The USS Enterprise Visit
By the time you read this, the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) aircraft carrier may have left the bay of Palma de Mallorca, where she arrived last Tuesday with some 6,000 sailors […]
Good Vibrations
Last weekend, the Hotel Cala d’Or in Cala d’Or celebrated its 75 anniversary. The building was constructed in 1932 by Mijnheer Veerburgh, a Belgian architect who had fallen in love […]
The Cuartel de Son Busquets
Finding your way around Palma de Mallorca, you will probably have come across a number of vast walled-in areas which look perhaps a bit ominous. These are possibly some of […]
The Spanish Second Republic
Eighty years ago this week, in April 1931, the Spanish Segunda República (Second Republic) was proclaimed. Earlier that year, King Alfonso XIII had abdicated as a consequence of massive civil […]
The Shoe Making Museum
Mallorca now has a shoe making museum, in Inca, where else. Until very recently, when China captured the market of shoe making and everything else, Inca was big in leather […]
The Peninsular War
In 1807, the French emperor Napoleon moved his troops through Spain to invade Portugal. After feeding more than 100,000 troops into Spain under the pretext of supporting the invasion, Napoleon […]
The Crucero Baleares Monument
The controversial monument in Palma’s Plaça de Sa Feixina in memory of the sinking of the battleship Baleares has undergone a complete renovation. The heavy cruiser Baleares (photo centre) was […]
A 1923 Helicopter From Llucmajor
Pere Sastre Obrador was a visionary man with a passion. He was born in Llucmajor in 1895. People in Mallorca consider this man to be the inventor of the helicopter […]
The Castell de Portopí
The Castell de Portopí was built under Rey Felipe III between 1610 and 1612; it became Mallorca’s most substantial fortress. The castle’s name changed soon into that of Castell de […]
Time’s Up
It was time’s up for Gordon Brown yesterday, but also for some of Generalissimo Franco‘s heraldic emblems in Palma de Mallorca. Of course, there is no relation between the two […]
The Artillery Battery Of Cap Blanc
Throughout history, the island of Mallorca has been concerned with the defense of its coast lines. Naturally, if ever an enemy was approaching, the attack would have come from the […]
Puig Major
Puig Major, also sometimes called Puig Major de Son Torrella, is Mallorca’s highest mountain with a height of 1,445 m, and is the crowning summit in the Serra de Tramuntana. […]
Viva España
The large monument in Palma’s Plaça de Sa Feixina has been controversial for some time (see my blog entry dated January 25th, 2008). The huge column is a kind of […]
Changing The Guard
A new tourist attraction was created in Palma de Mallorca a few months ago, the recreation of a historical military changing of the guard. I went to Palma yesterday to […]
The Porto Pí Lighthouse Museum
It is not easy to get anywhere near the Torre de Portopí. In fact an approach from the waterfront by boat might be the best way to see the 13th […]
