Mallorca | The Daily Norm

Mar 29

Mallorca in the Springtime: An island in bloom

Living in Mallorca is not like being on a continuous holiday, as much as I might wish it were so. Working full time means reliance on the weekends to enjoy this beautiful land around me. But when my free time comes, and the weather graces us with its welcome presence, the landscapes around me are always a welcome treasure, and no more so than at this time of Spring. For as my recent travels around Mallorca this past Easter weekend have shown, Mallorca in the Springtime is a veritable paradise – an island overflowing with an abundance of flowers and blossom, petals and perfumes. It is quite truly a Springtime Arcadia.

Driving around Mallorca can be deeply distracting. Even the main roads are lined by wild flowers of ever tone and colour – yellow buttercups and red poppies, fields alive with colour and trees abundant in blossom. And these views are all the more precious knowing that they will be short-lived – a few weeks at the most before green again dominates. Yet they are difficult to get to (stopping my car mid-motorway could be precarious in innumerable ways) and consequently I haven’t managed to capture on camera nearly as many views as I would have wished. But the photos I am posting today will hopefully give an idea of this floral wonderland, just as it reaches its annual highpoint.

Amongst these photos are some lovely shots of insects – occasionally captured by accident, other times with painstaking patience. They also include a few shots from inside my home – for what greater joy can there be than bringing the Spring inside too. I hope you enjoy them.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2016 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Mar 26

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Sheepish Easter Greetings from Mallorca

I feel rather sheepish as I creep quietly back into the editing space of The Daily Norm. For such has been the period of grievous separation between myself and my blog that I feel that we are almost like strangers. It may only have been something like two weeks, but for a regular blogger, that period has left me vacant, like a person devoid of a sixth sense. The cause was the run up to the tourist high season, which out here in Mallorca leaves few people with time to breathe the fresh air of Spring, thus leaving me with few opportunities to write, nor indeed anything of interest to share. But now mercifully the Easter is upon us – a time of rest, and of Spring-like hope.

In that vein I wanted to take this opportunity to wish all readers of The Daily Norm a very happy Easter period with a selection of photos I took the other day deep in the midsts of the Mallorca countryside. They are ostensibly simple photos of local sheep, grazing in the grassy pastures close to the Cala Sant Vicenç. But what makes these shots more remarkable to me is the complex layering of the backdrop. In just one photo, you can gaze at blue skies, a stark greyish lilac mountain strata punctuated by dots of planting, a field of golden yellow and a further strata of green before it. Intermingled with everything are dainty white and mauve flowers, and of course the pearly white sheep who are the protagonists of the piece.

For me these photos express a bucolic ideal and are the perfect way with which to wish you a Happy Easter. I hope you all enjoy the season, and indeed the very welcome entrance of Spring!

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2016 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Feb 9

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Mallorquín Spring Lamb, enjoyed two ways

It may be premature to announce that Spring has arrived on the island of Mallorca, but having been blessed by almost continuous blue skies pretty much since the summer, it’s sometimes hard to say what season we are in. The only thing I know is that since the new year dawned, and we returned from the chilly climes of Vienna, it has surely felt like Spring is here. And with the arrival of Spring comes a cast of the usual protagonists – blossoming trees, warmer wafts of perfumed air, and the innocent bleating of fluffy little lambs.

We came face to face with those beautiful little animals on a recent walk through Mallorca’s Tramontana mountains. Heading along one of the island’s worst-surfaced zig-zagging rollercoaster of a roads up one of Mallorca’s highest mountains to the vast valley nestling in the mighty shadow of the ruined Alaró Castle, we had a lunch date at the iconic Es Verger restaurant.

