Monthly Archives: April 2012

Dead Dolphins

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First the good news. There is a surprising prevalence of dolphins in the waters surrounding the Balearic Isles. Species found around Mallorca include the Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis), Risso’s Dolphin (Grampus griseus), the Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus) and the White-Sided Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus). Dolphins are often found swimming alongside fishing boats and can sometimes even be seen in coastal coves, here. Of course, you can also see dolphins at Marineland in Costa d’en Blanes and at the Palma Aquarium. Not quite the same, though, but a much safer bet if you want to be sure of a close encounter with the intelligent and friendly marine mammals.

Now the bad news. For some reasons, every now and then a dead dolphin is found on the shores of Mallorca. Yesterday, there was a beached dolphin at the Platja d’es Trenc near Colònia de Sant Jordi (shown here). I could not find any information as to why the dolphins die or beach-up. Some smaller ones may get tangled in one of those enormous fishing nets or else, they may receive injuries from boats or jet-skies. The good people at Marineland seem to have the ultimate expertise on dolphins in Mallorcan waters, if you should want to find out more on the subject.

Just to make up for the sad image (photo centre), here is a short video clip from YouTube, showing a small school of dolphins off the coast of Cabo Blanco. Enjoy.

The photo (top) was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of flickr.com and miquelsalas. The photo (centre) was borrowed by my friend Lazlo Aust. It was taken near Colònia de Sant Jordi, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: April 29th, 2012. The time was 16:35:15. The video was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of YouTube and xatino.

Thank you very much, vielen Dank, and

muchas gracias.

The Organ Matinées in Alaró

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The Iglesia Parroquia de San Bartolomé, the parish church of Alaró, is the venue for Organ Matinées every Saturday morning. Yesterday, April 28th, Els matins de l’orgue were celebrated for the 250th time with works by César Franck, Camille Saint-Saëns, Johann Sebastian Bach and Louis Lefébure-Wely, among others.

The church organ in Alaró was built during the 18th century by Mallorcan organ builder Pere Josep Bosch and reconditioned by Gerhard Grenzing in 2006, when this cycle of Organ Matinées first started.

The resident organist, Miquel Bennàssar, gives most of the weekly recitals but now and then, some of the best organists in Europe are invited to perform. If you missed yesterday’s Els matins de l’orgue, there will be another one next Saturday, May 5th, at 11h30. Admission is free.

The photo was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of solamentemusica.es.

Muchas gracias.

Bunyola

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I am quite sure that I have not covered Bunyola yet on this blog, other than a reference to its Hospital Joan March when I got a beating from one distressed relative for mentioning the word death.

There is evidence of some prehistoric quadrangular settlements nearby such as Son Palou, Pujol and s’Alqueria Blanca. The Romans were here too as is manifested by sa Mina des Moros , also known as Galena de Son Creus, which also was in use during the Byzantine period. During the Islamic period, Bunyola belonged to the Juz’ of Bunyûla-Mûsû, as did nearby Esporles, Valldemossa, Deià and some parts of Banyalbufar.

Bunyola is probably best known for its train station. The Palma to Sóller train has stopped here almost since the inauguration of its line in 1912. Other well known attractions are at close range, such as Raixa, Alfàbia and Aurient (Orient). Bunyola is also popular with cyclists and mountain hikers; four or five mountains rise within easy reach and all above 968 metres, such as Puig des Teix, Sa Rateta and Alfàbia. Less demanding hikes or walks can be had on lower altitudes at Talaia de Cals Reis, Puig de Ses Crestes, Penyal d’Honor or Es Castellet. You should come and check it out.

The photo was taken in Bunyola, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: April 2nd, 2012. The time was 17:15:25.

Wild Gladioluses

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One of my many Mallorcan delights is a small and delicate wild flower with up to twelve soft purple florets. They are wild gladioluses (Gladiolus italicus), also known as Common Sword Lily, a native to all four major Balearic isles. The wild beauty grows on the edge of wheat, rye or oats fields. The flower usually comes out in May and June but this year, everything seems a bit early. Even Summer, if we are lucky.

