Once again, we’re off to Mallorca. This vlog will likely be split into three parts. The first part covers the general activities we enjoyed—cafés, restaurants, hikes, and running.
The second part focuses on why we actually went: to attend a tennis tournament, part of the ATP Tour. It’s a small ATP 250 event, the final grass-court tournament before Wimbledon.
The third part is about what I believe is called Active Tourism. We took part in a cooking course focused on Mallorcan and Spanish cuisine, which was fascinating.
As usual, we did the typical things: visited restaurants and cafés, strolled around, and ate plenty of ice cream. Temperatures reached 37°C, but with humidity often at just 20–25%, it wasn’t too unbearable. Santa Ponsa is lovely—very calm and welcoming – and has a plethora of German and Spanish tourists.
Some areas are predominantly German-speaking, with fewer British tourists, which is nice. You can get by with Spanish, German, or English. Most locals are trilingual or even quadrilingual, as many also speak Catalan.
One day, for some reason, we decided to jog 25 minutes to the neighbouring village, Port Adriano. It’s not a huge port, but it feels fairly new, with massive yachts docked there. However, it’s still too small for the truly mammoth yachts—you can practically smell the wealth! Interestingly, breakfast there cost about €11, while in Santa Ponsa, it was €12–15.
Without an influx of tourists, prices felt like standard Spanish rates, which was refreshing. We didn’t rent a car this time and relied entirely on public transport. We took a bus from the airport to Palma, then another to Santa Ponsa—a direct 65-minute ride that’s both convenient and affordable.
Speaking about tourists and Mallorca, please see here. Where it seems that another problem that Mallorcans face, has little to do with tourism. Once again, it’s a problem that many urban areas face, when far wealthier foreigners, put the local housing stock out of reach for the local, historical population. It’s also something that I’ve noticed, in the last 3 years, since I’ve been visiting this island regularly.
One day, we took a bus to the nearby village of Peguera to visit its Tuesday market. It’s massive, stretching about a mile, with all the usual touristy offerings you’d expect in Spain—beach, shops, and so on. Peguera is nicknamed “Little Germany” because many locals and visitors speak German, which made communication easy.
Besides that, we did plenty of walking. Santa Ponsa, as always, was peaceful and felt to have more Spanish than tourists. There’s even a Scottish pub called The Jagged Thistle, which felt very unthreatening and added to the charm.
CB
Curious Bystander 