Day 5 – Mallorca: Taking Flight & Sailing at Sea
My alarm went off at 7:50am because I was able to work out Stelios’s surprise with Julian for 9am this morning. We stopped at a bakery and ordered 2 cafe con leches and croissants for only 8 euro. It was about a 30 min drive back to Can Pizà where the surprise would take place. Julian welcomed us and we hopped in his old school Land Rover for a quick drive. The truck was made from aluminum from World War 2 aircraft’s, and it was practically a mini tank. We went off road and were going over vines, trees, and all sorts of things. Just another regular morning for Julian I imagine.
Stelios still had no idea what was happening and I was so excited to see his reaction. Julian parked the car, we hopped out, and there was an all glass mini helicopter waiting for us in the field. SURPRISE!! We were going on a helicopter ride through the Traumaunta Mountains!! Stelios was ecstatic and at first he didn’t believe me and thought I was joking with him. Once he realized this was actually happening, we walked over to meet our pilot Eddy. He was a friendly Swedish guy with dreadlocks who told us he had been a pilot for 4 years and now lives in Mallorca. Stelios and I both couldn’t get over how tiny and pristine the helicopter looked from the outside. From the inside it was basically all glass giving the riders and pilot panoramic views. Eddy showed us the helicopter, gave us our headsets and ran through what to do, and then we got in and buckled up. Ready for takeoff!
The takeoff was super smooth, and within seconds we were up in the air. Eddy said we were flying at about 180mph but it felt like we were gliding through the air at 20mph. I asked Stelios if he had any idea what the surprise was and he said no, he thought we were going parasailing or something, and that this was MUCH BETTER. Stelios was smiling ear to ear the entire time and while the helicopter ride was so cool since it was both of our first times, seeing Stelios so happy and giddy is what really made this the ultimate experience for me.
After a quick 20 minute flight Eddy brought us back down so smoothly that I didn’t even feel the helicopter touch the ground. We thanked both Eddy & Julian for moving the helicopter tour to today so we could still experience it, and we hopped back on our Vespa – onto the next excursion!
We had about an hour drive from CanPiza to Cala D’Or where we chartered a private sailboat for the day, called Chef on Board: a Private Gastroboat Experience. The drive was long and mostly highway, and my knees were starting to hurt after being on the bike for so long. We made 2 wrong turns on the way and arrived at 11:15am. We were 15 minutes late, but I wasn’t concerned since it a private experience, we knew the boat wouldn’t leave without us!
We parked in the marina and were greeted by Captain Nico, a retired chef who now spends his days living on his sailboat and taking visitors out on the water while preparing a culinary experience while anchored at sea. The plan was to ride to 2 different Calas (beach coves), swim around, relax, and enjoy lunch on the water. The first Cala was beautiful, surrounded by cliffs and the water was crystal clear. Stelios jumped in right away and I laid out on the boat deck to tan and get hot before jumping it. The water was so refreshing. Stelios was about to jump in a second time but then I noticed a school of red jellyfish with long tentacles bobbing by. They must’ve been brought into the cove as the tide was changing because they definitely weren’t there earlier. I am traumatized from badly being stung by jellyfish as a child in the Barnegat Bay, so I definitely wasn’t jumping in again after seeing that. Stelios bravely took a quick dip after seeing none at the back of the boat and then quickly got out. Chef Nico offered us some beverages – I enjoyed the white wine while Stelios drank Estrella Galicia (the main beer that they serve on Mallorca).
Shortly after Chef Nico was ready with our appetizers – his homemade hummus, dates wrapped in Iberian ham, strawberry salad with menorcan cheese, soppresada with honey, and an eggplant appetizer that was his grandmothers recipe from Sicily. It was a delicious spread and the eggplant was our favorite.
