photos MALLORCA
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Showing posts with label spain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spain. Show all posts
The Magnificent Mallorca
Continuing in my quest to conquer all of the gorgeous islands Spain has to offer, my friend Grace and I, along with Lola, hopped down to Mallorca for a long weekend.
After Tenerife, Mallorca appeared to be tame at first, but exploring closer led to the discovery of some fantastic off the beaten path gems.
We again wanted to steer clear of big cities, in this case Palma de Mallorca, in order to truly unwind. Palma
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After Tenerife, Mallorca appeared to be tame at first, but exploring closer led to the discovery of some fantastic off the beaten path gems.
We again wanted to steer clear of big cities, in this case Palma de Mallorca, in order to truly unwind. Palma
The Incredible Tenerife
About 1100 kilometers off the coast of Morocco is one amazing pile of volcanic rock...a little place I like to call my retirement plan.Tenerife is, for lack of any better word, an absolutely stunning island. The sheer scale of it is almost impossible to impart - it's majestic coastlines of jagged volcanic formations, sheer drops, lush greenery, dark beaches and crystal waters are even hard to grasp in person.
In many respects I have never experienced a place of such extremes. Dramatic changes happen throughout the day - not just from day to night. Thick clouds impossible to drive through give way to crisp skies with profound views. As you go from the north to the south, breezy and misty mornings blossom into arid afternoons with blistering sunshine. Winds lash on beaches in the south to the delight of kiteboards while beachgoers revel in tranquil seaside picnics in the north.
Transitions abound as you explore the island by car...As you rise to the top of Teide, the main peak at 1700 meters above sea water, vegetation is bright, low and colorful, then thick tall and green, until it becomes sparce then absolutely non existent.
We started by driving from the north airport along the northern coast, passing the major city of San Juan, then weaving along the coast in and out of picturesque little towns like Guarachico...until we reached the western most tip, the Lighthouse at Teno. Looking to the south down the coast, we reveled in Los Gigantes, sheer, steep cliffs that tumble into the sea at a most alarming incline.
Wanting to avoid the major cities, especially the touristy ones to the south, we decided to stay in a hotel rural, hotels which are old collections of stone houses converted into hotels. We found a lovely place twenty minutes from San Juan, in Realejos in the foothills of Teide. The dark and muted hillside was tranquil throughout the day and dead silent at night.
The following day we decided to drive along the western coast, passing quickly through Gigantes and Playa San Juan, overwrought with bright red Brits, and found (rather lost, then found) our way to a tiny fishing village called Puertito with one seaside restaurant and a lovely little beach. After an early evening dip, we decided to continue the loop and drove the full circle, following the southern coastline, then heading back north once we reached the island's largest city, Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
I was blown away by the size of Santa Cruz. A veritable urban city built up on a wild island in the middle of the Atlantic, its population is almost 600.000! One highlight to me is that Santa Cruz plays host to some really lovely arts and cultural centers. Most famous is Calatrava's Music Hall on the water in center downtown. A recent addition is Herzog & de Meuron's Tenerife Art Museum and one discovery I loved was El Tanque, a gutted and renovated water holding tank that is now used as a multi-use arts and performance space.
The highlight of our third day was visiting the peak of Mount Teide. The drive was incredible. Winding up the mountain, the landscape transformed again and again, alpine forsts gave way to pine forests then bushes and brush until we arrived at an area that felt practically lunar. We hopped the cable car and found our way 3700 meters above sea level, at Spain's highest point. One undoubtedly feels the elevation as a short walk left us breathless...both from altitude and the magnificent vantage point.The last day was, despite all of my reservations due to weather and time to fit everything in, my absolute favorite experience in Tenerife. Since we had covered north, west and south sides, we drove due east to get to Tenerife's easternmost point. We drove along a major highway, then a two lane road, which gave way to a one lane shared road that wound along a high ridge with sharp drops on either side down to the sea, and ultimately terminated in a little town (really more a collection of houses and one restaurant and convenience store, tucked far, far away from its nearest neighbors) whose name escapes me and is not on any map.
