Mallorca. The first thing that springs to mind is endless droves of undergrads drinking themselves into a stupor in Magaluf. It’s been the main reason the island never really “flagged” on my places-to-see-next list, but a cheap flight and a few days of work forced me to reconsider. My great friend and yoga instructor, Emma, didn’t need much convincing after it became clear the island is a popular spot for hikers, so we prepared our bags and headed off.
The first impression you get of Mallorca when you’re flying over, is that it has everything. There are forests, swathes of open grassland, mountains, and – of course – beaches. It seems like the perfect place for an island-hopper like myself, so as soon as we arrived silent excitement settled in and we drove towards our AirBnB.
For those of you who don’t use AirBnB: do. It is by far my favourite way of traveling these days; it beats couchsurfing which, albeit free, always feels a little bit unsafe and sometimes finds you sleeping on someones mould-infested sofa, and it allows you to meet locals who have extensive knowledge of the area. It was no different with Xesca, who welcomed us to our beautiful temporary island home and immediately recommended good places to eat, a local event, and great areas to hike.
So the next morning we wasted no time, and drove to the incredible area of Port de Sollér for our first hike: a 15km walk from Port de Sollér to Deià, taking us across olive groves and orchards, over hills and across the beach. Although it was a generally overcast day, the temperature was perfect for a more intense hike and we saw the versatility the island had to offer.
As we finished our walk we waited for a bus that never came, so we took a taxi back to our car and treated ourselves to a well-deserved dinner in the best restaurant we found in Binissalem: Es P’Dal, a lovely restaurant with great staff and very reasonable prices. After a glass of wine the tiredness kicked in so we rested for our next day of hiking.
The next morning I did something that sounds perfectly safe and logical: as a new driver, with my license a mere three months old, I drove down one of the most dangerous (and scenic!) roads in the world. Kudos to Emma for only shrieking in fear for her life a few times, and to myself for getting us down safely.
Once down, we wandered into the tiny village of Port de sa Calobra, entirely unnoticable and probably overlooked by tourists had it not been for what it’s home to: the incredible Torrent de Pareis. This gorge, etched out over millions of years, has easily made it into my top 5 all-time hikes. With cliff faces as high as 300m towering over you, you feel tiny as you walk through the tunnels leading you to the entrance. With a river still flowing towards the sea, we had to cross waterways a couple of times, painstakingly untying our laces but happy with the relief of the cold water.
The hike itself after this is ridiculously beautiful. We’d arrived at 8am, far before anyone else, and had the gorge to ourselves. The echo of a Molly-inspired “pakaa” shout reverberated for several seconds, and we climbed over rocks, into caves and across boulders. We filmed a few yoga poses across different sites to stitch into a video later, and we ate our sandwiches whilst watching the crows circle above. If you ever go to Mallorca, you cannot miss this place.
After a couple of hours we decided to head back so we could see a bit more of the island. We were promptly informed no one would be leaving the village as a rally was tackling the infamous road – but we did not fancy staying another five hours. Some heated discussion in Spanish, swiftly joined by a couple of tourists from Madrid, and the leader gave us permission to go up. As we drove up in our Seat Ibiza, we got more than a few funny looks from rally drivers on their way down…
We decided to drive out to the furthest-most point of the island: the lighthouse on Cap de Formentor. The most nerve-wracking drive I have ever driven, we arrived with more than just sweaty hands and enjoyed the sunset over the mountains. Again, an incredibly beautiful spot on the far end of the island, easily overlooked by tourists.
The next day marked our last day of hiking (and by now, my legs hurt) so we headed to the Alcúdia peninsula, ready for what was supposed to be our longest hike yet. We, myself more begrudgingly and Emma seemingly without any effort, made it up to Talaia d’Alcúdia, after a 400m ascent. The view was spectacular, and we happily shared it with a little goat family on the summit.
But things got harder after that; the path became almost indescernible, and after losing it twice we were starting to get concerned. Our compass was of no use, and neither was our guide. It seemed the path has disappeared, and after an hour of fruitless searching we decided to head back on ourselves and go to the coast instead.
We soon found a beach to relax, and noticed a few horse-riders come through. A quick Google search showed us there were stables nearby, and a phonecall later we were booked on for a sunset ride. The guide, a lovely German girl who said no more than three words throughout the entire 1hr ride, took us across forest and beach on two lovely, if not somewhat passive, horses. It was a gorgeous hack and we enjoyed the sun setting over the mountains as we headed back.
The next morning we drove the last bit of the island, hugging close to the coast where we could, and slowly headed back to Palma de Mallorca to catch our return flight. We’d barely seen the city, bar from a quick dinner earlier in the week, but I’m sure I’ll be back to this captivating island. It has some of the best nature I’ve seen in Europe, and, despite the fact that I know work for a bird organisation, I didn’t take any bins. Next time I go back, I won’t make the same mistake, as bird watching was also glorious with red kites a common sight. The black vulture eluded us this time, but it makes me happy to know it soars over the Tramuntana mountains after succesful reintroductions. If you get a chance to go to this island, do. And share what you find with me – just in case I end up going back…
Faye Vogely 