After the first course, it was time to venture to the 2nd Cala. On the way there we saw people climbing up some of the cliffs by the water. The 2nd Cala was a bit more crowded compared to the first one, but Captain Nico expertly maneuvered around them and anchored in a good spot. Thankfully this cala had no jellyfish, and the water was an even brighter blue in this cove, and more shallow so you could see all the way to the bottom. Stelios and I both jumped into the water for a refreshing swim. When I climbed back onto the boat, a girl in the boat anchored next to us and called over asking if we had any sunscreen. We told her yes and by the time I grabbed it and turned back around she had taken her top off and was swimming over to our boat half naked. I laughed to myself – only in Europe! I handed her the sunscreen and she swam back to her boat, put sunscreen on, and then put her bikini top back on. I’m unsure why it was done in that order, if you’re going to tan topless might as well just stay that way! Anyway Stelios jumped into the water shortly after to retrieve the sunscreen. After being in the hot sun and sipping on wine all day I laid out on the boat and took a much needed siesta until our entrees were ready. Chef Nico had prepared fresh prawns and fish for lunch. I complimented the chef on the fresh prawns and he said every morning he gets a fresh catch from a local fisherman at the marina, otherwise we would have to wake up at 6am and wait in line at the fish market. The prawns in Mallorca are also nothing like the small ones served back home. These are full of fresh white meat and have a sweeter taste to them, sort of like a mini lobster. After some more wine, chef brought us out dessert – a banana cream dish with dulce de leche hidden in the middle. A sweet ending to a delicious lunch.
By 4pm it was time to head back to the marina. Captain Nico really impressed me when he docked the 40ft sailboat boat in reverse without even using a boat pole or anything to get us into the slip. It was very impressive! We thanked him for a wonderful day and hopped on our Vespa to ride back to Palma. The ride back to Palma was much easier and less highway than the way there which Stelios and I were both thankful for.
By the time we got back to the hotel I received an email from our photographer that our wedding photo previews had arrived!! How exciting! We showered, got comfy and put on our hotel robes, and went through all of the photos together. They came out so beautiful we can’t wait to see the full gallery.
Around 8pm we decided to get ready for dinner and walk to one of the placitas that we passed last night. However, by the time we got there it was 9pm which is prime dinner time in Mallorca and most of the bars/restaurants had a wait. We finally grabbed a table but when I opened the menu there were pictures of the drinks and food which I knew was a red flag that the food would be mediocre at best. We were starving so we ordered 2 espresso martinis, a salad that was drowning in dressing, and the croquetas that were just OK. Dissatisfied, we continued to walk to the Santa Catalina section of Palma. There was one street that was full of life, people bar hopping, and lots of restaurant choices. We ended up walking to Vandal, a tapas fusion restaurant I had saved and we grabbed 2 seats at the bar. The cocktails were amazing and all of the food that passed by looked delicious. We decided to order 2 tapas – the Ceviche with coconut foam, recommended by our waitress, and the croquetas to compare to the place we were at before. (When in Spain you can never have too many croquetas!) Both tapas were bursting with flavor in each bite and we decided we would come back for a full dinner tomorrow since it was our last night and knew the food was incredible. After 2 rounds of drinks at Vandal we were both itching to dance.
We walked down the main street in Santa Catalina where all the bars were, and tried to find a place that matched the vibe we were looking for. We were ready to dance but a lot of European bars have a cafe culture where it’s sitting, drinking, and chatting with friends. Stelios and I wanted to DANCE. We went into Cafe Lisboa, where the crowd seemed to have a bit more energy. There was a DJ playing chill house beats and we ordered a mojito and old fashioned. We grabbed two seats on the couch and noticed there was a lot more men filtering into the bar than women – the opposite of how bars are in America. Since the crowd was still chill, we finished our drinks and ended up going to a spot called Brooklyn club. When we walked in the first level was quiet, and again a cafe/cocktail vibe, but I spotted stairs so down we went. We walked through the downstairs entrance and it was booming – a club room with ceiling lights and a DJ playing house music we could actually dance to. Some of the crowd was sloppy and drunk but we made our own space and danced the night away until 2am.
