Dreams of Mallorca

An island with fascinating history, ancient ruins, and magnificent landscapes

I was born a redhead, with pale, freckled skin that turns various shades of white and red, but never brown. I wilt in penetrating sun and heat and always head to the shade of a big tree in the summer rather than baking on a beach. This is why I tend to prefer the temperatures of Scotland, from where my ancestors originated, and why summers in Ireland suit me just fine.

But on this early March morning, as I watch yet more rain, wind (and occasional sleet) pelting outside my window after a very long winter of similar weather, even I am starting to long for some sun.

So now my thoughts have turned, inevitably, to Mallorca.

The Pine Tree of Formentor

My heart loves a tree! Far older than the olive trees,

Far stronger than an oak, far leafier than the orange tree;

It preserves, in its leaves, an eternal Springtime

And it fights against the fierce gusts of wind that hit the seaside

Like a gigantic warrior.

—Miquel Costa i Llobera, Mallorcan Poet, 1875

I have been to Mallorca twice—once at Christmastime and once in March. Given my preferences (see above), I would never visit in the summer. But winter was fine in Mallorca and early spring is amazing.

First there is the Mediterranean Sea, of course. Then there are the glorious mountains, covered with pines and ancient olive trees, that sweep down to the sea, creating rocky coves and inlets edged in sand. Lemon, orange and almond trees grow around the edges of the houses and towns, as well as in vast orchards. Their scent is carried everywhere by the wind, along with hints of pine and rosemary.

One of the most striking features in Mallorca is the ubiquity of stone.  Stone cliffs, stone walls, stone houses, stone streets, stone churches, stone monasteries. And yet there is enough rich soil in the middle of the island to support a cornucopia of vegetables, fruits and animals.

In fact, almost everywhere you look, the views are stunning.

A Bit of History

The Balearic Islands, which consist of Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza, are now a part of Spain. They are located in the Mediterranean Sea, just south of the Spanish city of Barcelona and east of  Valencia. As you can imagine, given their location in the middle of crucial trade routes, the history of the islands is both ancient and turbulent.

One of Mallorca’s special geological features is that there are numerous coves all along the coast. For centuries—almost since the first people arrived between 1500 B.C.E. and 1000 B.C.E—this made it a haven for pirates, who continually attacked passing merchant ships from ancient Phoenicia, Greece, Egypt and Rome.

From 700 B.C.E. to 145 B.C.E, the islands were dominated first by the Phoenicians and then by the Carthaginians. In 146 B.C.E. Carthage lost the Punic War to the Romans, leaving Mallorca in the hands of the pirates until 123 B.C.E. when the Romans took it over to try to stop the piracy.

Christianity arrived in Mallorca in the second century C.E. In 426 C.E., the Vandals conquered Mallorca and began to persecute the Christians. In 534 the Byzantine Empire took Mallorca back and restored Christianity and Roman rule. In 902, the Empire of Cordoba seized the island and made it a part of  the Islamic Empire.

In 1129 Catalan King Jaume I of Aragon sent an army of 15,000 men and 500 horses aboard 155 ships to seize Mallorca from the Islamic Empire. He then annexed it to his kingdom of Aragon.*

Unfortunately, none of these changes of religion or rulership succeeded in stopping the piracy!

Except that the tables turned: For the next 500 years, a variety of pirates and soldiers from the Ottoman Empire began to attack and raid Mallorca itself, as well as coastal towns throughout Italy, France, Spain and Portugal.

The most dangerous were the Barbary pirates, or corsairs, from North Africa, whose major goal was to capture people (Christians, Jews and Muslims alike) to supply the slave markets in North Africa and the Middle East. Amazingly, the activities of the Barbary pirates did not end until France conquered North Africa in the 1830s.

Today Mallorca is a part of Spain and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world—especially for Europeans. It has two official languages: Mallorquin (a dialect of Catalan) and Castilian (Spanish). Most of the people in the hotels and restaurants also speak English and German, and many street signs are in all four languages.

Discovering Mallorca

I'll admit that I had never thought much about Mallorca until I met my husband, Gerhard, eight years ago. When he was in his 40s, he became an avid cyclist and actively trained and competed (as an amateur) in the sport.

Every February—when the white almond blossoms are in full bloom across Mallorca—professional (think Tour de France competitors) and nonprofessional cyclists alike descend on Mallorca to train. Gerhard was one of those, and he has returned to the island at least seven times.

