Biniali, Majorca, Spain
Café con Leche
Keep it easy.
Bar Centro, Biniali
First, #laundryday. It’s been almost a month since we’ve started our trip and we needed underwear. ☺️
You would think there would be little to do in a town of 200, with few shops or businesses. But, as we we’ve already known, it’s the company you keep that keeps you busy and alive. We finally met our other Airbnb host, Sheela, who is a musician and was working until late both nights we had already been in Majorca. She and Enno - another resident are in a band together. Sheela is from the South Bronx, but has been living in Germany and Spain for over 20 years. Try - just try - to place her accent. It’s marvelous.
We spent the morning talking with Sheela and getting tips on what to eat and where to go on the island. This beach, that restaurant. We were lucky to have someone else build our itinerary for the day. As she instructed, we went to Món de Sushi in the Santa Catalina Market in Palma. Sushi, Spain? 🤔 It wasn’t no Shiro’s, but what better way to enjoy the bounty of seafood on the island. Oh, and we had a Sapporo beer. 🍺💯
Majorca has a unique history: conquered by the Moors in 900 and then recaptured by James I in the early 13th century. There is little evidence of Moorish rule, except for the Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma, which started as a mosque and ended up a cathedral. As we learned from our well-produced audioguide (most audioguides for museums and historic sites are sh*t), James I and James II are both buried on the site of the original mosque, built by the Moors. Also, we got another hit of Gaudí: he helped restore and renovate the cathedral in 1901.
The rest of the day was beach day. Both Sabine and Sheela suggested we go to Ses Covetes. They explained that locals head to the beach around 5-6PM, just as the tourists leave. We swam in the shallow surf until our fingertips were prune-y and dried off in the sun. There was a bar on the beach and we were peckish, so we had a few beers, accompanied with olives.
Dinner was in Palma. Though we had been so let down by TripAdvisor (big surprise), we decided to sleuth for a good restaurant tonight. Having a mediocre dinner while traveling is death by a thousand cuts - though minuscule, they add really add up! 😡 We decided on Celler sa Pramesa, which we estimated to be a kitschy Spanish tavern. When we arrived, there were throngs of German and English tourists and we took this to be a good sign. We had paella for the first time, since we’ve arrived in Spain, and berenjenas rellenas - stuffed eggplant.
When we arrived back at the Airbnb, we were greeted by Punchi, Momo, and Jack - Sabine and Sheela’s amazingly sweet dogs. They licked our toes and calves, still salty from the beach.
San Gabriel, Beer
Anything else on draught? No?
Celler sa Pramesa, Plaça del Bisbe Berenguer Palou, 8, Palma
