A Different Christmas

Those of you who read my blogs regularly will remember that we could not go on holiday in the summer due to my impending, at that time, hip replacement operation. Throughout the summer though I saw loads of photos of beautiful bays and coves in Majorca, so John suggested we could go there for Christmas. He hadn't been there for about 30 years, when his parents had lived there and I hadn’t been there for over 40 years.

So, we booked a ferry sailing on Christmas Day with 2 nights in Alcúdia and 2 nights in Sóller.  The first thing we had to organise was a pet sitter, and we were very lucky to be contacted by a Canadian couple who were touring Europe, and who could arrive two days before our trip, and who would leave in the afternoon of the day we returned.

We had intended taking a packed lunch, as we were not sure if anywhere would be open but, on Christmas morning we packed the bags in the car and decided to chance it. As we were driving along John reminded me of a place we had originally planned to visit on our summer holiday, but which we had finally decided not to. He pointed out that the town was not too far off our route, so we turned off towards it. Oh, how glad we were that we had come to the town but not with a view to staying there! It was such an ugly town, we could not believe it, and the natural spring normally open to the public in the summer, looked uninviting and part of an expensive hotel. However, we had noticed a restaurant just off the motorway, where we had turned off into the town, so as we turned back towards the motorway, we eagerly looked for it and when we found it, it was open. We had a lovely lunch and sitting in the sunshine we decided it was a good start to the holiday.

After a rather cold and uncomfortable night time crossing from Valencia to Palma, we arrived very early in the morning and set off to tour around the island, as we couldn’t check in for a few hours. At about 6.15 am we were sat outside a cafe waiting for it to open at 6.30 so we could have a coffee and perhaps some breakfast, and eventually the owner arrived and provided both.

Arriving at Alcúdia John showed me where his parents had lived, commenting that the seaside area called Port d’Alcudia, had grown and changed almost beyond recognition. Then we made our way to Alcúdia, which is an old walled town. We had to park outside the walls and walk to the hotel, but it was worth it. The old town is beautiful and when we checked into the hotel and went to our room, I was delighted. John had booked a “romantic stay”, and the room had a four-poster bed with our towels fashioned into swans on it, a bottle of cava on ice and a bathroom with a Jacuzzi bath. I was in heaven! 

After two nights there we travelled to Sóller where, once again we had to park and walk to the hotel. This hotel was more modern, and there were no little special touches, but its situation was perfect. We could stand on our terrace and look out over the Plaza de la Constitución, or main square, with its town hall and church. The Christmas decorations in the square were beautiful.

We were very pleased to find that the tram that runs from Sóller to Port de Sóller was still running, as we thought it closed in the winter. We had a nice trip down and back but we found, like in all the places we visited in Majorca, most of the bars and cafes were shut for the winter. We also found that prices were much higher than where we live in Antas, Almería.

Finally, it was time to return home, back to normality and our house and dogs. We thoroughly enjoyed our time away, but then we always enjoy our time in each other’s company. However, we don’t think we shall return to Majorca. In the summer it would be too crowded and, in the winter, it’s all shut down, and it is so expensive. Nonetheless it was an enjoyable break. Now we are looking forward to July, when we shall be off again, to Castilla La Mancha!