Majorca 2013, part seven, the sunset.

PART SEVEN

THE SUNSET.

As we left Deia and started the search for the ideal place to view what looked like a great imminent sunset, due to the clear skies and clarity of the air, I remembered a cafe we visited last year, only it was mid-day then.
Would it have a good view?

We reached it in good time, and this was the view over the Soller valley from the balcony restaurant.

 Sue sits, bathed in the dying rays and waits for the show to begin.

Long shadows and the promise of a good evening. We almost had the place to ourselves!

NOW it was getting good – yellow light covered the whole place and made everything look like it was made of gold.

Our food arrived, again described as a ‘snack’, it was quite substantial!

The ubiquitous sangria made a fine accompaniment.

The edge of the sun hits the horizon.

A more perfect situation, I really can’t imagine.

(If only the waitress had used the flash) 

A little tuition, and THERE you go!

 As we were out of season, there were just four other people there to watch this spectacle.

But, through my lens, you can enjoy it too.

The last edge slips away – now the fireworks should begin!

See the video of the incredible red horizon here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1B_sinsfqI

A long exposure shows Port de Soller in the gloaming.

Here we go – time for a red overdose!

WOW!

We almost felt like we were breathing red air.

A wisp of cloud accentuates the show.

What a great way to end an evening. The waitress took our picture with the red glow dying behind us.

The last shot, fantastic blue hue of the night sky, running through to red as the sunset ebbs away, the lights of Port de Soller dotting the darkness.

A steady drive home with the warm glow of our evening to remember followed. We stopped off at a couple of places where the views were good, but the light was VERY low, so photo’s were disappointing. We also watched bats flying in and out of the road tunnels, and heard little animals rustling in the undergrowth (at least – I HOPE they were little) :-)

Majorca 2013, part six - Deia.

PART SIX

DEIA

After driving by what looked like a lovely town last year, Deia was also on our ‘must do’ list. This small, but stunningly beautiful town was a favourite with the stars. Some names dropped included Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas, Andrew ‘lord’ Lloyd-Webber, and many more. We were about to add OUR names to the list.

I was feeling a lot better today, and even ate a small breakfast. We set off fairly early to make as much of the day as possible.

The drive to Deia is a delight, and we just HAD to stop at this marked viewpoint, Mirador de Casa Nova, where there was this little shop built into the rocky face. It even had solar panels for power.

Across the road was the de Casa Nova viewpoint, this was the view.

You can click here to see a movie panorama;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI7dWSDqEnU

Smile please :-)

After enjoying the near-perfect views, we pressed on along the twisting road to Deia.

Lots of stunning scenery and landscape around us.

As the name says...........

The reservoir level was somewhat down, but the colours were AMAZING!

Soon, we began to lose height. This is looking down on Soller.

We had explored this place last year (and had some of the nicest ice cream ever, plus we took the tram to Port de Soller) so today we stayed high, didn’t lose any more height, and kept on to our goal – Deia.

Here is the jewel we sought. Built on hills, it’s just too beautiful for words. Every nook asks to be explored. Today, we intended to tick some of these nooks off, but first – just WHERE to park??? The whole place, although fairly quiet, was ‘parked up’. As we were in a little Fiat, I found a tight corner to squeeze into, and we set off walking in the now hot sunshine.

You can see a panorama of the town by clicking here;

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF9XxrqkeO0

We just ambled around, checking out the shops and cafes. We could see the interesting-looking little church on top of the hill, so wound our way through the tiny back streets and climbed towards it.

If you were thirsty on your climb, there was this strategically placed water stop.

This little shop had obviously had some bad feedback on Facebook!

No traffic at all, and just the odd resident or two smiling at us out of windows. This was a real paradise and we could see why so many people, famous and otherwise, were attracted to its serenity.

As we neared the church, we came across these imposing canon, pointing out over the surrounding hills.

We quietly entered the church, overwhelmed by the reverence in the air.