From there one hikes 4,5 kilometers down into the valley, past abandoned houses, wrapping around the cliffside, until you come all the way down to the sea and encounter a small collection of houses. We enjoyed a picnic on the dark black beach, in complete seclusion until early afternoon when a few more hikers made their way down. Surprisingly enough, the hike back up was half as long as the hike down! I had forgotten how much more careful one has to be when descending.
Lola was an absolute trooper, she flew down the trail, periodically peeking back around corners pleading us to 'hurry up!', she had a standoff with a goat, definitely something a four legged beast she's never encountered before, and as the sun came out on the way back to the car she continued to pick her way around rocks and up the steep hills, and made the full roundtrip with the exception of one little area, which was more due to my concern than her abilities. Call me a worrisome mother!
We rounded out the afternoon by descending yet another set of hairpin turns all the way down to San Andres, and had one more relaxing stretch on Playa Teresitas before brushing off the sand and sadly making our way to Santa Cruz and the airport for the evening flight home.Despite not having erupted for 100 years, Teide is considered to be quite unstable. It is rumored that bulge is slowly forming on the north, not due to lava, but due to an internal collapse. True extremists claim that Teide will ultimately collapse into the ocean, causing a tsunami large enough to wipe out New York City thousands of kilometers away. That said, I definitely hope that doesn't happen in my lifetime, as I will undoubtedly return to this enchanting island to unwind and lose myself once again soon.
Las Islas Baleares
Almost two years to the date, I finally found myself boarding a flight to return to Ibiza at last!
We arrived to an absolutely torrential downpour, the likes of which Ibiza has not seen in a long while from my understanding. I traversed streets that had turned to rivers and despite wearing 4" heels was still soaked up to the ankle. A very depressing welcome indeed.
Drenched and tired, we rested up Friday night for the weekend ahead, hoping and praying for a bit of sun, which we ended up receiving, in spades.
Formentera
After a quick, and per tradition, standing, breakfast of Pan con Tomate and a nice stiff and sweet cafe con leche, we rushed to catch the ferry to Formentera to spend our Saturday carelessly bouncing from beach to cliff and back again in our rented jeep.
As usual, Formentera's powerful vistas and tranquil energy refueled me in ways that no other place can. It's absolutely peaceful and gorgeous and there's nothing quite like driving through the stark roads flanked by date trees, coming over a hill, and being absolutely floored by the view ahead. Perfection! Undoubtedly one of my favorite places on earth.
Privilege & Pacha
Saturday night a friend of a friend was playing the didgeridoo alongside a local DJ at Privilege, so we spent a few hours there then closed the night at Pacha.
I had never been to Pacha Ibiza, and it truly is an impeccable venue. David Morales and Satoshi Tomiie rocked a very expat (read: British) crowd while beautiful dancers and performers rounded out a pretty calm first night on the dancefloor.
Las Salinas
Sunday we headed out to Las Salinas to enjoy Sa Trinxa. Fantastic.
Las Salinas is a kilometer long beach at the southeast tip of the island. Crowded with families on one end, the northernmost edge is home to Sa Trinxa, home of chilled out music, scantily clad sunbathers recovering from a night out at the clubs, and a shady and breezy chiringuita for drinks and everything ranging from fresh salads to roast chicken.
Sa Trinxa of course boasts great people watching. The chill Balearic beats were accompanied by a live sax player who came out every hour or so...by his last appearance before the sunset, the energy had risen and an impromptu dance party on the sand had begun to form. The perfect relaxing day, Sa Trinxa allows you to refuel then warm up for the night ahead.
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We arrived to an absolutely torrential downpour, the likes of which Ibiza has not seen in a long while from my understanding. I traversed streets that had turned to rivers and despite wearing 4" heels was still soaked up to the ankle. A very depressing welcome indeed.
Drenched and tired, we rested up Friday night for the weekend ahead, hoping and praying for a bit of sun, which we ended up receiving, in spades.
Formentera
After a quick, and per tradition, standing, breakfast of Pan con Tomate and a nice stiff and sweet cafe con leche, we rushed to catch the ferry to Formentera to spend our Saturday carelessly bouncing from beach to cliff and back again in our rented jeep.
