Other than my 3 America trips, it’s been quite a few years since I’ve been on a straightforward ‘sunshine holiday’, so at the end of June I booked a last-minute holiday to Majorca! I’d heard that away from the north-east of the island, it’s a lot less commercialised and generally classier(!), so I did a bit of Googling, and ended up booking a hotel and flight for a week later!

I flew out early on Saturday morning, and it took ages to check in – the queue was really long, so I was a bit worried I’d not allowed myself enough time! But I eventually got through, and we took off just before half eight, arriving in Majorca early afternoon. I collected my suitcase and headed outside, and the heat really hit me! I was still dressed for the UK, so was wearing jeans which weren’t the best! And as I was looking for the coach to transfer me to my hotel, I was eating some Polos, and then suddenly I managed to chip one of my teeth! I could feel a bit had broken off, and it seemed quite sharp, but luckily there wasn’t any pain, so that was a positive. Not the best place to be needing emergency dental work!

Anyway, I took the coach across to the other side of Majorca and and got dropped outside my hotel in Port de Pollença. I stayed at the Hotel Eolo, which to be honest was pretty basic, but did have a balcony and decent view. I realised straight away that somehow I’d managed to bring the wrong UK plug adapter with me, but when I went down to the hotel reception to ask where I could buy one, they actually lent me the type I needed!

After unpacking a bit, I took a walk around the seafront area, which was basically just outside the hotel’s mail entrance! Port de Pollença isn’t overly touristy – I mean, there are lots of restaurants and the like, but nothing like rowdy bars or seaside amusements, which was totally fine by me!

And I know it’s the law that you’re supposed to be in the pub at the airport, but my first beer of the holiday was actually with my evening meal!

Sunday morning, and already I could tell it was going to be a really hot day. The air-con in my room was broken, so I had to rely on air coming through the balcony doors to cool the room down. I checked the temperature on my phone just after breakfast, and it was already 30 degrees! I went for a bit of a stroll along the promenade (which is called the Pine Walk) until I came to something that looked like a military base (the ‘keep out’ signs halted me in my tracks!), so had a sit down at the edge of the water and chilled out around there for a bit.

I then had a bit more of an explore by walking back towards my hotel, and then carried on along the seafront for about half a mile until I got a a little beach bar where I stopped to have a late lunch (and a beer!).

That evening, a big crowd started to congregate at the marina in front of my hotel, and became some kind of festival (I’ve since found out it’s the ‘Festes de Sant Pere‘, which is a fiesta to celebrate the patron saint of fishermen, Saint Peter). There was a big marching band which walked along the front in front of the restaurants, before stopping at the marina where they put on a bit of a show for the crowd. There was some kind of barbecue taking place, but it seemed to be that most of what they had was fish, so I went to eat at one of the restaurant on edge of marina instead, and had steak!

I’d arranged to hire a car from the Monday, so in the morning, I walked to the car hire office to fill in a load of paperwork, and collected my car. I was given a Lancia Ypsilon – never heard of that car before – and can honestly say I’d never knowingly choose it! It felt really basic, and hardly had any power at all. And straight after collecting it, I decided to take a drive towards the Bay of Formentor, which is just a bit further round the coast to the north, but you have to drive over a mountain to get to it.

So just a few minutes out of Port de Pollença, I found myself on this crazy road which rose steadily, with incredibly tight bends as the road changed direction as it made its way up the mountain. I’ve got to say it genuinely was most scared I’ve even been whilst driving – there was hardly any barrier at the edge of the road, and it was a fairly steep drop to the side. Also, I was having to drive using a low gear, and because I was unfamiliar with the car, my main worry was it stalling and me then having to try and do a hill start!

I got to the top of the road, and discovered a parking area where you could get out and take a walk to the cliff edges, so I took that opportunity to take a break, and calm down a bit! The views from the Cap De Formentor were actually really stunning, so it was worth it for that, but I never actually made it to the bay – I carried on for a bit, but I wasn’t convinced I was going the right way so turned around… although later discovered that if I’d just gone on a bit further, I’d have got there!

So I then drove to Alcudia, which is a more touristy down just south of Port de Pollença, and had lunch at a beachfront cafe called Sa Gavina whose seating area was actually on the beach – but thankfully under giant umbrellas to shield the incredibly intense heat. I had the most amazing burger (medium-cooked with lettuce, whole grain mustard, caramelised onions, bacon, and a fried egg!) and fries served in a mini chip-fryer basket! I think it’s probably the best burger I’ve ever had!

After lunch, I went back to the car, and it was like an oven inside! The temperature gauge was reading 41°C, and even the steering wheel was way too hot for me to grip! So I tried to get some cooler air into the car (without too much success!), and when I was eventually ready to set off, I then found that iPhone kept turning itself off because of the heat, and I needed to use it as a sat-nav which was a slight problem! I had to head back from memory, and trying to decipher the road signs!

I got back to Port de Pollença and found somewhere to park the car that was about a 5 minute walk away from the hotel. There was another evening of celebrations taking place, this time – as well as the music – there were people in costumes, wearing big weird heads, and large puppets looking down on the crowd. It was really fascinating, although some of it did look quite strange! After sticking around here for a bit, I went for a wander and ended up at the main town square where there was a traditional market and street performers, so found a restaurant by there for my evening meal.

