As we drove up to Madrid, we crossed 400 miles of nothing but olive groves...I'm not exaggerating. After the 3rd hour of nothing but rolling hills and perfect little olive trees, I started to Google and found out that Spain is the largest producer of olives in the world and the second largest consumer of olives in the world. I wasn't surprised by the looks of it. We stopped for lunch and Brian bought me a pair of olive leaf earrings that I'm obsessed with <3
We caught our flight to Palma and made our way to the rental car counter and proceeded to wait for TWO HOURS to get our vehicle. I was kinda bummed because we landed at 3 pm and I wanted to enjoy the scenery as we drove out of town to our hotel. The hotel was adults-only hotel and spa and was in a building next to a massive church in a little village in the hills on the northwest side of the island. I splurged a bit on our room there, but it was worth every penny. It had a huge 2-person jetted tub that we used a couple of times during our stay. We absolutely loved every minute and wish we could have stayed longer.
It ended up being dark by the time we arrived, but we got settled in our gorgeous suite and cleaned up for dinner. There was a cozy little restaurant just down the street where we paid 20 euros per person and chose either fish or meat. It was 3 courses of deliciousness and it was so much fun to not know what we were getting. I probably would have never ordered my meal on my own, so it was good to try something new.
It thundered and poured rain all night, but when we headed out for the day, the downpour had subsided and the sun was shining. Brian found a route of crazy windy roads over breakfast, and we hit the road towards the mountains.
The island really was the best parts of Europe- stone cottages, vineyards, orchards, mountains, and incredible beaches. We absolutely loved it. The first little village we came to was Orient.
We only saw a handful of kitties during our time in Spain, and most weren't very friendly...
Down the road a bit, we came to some Botanical Gardens with an Archaeological Museum. I loved the juxtaposition of the tropical plants and cacti with the mountains all around.
This Ocatillo was massive compared to the ones we have in Arizona.
They had a huge selection of citrus trees. One of them had tiny little fruits that looked like Kalamata Olives but smelled like lemon.
After a long lunch (every meal out there takes no less than 2 hours), we hit the road towards the coast.
We found a pull off area with a little hike that overlooked the Mediterranean.
The road wound through the mountains and tunnels and we spotted goats everywhere. I wish we'd had more time to do some of the hikes in the area, we saw countless trail heads that were so alluring. Next time.
It wasn't long before we arrived to one of the most scenic and thrilling roads in the world- Sal Calobra.
There was scenic overlook at the top where we stopped and wandered around. It was soooo windy and I could barely stand up there, but it was beautiful. The light was gorgeous in person, though tricky for pictures.
After some of the slowest and windiest miles I've ever ridden (I'm just thankful that there was practically no traffic...it must be a nightmare in high season), we found our way down to a little cove nestled in the rocks.
We noticed a sign that we couldn't read, directing us towards the right on a paved path around the corner of a rocky outcropping. Of course, we had to see what was around the bend. It ended up being my absolute favorite part of our trip and pretty much sold Mallorca as my favorite Mediterranean destination yet.
We followed the path for a ways, passing through 2 tunnels with the waves crashing outside.
Eventually, it opened up to a secret beach tucked between two massive mountains. The water was pretty rough because of the wind, but it was so beautiful and as we sat and watched the waves crash up on the smooth pebbles, I envisioned a thousand umbrellas and sunbathers and cliff jumpers and was so happy to just have it to ourselves.
We hung out until the sun went down and then we decided we should head back up because driving that crazy road in the dark wasn't all that appealing.
After a long day of exploring, we weren't really in the mood for a drawn-out fancy dinner, so we hit up McDonald's for what may have been my favorite meal of the trip - A goat cheese and sauteed onion burger, salad, cheesecake and beer. All for about 12 euros. I can't figure out what makes the difference, but gas stations and fast food restaurants in Europe are downright fancy and clean and sophisticated...unlike the ones we've got here in the States. The McDonald's we went to even had table service! People always scoff when we tell them that we eat a lot of fast food when we travel, but it's just totally different than what they're used to.
The final day and a half on Mallorca was packed full of adventure and sightseeing, so I'll save that one for another post :)