This Mediterranean jewel captured our hearts in five short days with sun, surf, great food, and fantastic friends.
Evo: When we left you last week, we were on the island of Mallorca, wrapping up our epic tour of Spain.
She: For the geographically challenged, Mallorca lies almost directly south of Barcelona, roughly halfway between Europe and Africa.
Evo: Beware of salt-stealing pirates from Africa!
She: Yes, everyone remembers your fascination with pirates from a few shows back. Can you get on with your commentary on Mallorca?
Evo: Right, Mallorca. At twice the size of Oahu (that's where Honolulu is) it's the largest of the Balearic Islands and a hot-spot for international tourism. Once you get a look at the emerald colored seas and stunning limestone cliffs, you'll know why. If you're picturing a perfect Mediterranean paradise, it'll look a lot like Mallorca.
She: It's also just the right spot to open up a craft beer brewery. At least that's what Sven did when he opened up Forastera. You remember Sven from last week's show:
Evo: That Sven. As you might have noticed, Sven's not a native of Mallorca. Just another loud, boisterous German making his home in this Mediterranean paradise. No, wait. I can't back that up. I mean, there may be more loud, boisterous Germans living in Mallorca, but I didn't see any. Just Sven. He's loud and boisterous enough to make it sound like there are many, many more living in the city.
She: I was sick the day you took him up on his offer to visit his brewery and try the IPA. So... how was it?
Evo: Yeah, about that. I drove over to Forastera with Gillian's daughter, Lizzie and her boyfriend, Miguel. Sven was there. But the fabled IPA he wanted me to try...?
She: Wait. He was out of the beer he invited you to the brewery to try? You're joking.
Evo: I don't joke about missing out on craft beer, lady. [sigh]
Evo: That should have been my clue that the gods were conspiring against us during our final days in Spain. Because just as Sheila started recovering, I went down for the count. HARD. And didn't emerge from the room for two days.
[waves]
She: And that left me plenty of opportunity to explore Sant Elm, the tiny town on the far edge of Mallorca where we made our home for about five days. It's a beautiful island, and I can't wait to get back to take in more of the surf and sun.
Evo: Just off the western tip of Mallorca is another smaller island called Dragonera Island. It's mostly undeveloped, and the only access is a boat taxi that conveniently left right from Gillian's restaurant, El Pescadora. And often, it was piloted by her husband, Damian or her son, Johnny. A visit to Dragonara should definitely be on your list when you put Mallorca on your vacation schedule.
She: There's so much more to Mallorca than we can do justice on just a single episode. But, since we were sick much of the time, we didn't get many opportunities to record.
Evo: But take it from us, the island is wonderful. A true jewel in the Mediterranean sea.
She: Before we left Spain completely, we had a quick return trip to Santiago. We met another English teacher there, this time Amanda from Florida.
Evo: She's been living abroad for a couple years now, though her parents haven't quite come to terms with it just yet.
She: And we're only five months in, so I'm sure our family is having an equally difficult time coming to terms with our chosen lifestyle too. But to their credit, they've all been really, really supportive while we've been away. Thanks, family!
Evo: Before we wrap things up... we're often asked about our favorite destination so far -- it's Spain, by the way -- or where we're looking forward to visit most of all. And actually, I'm going to turn that around on you this week. Right now, whatever it is you're doing, tell us where you'd travel if you had the opportunity. Use our #ShEvo hashtag -- that's hashtag #ShEvo -- and tell us (and the world) where you'd visit -- anywhere in the world -- if you had the opportunity. You can tweet it, send a pic Instagram, put it on Facebook... whatever. Just use the hashtag ShEvo so we'll see it and can join in on the conversation. Hashtag #ShEvo, and tell us where in the world you'd travel if you had the opportunity.
She: Next week, we leave Spain and spend our last few days in Europe. Here's a taste.
Evo: And after that... Thailand. Which is where we are now, and why I'm saying Chohn gàaeo, and not cheers, from Thailand. Thought this show was about Spain, or mores specifically the autonomous regions of Catalunya or the Balearic, so I really should have said...
She: Dude!
SHE: We travel the world as The Opportunistic Travelers largely because of our generous listeners.
EVO: People all over the world pledge as little as five bucks a month, and in return, they get a hand-written postcard from us sent from wherever opportunity has taken us, every single month. Sign up today at TheOpportunisticTravelers.com/postcards.
SHE: We also stay for free most of our journey. No, we’re not super-stars or anything. We eliminate hotel costs and stay in some great cities by housesitting all over the world. Get our complete list of the actual housesitting sites we use every day at TheOpportunisticTravelers.com/stayforfree, and stop spending money on hotels when you travel, too. Thanks for listening to this episode. I’m Sheila Dee.
EVO: And I am Evo Terra. Our theme music is "On the Ground" by Kevin MacLeod at incompetech.com. All other sounds, voices, and odd bits you hear were created by us. And this podcast is just the start of the audio, video, images, and written content we’re producing as we travel the world. Got an idea on how we could work together or a place you like for us to visit? Visit TheOpportunisticTravelers.com to get in touch. Now would be good.
New episodes of the The Opportunistic Travelers Podcast are available every Tuesday. Of course, Tuesday can be a very different thing depending on where we are in the world. Cheers!
