Today’s interview is certainly an interesting one – I challenge you to find another travel post on the ‘net that explores both the sunny beaches of Mallorca so in-depth. I’m chatting with Dave Martinez who has quite some interesting perspectives on both his hometown of Mallorca as well as his adopted home here in Edinburgh.
Thanks Dave for sharing such great stuff…. read on. Meanwhile I’ll be booking my tickets for the next flight to Palma airport!
Why don’t you start by telling us a little bit about yourself.
Dave Martinez. 30 years old = reluctantly. Born in Palma de Mallorca. Spanish dad, Scottish mum. Moved to Scotland aged 15 when parents separated. Finished school in Denny, Stirlingshire and did first year of Uni in Edinburgh before going to work for the summer in Spain, never to come back for several years.
Currently a partner in local web design and online promotion business, AMG Media and just recently started writing my rebel media blog. I am @evenflowdave on twitter…
Massive Rock,Grunge,Punk fan and an enourmous sports junky. In the last few years I’ve become a Liverpool fan, but I’ve always been a fan of Celtic and Barcelona. You get to have a few teams when you have varying national identities! Aside from football, big F1 and Tennis fan. My wife hates all of it.
Andy’s note: Check out the blog. It’s good. Really good. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming….
You say you grew up in Palma de Mallorca. What was that like?
I often get asked what it was like to grow up in Mallorca. I think I often burst people’s bubble by saying it’s like growing up in any other place, as to most here in Scotland the idea of living in a holiday destination seems like, well… a holiday.
It is business as usual with School, Work, etc. That said, I am usually quite understated, so I will try not to understate this… There is no place like home, and there is no place like Mallorca. It’s my favourite place in the whole world.
Every time I fly into the island, no matter if I’ve been away for a day or two years, I always get a tingly feeling of excitement as the plain approaches Palma and I see the ‘na Naburguesa’ tower standing tall on the hills to the west of the city overlooking the bay. Then stepping out of the plain the warm humid air hits me, and I know I’m home.
Aside from having to go to school, instead of maybe playing football in the beach all day, growing up there was a lot of fun. And I did get to play football in the beach all day sometimes.
Most of my childhood was spent in Spain, but some of it in Scotland, and looking back on it now I realise that Mallorca is actually a great place for a child to grow. If not only because the weather allows for a lot more activities and fun things to do, growing up in a place where it’s normal to go out to the street and meet people from all over the world, with entirely different cultures, speaking several different languages every day can only be a good thing.
Although Castillian Spanish is the official language in Spain, in Mallorca speaking more than that is really the norm. For a start we also have Mallorquin, the islands native tongue, which is spoken widely. It’s considered a Catalan dialect. Catalan itself is taught in School’s from a very young age, which prepares you well to start learning other European languages towards the end of Primary School. Having a good understanding of international cultures is a big part of schooling there.
In contrast, for a Spanish kid coming over to a Scottish school back then, sometimes I felt that I might as well have been from Mars.
After school, as I say, always lots to do. The beach was always within a mile or two and public parks everywhere with Football, Basketball and Tennis courts, and when it came to misbehaving a bit – as you do when you’re a kid – there were always plenty of victims around. An old favourite prank was to super-glue a 100 pesetas coin to the ground at the top of busy steps and find a nice spot to sit and laugh at tourists falling for it. Eventually some unabashed German would pull out a pocket knife, scrape it off the ground and be off with our money, but generally got good value for our 100 pesetas. It’s a shame we didn’t have video phones and YouTube back then.
Family life is a lot different too. The whole family tends to be a lot more involved with each other. Massive family meals with uncles, aunts and cousins are never seldom. Coming from a particularly big family (six uncles and two aunts), I remember family gatherings as fun, loving, stressful, chaotic and scary events all at the same time.
You’re always guaranteed to have children running all over the place (great fun from age 0 to 9), aunts trying to kiss the cheeks off you and very macho uncles teasing you about not having any hair on your chest yet at age 12. Round the table discussions tend to get a bit heated and loud, arms flailing everywhere – all in good nature, just a lot of passion. And plenty of wine to accompany lots of good, rustic food.
What are the must-see and must-do experiences in Palma de Mallorca? Is it just beaches or is there more?
I have met a few people in Britain that really know of the real wonders of Mallorca, usually people that are in love with the island and go every year at least once. I do get frustrated though that a lot of people think of Magalluf and Palma-Nova when you mention Mallorca. That’s a part of the world that I do not consider the real Mallorca. There is so much more.
What I always advice people to do there – and what you should do when visiting – is hire a car and go exploring.
Without a doubt, the most beautiful part of the island is the Tramuntana mountain range across the whole of the western side of the island, stretching from Andratx in the south right up to Pollenca in the north. Just half an hour from Palma it has everything, winding roads, creeks, valleys, picturesque old villages, wildlife, incredibly varied vegetation with olive trees, orchards, and the sea not too far in the background. All the colours and smells of the Mediterranean.
The drive, with the winding roads and highs and lows, can seem a little bit scary but don’t be put off. It is safe, the trick is just to take it easy and enjoy the view. Oh, and don’t be to surprised if you bump into someone famous, Claudia Schiffer, Michael Douglas & the missus and Richard Branson are just some of the celebrities that own houses along this route.