On Tuesday, I decided to go for a bit of a drive to the south-east of the island. My first stop was the Cuevas del Drach on the edge of Porto Cristo. It’s made up of 4 caves that go down about 25 metres, and it was pretty amazing. It felt quite magical and other-worldy, and also quite cool compared to the heat above the surface! There was a guide showing us round, but it was all in Spanish so didn’t know what they were saying!

You eventually end up at Martel Lake, which is an underground lake that’s pretty big (I think it’s over 100 metres long). Everyone sat down in an amphitheatre cut into the rock, and watched a 10 minute classical music performance with the musicians travelling over the water in small boats! A pretty odd experience, but I really enjoyed it! There was an option to take a boat ride across the lake to the way out, but there was quite a queue, so I took the pathway alongside which was a lot quicker!

After spending just over an hour underground, I then drove into Porto Cristo, which is a pretty small fishing town with a really nice beach and steep streets. I stopped here for a bit of lunch in a seafront cafe, and then took a drive north to the town of Artá. I actually got a bit lost trying to get there, and when I eventually got there, I got into a maze of narrow streets before finding a carpark on the edge of the town. Because it was now after five o’clock, the town was pretty dead and a lot of the shops and cafes seemed to be closed, but I had a nice stroll around taking in the architecture and the surrounding views.

The next morning, after a breakfast of a really good bacon and egg sandwich at a cafe by the marina, I caught a coach to Majorca’s capital Palma on the west coast.

When I got there, the first thing I did was find a chemist that sold insoles! With the amount of walking I’d been doing, and only having deck-shoes with me, my feet were killing and I was actually struggling to walk too far! I managed to get the shop assistant to lend me a pair of scissors (through lots of sign language!) so I could fit them to fit! It made such a difference once I’d got it sorted!

Palma is a really great city – with many beautiful buildings and sights. After I had lunch (at McDonald’s… don’t judge me…), I took a walk down to the cathedral gardens, taking quite a few photos, whilst trying to cope with the 37°C heat!

Megan from work recommended I should visit the Forn des Teatre bakery, and I eventually managed to locate it using Google Maps. It has a really beautiful historic frontage, and an extensive choice of cakes, so I bought myself some lemon meringue pie which I ate sitting on their terrace at the side of the road.

After my afternoon treat, I made my way back to the cathedral, which overlooks a large pool of water and fountain, as well the main marina. I did the full tourist thing and went inside to see the architecture, and various artefacts and artworks. You could feel the history of the place – it was completed over 400 years ago, but the oldest parts go back to the early 13th century!

On Thursday I decided to visit Pollença Old Town, which is about 5 miles away from my hotel. I originally waited ages for a bus, but it never turned up, so got a taxi there instead!

It’s a really picturesque town, with great views of the surrounding scenery. There’s a stairway up from the bottom of the town to the church at the top, with houses along one side of it. There are 365 steps, and I climbed right up the top… eventually! I had to take quite a few stops because it was quite difficult to climb in the midday sun!

Had a slightly stressful time getting back – I couldn’t work out where the local bus would leave from, and there wasn’t a taxi rank like back in Port de Pollença, but eventually a minibus passed by so I was able to get back!

Then later afternoon, I caught a coach for an excursion I’d pre-booked to Magaluf! To be honest, it’s the one part of the island I knew to steer clear of, but I’d been recommended to go and see a show there, the Pirates Adventure.

It’s a kind of acrobatics thing, based around a set of a pirate ship, and all the audience is sat around tables where you get served chicken and chips! It was an interesting night – they’re all very talented – a bit like Cirque du Soleil – and I’m glad I went.

Friday was my final full day, so I started early to drive to Sóller which is on the north west coast. After parking up, I walked to the Plaça Constitució, which is the main plaza, flanked by a church, town hall and various cafes. I sat out at one of the cafes for breakfast, and then took an old-style tram the 4½ km journey to to sea front at Port de Sóller, which is a really nice seaside village, overlooked by the mountains.

I booked a 1pm boat trip to nearby Sa Calobra – I had looked at driving, but the road that leads there, although supposedly incredibly scenic, is also really steep, full of hairpin bends, and really narrow, so after my experience drive up Cap De Formentor, I decided a boat was easier!

We arrived at this little cove to disembark, and the water was so clear! I’m not sure I’ve really seen seawater quite like that before – the green and blue colours shimmering through the water looked so stunning.

I then followed a walkway around the cliff and through tunnels which led to the Torrent de Pareis, which is a hidden beach at the end of a gorge. It looked really great, and the scenery was breathtaking, but I wasn’t really prepared for sunbathing, so other than exploring, there wasn’t much else for me to do there. I stayed there for a couple of hours before taking the boat back to Port de Sóller. Now after six o’clock, and a bit hungry, I found a nice little cafe on the edge of the marina, where I had some almond cake & really refreshing milkshake – nothing stronger when driving!

Then it was time to catch the tram back to Sóller where I’d parked the car, and got back to the hotel at about 8.30pm.

Final day, and it was another scorcher – according to my weather app it was 38°C! I had to check out in the morning, but luckily I was able to leave my suitcase in a room behind the reception desk because my transfer wasn’t until 5 o’clock. I basically just chilled in the town for the day, taking in a bit of sun, and people watching, before taking the coach back to the airport and heading back home.

It was a fantastic week – a much needed break from normality, and I would definitely go back there in the future!