The photo (top) was taken near Manacor, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: April 26th, 2012. The time was 11:38:04. The photo (bottom) was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of pbase.com and ftd.

Thank you very much.

La Porta de Xara in Alcúdia

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The old town of Alcúdia used to be surrounded by a fortified Mediaeval city wall, built during the 14th century and modified during the 16th century. The Southern and Western remnants of this bulwark are still largely intact; one can climb up and walk along most of its remaining expanse. Two massive gates are part of that wall, Porta de Mallorca, also known also as Porta de Sant Sebastià (the Western gate) and Porta de Xara, also known also as Porta de Moll (the Eastern gate), shown here. The Porta de Xara still preserves its original Mediaeval portcullis, carpentered in wood some 400 years ago (photo below).

The photos were taken in Alcúdia, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: March 30th, 2012. The time was 13:11:13 and 13:07:22, respectively.

Sant Marc and the Fate of Snails

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I have a few admissions to make, this Day of Sant Marc (Mark the Evangelist). For some reason, this is the day when tradition in Mallorca calls for the celebration of Caragoladas, snail eating banquets.

Admission no. one: I have taken lots of photos of snails over the years in all shapes and sizes, alive or boiled, on the plate or in the field, in the nature or in Mallorca’s markets but right now, I can’t find any of my snail photos just as I would need one. I seem to lack in keywording abilities or in more efficient photo archiving. I am sorry but I had to borrow a photo from Wikimedia.

Admission no. two: I am at a total loss as to why Sant Marc is associated with the eating of snails. The snail eating capital of Mallorca seems to be Sineu, but Algaïda and Sant Jordi are big snail eating communities as well. In Sant Jordi, an annual snail race is held, albeit a bit later, in mid-May. Sineu is celebrating its patron’s day today, Sant Marc, with the usual Wednesday market in an extra special, festive edition, whilst banks and offices have a festive day off. I believe that the Palau dels Reis will be open for visits today in Sineu as well. Sineu is also the place where Caragols-Mallorca resides, Mallorca’s largest snail breeders.

I am sorry if I may sound a bit vague today but there you are. I don’t know everything, so there.

The photo (top) was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of wikimedia.org. and the photographer, Thomas Schoch. The photo (bottom) was chosen from my archive. It was taken near Petra, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: August 9th, 2008. The time was 15:33:58.

Thank you very much, and

vielen Dank.

Coastal Public Domain

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Walking along the Mallorcan coastline, you will inevitably stumble across some hitos (Castellano) or fites (Catalan), boundary stones fixing the demarcation of the maritime border.

In 1988, when the Spanish Ley de Costas was approved, all Spanish coastlines were declared Dominio público marítimo terrestre (Public Domain), granting the general public a right of access. In theory this right of access was meant to stretch 100 m from the waterfront. Here in Mallorca we find ourselves lucky if a corridor with a width of 20 m is maintained. Just recently, there were newspaper reports claiming that the Ley de Costas instigated by the government under Felipe González is likely to be watered down by the current conservative administration. We shall have to wait and see. The boundary stones used to be simple markers made of sandstone whilst now new ones have been placed made of concrete and fitted with a metal plaque. In my photo you can see old and new ones, side by side. In fact, often the new marking stones are quite a way removed from the old boundary markers and quite often, are further inland.

The photo was taken near Colònia de Sant Pere, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: April 22nd, 2012. The time was 12:28:45.

The Dolmen of s’Aigua Dolça

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Going back in time a long way, there was a Talaiotic period here in Mallorca, dating from the Bronze Age (late second millennium and early first millennium B. C.). I have reported here on this blog on some of the more important Talaiots such as Capocorp Vell, Ses Païsses, S’Hospitalet Vell, Els Antigors, Son Corró, Son Fornés etc.

