Majorca, part one, arrival and the pine walk at night.

PART ONE

ARRIVAL, THE PINE WALK AND SETTLING IN.

A VERY early start (2am!!!) saw us bleary-eyed at the airport for an early flight to Palma, Majorca. Like last time we flew, the sky was cloudy for most of the time, and the only real views during the flight were over the Pyrenees, as seen here. Shame, as Sue and I are both 'windowphiles', and LOVE to look at what we're flying over

However, as we approached the island, we could see its rugged shoreline. Another volcanic island, Majorca has some really dramatic cliffs and mountains. The shoreline plunges into the sea almost vertically, as you can see in these pictures, yet in places like Puerto Pollenca, where we were staying, there are wide, shallow bays ideal for swimming.

Before long, the seat belt sign went on, and we were on our final approach!

We were about as far from the airport as was possible, and were the last ones to be dropped off the bus. The journey took about an hour in a comfortable, air conditioned bus. It gave us chance to relax and see a bit of the island. What we saw of Alcudia, our nearest resort, we hated. It looked like JUST the sort of place we DIDN'T want to go! However, Puerto Pollenca was its complete opposite, and looked very nice and classy as we drove through the suburbs towards our hotel. When we arrived at the 'Aparthotel Peurto Azul', we were pleased with the look of the place. We were given a room overlooking the mountains, and this was the super view from balcony of our room. We were about 2 minutes walk from the beach too.

Looking left from the balcony. We would be walking up some of those paths later on in the holiday.

But first, down to the business of the holiday - shorts on, down to the pool, and a cool beer. I can imagine this hotel can be really busy and frantic in 'the season', but as we had chosen to visit when the kids had gone back to school, it was quiet and relaxed (like us). It's a clean, friendly place, and the staff are just amazing. Always a smile, good sense of humour, and eager to help.

The pool area.

Of course, as soon as we'd finished our drink, we got itchy feet and wanted to explore. We were both feeling the effects now of being awake for about 16 hours, having only had four hours sleep, but still, adrenalin fueled us and we set off on the famous 'pine walk'. The Pine walk, so-called because of the lining of pine trees, is quite a long one but dotted with lovely bars, shops and cafes/restaurants.

Another small cerveza was in order, as it was lovely and warm, about 28C.

We kept seeing these two-coloured flowers. There were two varieties, both lovely.

Looking along 'the pine walk' .

The main beach. As on Gran Canaria, the sun beds and parasols aren't cheap, and you can see close on 100 euros disappear over your holiday, if you use them every day! With not being as windy here as on Gran Canaria though, you could do without them, and also there are quite a few trees that offer free shade (if you're early enough to get a place under one).

The classy-looking cafes that line the edge of the beach are lovely, and were even better by night (as we were to find out later).

We went back to the hotel, unpacked properly, then came back to the front for an evening stroll. Again, it would have been very easy to flop and give in to the tiredness and stay in, but we really wanted to explore again. We were SO glad we did. Our hotel pool looked lovely, all lit up, as we set off.

Now THIS is what Sue and I love - a really lovely evening-lit prom', with the bustle of people out for a bite and a drink, to socialise and enjoy.

Lots of well-placed lighting added to the magic of the place.

SO inviting, we'd be trying many of these places over the eleven days we were here. This was one of the more expensive ones, the cafe cappuccino. I just love the soft brown decor' of the place.

There were two or three 'beach artists' on the beach who made these fantastic castles and sculptures from the sand. At night, they used tea lights to add an extra effect to their creations. They looked wonderful.

A small jetty that poked out into the bay for that perfect evening setting for a romantic meal or tete-a-tete.

As we walked, we could hear a guitar wafting on the warm breeze. The nearer we got, the more we realised that it was a really good player who was in a cafe, the cafe Daina. We took a seat close to him, and became hypnotised as he played number after number with great skill and feeling. I was going to drop a tip, but he was selling CD's for 10 euros, so I bought one. I know that these CD's are usually not up to the live performance, but the one I got was really good, just as good as live, and we played it every day while we had a hire car. His name is Mariano Miranda.