It is time for some peace and relaxation visiting with rellies in Palma, Mallorca.

Mallorca, Menorca, and Ibiza (yes, that Ibiza) are the Balearic Islands that belong to Spain and sit not far east of Barcelona; in fact a 25 minute flight. I have never been to Ibiza or Menorca (one day) but I have visited Mallorca (or Majorca) before briefly and am looking forward to spending time with my brother Paul and his lovely wife Iris staying on a yacht.

Due to a delay of my flight, I don’t arrive to Mallorca until late at night. I am met at the almost deserted airport by them running toward me with open arms. It makes me cry to be greeted like this and I snuggle into the warm comfortable embrace of family. We spend the following day talking and laughing, talking and talking and laughing, along with drinking, and going out to dinner to eat typical Mallorcan spanish tapas.

I am here for a week and it will be nice to stay put in one place without having to search for accommodation, transport, and food, or drag my suitcases anywhere. I devour delicious food prepared by Iris and feel like I am staying in a resort. The weather is still warm with beautiful calm days and brilliant afternoon sunshine to accompany evening drinks on deck. My brother takes me on a quick turn around the marina and harbour in a dinghy. It is such a joy to speed along breathing in lungfuls of fresh air and wonder at the enormous yachts owned by the rich and famous.

We take the car (what a treat, to travel in a car and be driven! You don’t realise what a joy and luxury it is until you have been without it for a long time) upcountry to a local market at Sineu. I enjoy photographing the colourful food and local produce on display, and the local church. We stop for lunch at a place called Cala Rajada on the beachfront. There are still tourists around but not too many. It is not difficult to slip back into Spanish though it takes my brain a day or so to remember to.

After a sand dune walk we drive home via a town called Artà, with its original moorish castle and battlements refurbished into a church overlooking the town in the valley below. Mallorca is a beautiful island, with a stunning marina and cathedral in the old town fronting the harbour, an old castle that keeps watch over the city of Palma, pretty countryside and jaw dropping cliffs at the other end of the island, all surrounded by calm clear aquamarine ocean. Its history is typical of the Med – conquered by all comers.

By day three I am not feeling 100%, and need a nap before an excellent degustation dinner at a nearby town. It is special and enjoyable to dress up like a girl with nice clothes and make-up for going out. The five courses are accompanied by explanations in Spanish and a delicious wine.

Unfortunately, by day four, I am struck down with a chest infection and sore throat. We manage to spend the morning wandering through the old town but by the afternoon I am down and out for the rest of my visit, infecting the whole boat, causing us all to sit around on board in a stupor at varying stages of illness. I feel awful for having brought a disease to the boat but also because it means we have no chance to do half of what was planned together.

I only manage to spend occasional time out of bed, relishing in the quiet of the marina, up on deck gazing at the multiple colours of the water and reflections that look like ink has been dribbled over a wet canvas.

Despite spreading illness and cutting our time together all too short, I have enjoyed immensely my time spent on the yacht, and it has been wonderful to get a dose of boat living, spending time with family in what is essentially their home. I could see myself living well on a boat – I already enjoy a minimalist lifestyle anyway. I am appreciative of the love and care I received while there with them and miss them deeply when I leave.

Just before I leave, I buy a book about Mallorca by George Sand (a.k.a. Aurore Dupin or baroness Dudevant of Paris), A Winter in Mallorca, who travelled there on holiday with Frederick Chopin in the winter of 1838/39 as lovers. They were among the first tourists to Mallorca and stayed in a house at Valldemossa where some of Chopin’s best works were apparently created. She is quite unforgiving of the people but describes the countryside in eloquent prose – it is a reflection of how I feel about the beauty of Mallorca while there. “The rocky peaks are etched motionless against the glittering sky, the palm tree leans out from the cliff without the breeze disturbing its stately foliage …, everything seems to pose with a kind of vanity to please your eye.”

She emphasises the Mallorcan wisdom of the philosophy of “mucha calma”or of having much patience. In her case, she had many distressing instances of frustration due to what she found to be their lack of hurry or minimal standards compared to her life in urban Paris of the mid 1800s. I found no need to have mucha calma with Mallorca but rather with the fact that I ran out of time to spend there, and to be patient about being able to revisit it in the future.

My next visit will be much longer than just moments, Mallorca. ♥