Surprising Majorca

SITTING on the quay looking at the picture postcard pretty harbour with its tiny boats bobbing about on an azure sea in front of traditional Spanish homes I remembered an identical image I had seen earlier.

That image was featured in a series of photographs on the wall of a small hotel nearby.

But unlike the vivid, contrasting colours of the harbour I was looking at, the photographs in the Cala Hotel were monochrome - and dated back to the 1930's

In more than 80 years the bay, the houses - complete with tiny boat houses built into rock - had hardly changed at all. And for all I know the odd boats too might have survived.

And while this might not be unusual in some parts of the world, the surprise is that this bay is on the package holiday island of Majorca.

Cala Figuera flies in the face of the image many people have of Majorca - and so do many of the tiny bays and towns nearby.

Even more surprising is that - while everyone knows the north of Majorca is quiet and low rise - these locations are in the south, known more for discos, neon lights and high rise.

To be fair they are in the south east and are miles away both literally and figuratively from the high rise, lager lout's playground of Magaluf on the south west coast, but they still came as a pleasant surprise.

Over the years I have visited the 1,500 square mile island on numerous occasions and toured around popular coastal resorts and inland towns. But the south east was a new experience for me, and certainly proved to be an eye opener.

While there are some larger resorts in this area that attract the masses - like Cala D'or - the bulk of the coastline is made up of some the prettiest small coves and picturesque ports in all of Spain.

You might be able to get a whopper at Burger King in Cala D'or, but drive into Porto Colom, for example, where small yachts and cruisers lie peacefully at anchor and all you will find on the waterfront is a myriad of local restaurants where you can enjoy a value for money menu del dia (menu of the day) or a more expensive but still sensibly priced meal in the evenings.

Three storey buildings are about as high as it gets in Porto Colom, and there is nothing nicer than chilling out on the waterfront watching the maritime comings and goings.

To explore properly you need to hire a car and - outside of late July and August - the roads are surprisingly quiet - and certainly well surfaced.

Prices too have come down dramatically in recent years. In the past my car hire bill in the Balearic islands would has been in three figures. But in early July I booked a Suzuki Swift (using Carrentals.co.uk) for just £55 - less than the price of parking my car at the airport when I flew out.

Once mobile you are spoiled for choice. There are more bays, coves and small ports to visit than a two-week holiday will allow.

One of the smallest ports and one of my favourites was Porto Petra, so tiny there is little room for parking - unless you are visiting by yacht.

If you do visit try Es Bergant, a small restaurant on the waterfront where the very substantial menu del dia at lunchtime will cost you just 10 Euros for three courses and wine.

Away from the sea the town of Santanyi is well worth a visit, particularly on Saturdays and Wednesday when the local street market is in full swing.

The bustling event attracts locals and tourists alike to buy some of the freshest, most colourful produce in the region along with everything from made to measure leather shoes to local pottery and fashions.

Markets can be a bit seedy but this is a more traditional one with something for everyone and saw us wandering around for at least a couple of hours, after eventually finding somewhere to park.

Houses and shops in the town are built from the famous Santanyi Mares Stone, the same stone used to build the spectacular Palma Cathedral.

Up until the 16th century the residents of Santanyi had trouble with Moorish pirates who regularly took hostages to ransom them.

The story goes that the unlucky ones were sent to Algiers to be sold as slaves and many Santanyi women ended up in harems. Today the worst you might encounter are over zealous policemen anxious to put a 300 Euro parking ticket on your windscreen.

And if you carry on to the town’s beach, Cala Santanyi, you will find free parking and a small sandy beach which shelves very gently so is ideal for children.

Our base for the holiday was a villa not too far from Santanyi, just outside the tiny village of S’Horte (pronounced Sorta). Like many of the ports and towns we visited our villa - Es Carritx - is traditionally Spanish rather than purpose built for tourism and available from a company specialising in holidays to the largest of the Balearic Islands, Majorca Farmhouses.

Set in its own gated grounds on a hillside it looks out over the well manicured lawns of the Vall d’Or Golf Club to the sea in the distance. Inland the pine clad hillsides stretched to the mountains.

At the rear of the spacious three bedroom, three bathroom property is a traditional covered dining terrace, overlooking the swimming pool, where we enjoyed breakfast in the mornings and late night drinks as the sun went down.

But while the property was traditional - with terracotta tiled floors and beamed ceilings - it also came with all the requirements of modern living like wi-fi and satellite television capable of receiving all UK channels. At the same time it was homely and welcoming and a house you could genuinely relax in.

A separate poolside BBQ casita - which even had its own bread oven - meant we could shelter from the sun when it became too hot but still be poolside.

The location of Es Carritx meant we were ideally placed for exploring this unspoiled region of Majorca without having to spend too much time travelling.

Within 15 minutes of our base, for example, was the monastery of San Salvador which stands on the peak of a 510 metre high hill and dominates the skyline for miles around.

The monastery is the second most important place of pilgrimage on the island and even though the monks moved out 20 years ago services are still held in the monastery’s church and there is now a small 20-room hotel for anyone wanting to spend more time there.

The drive up is a bit hairy because of the narrow roads and sharp bends but once you reach the top you can see the whole of the east coast on a clear day.

But don’t expect to spot all the individual beaches because on this coast there are just too many, and not all are easy to find.

Porto Cristo, for example, has a pretty harbour and a beach in the town. But take the land train from the centre and you come to the well hidden sandy cove of Cala Magrana, with its back drop of pine trees.

Further along the coast there are great sounding beaches like Cala Romantica, Cala Tropicana and Cala S’Amonia. The list is endless and you are spoiled for choice, with almost every one being low key and low rise.

So the next time anyone mentions the south of Majorca and you automatically think of towering hotel blocks and wall to wall night clubs think again.

The south east coast still offers Spain as it used to be, without mass tourism.

FACTBOX

Mallorca Farmhouses offer properties of all sizes all over the island. For more information or to book visit www.mallorca.co.uk or telephone 0845 800 8080.

Monarch, the scheduled leisure airline, operates year round flights to Majorca from most UK airports including East Midlands and .

For further information or to book Monarch flights visit www.monarch.co.uk

www.Carrentals.co.uk is one of the UK’s leading car hire comparison websites, searching up to 50 different car hire suppliers, including Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz, Holiday Autos and Sixt, in over 15,000 locations worldwide.