Visiting Palma de Mallorca or the island of Mallorca is always relaxation, tranquillity, peace and unique experiences. In our boutique hotel Posada Terra Santa in Palma de Mallorca, we have a selection of highly recommended and unusual activities to do in Mallorca, something that will make you live the island as an accumulation of sensations and experiences. To enjoy any of them, you can book them at our reception.
We remind you that you can also enjoy our Samaritana Suites, luxury suites in the centre of Palma.
Would you like to enjoy unusual experiences and activities in Mallorca?
WINE & OLIVE OIL TASTING
Located in heights 250m high of the Sierra Tramuntana, our pick is a family owned winery that only produces 14,000 bottles a year and also one of Mallorca’s finest olive oils with only 2,000 liters.
Bodegas Es Verger is a small family owned winery and olive oil producer located in Esporles and resides amidst 8 acres of carefully manicured lands containing a choice of varietal grapes some indigenous to Mallorca and others not so.
Here we combine both tastings within the family home that sits amidst the vineyards and olive groves. Enjoy a setting whereby you get to tour the olive press and witness the process of ‘how it’s made’. You must know that the olive oil that you are going to taste is made up of 3 olives – Mallorquina 15%, Arbequina and Piqual.
The wine variety is stretching from some lovely wines like viognier, sauvignon blanc, a rosé made from red grapes and savour some local favourites like Mantonegro and a blend of 3 grapes. If you happen to be in Mallorca in season, let us arrange a few hours to harvest with the family.
CREATE YOUR OWN GIN
A visit to Mallorca without going to Palma would not be right…that is why we would like to share with you the world of gin in Palma. Although it is not normal for an Englishman to take root in Mallorca to create Palma Gin, it is normal that you are able to make your own and take away a gin that includes at least 7 botanicals from Mallorca, including the almond blossom in its composition. You will taste from a range of gin-based drinks, along with some nibbles.
WITH SERRANO HAM AND CHEESE
The Ses Covetes and Es Trenc (The best beaches in Palma de Mallorca) beaches are delightful for taking a walk at sunrise. It’s advisable to hire a car and get there early to avoid the crowd. It’s a nudist beach, so forgetting about swimwear and going skinny dipping in the turquoise waters is highly recommended. After a walk and a swim, a nice afternoon snack of “pa amb oli” is in order at the RAN DE MAR café, or an appetising paella, for the not-so-early risers.
The Moorish moon accompanies the morning sun; one can hear the stirring of the crystalline waters. There’s no seaweed now and the sand is white, drawing in macramé with infinite steps. During the long walk over the sand, blue whispers, almost silent, accompany you.
The landscape wraps you in a disquieting fiction. It’s impossible to resist the soft turquoise waves and how in an ancient ritual you give yourself to the foamy wiggle of the surf.
On the horizon, distant scenes take their own course. The sun is already extending its warm embrace; you treat yourself to the purest pleasure, dreaming and drawing your desires.
First, an afternoon snack at Ran de Mar, * a coffee and a “pa amb oli”* with serrano ham and cheese…
* Ran de Mar (literally “by the sea”). This is a café-restaurant where Ses Covetes residents go for breakfast and lunch. It’s a simple bar/restaurant where the typical “pa amb oli” is recommended for breakfast: brown Mallorcan bread with oil and “ramallet” tomato (also typical in Mallorca) rubbed into the bread, with serrano ham and cheese. Or for lunch, try paella after a morning on the beach.
THE GREEN FLASH
Renting a boat is one of the most exciting experiences the island has to offer—from the sea, the views of the coast are something else. The port of Sóller is just the right place for it due to its proximity to the rockiest, most abrupt and hard-to-access coves, features making them all the more worthwhile. A perfect outing for families, friends or couples. The most highly recommended coves are Sa Foradada, Torrent de Pareis and Cala Tuent.
Brown bread with sobrasada,* sweet “pesols”* empanadas* and malvasía* grapes from Bañalbufar* on ice, yum!
Thoughts absorbed in the infinite, tempered by the cool dusk.
Drunk on life, we let ourselves be carried away by the thrum of an old llaut* sailing through the calm waters, now pink, now intense blue. Entirely captivated by the afternoon’s gentle rhythm, we patiently wait, amid childlike smiles, to hail the green flash…*
*Sobrasada: pork sausage with a soft, consistent texture.
*Empanada: delicate flour dough, sweet or salty, formed into circles and baked with a meat or pea filling.
