestic view from and around the church grounds. Originally built around the early 13th century, the Cathedral was renovated in the early 1900's, resulting in the impressive, modern-day, neo-Gothic facade.

The Cathedral of Santa Maria de Palma - Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

THE INTERIOR of the Cathedral is very ornate. At some point during the reconstruction of the church the original architect hired for it found himself at odds with the church and ultimately, they hired famed Catalon architect from Barcelona: Antoni Gaudi to finish. We learned a lot about Gaudi on our "Gaudi" tour in 2015 and you can really see his nature mixed with Art Deco and Neo-Gothic touches in the churches interior spaces.

The interior of The Cathedral of Santa Maria de Palma
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

NOT KNOWING much about Mallorca, I didn't expect much from this stop. But it turned out to be one of the more interesting ones. That evening, we would make the short cruise over to Barcelona, where we would have one of the relatively rare overnight stays.