We flew into Palma on Monday around lunchtime, before transferring to the Africamar Hotel in Can Picafort, just outside of Alcudia. After freshening up and unpacking a little [and finding faults with the hotel including one balcony door which wouldn't lock, hairs in the bathroom and a missing door key], we headed over to Trotters British and Irish Pub for a spot of late lunch, and more importantly a beer. The food was nice [peri-peri chicken and spicy wedges] and the beer was reasonably priced; we stayed at Trotters for a few more beers before moving onto Restaurante Niagara for cocktails by the beach. Niagara has three Blue-and-yellow macaw parrots - word of warning, do not try to stroke them, they don't seem to like it! We sampled strawberry daiquiris, and more notably Moz tried a Tortuga which was pretty much a glass of pure ethanol. You will get approached by 'lucky-lucky men' here; we were offered to buy a watch more than a few times (buy one, get five free!). Me and Tez had a wander down onto the beach, and then we all had a walk across the seafront. We arrived at Heladeria San Remo and opted to have our evening meal there; the place seemed quite lively and well kept and the prices were palatable [17.50 euro for peppered steak]. We all had ice cream and another drink, settled the 95 euro bill and headed back to the hotel for some rest in anticipation for the next days activities. The night ended with a fantastic tropical storm which saw the entire sky lighting up in menacing flashes of white, whilst the rain poured down over paradise.
Tuesday morning saw us heading back over the road to Trotters British and Irish Pub once more, this time for breakfast [a coffee & full English - typical Brits abroad]. We then caught a coach back across the island to Palma so that we could visit Bellver Castle. Hilarity ensued after arriving by bus to the base of a flight of 500 steps which we then had to climb. Moz on crutches recovering from a dislocated knee, and Stace who suffers with chronic fatigue [not 'conifer trees' as I had thought she'd said initially]. We finally arrived at the top of the steps and realised there was a road that led all the way to the top; ugh. We went to enter the castle only to be told we needed tickets from around the other side - awesome, it's not like we were tired or sweating! Tez volunteered to go fetch the tickets, whilst Moz discovered his sun-cream had leaked all inside his bag [harsh but hilarious at the time]. Tez returned and we headed into the castle, taking in the architecture, the historic monuments and the museum-esque areas that explained its history. We headed up to the roof [minus Moz who could not manage the stairs] and took in the fantastic views out over Palma and the surrounding coastline and mainland. After taking [many] photos, we headed around to the Castle Bar near the carpark and enjoyed a cold Estrella in the shade. Note to all tourists; do not waste your time trying to arrange a taxi from outside of the Castle. After an infuriating time trying to arrange a taxi from NTaxi's [we're talking 45 minutes here including speaking to drivers, ringing the operator and being told there were none available, downloading their app etc.], we gave up and walked back down into the city via the 500 Steps. Once back in the streets of Palma we caught a [free] bus up to Bar Central where we stopped for another beer. Not sure why the bus was free but it was absolutely packed; the epitome of a sweat-box. We walked up through Mayor Plaza, had a quick stop off at the Disney Store [for Stace haha] and then had a wander around Museu Fundación Juan March taking a look at the early works of Pablo Picasso and works by Joan Miró, Juan Gris and Salvador Dalí. After we'd taken in the artworks, we headed toward a craft beer shop that Moz wanted to visit via bus however when we arrived it wasn't open. Remaining optimistic that the owner would appear soon, we stopped at the nearby Santa Catalina Santina for a spot of food [a panini] whilst we waited for Del Món Beershop to open [which it did thankfully]. Afterwards we continued on to Catedral de Mallorca for a bit of sightseeing and photography as the sun began to set, before finally heading over to Lórien to sample their craft beer offerings. After a busy day in Palma, we headed back to the coach and rested up during the 50 minute drive back to Can Picafort. Once back, we headed to the hotel, freshened up and headed round to the Jamaica Cocktail Bar for our evening meal. This was quite possibly my favourite place in Can Picafort to eat at [I had Jerk Chicken with all the trimmings!]; if you bought four cocktails, you also got a free t-shirt. By the end of the night we had a couple of free t-shirts and a 147 euro bill [we gave them 170 euro, it was worth it!]. We headed back to the hotel and got some much needed and well deserved rest.
Wednesday was a very relaxed day. Following a simple breakfast at Playa Bar Restaurante, we headed down onto the white sand beach to enjoy the sunshine. The first thing we realised was that a lot of people aren't shy about their bodies based on the amount of topless women we saw. We found some sun loungers available and perched up. Tez went to fetch us all some ice lollies whilst we reclined and soaked up the rays. Before long we decided to venture out into the sea [beside Moz with his bad leg]; the water was cool at first but very refreshing; me and Tez ended up pretty far out off the coast. When we got back, Stace was approached by a lady offering Thai massages which after a little discussion she agreed to; a male then showed up offering Moz a foot massage which he politely declined. Whilst we were relaxing the sky suddenly darkened over quickly and before we knew it the weather turned dreary as rain began to fall. I was the first to evacuate and head up to the nearby Nusa Dua Can Picafort for shelter, shortly followed by Moz leaving Stace to enjoy her Thai massage in the rain. By now the male masseuse had also joined in giving the Thai massage. Myself and Moz sat supping beers watching the rain fall once again. Tez and Stace joined us and had a drink before we moved onto the Oasis Grill Restaurant for cocktails, and then the Horitzo Cafe for even more cocktails. The Oasis Grill seemed part of a franchise with the Jamaica Cocktail bar from the previous day as it had very similar branding and menus. Terry enjoyed a Kiss By The Sea cocktail that was reminiscent of a Mudslide [a cocktail by Revolution], meanwhile I had a sangria. At Horitzo I recall having many various cocktails with exotic names and expensive price tags. After freshening up at the hotel, we headed next door to Sabores De India for a curry; I'll be the first to admit all the alcohol and sun had gone to my head at this point and I barely even remember the rest of the night. From what I've seen on pictures, videos and the limited recall I have, we went to Trotters British & Irish Pub yet again, but this time for beer and karaoke [Beach Boys, Meatloaf, The Killers, Madness, Rick Astley]. I was absolutely hammered by the time I went back to the hotel room. So much so, that the next morning I was still hammered.