Which means he has cycled just about every inch of Mallorca. His favorite part in those days was cycling UP the Sa Calobra highway! (Something I absolutely do not understand.)

The road to Sa Calobra in the Serra de Tramuntana mountains

Our first two-week vacation to Mallorca took place at Christmastime in 2018, when many restaurants were closed, the streets were quiet, and the beaches were almost empty. In other words, the perfect time for both of us. We rented an apartment in Alcúdia, on the northwest coast, and explored the entire island from there.

One of the highlights for me was visiting the farmers’ market in Pollença, where even in mid-winter fresh, locally-grown vegetables were on sale, including: chard, garlic, onions, artichokes, red cabbage, green cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, peas, peppers, leeks, beets and carrots. (I apologize for providing this boring list, but I am just so in awe of Mallorca’s abundance of local produce.)

The most amazing thing, however, was a long table covered with more kinds of olives than I ever knew existed—and they were the most delicious I have ever tasted!

Table of olives—the picture only shows half of what was available!

While we were at the farmers’ market, we purchased wine, olive oil, vegetables, fruit, bread, honey, cheese, garlic—and those amazing olives—and took them back to our apartment, where we prepared a delicious dinner for Christmas Eve.

Gerhard’s special roasted vegetables with goat’s cheese and tons of garlic

On one of his previous trips to Mallorca years ago, Gerhard happened to stop at a little cafe, where he ordered a snack of roasted vegetables. It was so tasty that he experimented with the ingredients when he got back to Vienna, and it has now become his signature dish.

The Watchtowers

In an effort to protect themselves from the pirates, Mallorcans began building watchtowers along the coast in the mid-1500s to the 1600s. In total, 84 towers were built of stone without foundations.

View of the sea through the Torre Cala en Basset watchtower near Sant Elm

Each tower, which could be round, square or rectangular, was within view of another tower. If guards saw one or more ships coming, they would send up smoke signals during the day or torches at night using a complex signalling system that indicated how many ships had been sighted. The message was soon transmitted from one tower to another all up and down the coast.

Once France had conquered North Africa in the 1830s, the activities of the Barbary pirates were finally halted. The towers gradually became used less and less, and only about 50 remain today.

Some of the most interesting towers can be seen near the communities of Sant Elm (Torre de Cala en Basset),  Formentor (Atalaya de Albercutx), Port de Sóller (Torre Picada),  and Banyalbufar (Torre del Verger, also called Torre de Ses Aimes). (“Torre” is the Spanish word for “tower.”)

The Cala en Basset Watchtower

Gerhard and I decided to explore the Torre de Cala en Basset. Built in 1583, it is located near the beautiful coastal village of Sant Elm. Getting there involves a 30-minute walk from the parking lot that leads uphill through a cool, fragrant pine forest on a very rocky path. The path descends again, across solid stone, to the tower.

The Cala en Basset Watchtower

Cala en Basset consists of three rooms–the largest of which is the round tower. If your knees are fit enough (mine are not!), you can climb up a steel ladder to the top of the tower for an even better view.

A view of the three rooms

After exploring the watchtower, Gerhard decided to climb down a very steep, rocky path to the sea below and go skinny dipping. Swimming in the sea when the air temperature is hovering around 50 degrees is not my cup of tea, so I waited next to the watchtower for his return.

I gazed out at the sea, trying to imagine what life must have been like for the guards who inhabited this tower and for the people in the villages and farms they were trying to protect. It must have been difficult for them to carry on their normal lives when at any moment a ship might appear on the horizon, potentially bringing death, enslavement and destruction.

The interior plains

The center of Mallorca consists of fertile plains, where farmers grow a vast array of crops year-round. There is also an active wine culture, with numerous vineyards and wineries.

Ancient monasteries, churches and castles perch atop the highest hillsides, their fascinating architecture a combination of Roman, Moorish and Christian influences.

The Serra de Tramuntana Mountains

I enjoyed exploring all of these different places in Mallorca, but my heart did not connect with any region in particular. Until, that is, we came to the village of Fornalutz in the Serra de Tramuntana mountains, which have some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen.

Gerhard and I decided to return to Mallorca in 2022, just as Covid was winding down. This time, however, our only goal was the Serra de Tramuntana mountains and the villages of Fornalutz, Sóller, Deiá and Valldemosa. That is what I will write about in my next post.

References

*https://www.seemallorca.com/history