You can get a feel of it on this video;

  http://youtu.be/haOv-SzZmC4 

After that, we wanted to get some lunch (and have a swim). We’d heard how good (albeit expensive) the beach cafe was at Cala de Deia, so we set off to walk down.

We had seen notices that there was ‘limited parking’ at the bottom of the road, but judging by the town, parking would be at a premium today! Anyway, the sign said it was only 45 minutes walk. Mind you, it really was hot today – probably the warmest day so far, in the high twenties.

There was quite a bit of shade from the brush at the side of the path, so we got to the bottom quickly. It struck me that the steep walk back up would be far less comfortable though if the heat kept up.

When we got to the bottom – you guessed it – there were LOADS of free parking spaces! Oh well, good exercise and all that.

The houses down here were few and exclusive, land was at a premium.

Then the beach opened out. Not sandy at all, but somehow we could see why it was so popular. It had an air about it, and it was a little sun trap. The ramshackle-looking place on the left is the ‘famous’ cafe where you could easily rub shoulders with any number of famous people.

It was quite busy too. No draught beer here, but VERY chilled bottles.

The food, even though we were a captive audience, was superb. This was just a light salad, but we were seeing some delicious looking plates of fish going out to neighbouring tables.

Lots of people lay on the flat slipway to soak up the sun. (Also, to be close to the bar).

After our riposte, it was time for a swim.

We picked our way over the rough beach and found a spot we could sit in relative comfort.

Now then – that water looks lovely.

Warm as you like, and once in, a joy to swim in.

Sue and I spent a long time here, and had several swims in the almost therapeutic-feeling water. Maybe that’s why it’s so popular, despite having no sand?

After several relaxing hours, we reluctantly left Cala de Deia and made our way back to the car. The sun WAS still extremely warm, and the stiff climb made us sweat.

Before long though, we reached the top. Gazing around at this stunning village, we felt totally relaxed and SO glad we had devoted a day to it. 

I still think we could come again and explore the streets more than we did, but for today, we were happy with what we’d done.

You can see a video sweep of Deia here;

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF9XxrqkeO0

We turned the car around, and made our way back. Still light, it struck me that, as we were on the ‘right’ side of the island, we should seek out a good spot to witness a sunset.

With such a clear evening, it could be a good one, but where to go????

Watch this space! 

Majorca 2012, part thirteen - Valldemossa

MAJORCA 

PART THIRTEEN,

VALLDEMOSSA

After Soller, and all the excitement with the trams etc, we drove off into the mountains again and made our way towards Valldemossa. This town is famous for having its own saint - Catherine (or Catalina). Here is some text explaining all about her;

Santa Catalina Tomás.

The thing about Santa Catalina Tomás is that she is not a Saint from the bible, but an ordinary everyday person who was later beatified by the pope, in her case Pope Pius VI in 1792 and ever since, Santa Catalina Tomás has been celebrated in Valldemossa once a year. Santa Catalina Tomás has had a prominent place in the moral teachings of the children, and particularly the girls of the island.

She was born, and lived in Valldemossa, but annual homage is paid to her in Palma and in Santa Margalida as well, The fiestas held in her honor were known until recently as Sa Beateta, or Sor Tomaseta, and are now referred to in Mallorca as Processió de la Beata or Procession of the Blessed.

In typical Mallorcan style the entire town is transformed in the middle of July into a noisy, colourful mass of people paying annual homage to their beloved patron saint. The Beata procession leaves the local parish church at 21:00 h following the usual fun activities associated with fiestas across Spain, mainly revolving around the enjoyment of good food and fine wine to the accompaniment of traditional music and dancing.