Recently made famous, to UK audiences at least, by its short starring role in one of chef Rick Stein’s televised adventures through the Mediterranean, Es Verger is an unbelievably quaint traipse back through time to the truly bucolic routes of peasant Mallorca, where everything on the limited menu borrows from the immediate rugged environment, and is cooked by a charming old lady using recipes passed down throughout the centuries. The star dish is Mallorquín lamb, the very same animal which only metres from the secluded restaurant you could see bleeding innocently in the rays of a newly sprung-sunshine (see attached photos above for heart-warming snapshots).

But any guilt which we could quite easily have felt for seeing these sweet animals and then eating the same was quickly dispelled by the sheer exquisite deliciousness of this incredible dish. Cooked in beer and infused by the juices of a variety of vegetables roasted over long hours in a smokey log fire, the meat both melted over the tongue, and was deliciously caramelised at the edges. Never have I enjoyed meat so much, nor indeed a meal. Pure, simple, and finished off by a cremadillo – a flaming mix of local hierbas liquor, rum, coffee and all sorts of other liquid indulgences.

Needing to walk off the alcohol and indulge a little more in the staggering scenery which surrounded us, we headed after lunch to the ruined castle of Alaró, an incredible historical site sat atop the mountain which, while looking deceptively close, required a good hour’s uphill climb along one of Mallorca’s craggier paths. But with views from the top spreading across the bay of Palma on one side and across to Puig Mayor, the island’s highest mountain on the other, we were awfully glad for the scenery, that amazing lunch and the Spring in our step it had given us.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2016 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Nov 23

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Yet more praise for Mallorca’s awe-inspiring autumn

Now before your eyes roll upwards as you cast an initial glimpse over yet another post dedicated to Mallorca’s autumn, allow me to excuse my inexhaustible passion for the season as it exists on this island. For coming from England, autumn is an altogether damper affair, and while there are moments when the sun shines and the colours of the trees shine through, by that time, most of the leaves are already sludge on the pavement after the preceding days of rain; and then of course there are the howling winds which have pushed them there.

Here in Mallorca, autumn is a very different story. I’ve often seen pictures of the perfect autumn images – trees totally transformed into shades of orange and red, glowing like fire under a crisp blue sky. But I had never experienced such an idealised season before I came to Mallorca. And here, you benefit not just from the beauty which results from consecutive days of sunshine, but also the little quaint villages whose ochre stone walls and green shutters work alongside the autumn shades as though they had been meticulously selected for the purpose..

This union of natural and manmade autumnal magic was no more obvious than on a recent visit to the stunning little village of Valldemossa; a mountainous retreat whose cluster of houses in a deep mountain valley has become the very picture-postcard image of Mallorca. And with good reason, for it’s one of those villages which is utterly quaint at every turn, and at every time of the year… no more so than in autumn, surely my most beloved season in Mallorca.

Nov 19

The real inhabitants of Formentor

The Cap de Formentor – surely nature at its most dazzling; a mountainous peninsular which forms the crowning glory of Mallorca’s tramuntana mountain range, and its Northern most point. And while thousands of thrill-hunting tourists hit the winding roads of this most stunning of landscapes each year, it’s the mountain goats who can truly lay claim to this unique stretch of paradise.

With their incredible sense of balance and tendency to traverse the steepest of cliffs and the most hazardous rocky terrains, the goats which live wild within Mallorca’s mountainous landscape never fail to impress me; that is at least when I manage to catch a glimpse of them. For these wild animals are notoriously shy; one blink and they’re gone. But with a bit of luck and some respectful distance, you can catch a sight of these beautiful animals offset against what must surely be some of the most incredible landscapes in Europe.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2015 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Nov 14

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The Largest Tree in Palma de Mallorca

Despite the inherent disruptions entailed by a house move such as ours, it brings with it its new routines, and I love nothing more than the excitement of getting used to a new way of life. And for us, our new area brings an exposure to Palma’s best cafe culture, views of its beautiful leafy river, and a new daily walk to work which takes me through some of the old town’s most charming streets and across its beautiful tree-lined avenues.

