Last Days in Mallorca!

Friday was our last full day in Mallorca. We decided that we wanted a very quiet day, so we didn't adventure out much. After a very late morning, Peter went out into the garden and read, and read, and read! He finished his books so he started to read the book I had brought (and not read) and when they were all finished he moved onto audio books on his MP3 player. While he was doing that I was indoors out of the sun mostly downloading photos from camera and updating my blog. Even though I was indoors, I still had an amazing view of the mountains and enjoyed seeing it in with the sunshine, without the chance of getting burned. Later in the afternoon Peter even managed another swim, but it was still way to cold for me to go in. I also wasn't too happy about the mouse (or possible baby rat) that was found in the bottom of the pool. YUCK! In the early evening, once Peter had dried off from his swim, we went for another short walk of the local area. We took a different route from the one earlier in the week to check out the local "caves" from which the area is named after "Ses Coves". They are very small compared to what we saw earlier in the week and also chained off so you cant get too close. They were used at various times as pirate hideaways and wine cellars. One of them still contains an ancient wine-press. Also on the walk we saw lost more trees including pomegranate, fig, lemon and olive. We walked pass the old town well up to the top of the road. From there were some wonderful views of the valley and also some more examples of terraces along the hillside. At this point we were at the edge of the forest area. We were told by our host that it is hunting season, and we shouldn't go into the forest. At this point we turned around and headed back to pack, have a light dinner followed by fresh plum pie with cream and an early night.

We woke up early on Saturday to have our last ensaimada and coffee as we enjoyed the last view of the mountains. Then it was into the car for our last drive into Palma and to the airport. It was a quiet ride as Peter and I tried to take in all of the view for the last time. We watched the mountains, orchards, palm trees and windmills all roll by. The old windmills are a big part of the island's history. Some dating back to the 17th century used by farmers for grinding grain and water pumps. The ones by the airport are mostly used as water pumps. The area just outside Palma is below sea level and the windmills there were mainly used to pump water into reservoir. Most of the windmills are in disarray, but due to the historical significance of them the government has started a restoration project. Then the short car journey was over. Our hosts dropped us off at the airport and after a quick adios, we were on the plane home! We want to say a big thank you to our friends who were great hosts. We certainly had an amazing holiday and hope you all enjoyed sharing it with us.

Day 3 - Isle of White

Sorry that this post is so late. We didn't get to another internet connection while on the Isle. We are now home safe, but would still like to make a few post about our hoilday. On our third day on the Isle was a very wet one, so we decided to find some indoor activities. So we went to a place called Dinasour Isle. I had seen it advertised on the web before we went and thought it looks good. They had lots of fossiles there which had been found on the Isle and some hands on activites for youngesters. Thorton the bear even had a go at brushing sand off some old bones. In the main area they had quiet a few models of dinasours and a couple of animacronic ones as well.

After Dinasour Isle we were looking for some where to have lunch. We found a leaflet for the Old Thatched Tearoom, so we made our way to a place called Shanklin Old Village. It was a quaint little area with lots of little thatched shops. After lunch and a little shoping we decided to go hunting windmills and found the last standing windmill on the Isle. Unfortunally it was closed, so we didn't get to look inside, but had a nice short walk around as it was still raining.

On the way home we desided to follow the coast road and stop off at the life boat station. It was still raining but we managed to get a few photo of the coast.