Change In Plans

This short post is about the morning ferry from Palma de Mallorca to Barcelona. Unfortunately, it is out of sequence with some other posts that will come later, but I hope that’s OK.

Yesterday afternoon, we drove down to Palma from Port de Soller. It is only about 35 kilometers, but the two areas are worlds apart. Port de Soller is small, quaint, and appears lightly developed only for family vacations. Palma is a real city, with highways and businesses, and hundreds of restaurants and night clubs.

This is the classic photo of the big cathedral in Palma de Mallorca, with the mast-filled harbor in the foreground.

We had a fun afternoon at a water-slide park that Zola chose (more later). After returning our rental car, and having an early dinner on the waterfront in Palma, we slept at the Palas Ateneas.

Very early this morning (still dark as midnight at 5:45), we took a short taxi ride to the ferry port. There were hundreds of people on the streets, pouring out of night clubs which appear to close at 6am.

After some initial confusion, and a luggage-encumbered sprint through the ferry terminal, we boarded the 7am fast ferry to Barcelona. Surprisingly, the ferry is much more expensive than flying. Maybe this is because the views are so spectacular pulling out of Palma at sunrise, circling the westward side of the island (with the sun rising over the Transmuntana mountains), and motoring north across the Mediterranean.

Right now, Zola and I are sitting outside on the stern deck, with Mallorca is receding behind us at maybe 40 knots. Zola is getting many compliments on his Barcelona soccer jersey (interesting choice by him for this day). India and Tallulah are in the lounge area, reading and sleeping, respectively.

Mallorca was a terrific stop on our trip. On to Barcelona.