As usual, Formentera's powerful vistas and tranquil energy refueled me in ways that no other place can. It's absolutely peaceful and gorgeous and there's nothing quite like driving through the stark roads flanked by date trees, coming over a hill, and being absolutely floored by the view ahead. Perfection! Undoubtedly one of my favorite places on earth.
Privilege & Pacha
Saturday night a friend of a friend was playing the didgeridoo alongside a local DJ at Privilege, so we spent a few hours there then closed the night at Pacha.
I had never been to Pacha Ibiza, and it truly is an impeccable venue. David Morales and Satoshi Tomiie rocked a very expat (read: British) crowd while beautiful dancers and performers rounded out a pretty calm first night on the dancefloor.
Las Salinas
Sunday we headed out to Las Salinas to enjoy Sa Trinxa. Fantastic.
Las Salinas is a kilometer long beach at the southeast tip of the island. Crowded with families on one end, the northernmost edge is home to Sa Trinxa, home of chilled out music, scantily clad sunbathers recovering from a night out at the clubs, and a shady and breezy chiringuita for drinks and everything ranging from fresh salads to roast chicken.
Sa Trinxa of course boasts great people watching. The chill Balearic beats were accompanied by a live sax player who came out every hour or so...by his last appearance before the sunset, the energy had risen and an impromptu dance party on the sand had begun to form. The perfect relaxing day, Sa Trinxa allows you to refuel then warm up for the night ahead.
We Love Sundays at Space
After changing and eating, we walked over to the legendary Space nightclub to catch the closing parties of We Love. We went straight to Discoteca for Jeff Mills the music was very Detroit, a little too technical and lacking soul, so we moved to the Terraza. I was devastated to have missed Ben Watt, but we caught the end of Paul Woolford, then Steve Lawler who really laid it down. A bit formulaic in the builds, but who cared??
The set was everything Ibiza is and should be - high energy and absolutely banging. Not a frown in the place. We only stayed a few hours as I really wanted to get in a real nights' sleep before Monday's debauchery, so as you can imagine, it was still packed and throbbing as we headed back to our apartment in Playa d'en Bossa.
Playa D'en Bossa and Monday in Ibiza
Monday I woke up nice and early to hit the bakery and sure that the troops had the proper sustenance for the day that awaited us.
Monday in Ibiza! As I told my partner in crime Gracie (an Ibiza virgin), Mondays truly never are the same once you have experienced how they celebrate the beginning of the week in the Balearic Isles...
We spent a couple hours at Playa d'en Bossa enjoying the sun, sand and warm water and caught the beginning of Bora Bora - the music starts pumping at 4:30 on the nose - before changing and heading out.
Circo Loco at DC-10
Circo Loco remains one of my favorite parties of all times. I can not explain how happy I am that we were able to make it in its few active weeks, especially considering they were just shut down (again, this time for a full year) before they had the opportunity to host their season closing party.
Subject to ongoing battles with the local municipality and arduous searches of partygoers by the guardia civil, DC10 has really borne the brunt of the recent movement to calm the island down, and contain the partying. New and strictly adhered to hours and a strong clamp on DC10 have definitely brought a cloud over the sunny, carefree atmosphere that typically characterizes Ibiza.
To be perfecly honest, there's no question why DC10 is such a target. A veritable carnival, the characters, music, debauchery and energy are well beyond the realm of a calm or controlled party environment. But hey, that's the attraction. Freewheeling costumed individuals closing out Monday's sunlight hours with airplanes roaring overhead and largely techno beats - is there really anywhere more removed from the reality of a Monday?!
Team Loco (we brought the team uniforms from 2006 back!) caught Timo Maas and Tania Vulcano on the terrace then headed inside to chill in the lounge area. The dark and dirty beats lured us to the dancefloor immediately. DC10 might be the only place I can accept sweating it out on a packed dark dancefloor to music that dark before the sun even sets. With a tear in my eye, knowing full well that I may never see DC10 open again, I tore myself away well before the party ended in order to avoid the crowds at Amnesia.
Cocoon Closing at Amnesia
A quick change and shower and we hit Cocoon's closing party at Amnesia, another mega club with the drink prices to show for it. Comprised of two massive rooms, it was packed to the roof.