So after the previous nights antics, Thursday was my 31st birthday, however I was too hungover to even function until midday! Everyone else headed down to the beach and left me in bed nursing an awful hangover, returning with birthday cake and gifts. Once I was more alive [around 13:00] we headed down to catch the bus for our Formentor Experience excursion that we had arranged the previous day [whilst I was too drunk to really recall]. The bus headed out to Alcudia passing some landmarks including Church of St. Jaume, and the Saint Sebastian Gate into the old town Murada Medieval d'Alcúdia before stopping at Port de Pollenca. We had a short bathroom break at Stay Restaurant which included the least private toilets I've seen [the stall doors were frosted glass] since Riga [the Skyline Bar has an entirely glass wall right beside the urinal]. The Formentor Experience included a boat ride from Pollenca that passed by Talaia d'Albercutx, before continuing onward to Playa de Formentor Beach. Upon arrival, we popped into L'Espigó BeachBar for a tourist trap light lunch [self-service & overpriced], before heading down to the beautiful beach for a swim and relax. The beach, though beautiful was pretty hectic, and we found respite near some rocks under the shade from nearby trees. The water was crystal clear, however there was a very strange odour, and it was really salty. There were also a lot of fish swimming around your feet which was a little unnerving. After we'd spent some time on the beach the journey continued onward via coach to the amazing views of Mirador Es Colomer high up in the hills. It was crazy as the coach headed up winding roads with a huge cliff face metres away. When we arrived at the top of the hills we were greeted by spectacular valleys meandering through the mainland; there was a rocky path cutting it's way across the landscape that led up and down steps to a viewing platform that offered amazing views of the coastline. Many photos later we headed back down and grabbed ice lollies from Bar Mirador Colomer before heading back onto the coach that would return us to Can Picafort. It was our last night, and also my birthday, so we headed back into the hotel and freshened up before making our way down to the highly recommended Restaurante Vinicius for our evening meal. The service was excellent, our waiter Zeus was really polite and the food was delicious [I had the angus sirloin steak but also got to try the garlic rabbit which Tez ordered]. We spoke with the owner Daniele who was very accommodating and advised us she prepares all the desserts herself; I had the white chocolate brownie with pistachio ice cream which was superb. After we'd eaten and finished our drinks we headed across to the Africamar hotel bar to try the highly recommended strawberry daiquiris made by Nacho; unfortunately we did not get to try them as his protege Topher made them. This was made worse when Stace sucked a hair out of her drink which ruined the atmosphere entirely. Topher was apologetic and didn't charge for the drink, but the mood was already spoilt. After we left the hairy daiquiri at Africamar, we went around for cocktails at Pirates Can Picafort [another of the chain with Oasis Grill and Jamaica] however their selection of cocktails wasn't as broad which meant we did not stay for long before we made tracks to Barracuda, a club we noted the previous day was quite lively at night. We had a few more beers, ate a few more bar snacks, and begrudgingly went back to the hotel for one last sleep before we flew home on Friday morning.
Friday was the day we came home. It was depressing. The highlight was Moz complaining about his leg whilst we were checking into the airport which resulted in him being rushed through fast track and priority boarding. This seemed like a good thing at first until they finally delivered him to the boarding gate, and he had to make his way back through a large part of the airport to meet us at Burger King where we were enjoying our breakfast/lunch. Eventually we boarded the plane, waved goodbye to Can Picafort, and left with our memories of a lovely holiday.
#swooped #done #jibeet
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Africamar Hotel
Trotters British and Irish Pub
Restaurante Niagara
Heladeria San Remo
Bellver Castle
Castle Bar
Bar Central
Mayor Plaza
Museu Fundación Juan March
Santa Catalina Santina
Del Món Beershop
Catedral de Mallorca
Lórien
Jamaica Cocktail Bar
Playa Bar Restaurante
Nusa Dua Can Picafort
Oasis Grill Restaurant
Horitzo Cafe
Sabores De India
Church of St. Jaume
Saint Sebastian Gate
Murada Medieval d'Alcúdia
Port de Pollenca
Stay Restaurant
Formentor Experience
Talaia d'Albercutx
Playa de Formentor Beach
L'Espigó BeachBar
Mirador Es Colomer
Bar Mirador Colomer
Restaurante Vinicius
Pirates Can Picafort
Barracuda
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