But for me, the most beautiful feature of my daily commute is my route past what must be the largest tree in all of Palma de Mallorca. Sitting in the walled gardens alongside the magnificent building of the Consell of Mallorca, this tree is beyond human or even natural dimensions. Its trunk must be at least 4 metres in diameter, and its sprawling roots could themselves be benches facilitating a cosy spot in the shade. Meanwhile its vast branches create a leafy canopy which must be over 100 metres across, and thus it fills the entirety of the square it rests in.

Its those beautiful branches which take centre stage in this photographic post – a true natural gem in the heart of urbanised Palma.

Nov 4

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New Horizons / Goodbye to Loved Ones

There is a very good reason why moving house is said to be one of, if not the most stressful experiences in a person’s average life: because it’s true. What looks on paper to be a simple event, with just a little effort and a few cardboard boxes thrown in, quickly becomes a herculean effort with as much cardboard and bubble wrap as would be required to encase your average skyscraper. Or so it was with my move that is, the second in just 12 months, across from one end of Palma de Mallorca to the other. The move marked a clear inconvenience, but for many reasons was both necessary and desirable. And it was with these many positives in mind that we maintained our resolve as we heaved suitcases full of books and paintings across the cobbled streets and many stairs which fill the centre of Palma.

Almost 8 weeks after the moving process first began, we have finally began to settle in our new abode; a modern apartment which is reminiscent of our comfortable London home, except that here we benefit from a sizeable terrace and a wonderful view of palm trees and cypresses – one view you are sure not to get in Blighty. And now with the comfort of settling in finally upon us, the time to contemplate our new space and surroundings has also arrived, and in these first photos, I wanted to share with you some of my first shots, not within the new flat, but outside it. For as I awake in the morning, or gaze at a sunset upon the onset of the night, it is the views from this new home which enchant me… new views to get lost in; new horizons to explore.

But the time of our acquaintance with a fresh start in a new home coincided with the time of the year when people tend to direct their minds backwards; to a past in which a loved one was by their side; to a time when a person’s presence made their lives very different. For in the world outside of our new home, Spain was marking its day of the dead, and in La Rambla, the sprawling flower market lining the entire central avenue of one of Palma’s principle boulevards, flower arrangements created to newly embellish the gravesides of lost love ones overflowed onto the pavements, so that down this road of some half a kilometre in length, it was like a single wave of bounteous colour had erupted across the ordinarily grey road.

As with the cemeteries I love, the Day of the Dead is undoubtedly characterised by a sense of pathos and loss, but none can deny the beauty which accompanies this annual day of remembrance; when from the bleak monotony of sadness, colour erupts in a floral feast to mark a fresh adieu to lost loved ones.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2015 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Oct 30

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Daily Norm Photo of the Week: Layered Landscape, Felantix

I’m not sure whether these photos look more like the rolling hills of Tuscany, or somewhere in the North of England. They are in fact taken from a roadside near Felantix in Mallorca. I had been driving along one of the long straight roads which characterise the Eastern side of the island when I noted the beauty of a nearby hillside toped with a series of ancient castle towers and windmills. In the foreground, the soft light glowing gently around the edges of the local sheep enchanted me, and the mix of pastoral idealism and the industrial scene shown at mid level in the landscape meant a must-have shot. So, much to my partner’s horror, I stopped the car mid road, jumped out, and quickly took these few shots. Not to be recommended, but well worth the effort.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2015 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Oct 28

Discovering Mallorca: Porto Colom – Porto Cristo

The island of Mallorca is simply awash with little caves and ports, calas and bays, embarcaderos and beaches… after all, it is surrounded by the sea. But it is the uniquely mountainous, richly geological landscape of the island which means that where that land meets the sea, it does so with a series of stunning natural results. One such consequence of this relationship are the caves I featured a few posts ago, and those incredible underground chambers are far from unique on this island of plenty. But only a few minutes from those caves, and indeed extending all the way along the Eastern coast of Mallorca, are a series of little bays and ports all of which betray a certain tranquil nature much removed from the bustling city of Palma.

