May 7 - Valldemossa and Deià, Mallorca

I decided to take a tour when we docked in Palma de Mallorca for the second time on this cruise.  I opted for a tour to the northern side of the island, near a place Al and I went seven years ago. It seems in some ways like only yesterday; yet my whole life was turned upside down and sideways since then.

There were just 15 of us as we set out and headed to the north coast.  Our first stop was in Valldemossa, a very picturesque village nestled in the mountains.  The slopes surrounding the village are terraced and planted with olive groves or rows of grape vines.  Valldemossa is famous for one thing, the Royal Charterhouse of Valldemossa, a monastery built in the 14th century.  Its fame derives from its later history though.  In the 1830s the Spanish government confiscated monasteries and sold them to private owners to finance a war to determine the succession to the throne.  The new owner decided to host some guests in the building and the most famous was Frédéric Chopin who came and stayed for several months with his lover George Sand (the pseudonym of the French writer Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin).  At that time female writers were not readily accepted so she used a man’s name.  Apparently she also was very daring and dressed often in trousers and other men’s clothing.  Valldemossa was a little traditional Spanish village so the local people were quite scandalized by this unmarried couple that included a woman who dressed like a man.  Sand wrote an account of their time there in A Winter Account in which she praised the beauty of Mallorca but condemned the prejudice of the locals.

The bell tower of the monastery

One of the cloisters

One of the few things allowed to continue when the monks were forced out was this apothecary room in the Charterhouse.  In these cabinets were all sorts of remedies used during the centuries the monks were here.

In the Charterhouse we visited the rooms the pair stayed in while there.  The furnishings were replicas of the originals but there were some letters and drawings of the pair from their stay.

The transcript of a letter Chopin wrote during his stay in Valldemossa

This blue tapestry and blue painting of the Charterhouse were the only things that caught my eye in Chopin's rooms here

The view from Chopin's garden

Just a small piece of the garden

This bust of Chopin was near the entrance to the building

They did have a lovely garden with a view of the mountains. After walking through their rooms we were treated to a piano recital of Chopin works.  Apparently there is a piano school in the building so one of the teachers performed for us.  We had free time then to wander through the village.  There were lots of tourist trinket shops and cafés.  I stopped at one and had an almond pastry and a café con leche.  There are lots of almond trees on Mallorca so cafés sell all things almond.

This and the next are a couple of photos of the streets in Valldemossa

We reboarded our bus and continued our journey to the north coast.  We stopped at a beautiful overlook where we could see the blue Mediterranean down below and the cliffs along the island’s north shore.  Below us was one big rock which the wind and sea had eroded so it  looked like it had been pierced by a giant needle.  Once again the road was narrow and winding along the mountainside and the driver of our very large bus (for just 15 of us!) had to carefully squeeze by when we encountered oncoming traffic.  We passed by several villages and a number of villas all made of sand colored stone.  Apparently there are laws here that buildings must all be faced with the same kind of stone which makes for very pretty scenery.

Riding through the Tramunta mountains to the north coast

The north coast

The pierced rock

We arrived at our next destination, the village of Deià, a beautiful place surrounded by the Tramuntana mountains and the Mediterranean Sea.  Because of its natural beauty it has been a hotspot for artists who come for inspiration.  This place was where we had our included lunch. We were dropped off at a beautiful hotel called La Residencia.  The hotel is built around two 16th century buildings which have been restored and made the focal point of the place.  There are lovely gardens and patios overlooking both Deià and the sea.  We were shown a table on one of the shaded terraces and served an exquisite lunch.  Many times tours with included luncheons have just so-so food.  This one was delicious and paired with very nice Spanish wines and ended with a wonderful almond dessert and espressos or cappuccinos. When I was back on the bus I googled the place and found its one of the Belmond hotels which are usually super-luxurious. These next few photos are of this lovely place

I guess you can tell I fell in love with this place.  Honestly, once again this coast and this village are among the few places I've been that I can say if I had to leave the US, I would think of coming here.  It is almost idyllic.

After lunch it was time for the ride back across the mountains and a return to the ship.  I think we all dozed off a little.  After all it was siesta time here in Spain and we’d been wined and dined.  I was back in time for our daily trivia game.  We’re in the lead cumulatively, but not by much.  We’ll have to be on our toes tomorrow.  In the evening I dined at a hosted table with Sam, the singer I wrote about the other day.  She’s a lot of fun and it’s a good thing because at my end of the table were two ladies who were definitely not conversationalists.  I’m being catty, I know, but across from me was another solo traveler, a man, who has been at the same table as some of us widows a couple of times.  He speaks loudly and has told us all about his several wives.  When we widows have gotten together we’ve wondered how he managed to get any wife let alone several.  Enough cattiness.

Our entertainment at the show was a unique duo of performers, two sisters who play the violin and the piano.  What makes them unique is that their parents were both Egyptians who emigrated to Scotland.  As a result the two women (who are quite beautiful) look very middle eastern, but when they open their mouths out comes a very Scottish accent.  They are classically trained and performed a beautiful repertoire of pieces I truly enjoyed.  I went and did my after-show thing and then came back to my cabin a little earlier than the last few nights.  Tomorrow is a sea day.  Hallelujah!  I need one.

I forgot to mention that tied up practically next to us in Palma today was a MASSIVE sailboat.  It is Jeff Bezos’ nearly  400 foot long, three-masted yacht which reportedly cost more than $500 million and costs upwards of $30 million per year to maintain. That may be, but I have to honestly say it’s not a very attractive sailing ship.  Zuckerberg’s motor yacht I saw in Tahiti last year was much nicer looking, not that it matters or that anyone cares what I think.

Time to say goodnight.