*Pesols: peas in the Mallorcan dialect.
*Malvasía: one of the oldest and most widely cultivated grape varieties in the Bañalbufar area.
*Llaut: a small, traditional boat in the Balearic Islands.
*Green flash: a natural phenomenon that lasts only seconds, produced at sunrise and sunset, which very few get to appreciate.
Climbing to the top of this ‘Mont des Voltors’
If you like, spend the afternoon climbing to the top of this ‘mont des voltors’ (mountain of the vultures) to spend the night in the oldest refuge in Spain or under the moonlight where you will be able to see Palma all illuminated and shooting stars appear to fall on the ground. Your meal will be served by one of the employees of the property but not any, a ‘paid’ or a peasant who will tell you unique stories of land and special corners of the island.
DROPPING ANCHOR* UNDER A FICUS
A bohemian night is something you can allow yourself with full licence in the village of Deià (Beautiful villages of Mallorca). A place where musicians, painters, actors or writers of some prestige settled during the 70s and where they gave free rein to their desires. That liberty is in the air, and their verse is felt in every corner. Calling in at the town bar, Sa Fonda, is recommended, it being the gathering place for bohemian artists past and present. Take time to wander through the streets of Deià, contemplating its stone-built houses and its cemetery, where you can admire the incredible views. The house of the English writer and poet Robert Graves is also open to visit (highly recommended for lovers of literature).
A delirious concert, the night continues on. The soft summer heat manifests itself on our skin.
The heart, accelerated by the rhythm of percussion and strings.
You take refuge in the measured excitement
you carry within.
And you surrender to the sounds of a cajón gitano and electric guitar;
your head spins.
Emulating a Zulu dance, you hop and spin endlessly.
You abandon yourself to the trance and the love,
everything is good,
you connect with, watch and talk to one stranger, another,
you see them, you love them because you must,
and you pass the sunrise with him, or with them, in a jungle of someone,
for today is yours.
Upon waking, knowing smiles cross paths after a night… not capable of confession.
*Dropping anchor: “Go to Sa Fonda in Deià” and drop anchor. Sa Fonda is a bar with a bohemian atmosphere, where great musicians like Kevin Ayers, Mike Oldfield and Sting have played under the centuries-old ficus that inhabits the terrace. A place where many famous people have played a leading role in the most bohemian nights of Mallorca. There are always unexpected encounters.
PRAWNS BY BICYCLE
Visiting the city of Palma’s coastal area by bicycle: with this excursion, renting bicycles at a hotel is recommended. The route begins by circling the Gothic neighbourhood and heading down to the sea. Residents make a habit of this route: take some time getting to know the old fishermen’s neighbourhoods, passing through the small harbours of Portixol and El Molinar, and the old summer visitors’ neighbourhood Ciudad Jardín. Arrive at Cala Gamba and make a reservation at the Cala Gamba shellfish bar, or at the Bungalow in Ciudad Jardín. The ciega de marisco paella, without shells or bones, is recommended.
Very near at hand, through alleys between Gothic churches, I spot the sea. Without a plan, alone, just the pleasure of arriving at the blue. I slowly push the pedals, soaking up the soft feel of the salty breeze.
The seaside smells of prawns, and smooth notes sound out the luck of the autumn’s sailors.
I breathe, take in the beauty. I’ll eat some prawns, lick my fingers and think about keeping this place a secret,
or just maybe, share it with you.
OHAGURO (not suitable for addicts)
A very easy trip to a pristine beach at the island’s southern end. Visit the Ses Salines lighthouse and walk some 30 minutes to the Es Caragol beach, on the way enjoying the endless ocean blues that skirt the path, until arriving at an indescribable place full of white sand and turquoise water. Renting a car and going at sunrise or sunset is recommended. A gorgeous spot for lovers of snorkelling. After the trip, stop to have lunch or dinner at the Bodega Barahona, also known as Casa Manolo. We recommend the jig-caught squid, rice with lobster or arroz de notario (rice brimming with seafood, must be ordered in advance). The rest of the fish and seafood are just as delicious.
Only Manolo* can get you addicted to squid. Yes, addicted. Knife in hand and with delicate skills, Manolo proceeds with his work while giving you a master class in “squidological”* presentation and pairing ?. You wait, hoping anxiously that the specimen is a female with roe.
As if from lotus pitch,* or a result of the aristocratic Japanese custom of “ohaguro,”* you don’t expect to discover that after your joyful meal you look like you’ve emerged from a Himalayan tribe, with years of devotion to the lotus.