So now that the intense heat of the summer has past, we recognised that the time to set about discovering more of Mallorca was surely upon us, and with my mother’s visit in part coinciding, we set about discovering two of the ports on the East Coast.

Porto Colom

The Porto Colom was all about its embarcaderos… the little boat houses with their whimsically painted doors, lined up in a row just like the typical English beach hut, but having the distinctly Mallorquin advantage of plunging straight into a turquoise blue sea. Spreading across a zig zagging craggy coast line, the port had something of a dual character, with a charming old town, a two-towered church at its centre, on one side, and a more commercial fishing port lined by gently angled pine trees on the other.

Just up the coast, and 3 minutes from the Cuevas Drach, the Porto Cristo was an altogether more touristy affair. Chasing the nostalgia of my mother who had holidayed there in the 70s, the port remained in part exactly as she had remembered it, with a horrifying array of crass tourist menus displaying row upon row of numbered photos of food, without even a description to explain what the dish was.

Porto Cristo

However happily our initial shock was replaced by the happy coincidence of our discovery of the port’s beautifully sandy beach, with cerulean waters splashing gently against the cliffs which plunge dramatically into the sea along the beach’s egde. We were also glad to find that not all the restaurants relied upon a catalogue of photos, and a short walk along the waterfront led us to a more salubrious slice of town, where we wiled away the early afternoon with a glass or two of wine and a few delicious Italian dishes… with no numbered photo in sight.

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2015 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Oct 16

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Discovering Mallorca: The Caves of Drach

The Caves of Drach, just outside Porto Cristo in Mallorca, sound like something out of a Count Dracula horror film. And in so far as they take the visitor far into the murky depths of Mallorca’s geological bedrock, they wouldn’t make for an inappropriate halloween backdrop. But the horror of visiting these sprawling caves on the East coast of the island was, for me, the fear of the tourist commercialisation which tends to haunt such sights. After all, the caves are widely publicised across Mallorca with a typically crass theme-park style poster of a westernised white-teethed family gasping in delight at the caves around them. My response to this vulgarity was consequently avoidance, and my preference, instead, was always to retreat to the idyllic solitude of the mountains. But when my mother came to Mallorca, and wished to relive the nostalgia of her 1970s holidays on the island, I was persuaded at last to visit the caves, tourists, tat ‘n all.

As it turned out, those gaudy promotional posters were where the last of the horror ended, for once we left the autumn sunshine behind and made our decent into these extensive underground chambers, there was nothing but a visual sensation to be enjoyed. Words cannot express the utmost wonder I experienced when I entered the Caves of Drach, and nor indeed can these somewhat amateurish photos come close to capturing the most incredible sights with which we were met. For in these incredible caves, believed to have been formed over millions of years by the sea forcing its way into Mallorca’s harsh rocky coastline, we were treated to visions which ranged from the brilliantly magnificent to the utmost surreal, as sinister twisting forms grew from the floor and dripped from the ceiling, rocks appeared to grow like a thousand interwound trees or like wafer-thin starched material, and turquoise waters glowed like precious gems amongst velvet black shadows.

And at the heart of it all, the Martel lake, which at 115m in length is believed to be one of the largest under-ground lakes in the world, provided the most touching spectacle of all. With the caves plunged into pitch blackness, we were treated to a floating classical concert of musicians floating on lit-boats, gliding along the water like a vision straight out of baroque Venice (sadly, photos at this point were banned). For an artist like me, obsessed as I am with ripples and the effect of light on water, this experience was truly startling, and with the tears of inspiration pricking at my eyes, those ripples seemed to refract and multiply as I entered a whole new level of multi-sensorial experience.

So out of this experience, I emerge into the light of day an artist truly inspired, with a lesson learnt for the future: don’t judge an attraction by its promotional cover… the most visited attractions are visited for a reason!

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2015 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.