Walled off from the rest of Mallorca by the sheer limestone ramparts of the Serra de Tramuntana, the fertile basin of Sóller—historically celebrated as the Vall d’Or (the Golden Valley)—spent centuries living in physical isolation from Palma. Hemmed in by the 1,436-metre crags of Puig Major, Penyal del Migdia, and Els Cornadors, reaching the capital…
Ascending the Ma-1110 from Es Raiguer into the western Serra de Tramuntana, the air cools abruptly by three to four degrees Celsius. The humid maritime draft of the Palma coast yields to the sharp scent of wet pine needles, wild rosemary, and winter olive wood smoke. At 436 metres above sea level, Valldemossa emerges within…
Between June 1 and October 31, the narrow ribbon of the Ma-2210 winding towards Far de Formentor becomes Spain’s most rigorously policed coastal cul-de-sac. Each summer, thousands of travelers pick up rental cars at Palma’s Son Sant Joan Airport, follow digital navigation apps past Port de Pollença, and glide straight into an automated camera trap…
Mallorca demands velocity and deceleration in equal measure. Beyond the concrete hotel strips of the Bay of Palma lies an island of razor-sharp limestone escarpments, terraced olive groves irrigated by medieval Moorish channels, and isolated sea coves carved into honey-colored calcarenite stone. Driving 540 kilometers across Mallorca in seven days reveals an island far removed…
Mallorca’s 555-kilometer coastline holds more than 260 coves, but its premier swimming waters do not lie along urban hotel sands. They occupy narrow limestone fissures, drowned torrent mouths (barrancs), and ancient coastal quarries known as calas. These geological formations formed when post-glacial Mediterranean waters flooded river canyons incised into the island’s calcarenite marés sandstone. Their…
Step off the ferry or leave the maritime promenade along the Dársena de Can Barbarà, and the first sensation that registers about Palma is the sheer physical weight of its sandstone. Golden marés limestone, quarried centuries ago from the coastal cliffs of Santanyí and Portals Vells, rises in perpendicular ramparts directly out of the saltwater…
There is a beautiful shift in the light here in Mallorca when summer yields to autumn. The harsh glare softens to a honeyed gold, casting long, romantic shadows across the cobblestones of the old town. It is my absolute favourite time of year. So, I was absolutely chuffed to read that Holland America Line has…
For generations, the Mediterranean was seen strictly as a summer romance—a place of blistering August heat and crowded beaches. But those of us who call this island home have always known a secret: the true soul of Mallorca reveals itself when the temperatures drop. It seems the secret is finally out. Holland America Line has…
There is a certain magic to the early mornings here in Palma, when the sea is like glass and the great white ships glide into the harbour. Just the other day, whilst walking my golden retriever, Cala, along the promenade—she loves to chase the seagulls, though she never quite catches them—I caught wind of some…
The Reality of a Mallorcan Summer Summer on this island is a heavy, golden affair that clings to your skin from the moment teh sun crests the Mediterranean. When I walk Cala along the coastal paths near Port de Sóller in July, the air is thick with the scent of pine resin and salt. You…