Armed with our inflatable picture frames, I spent the night snapping portraits of the cast of characters dancing the night away, probably 100 portraits, all told! Sven Vath and Ricardo Villalobos absolutely destroyed and we eventually called it quits after almost 12 hours of dancing and stumbled into a cab sweaty, exhausted, and unable to take another step.
All in all, a truly fulfilling, tiring and perfect weekend escapade!
Stay tuned as I will be closing out October with trips to London, Berlin, Paris and Amsterdam!
After changing and eating, we walked over to the legendary Space nightclub to catch the closing parties of We Love. We went straight to Discoteca for Jeff Mills the music was very Detroit, a little too technical and lacking soul, so we moved to the Terraza. I was devastated to have missed Ben Watt, but we caught the end of Paul Woolford, then Steve Lawler who really laid it down. A bit formulaic in the builds, but who cared??
The set was everything Ibiza is and should be - high energy and absolutely banging. Not a frown in the place. We only stayed a few hours as I really wanted to get in a real nights' sleep before Monday's debauchery, so as you can imagine, it was still packed and throbbing as we headed back to our apartment in Playa d'en Bossa.
Playa D'en Bossa and Monday in Ibiza
Monday I woke up nice and early to hit the bakery and sure that the troops had the proper sustenance for the day that awaited us.
Monday in Ibiza! As I told my partner in crime Gracie (an Ibiza virgin), Mondays truly never are the same once you have experienced how they celebrate the beginning of the week in the Balearic Isles...
We spent a couple hours at Playa d'en Bossa enjoying the sun, sand and warm water and caught the beginning of Bora Bora - the music starts pumping at 4:30 on the nose - before changing and heading out.
Circo Loco at DC-10
Circo Loco remains one of my favorite parties of all times. I can not explain how happy I am that we were able to make it in its few active weeks, especially considering they were just shut down (again, this time for a full year) before they had the opportunity to host their season closing party.
Subject to ongoing battles with the local municipality and arduous searches of partygoers by the guardia civil, DC10 has really borne the brunt of the recent movement to calm the island down, and contain the partying. New and strictly adhered to hours and a strong clamp on DC10 have definitely brought a cloud over the sunny, carefree atmosphere that typically characterizes Ibiza.
To be perfecly honest, there's no question why DC10 is such a target. A veritable carnival, the characters, music, debauchery and energy are well beyond the realm of a calm or controlled party environment. But hey, that's the attraction. Freewheeling costumed individuals closing out Monday's sunlight hours with airplanes roaring overhead and largely techno beats - is there really anywhere more removed from the reality of a Monday?!
Team Loco (we brought the team uniforms from 2006 back!) caught Timo Maas and Tania Vulcano on the terrace then headed inside to chill in the lounge area. The dark and dirty beats lured us to the dancefloor immediately. DC10 might be the only place I can accept sweating it out on a packed dark dancefloor to music that dark before the sun even sets. With a tear in my eye, knowing full well that I may never see DC10 open again, I tore myself away well before the party ended in order to avoid the crowds at Amnesia.
Cocoon Closing at Amnesia
A quick change and shower and we hit Cocoon's closing party at Amnesia, another mega club with the drink prices to show for it. Comprised of two massive rooms, it was packed to the roof.
Armed with our inflatable picture frames, I spent the night snapping portraits of the cast of characters dancing the night away, probably 100 portraits, all told! Sven Vath and Ricardo Villalobos absolutely destroyed and we eventually called it quits after almost 12 hours of dancing and stumbled into a cab sweaty, exhausted, and unable to take another step.
All in all, a truly fulfilling, tiring and perfect weekend escapade!
Stay tuned as I will be closing out October with trips to London, Berlin, Paris and Amsterdam!
Spanish Desert
My first roadtrip in Spain!
I packed miss Lola up into the rental and hit the road, heading east towards Zaragoza.
About two hours later the terrain became mountainous and we veered north towards the quaint town of Tudela. As it was a holiday, the city was entirely deserted save for a few revelers, dressed in the traditional all white with a smart red bandana around their neck, scrambling towards the town's main square. I didn't stay long enough to watch the celebrations, but suffice it to say that no one left that square still donning a crisp white outfit.
