We had planned and bought train tickets for a trip to the Scottish Highlands as our last vacation during our time in London. We thought we would hire a camper and "glamp" all over the Scottish countryside so we could see and get out as much as possible. However, the week before we left, we still had not found a camper and there were zero available hotels in the areas we wanted to visit. Add to this the fact that the weather for that week was characteristically Scottish...lots of rain and cloudy skies. So, we hopped online and looked for the best deals to the polar opposite of Scotland- a warm, sunny beach vacation! Enter Mallorca...we found great last-minute deals to this tiny island off of the west coast of Spain. Tickets booked...now lets find a hotel, right? Not as easy as we had hoped, we spent hours scouring the internet for any availability with no luck. A few days before our flights, we came across a brand new hotel that had just opened a couple of months prior and they had space. It was a little out of our price range, but we decided to just go with it because we 1. needed a place to sleep and 2. go big or go home! Our drive from the Palma airport was so nice- the island had an old Italian feel to me, with its old stone homes and colorful shutters on big pieces of land. Plus, the hills were studded with old castles along our route- so beautiful!
We stayed in Canyamel, on the eastern side of Mallorca, about a 10 minute drive from the closest beach. The hotel was incredible and they gave us some awesome upgrades because the place was empty. We had two big rooms with our own private backyards and patios that overlooked the gorgeous grounds as well as the valley flanked by beautiful mountains all around. The sunsets from our backdoor were something else. Our first day was spent on this beautiful beach called Cala Mesquida, about a 20 minute drive from our hotel. The sand was really nice, but the water was incredible- clear, turquoise and warm- my 3 favorites! There weren't waves here, so we just relaxed and played a ton. We swam clear to the rocks on the far side (pictured above) and explored the coves and sea life there as well. After a few solid hours of ultimate beach relaxation, we headed back to the hotel to swim in the pool there (and rinse the sand off of us!). That was pretty much our routine for the entire week.
Brian and the older girls explored the rocks above the water and built stone towers. Not a bad idea and not a bad backdrop.
While we relaxed at the hotel, Brian drove to this other beach about an hour away. That water! Who knew the Mediterranean was so perfect?!
Day two found us at a different beach also about an hour away that we'd heard good things about The weather today was pretty windy, so the water was a bit more choppy, which provided some pretty entertaining waves for the girls to jump through. Kate even found a place to do some cliff jumping here.
There are my girls jumping waves above.
The gorgeous town of Santanyi was a pit stop on more than one occasion, given that it was situated right between several of the most stunning beaches. Plus, it was a great place to stop and eat...we had some of the best crepes I've ever eaten right here in the town square. We even went back a few days later to enjoy them again, but the cafe was closed. :(
I spy some sunburned backs. We were really diligent with applying sunscreen, but our kids fair skin combined with too many hours in the sun made it difficult to avoid.
Below is the hotel we stayed at. Our rooms were right at the top of the hill here and the pools, below, were so nice!
We loved staying at such a gorgeous place and seeing so much of this fantastic island. (Part II coming next)
