Mallorcan Roadtrip Part 2

After a beautiful afternoon at Cala Tuent, and some authentic Spanish paella, we hopped back in our Panda and hit the road again. This time we were headed for a nearby beach called Torrent de Pareis. Once again the roads were curvy and dizzying, but we made it to the small carpark quite quickly. We bought some ice cream bars at a small restaurant, and then walked down the winding paths leading to the beach. In order to get to Torrent de Pareis, we had to walk through a small narrow tunnel in a mountain. It was lit with fluorescent blue lights, and had blasted-out windows which offered views of what was to come.

Torrent de Pareis

When we stepped out of the claustrophobic tunnel, we were met with another majestic sight. Torrent de Pareis is in the middle of two mountains. Rocks the size and colour of Easter eggs fill the canyon floor, and before heading to the beach, we turned around and walked through the canyon. We had fun dipping in and out of the shallow wading pools, and were disturbed when we found a slaughtered goat's head atop a stick, adorned with a wreath of wild Spanish lavender....creepy.

Back at the beach we spent the late afternoon swimming in the sea. Luckily there were no jellyfish close to the shore, so we were able to swim and bob around. The water was extremely clear, and we could see to the bottom of it perfectly! It must have been around 40 feet deep, and we spotted tons of fish swimming around our legs! A few people were diving off of the cliff near the beach, and we had fun watching whether they would land perfectly, or whether they would land with an unfortunate slaaaappp. Gabriel and Christian decided to swim out further in the water, while I was content to collect rocks and sit on the towel. While out in the middle of the bay, Christian said he knocked into a "plastic bag with metal cables in it!" Gabriel and Christian didn't understand what was going on, until they saw a huge purple jellyfish surrounding them! Both of the guys were mildly stung, and that incident quickly put an end to their swimming expedition.

We watched the sun begin to set, before heading back in the car. On the way home we stopped in the picturesque mountain village of Fornalutx, which is considered by many to be the most beautiful village in all of Spain! We all shared some Spanish chorizo and mini-octopus, finished off with a slab of sweet Spanish cake and coffee. A live band was playing, and children were running through the old cobbled streets, kicking soccer balls and playing sword-fight.

The drive home was in the dark. On the crazy roads. With no street lights and non-existant guard-rails. It was pretty nerve-racking. Luckily we made it home safely, and have some great stories to share about our roadtrip through the northwest of Mallorca!

That's the end of my Mallorca posts! It's been great re-living the vacation this past week, as it's been super rainy and chilly here in Amsterdam. I'm already trying to convince Gabriel to take me back to Spain....