Miserable grey weather in winter with little sunshine meant that the extended family decided that going away over the christmas holidays for some much needed sunshine would be the best way to spend time together. None of the older generation wanted to enjoy the snow in France or anywhere else.
During the long cold evenings of October and November, all four sister-in-laws in different towns and villages, would get busy after the children were in bed to discuss holiday destinations and flights. On the phone to sister-in-laws MB in the Nederlands, JB in London and RB in Kent and on-line too. Decided that as we had already been to Portugal one winter not long ago, Mallorca seemed a sunnier option. Accommodation booked on-line. Only flights needed booking. Found cheap flights for seventeen of us to Palma. And then just as one was about to send the payment details, realised that the resort was in the island of Mallorca and the flight was going to another Palma - in Tenerife!!! Phew! just in time a major disaster was avoided.
Beach in La Palma - empty! in late December
Four different self-catering apartments in a resort called Cala Pi was home for a week. We got together for all meals whether eating in the apartment or eating out. The resort was very quiet as it is out of the way but with a car, no town was too far away. Built on the rocks, the small beach was just a little walk down.
mallorcan clementines : fresh and drooly juicy
The market in Llucmajor was small - just a few stalls in the square. Only a few intrepid 'explorers' went to market before breakfast - brothers AB and PB, parents, nephews Rohin and Sami and myself. The range of fresh vegetables and fruits in the middle of winter was amazing. Green, orange, brown, white, purple, red - a fabulous palette of colours. Piles and piles of clementines still with their leaves and a variety of wild mushrooms too. A milky looking local 'hooch' was also being sold by some of the stallholders. Breakfast for us ended up being fresh bread from a bakery with mountain cheese bought from a cheese stall and some air dried ham from the delicatessen van. We returned to the apartments with food enough for an army but without the whole leg of ham that I thought would be good to bring back to England :( I did bring a leg of air dried ham back from Spain one summer - it lasted forever it seemed and everyone got bored of eating the same ham :) hence the lack of enthusiasm from family members.
vegetable stall in Llucmajor
mallorcan clementines : fresh and drooly juicy
Wild mushrooms for sale : delicious stir fried with plenty of garlic and some chillies
the range of sausages and hams in a van
Lively chirpy chickens were being sold from the back of a van - not sure whether they were for breeding or for the pot. Our thoughts were for the pot.
for the pot or garden?
One of the best days we had was in La Palma, the capital. We found a fabulous bar serving incredible tapas. Each plate of tapas had a toothpick in it. The bill was calculated by the number of toothpicks that were left at the end of the meal!! Unfortunately brother SB was out of action with flu for the entire week and he missed out.