Once there, jug after jug of chilled ribeiro, sublime grilled rock mussels, clams, and, of course, the salad! (No, not Russian, but genuine). Now imbued with a celestial euphoria, the cephalopod arrives, drizzled with olive oil and salt—from Es Trenc*—and without wanting to, you unleash a great big “ohaguro” smile ???.
In snail mode,* seeking the sun, you get yourself to the sea, happy as can be with your wide INKY SMILE…*
*Manolo, the character who runs the Bodega Barahona, aka Casa Manolo, in the Ses Salines area. Speciality: jig-caught squid and rice with lobster and seafood.
*Squidological: related to squid.
*Lotus pitch: edible plant consumed in the East that turns teeth black.
*Ohaguro: aristocratic Eastern custom of dyeing teeth black as a sign of wealth and power.
*Es Trenc salt: salt from the Es Trenc salt flats—a recommended visit.
*Inky smile: After eating a jig-caught squid your teeth will turn black and you’ll get a laugh when you see your companion smile.
*In snail mode: There’s a pristine beach in Ses Salines called Es Caragol (“Snail”) beach and a visit there is highly recommended.
THE HOUSE OF SNOW AND THE DRINKS OF THE GOD
After a visit walking through the centre of Palma, seeing its churches and its streets, a mid-afternoon snack at the ice cream parlour and chocolate shop Can Joan De S’Aigua is quite refreshing. It’s the oldest such establishment in the city and has been a meeting place for Palma residents for more than a century. Its patrons are all ages: families, grandparents, teens; all find their place around a nice ice cream or hot chocolate with delightful pastries (the ensaimadas and cuartos are recommended). And for the less sweet-toothed, a soft drink with one of the island’s savoury traditional pastries (empanadas or coca de verdura).
After an interesting tour of “the Gothics”* and “the modernists,”* of Palma, the palace intrigues of yore and the King’s gardens, we allow ourselves to be carried along by the endless queue that forms at the entrance of the beautiful cathedral. This houses the mysteries of No. 8* and a revolutionary contemporary painter’s* particular vision of his own “Sistine Chapel.”*
Since 1700, and just a few metres from the Hotel Boutique Palma de Mallorca Posada Terra Santa:
The house of Joan,* whom I imagine with his donkeys,* transporting the cold* stored up from winter, weaving through the Tramuntana roads to the capital, to refresh the city’s most refined palates. As they say, a tireless traveller, he learned the trade in Italy, and ever since then, enveloped by plush comforts* and Guardiola glassware,* has offered within his home the best snow.* Snow of many flavours and colours. The most delicious traditional sweets can be dipped into the snow and, of course, one can taste the best drink of the gods!*
*Gothics and modernists: The city of Palma has one of the most beautiful and interesting Gothic quarters in Spain, just as it has interesting modernist buildings. Its beautiful churches and buildings repay close attention.
*No. 8: A beautiful effect produced only twice a year during sunrise, caused by sunlight entering the cathedral’s rose window.
*Revolutionary painter: Referring to the globally renowned Mallorcan painter, Miquel Barceló.
*Sistine Chapel: Alluding to the unusual chapel in Palma Cathedral with a contribution from the painter Barceló.
*The house of Joan: Translated name of the city’s oldest ice cream parlour and chocolate shop.
*Donkeys: Back then (and even today, in some areas of the Serra de Tramuntana), accessing the mountains required going on foot, with donkeys to transport supplies.
*The cold: Referring to the ice that accumulated over winter.
*Plush comforts: Referring to the velvet tapestries, always red, frequently used with three-piece suites in the ancestral houses of Palma.
*Guardiola: Glass workshop highly valued for its artisanal blown glass. Bringing back a glass souvenir is recommended.
*Snow: Referring to ice cream.
*Drink of the gods: Some ancient civilisations gave this name to the drink made with cocoa.
WALK, TALK AND TASTE THE LIQUID GOLD
Marvel at an ancient olive grove with stunning views in a six-hundred-year-old olive oil producing estate, role model for organic agriculture in Mallorca. Son Moragues is the quintessential possessió of the Serra de Tramuntana. This six-hundred-year-old oil producing estate used to belong to the Archduke Luis Salvador of Austria and is becoming a reference for sustainability and organic agriculture on the island. With more than ten thousand ancient olive trees, Son Moragues produces the only premium organic monovarietal Mallorquina olive oil on the market and some of the best olives and jams in Mallorca.
