This was the first week of the Temple closedown for the semi-annual cleaning and maintenance. They replaced all of the carpet in our apartments, painted several of the units and so it was pretty much uninhabitable for a few days. So, what do you do, you leave the area and enjoy some of the beautiful sights of the world.
A few days in Mallorca, an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Ocean, tough duty - but somebody has to do it! This is the flag of the Balearic Islands.
We traveled with Berkley and Sharon Lunt and had a great time sharing this experience together. Berkley and I decided that we didn’t look too bad in swimsuits because most of the other guys (Germans) were strutting around in their speedos showing off their bratwurst and beer bellies.Mallorca, biggest of several islands called the Balearic Islands. It is a beautiful island approximately 80 miles in length by about 55 miles in width. There were a lot of tourists there at this time, the vast majority being German. The weather was fabulous, as a matter of fact too hot, but yet it cooled off when the sun went down and on a couple of nights a light sweater felt really good. The island ranges from rugged mountains to coves of crystalline water, white-sand beaches, and underground caves and of course, Palma (capital city of the islands, 450,000 inhabitants). We stayed on the extreme east side of the island in a little town called Sa Coma. This is a very touristy area with many hotels, beaches and other amenities that cater strictly to the tourist. As a matter of fact, most of the hotels, shops and restaurants close down (lock the doors and go or stay home) from end of October until late April. We stayed at the Oasis Punta Amer hotel (**** European rating).
The meals that came with our package (breakfast and dinner) were very good and you could eat all that you wanted…it was almost like being on a cruise ship with the different kinds of food you had to choose from. We enjoyed several Spanish dishes that we would not normally pay the price (i.e. suckling pig) to eat but they were included in the buffet. One night we ran into the Bradshaw's at a local restuarant and enjoyed the evening talking about what we had seen that day.
The beaches were crowed each day and the sun was hot. 
The European bathing freedoms were definitely in force….some people just have no shame! I was not harpooned on this trip and for this I am grateful. We went on an island tour and saw most of the vast differences in terrain that are on the island. We started on a bus from Sa Coma up through the middle of the island (heading west) through the second largest city on the island (40,000 people) Manacor (home of Rafael Nadal-#1 tennis player-he and his family still live there) and the Pearl Factory (Majorican Pearls). From there we went through some other smaller cities until we arrived in Inca (meaning ‘city near the mountains’), third largest city in Mallorca (25,000 people) and visited the leather factory. Throughout the interior of Mallorca you see these wind mills, every little farm has one and it is used to remove water from their wells for watering their fields. 
From here we turned north and saw a lot of agriculture area (tomatoes, melons, peppers, almonds, graves, and pork farms) then into the mountainous area of Mallorca and the city of Pollenca which is famous for its Calvary that fought during the war. 
They also have a large figurine of a chicken (pollo) as you enter the city.From Pollenca we headed south and west towards the west coast passing the town of Lluc (Yook) where we saw a monastery that was built in the 3rd century out in the middle of nowhere.
In this mountain area they receive snow. 
We then saw a natural canyon that led to the cove Calobra. 
You could get out and walk the four kilometers; we elected to stay on the bus. The road was a hoot, there was one section called the “tie knot”- it is a very windy road and to make the turns in a big bus took a lot of skill.
Here we ate our picnic and walked around to the entry point to the sea of the above mentioned natural canyon called “Torrent de Pareis.”
As you can see it is beautiful and many people come here to enjoy the beauty and scenery. 
The beach is pebbles and rocks with very little sand-not very comfortable in which to sun bathe. When the tide comes in it covers the beach area and when the rains come it washes more down from the canyon. As you can see, many beautiful boats come and anchor and have fun swimming in the cove. 
At this point we all embarked on a boat and took about a 15 kilometer ride down the coastline (south), you cannot see this area without being on a boat as there are no roads.
We arrived at the Port of Soller, a beautiful area that has really been built up. Here in Soller we boarded a trolley and rode from the port to the city center and the train station.
Here we enjoyed walking through the town for a few minutes and wet our appetites with a cool drink. 
We then boarded an older train and headed farther south and east down towards Palma (50 kilometers). 
The train climbed and climbed from the port to about mid way up the mountain, we then entered a tunnel that was about 1.5 miles long-this put us on the other side from the sea. We then boarded buses and returned to the east coast of the island and Sa Coma. The trip was a delight and we were able to see much of what Mallorca has to offer.On another day we caught the bus and went south from Sa Coma to Porto Cristo and the “Caves at Drach.”
Unfortunately they did not allow pictures inside but it was beautiful, the stalagmites and stalactites were magnificent (this was unlike anything that I had ever seen in size and number). 
At the end there was a large pond/lake where they presented a gondola show with music. I guess they hold concerts in this location every so often…the acoustics where wonderful, I was waiting for the Phantom of the Opera music, but it was something different.We spent some time on the beach and did a lot of people watching as they promenaded on the boardwalk by our hotel. The entertainment at night on the boardwalk was fun; everything from Peruvian Indians and their flutes, etc to hair braiders to tattoo artists to a guy making beautiful pictures with cans of spray paint. There are bicycles (one, two, three, four, five and six seaters) all over the place. Souvenir shops of all kinds with the same stuff side by side for blocks. There are eateries of all kinds, but German and British foods are the most prominent. We ate some fish and chips and thought we were in jolly old England.
On Saturday we boarded the bus and went into Palma and saw the sights. The place is a mad house at this time of the year with all of the tourists, we were glad that we did not book a hotel in this city…it was way too big and noisy. We took the city, double-decker bus tour and saw many beautiful buildings, palaces, cathedrals, ports, castle and much more. The “La Seu” is the famous and pictured cathedral in the picture;
Gaudi worked on this chapel for more than twenty years.
One of the summer palaces of the Royal Family sits right in front of the cathedral. Flowers were everywhere and it is a beautiful city. 
It was founded by the Romans in 123 BC although there are ruins nearby where we stayed in Sa Coma that were of the original settlers in 1300 BC. The Castle of Bellver is a circular castle built in the 14th century and used as a military prison in the 18-19th centuries.
It was again used as a prison in 1950 for many people who fought in the civil war against and under the reign of Franco. After our sightseeing we were going to enjoy an Italian ice cream-best in the world, I had left our back pack with Sharon and she had it at her feet sitting on a bench. When I came back she was up looking around, someone had reached from behind the bench and grabbed it right in front of her….at least there was no struggle or threats. They got 4 “AA” batteries and a charger, some sun screen and a few pills…I only wish there had been a mouse trap when they put their hand in to get the “goodies.” No harm, no pain.Well, we returned on Monday morning at 1:15 am and found our apartment in shambles-the carpet guys had not put things back where they were so we had to put the bed together and move some things out of the bathroom and kitchen and finally went to bed. The trip was excellent and we found that Mallorca is a very beautiful island with many wonderful things to see and experience.
We look forward to a visit from Jo and Tom this week. They are scheduled to arrive on Thursday and we hope to show them a good time for several days.
We know we are on the Lord’s errand. The gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is TRUE! God lives and Jesus is the Christ! We love serving here in Madrid and really missed spending time in the Temple this week. Even though the break is great, we will feel better when we are back in the Temple. May the Lord bless and keep each and every one of you. We love you all with all of our hearts. Love Mom & Dad / Nana & Papa / Elder y Hermana Shaw
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