The root that I often take for a whole day out takes me from Palma to the Monastry in Lluc. The first stop is in Valldemosa, a beautiful village surrounded by very dramatic scenery. The first glimpse of Valldemosa is as you come round bend and drive around a massive valley full of olive green and on the other side the old village houses and the church tower hanging over a cliff with the Mallorcan mountains as a back drop. In the village you can visit the house where Frederic Chopin lived and composed and other landmarks, or just walk around the market and the narrow old streets. For certain celebrations in the summer, or if there is a wedding or other event on, the streets are sometimes covered with rose petals.
As you drive further into the mountains towards Deia, more dramatic scenery. I once saw a wild goat jump from rock to rock either side of the road right above me as I was driving through.
There are many villages and landmarks that are worth a visit along this route, I could go on forever telling you about them, so I will summarise. Deia is worth a visit and Sa Calobra, a creek right infront of the sea circled by two 400m rock formations, is a must. The monastry in Lluch is also worth a visit.
For something to eat in the mountains there is a place which I only discovered for the first time on my last visit. Just below Alaro Castle is a little run down building which houses a restaurant called Es Verger. Don’t expect fine dinning, the word rustic was probably invented to describe this place. You’re quite likely to have to share a large table with other people. We sat with a group of German hippies, which was fun. The place is incredibly busy and for good reason, everyone is there for what quite possibly is the best roast shoulder of lamb in the world, Cooked by the lady of the house who looks close to a hundred years old, in an stone oven which looks five hundred years old. Trust me, this lamb melts in your mouth and tastes like nothing that I can find the words to describe. Cheap too!
Of course, if it’s beaches that you’re after there are plenty of them, but If you’re willing not follow the crowd onto the busy stretches, and do something different, you’re in for a very pleasant surprise. I’m talking about the kind of beaches that you usually only see in postcards.
A favourite one of mine is in Deia. You have to Drive past Deia and towards the sea, as far as the car will take you. Eventually the road narrows into a path and from there it is a 10 minute walk (wear trainers!). Expect a small beach with mountains all around you, not a lot of people, white sand, thick rocks and crystal clear water.
If you’re worried about getting lost you could go to Cala Ratjada, on the other side of the island. This one is quite a lot easier to find, a bit bigger and very popular with the locals.
Everyone loves a good (sunset/sunrise). Where’s the best spot to watch the sun (set into/rise out of) the ocean?
Anywhere along the eastern coast is good for sunrise.
For a sunset, anywhere in the west, with the sun going down into the sea and behind the mountains.
If I have to chose one place I’d say you can’t go wrong with the sunset front line in Palma Bay, on the beach or the Marina. The sunset provides a beautiful back drop for the Cathedral and The Bellver castle just obove it looking towards the west. In the summer the sun descends quite slowly, the colours go crazy, and the orange/red stays for a good while…
How did you end up in Edinburgh? What do you think of the weather? 
Explained already. Half Scottish, lived here on and off. Came back here as my life style there at the time was a bit crazy and needed some peace and tranquility. Got married almost two years ago and we’re now talking about moving back to Mallorca sometime in the future.
Any personal recommendations for here in the Scottish capital?
Come in August during the festival and do as much as you can. By all means visit Edinburgh Castle and all that, but in general just socialise and take in as much as possible of the entertainment and culture that happens here in August, which is incredible. Edinburgh really turns into something else during the festival, I can’t think of any other place in the world were it happens to such extent.
Beach photo courtesy of Lanci Daniele, 2nd ocean shot by Jaume Meneses.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I finally visited Mallorca in January this year so that I could tick the new Hard Rock Cafe in Palma off my list. I only had two days, but was positively captivated by the city and am dying to get back and explore more of Palma and the rest of the island. Thanks so much for the good advice for my next trip!
Dave2’s last blog post..Idolatry
Fascinating insight to the presence of a real, true, interesting bunch of great facets about this island.
Knowing of some people’s reports of the delights of inland Mallorca – and the fine inns that are found there – I will add it to my ever lengthening list of places I will visit.
We have written with I hope, a similarly revealing sweep, of another large European island, Crete and I do hope you may find some interest in travelling in Crete one day as a comparison. It also has a concentrated area of mass plastic-injected tourism and endless pockets of hidden beauty, character unique and seducing.
It’s at http://www.CreteTravel.com if you’d like a revealing peak.
Muchos grazias for the interview.
Roger
I love to travel and I now have put a new dart on the map. Your description of Es Verger did it for me. ft
@ Dave2 You and the Hard Rock…
@ Roger Dave certainly does a good sales pitch, doesn’t he? It certainly is much more appealing than the fish-and-chips Mallorca that we’re used to seeing.
@ Fred Glad we could help you out – feel free to report back with your findings.
@dave2… still to go to the hardrock in palma. first place i’ll drive to next time i get off the plain!
there are many fine restaurants in and around palma. i wouldn’t class es verger a restaurant, it’s more a run-down house where food is served. but my gosh what a lamb. a must for foodies anywhere
Great interview! Ah, I so wish that I had been able to read this before I was there in the beginning of May! Though I had figured out that Valldemossa and Deia were our top priorities to visit. Beautiful both of them, but Deia is a true pearl – I’ll write about it soon actually
We stayed at Alcudia port and beach, but did drive around a bit too – as you said: Mallorca has so much more to offer and I love all the rural parts. I love the Mallorquin houses!
@Lifecruisertravel Well, you could always go back for a second round
It never really appealed to me with the whole “fish and chips” crowd but Dave’s pointed out another side of the island (literally and figuratively) that I now must go and explore.