The vibrant procession features a number of splendid floats that are artistically decorated to represent momentous events in the life of Santa Catalina. Following each float are groups of the people of Valldemossa dressed in traditional folk costumes as peasants and devils. Finally, at the back of the procession is the girl, or young woman representing Santa Catalina The entire parade slowly winds it's way down to the town square through the narrow streets of Valldemossa, which are beautifully adorned and lined with thousands of people, both locals and visitors from far and wide. . Today there is hardly a single residential dwelling in Valldemossa that does not carry a ceramic tile with motives of Santa Catalina's life for protection and blessings for which the inhabitants pray

. Legend has it that little Catalina was orphaned at a very young age, she was taken in by an uncle in the finca of Son Gallart just outside of Valldemoss, here she grew up as a house maid and Shepherdess. A hermit, father Antonio Castañeda, later took her under his wing for spiritual teachings. She then moved to Palma to work as a maid and intended to become a nun but, since she lacked proper religious training, none of Palma's convents or monasteries accepted this simple farm girl into their congregation. Catalina supposedly prayed to be taken in and was ultimately accepted, finally having the choice of three monasteries, from which she chose Santa María Magdalena, run by Augustinian nuns where she took her vows in 1553.

The procession of Santa Catalina or La Beata is easily counted amongst the five or six most important annual fiestas on the island of Mallorca.

The road hugged the coastline as we carried on. Some of these properties are right on the edge. Super views out to sea, but we couldn't see any access to the water (there didn't seem to be any beaches??).

Looking over the village of Deia, which is a place popular with the rich and famous. Google the place to find out more :-)

Here's just a snippet of what I found when I looked;

Quote; Many cultural figures have become residents of Deià over the years, including Princess Diana, Bob Geldof and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Recent celebrities that purchased in this area include Anna Friel and Pierce Brosnan.

Property in Deià is relatively difficult to come by, due partly to its exclusivity and partly to its understated beauty, simplicity and tranquillity. A typical three bedroom property for sale in Deià itself will therefore be priced at around €1m and upwards. Balearic-estates.com has handpicked the selection of the most gorgeous properties for sale in Deia and invites you to the website for a gallery of photo

Looking over, you can see - no beaches!

The streets were typical of these little towns, clean, lovely to look at, and busy with locals out and about. Sue & I love this 'cafe culture', and just wish WE had the weather to support it for longer during the year in the UK.

We had no idea what this was about. Just a quirky cafe owner? This 'doll' stood looking out of the upstairs window.

Also, something we'd never seen before - BEANS used as a table decoration!!!!

This selection of gourds was on show at the edge of the cafe. Why? We had no idea. They looked like plastic, but they were real. I never knew there was such a selection!

The usual, 'you are here' map was in evidence.

We decided we HAD to visit the church and shrine of St Caterina. We were limited for time, so had to hurry but I saw this super shop display. It really catches the eye, don't you think?

The church steeple came into view - we were going in the right direction.

These streets are just lovely, and SO relaxing to walk along. I dare say they are heaving with tourists in the height of the season, but today they were tranquil and a pleasure to wander.

Valldemossa church, sadly locked so we couldn't look around inside. That, we find unusual, as most places are open for you to just wander in.

The place was full of these pretty little courtyards and corners, lovingly planted and tended.

We also noticed, not one, but ALL of the houses had a plaque on the wall concerning Santa Catalina (St Catherine).

These are just two of them (they all had different designs).

I mean, just LOOK at this street - it's a joy to the eye, and so inviting to the feet.

I spotted something through a door - what was it?

This - the shrine of St Catalina. 

This WAS open, so we wandered in. It was quiet and very serene in there. The ONLY way to talk was in a hushed tone.

Inside, below the statue of her, was this sealed box. I know the photo is bad and blurred, but it somehow felt wrong taking it. Don't ask me why, it just did. I don't even know what the object was, but my guess is some holy relic, maybe even a part of St Catalina, a bone or something? Even with the power of Google, I can't find out what it is.

It was time to make our way back to the car. We passed a shop FULL of hanging cured meats and other artisan items. I was all for buying some, but first , a picture to show you.

"NO PICTURES, NO PICTURES", was the cry from the guy inside.

"NO SALE, NO SALE", I retorted!

We passed this beautiful house, one of many.

As we left the village, we looked back at it. What an imposing looking place, sat as it was, rolling down the hillside.

Our final view of Valldemossa in the setting sunlight.

Time to drive back now, tomorrow, our last day, would be a beach day, we think.

Final part of this blog

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