The remains of two Mallorcan Dolmen structures predate the earliest Talaiotic period by some 300 to 500 years. The Dolmen of s’Aigua Dolça in the municipality of Artà (see both photos) is said to be dating from approx. 1800 B. C. and may well be the oldest man-made construction on the island of Mallorca.

Dolmens are burial places. When the Dolmen of s’Aigua Dolça was excavated in 1997, selective bones of twenty different people were found. A theory is held that these bones were brought to this dolmen from other burial places or necropolises for ritualistic purposes similar to those known to have existed in the native culture of North America.

I went to the s’Aigua Dolça yesterday with Lluís Moragues who discovered this dolmen in 1995 and was responsible for initiating its subsequent protection and excavation. Bravo, Lluís. If you want to read more about the dolmen’s discovery and its relevance, you can do so in Carlos Garrido’s blog (in Spanish).

The photos were taken near Colònia de Sant Pere, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: April 22nd, 2012. The time was 12:10:23 and 12:07:28, respectively.

High-Tech in the High Mountains

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My friend and loyal reader David commented on the breadth of the topics this blog covers, and that he never realised that Mallorca was so interesting. These kind words were well received. Mallorca offers so very many different facets indeed and even more than I have covered in the nearly five years of this blog’s existence (six weeks to go for the fifth anniversary) and its 1,789 blog posts. The thing is that most of us are only aware of our immediate surroundings and environment. Let me talk about golfers who know more than I do about what is going on in the golfing circuit, and perhaps much less about falconry. Or the boat people who are fully entrenched in yachts and knots and marinas, and not very much else apart from wining and dining.

Yesterday, for instance, the most amazing Ultratrail Mallorca took place in the Serra de Tramuntana, and not many people gave it much attention apart from close friends and family members. There were perhaps 1,800 participants walking, running, ambling and limping the 105 kilometres between Andratx and Pollença, with the best able ones beating themselves in just over eleven hours, all satellite tracked from high above and chip controlled from down below. I think it is amazing what goes on here on the island and what a shame that most of us are not aware of half the going-ons, most of the time.

Anyway, a big applause to the brave athletes who yesterday not only managed to cross the finishing line after some twelve to twenty hours but who also conquered themselves in the proceedings. What an inimitable feat.

The yellow machine in the photo (above) is a high-tech chip detector on one of the five check-points between start and finish in yesterday’s competition. Each and every participating athlete was equipped with a microchip and his or her whereabouts or passing-through and time was monitored. The red numbers on the runner’s vest in the photo indicate one of the 1,200 participants who started the race in Andratx at 00h00, and the green number tag indicates one of the 600 participants who started the competition in Valldemossa at 08h00. The carriers of red had been on the go for 18 hours by the time this picture was taken, and the carriers of green, ten hours. Utterly amazing.

I reckon there will be much more going on here in Mallorca before my enthusiasm and wonderment are exhausted. Stay tuned.

The photo (top) was taken in Escorca, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: April 21st, 2012. The time was 18:13:29. The image (below) was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of Google and siguemeya.com.

Thank you, and

muchas gracias.

The Monestir de La Real

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The Monestir de Santa María de La Real just to the North of Palma was founded in 1235 by designation of King Jaume I, the Conquistador. From 1265 to 1274, Ramon Llull lived and worked there, studying Latin, philosophy, theology and the law. Here, he wrote his first books, Compendi de la lògica d’Algatzell and Llibre de Contemplació en Déu. These treaties were written in Arabic and only later translated into Catalan. I understand that both manuscripts form part of the library that Llull bequeathed to La Real. I am not sure if or how one can gain access to the Bibliotequa de La Real, said to be one of the most emminent ones on the island but I am sure one could find out.

I do know, however, that one can gain access to the cloisters of that monastery. Although the convent appears closed at all times, visitors can ring the doorbell and will be admitted for brief visits as long as peace and quiet are respected. You should consider an excursion to this spiritual oasis, not far from where you might reside.

The photos were taken near Palma, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: April 2nd, 2012. The time was 12:57:11 and 13:11:27, respectively.