Monthly Archives: January 2008

Carnal Desires

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There are some topics of everyday life that many sources do not want to talk about, pretending they do not exist. Prostitution is one such topic.

Presently, some 2,500 prostitutes offer their services in the Balearic Islands to fulfill any carnal desires that one might have (that’s a number quoted by Metges del Món). About half that number appear to come from South America, mainly Brazil, with the other half being made up from African as well as Eastern European countries. Apparently, 93 % of all prostitutes are illegal or irregular immigrants.

My advice would be: whatever you do, be cautious and prudent. And use protection.

The photo was taken near Campos del Port, Mallorca, Spain. The date: December 4th, 2007. The time was 13:30:31.

Miró’s Egg

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Joan Miró is the artist of the sculpture Monument a la dona (1972), reputedly the work of art most often photographed by tourists visiting Palma de Mallorca. The public has given the Monument to the Woman a nickname, though: the Egg. It’s easy to see why that should be so.

The city of Palma de Mallorca is the custodian of the artist’s Mallorcan legacy.

You can visit the Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró a Mallorca in Palma’s suburb, Cala Major, in Calle Joan de Saridakis, 29 (just beyond Porto Pi). Opening hours during the Winter season are Tuesday to Saturday, 10h00 to 18h00, and Sunday 10h00 to 15h00. Admission fees are 5 € for the general public, or 1,80 € for Palma residents.

The photo was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The date: January 11th, 2008. The time was 13:35:40.

Tilling the Land

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Not so many years ago, Mallorca was a predominantly agricultural society. Almonds, carob beans, oranges, apricots, wine and olives were the main crops, together with a bit of sheep farming and a cow here and there.

Today, all that has changed. Now, tourism is the big industry, whilst the land does not earn its upkeep any longer.

The photo today is a bit of a rarity in as much as you won’t find many people still tilling their land. I always get a kick when I see someone, mostly of the older generation, still taking care of soil, fruit or animals which, by the way, does seem to have a meditative quality to it.

The photo was taken near Costitx, Mallorca, Spain. The date: January 24th, 2008. The time was 16:30:27.

Police Force

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Municipal police forces in Mallorca seem to have undergone a tremendous change over the last two or three years. In my estimation, local police forces have at least doubled in numbers everywhere. Also, police men (and women) now seem to always carry hand guns when in the past, they only did so when out to attend to a conflict.

I wonder what all that is about.

The photo was taken in Felanitx, Mallorca, Spain. The date: January 20th, 2008. The time was 15:42:20.

Fandango

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I love music. Spain is great for music, not least for the prevalence of flamenco and fandango.

Both have their origin in Southern Spain, in Andalucía to be precise. I walked past a building in a neighbourhood of dereliction in Palma de Mallorca when I heard this loud and fiery fandango music coming from a window on the first floor (see photo). Fandango is an Andalusian courtship dance; I did not see the dance in the first floor flat, I could only imagine it.

I grant that not everybody will subscribe to my musical or visual likes and dislikes. That’s o. k. But this is my blog, and what I hear and see in Mallorca, definitely is part of real life on this island.

If you like flamenco music, you may like Quawwali-Flamenco, a 2 CD box set plus DVD, with music and performances by Faiz Ali Faiz, Duquende, Miguel Poveda and Chicuelo, distributed by harmonia mundi. I am listening to it as I speak (so to say).

The photo was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The date: December 31st, 2007. The time was 16:07:17.

Eco-Friendly

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Mallorca is not really well endowed with dunes. The island proudly offers a multitude of beaches, mostly sandy, but beaches with dunes, only few.

There are two stretches of dunes-y beaches, though, on the North East coast, called the Platja de Muro, and in the South, near Colònia de Sant Jordi, called Platja d’es Trenc.

In recent years the Mallorcan dunes have been declared Nature Reserves; they are now protected, some even cordoned off. A measure that might stop the 4×4 hooligans from ransacking a natural paragon.

The photo was taken on Platja d’es Trenc, near Sa Rapita, Mallorca, Spain. The date: December 25th, 2007. The time was 15:40:38.

Urban Development

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A colossal amount of building work has transformed the island of Mallorca since I moved here, twenty years ago. That’s building as in the construction of roads, motorways, railway lines, underground links, golf courses, marinas, houses, apartments, flats, you name it.

There is talk of all that cooling off a bit now, as in slowing down.

But when you walk around Palma’s central areas you can’t help noticing a lot of construction work still being carried out. Half the Barrio Chino has been knocked down and is being re-built.

The photo was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The date: December 8th, 2007. The time was 13:17:09.

Migration

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Spain is a country with a high percentage of migrants.

For a start, there are lots of Northern Europeans, like yours truly, that have migrated to the South. Then, there are a few hundred thousand immigrants from North Africa that seek work and income chances here that they are not given in their home countries. And lastly, there are in excess of one million immigrants from previously Spanish colonies who speak Spanish and who hope, again, for opportunities that in South America or the Philippines they cannot find.

Statistics say that some 15 percent of Spain’s population has an immigration background. In the Balearic Islands, this figure is said to be nearer 20 percent.

The photo was taken in Manacor, Mallorca, Spain. The date: October 8th, 2007. The time was 13:45:44.

Ball de Bot

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Festivities and celebrations in Mallorca are always accompanied by music and dance, as they were last Sunday during the Beneïdes, the blessing of the animals.

The typical Mallorcan folk dance is called Ball de Bot, a sort of medieval line-dance, usually performed in full attire of the traditional Mallorcan farmers’ robes.

Children learn the steps and movements from an early age, even younger than in my picture shown today. It is great fun to watch and, quite obviously, it is quite fun to perform.

The photo was taken in Felanitx, Mallorca, Spain. The date: January 20th, 2008. The time was 16:29:02.

Energy Husbandry

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People living in rural areas in Mallorca do not always have everything available to them.

Some fincas do not have mains electricity connected, or telephone, water, sewage, or Internet, you name it.

In such circumstances, it is vital to learn how to deal with limited resources and to acquire skills of, for instance, husbandry of energy.

Luckily, an island such as Mallorca, in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, is frequented by a fair amount of wind. Wind can become a valuable source of alternative energy when converted into mechanical use, as was done in this case where wind helps to bring up water from an underground source.

Windmills have been used for farm irrigation for a couple of centuries by now, here in Mallorca.

The photo was taken in Son Negre, near Felanitx, Mallorca, Spain. The date: January 20th, 2008. The time was 14:27:55.