surprising monday

The only thing blue about this Monday is the color of the sky!

After a busy few weeks I realized we had the unexpected blessing of a public holiday.

This I felt was a good opportunity to escape the confines of the boat and go for a walk on the waterfront.

A crisp wind caused a choir of snapping halyards and flags as I passed the miles of boats in all shapes and sizes. Yet despite the breeze it felt good to have the sun on my face.

My sentiments seemed to be shared by the many people walking, cycling and rollerblading down the boardwalk. A pleasant atmosphere prevailed.

An elegant cafe caught my attention. Pleasantly sheltered from the wind, but still in full view of the sunshine and boats, I enjoyed a quiet lunch and used the time to sit and write a while. I was enjoying the present and the past while going through old letters and diaries.

After whiling away a few hours in the pleasant atmosphere, I noticed that the wind had dropped somewhat. Good time to resume my walk. Not much further along I realized that there was obviously a special event I was totally unaware of.

The holiday, Balearics day, was being celebrated. Hundreds of stalls lined the streets, with a bewildering variety of locally produced items. the stall keepers where dressed in traditional clothing. And yes, there was also a stall selling the traditional clothing . .

What a pleasant surprise! Rows and rows of pork sausage hanging from lines, barrels of olives and heaps of cheese. Pottery and beautiful hand crafted toys. My eyes where feasting in the colors and textures as I walked, I passed fragrant hers and spices. The smell of fresh wood shavings as a boat builder demonstrated his craft. The smell of fresh baked bread coming out of the wood fire oven. The disheveled hair and hand prints of flour on her apron gave this stall keeper an authentic air as she busily took loaves out of her oven.








Food stalls provided amply to the crowd. Not only was local tradition celebrated, but also that of the many other cultures represented in the community.

I sat on the edge of a fountain to enjoy a lovely shwarma. Around me people where still wearing their winter coats, but there was a sense of exuberance in the air, most vocally expressed by the happy children.

Carnival in Calvia

Once again the island was getting ready to celebrate. Carnival arrived. This time, instead of looking at the big city celebrations as an outsider, I joined a group of friends at the smaller village of Calvia.



The rustic rural village of Calvia became the focal point of festivities for the whole surrounding area. My friends and I settled in on the porch of the local restaurant Rosita's. The normally quiet streets where teeming in anticipation of the parade. Of course, in true Spanish style, it started two hours late. But, from our comfortable vantage point we where having a good time socializing. Muy tranquil as the locals would say. Thus, in true Spanish style, we did not care about the delay.

It was quite a crisp and cold winters day. we where all bundled up in coats and scarves. This of course, makes the parade quite different from the risque shows of flesh in carnivals like the one I saw in Trinidad many years ago


The advance guard of police vehicles and the noise behind them indicated that the parade was finally underway. the local villages came up with innovative costumes and themes. They varied from delightful home made ones to the more glossy store bought ones. So many people participated that the floats and paraders literally took hours to come past us.



From mad cows to matadors . . .Bewitching little ladies, floating flowers. Cute little Nemo's between a shark or two. and if there was any damsel in distress, she could decide if she wanted to swoon in front of the pint high zorro, spiderman or superman.


Oh, and look, is that Brittney Spears by any chance? In miniture?



A fun day, all the more so for being shared by good friends.