From the stragglers back at the hotel later that evening one can only surmise a lot of festive toasting with red wine took place all afternoon and into the evening in honor of the festival. (Someone still needs to explain the buckets, however??).
I instead elected to head into the Bardenas Reales, the real reason I traversed one of the most desolate and boring bits of Spanish highway (though I can not deny being continually charmed by the black bull signs and windmills dotting the landscape as far as the eye can see!). Lured by its unique and quasi-desert landscape, I was intrigued to see the famed rock formations hidden in the barren and somewhat unwelcoming landscape.
Best experienced by bicycle or on foot, there are only a select number of roads a car can take to cut through the lunar landscape. Winding down into valleys, I was quite taken by the beautiful plateaus and breathtaking and massive naturally formed limestone sculptures that have been slowly carved by erosion over time.
The Hotel Aire de Bardenas, a relatively new addition to the landscape, serves as a fantastic and contemporary frame for its expansive surroundings. Featuring 20 some odd rooms, each boasts a beautiful and minimally designed feature - whether an outdoor tub, private garden, patio with seemingly unending vistas across the expanse, or bathrooms with open showers - from which to better appreciate and connect with the stark and impressive surroundings.
When meandering the peaceful stone paths between buildings, one has the opportunity to emjoy glimpses of masterfully framed views of the landscape, not to mention meet your neighbors, most of whom spend time lounging with doors open taking in as much of the surroundings as possible.
The restaurant frames views of a private allotment teeming with local vegetables, and during breakfast you can sip your coffee while watching the gardener contemplate what you will be able to delight in for your dinner.
While I sadly left my camera behind, my holga managed to capture a nice sense of the combination of arid silence and blinding sun that left me driving back to Madrid contemplating my brief trip through this singular and humbling slice of Spain's countryside.
Read more »
I packed miss Lola up into the rental and hit the road, heading east towards Zaragoza.
About two hours later the terrain became mountainous and we veered north towards the quaint town of Tudela. As it was a holiday, the city was entirely deserted save for a few revelers, dressed in the traditional all white with a smart red bandana around their neck, scrambling towards the town's main square. I didn't stay long enough to watch the celebrations, but suffice it to say that no one left that square still donning a crisp white outfit.
From the stragglers back at the hotel later that evening one can only surmise a lot of festive toasting with red wine took place all afternoon and into the evening in honor of the festival. (Someone still needs to explain the buckets, however??).
I instead elected to head into the Bardenas Reales, the real reason I traversed one of the most desolate and boring bits of Spanish highway (though I can not deny being continually charmed by the black bull signs and windmills dotting the landscape as far as the eye can see!). Lured by its unique and quasi-desert landscape, I was intrigued to see the famed rock formations hidden in the barren and somewhat unwelcoming landscape.
Best experienced by bicycle or on foot, there are only a select number of roads a car can take to cut through the lunar landscape. Winding down into valleys, I was quite taken by the beautiful plateaus and breathtaking and massive naturally formed limestone sculptures that have been slowly carved by erosion over time.
The Hotel Aire de Bardenas, a relatively new addition to the landscape, serves as a fantastic and contemporary frame for its expansive surroundings. Featuring 20 some odd rooms, each boasts a beautiful and minimally designed feature - whether an outdoor tub, private garden, patio with seemingly unending vistas across the expanse, or bathrooms with open showers - from which to better appreciate and connect with the stark and impressive surroundings.
When meandering the peaceful stone paths between buildings, one has the opportunity to emjoy glimpses of masterfully framed views of the landscape, not to mention meet your neighbors, most of whom spend time lounging with doors open taking in as much of the surroundings as possible.
The restaurant frames views of a private allotment teeming with local vegetables, and during breakfast you can sip your coffee while watching the gardener contemplate what you will be able to delight in for your dinner.
While I sadly left my camera behind, my holga managed to capture a nice sense of the combination of arid silence and blinding sun that left me driving back to Madrid contemplating my brief trip through this singular and humbling slice of Spain's countryside.
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