Palma

And we are back.

It was a great trip and I had forgotten how much I really like Palma and why its a great liberty port on so many levels.

Now this particular trip was a different one for me in that I ventured out from the area between the city of Palma and the beach at Magaluff. Back in the day-the Navy made renting a car such a pain in the ass, that  I never made the effort. Now truth be told-thanks to the mistaken assumption I made that the ex could handle money, coupled with living in a house with a 15% interest rate ( my personal souvenir of 1980).

Sure, you say, that's just a good excuse to justify why you did not go touring and hit the bars. Well the response is, "No its not true".  When one is having to live on an allowance of 400 a month ( especially when I was living on an Ensign's salary)-and $130 of it had to go pay an expense the government should have paid ( my wardroom bill). It did not leave a lot. Especially with a non working spouse who could not get off her ass and get a job-but still expected "trinkets" coming down the brow when the cruise was over.

So the beach and beer was just fine. Plus, truth be told, I walked a lot around the town both in the day at night. In those days the buddy system was a phrase not a vindictive regulation. Prowling alone at times was a lot of fun. It still is. I plan to do some of it this weekend when I return to the traveling set. ( The SO got her vacation-now I get mine).

Nonetheless, this trip-we branched out a bit and really explored the island from North to South.

The first day we went to Valdermoss- a town in the Northwest that has , as its chief claim to fame, Fredryk Chopin and his Mistress the French authoress George Sand.

 

What is really kind of bizarre about these two statues is that they stand right next to the entrance to a church. That's right-after the Spanish government tossed the monks out on their asses in 1835, Chopin wintered over here in 1838-39. The "cells" in the town were available for private rental. This in a monastery that had been there since 1309.

Here is a better shot of the town:

The second day we drove to Cap De Formentor. Its the north most tip of the island-and tough to get to ( but worth it):

 

That's actually a curving road in the foreground.

There's a lot more to show-but I have to be in Frankfurt tomorrow followed by an evening flight back to another place to be revealed later. More pictures to follow I promise.