Hallostormoberferbenaperú: a week of weather changes, failures and festivities

Hi!

So, I know I've been going on about how we've been having lovely weather here in Mallorca and how there hasn't been a drop of rain for the past two weeks. Well... that all changed on Tuesday afternoon (29/10/2013).

Just as Simó was about to leave for Football, the skies opened up and in the space of about 15 minutes the streets were flooded like one of the scenes from the terrible disaster film 'The Day After Tomorrow'. As Marta tells me on many occasion, when it rains in Spain people panic and all plans made are swiftly changed so instead of going to Football we were confined to the flat where I played songs on my guitar for Simó and Júlia to pass the time while lightning lit the skies and thunder rumbled in the background. If there ever was a perfect time to play Lightning Bolt by Jake Bugg it was now. I guess this storm was what was left over from Storm St.Jude that terrorised the South of England (including Southampton) earlier that day. This has pretty much officially kick-started the autumn/winter period here as the temperature has now dropped to roughly 22 degrees or lower a day and there is a lot more grey in the sky and even as a thick-skinned Anglo-Saxon male I now have to wear a jumper when I go out in the evening cos it's so cold. I still wear shorts and a t-shirt during the day though!

View of the storm from the flat

Octopus on Wednesday night

Last week came the scariest night of year (supposedly)-Halloween. This was the 2nd time I had spent Halloween in Spain having been in Salamanca on a work experience trip the year before however this time I wasn't that excited for it. As a former Performing Arts student and Musical Theatre 'Actor' I'm not gonna lie, I LOVE to dress up; so Halloween is my kind of deal. I had wanted to go out for the night, get dressed up and paint the town like I did the previous year which ended up being one of the craziest nights of my young life. Unfortunately, by the time I got organised and decided that I wanted to go to Banana Club in Alcúdia where I went for my Birthday 2 weeks earlier, all tickets were sold out so instead I went out in Sa Pobla with Marta, Josep, Aina and Sonia to watch some live music at a bar where Pere Antoni works-not dressed up. The bar was a narrow establishment in the main plaza of the town which was almost jam-packed with people once the music started. I've been to and played in some pretty small venues but to highlight how small this place was I actively had to get up on stage and push past the female singer of the band just to get to the toilets, something I've never had to do before. Although it was a much more tame night in comparison with Halloween 2012, a good time was had by all which included me getting hit on by a gay guy... don't ask.

Live Band

The younger members of our group

Picture of the band from the loos backstage

Friday was 1st November and thanks to the catholic worship of All Saints Day it was a bank holiday and an early start to the weekend. After taking a lie-in to recover from our late night, we spent much of the afternoon at the Poli in Sa Pobla where they were hosting an Oktoberfest event, my third one this year which wasn't even in October (odd). So for the third time in just under a month, I gorged on fine German Bratwurst sausage and guzzled down fine German beer while my friends David, Pere Antoni, Aina, Sonia, Mireia and Marga worked hard at the bar dressed in German get-up. I was supposed to be providing some live music for the customers and was rather looking forward to it after uploading a new video to my youtube channel in mid-week (check it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW_gAbf1XA8) yet Pep had remembered to bring the amp but not the mic so I couldn't perform which was a big shame. The day wasn't complete without recognising the hole purpose of All Saints Day which is to go and pay your respects to the dead relatives in your family so we headed to the cemetery in Sa Pobla to visit the graves of Marta's grandparents amongst others. From what I have seen in the newspapers and from what I found when I went to the cemetery in Sa Pobla, the cemeteries in Mallorca are grandly designed with artistic gravestones and a small chapel in the middle which I think truly honours those who have passed away.

The girls getting into the Oktoberfest spirit

David hard at work

Me with the older, young and even younger girls

Oktoberfest Yah!

Cemetery in Sa Pobla

Much of saturday was a typical lazy weekend kind of day in which I sat apprehensively watching the England Rugby team's first match of the Autumn Test Series vs the old enemies Australia. To my surprise, England won 20-13 so all my nervous mutters and shouting profanities at my laptop screen weren't in vain. I now realise that watching England play Rugby is the closest I'll ever get to truly understanding what it is like being a Barca/Real fan during El Clasico especially with stupid online buffering creating even more suspense. On a down note, my football team Norwich City were slaughtered in true halloween fashion 7-0 by the vampires of Manche$ter City so mood levels were reduced slightly.

That night, I headed out with Marta, Josep and their friend Juan to Es Gremi, a music venue on the outskirts of Palma, to a concert marketed as an indoor Verbena, something none of us had ever experienced before. A Verbena is a type of party that happens in the towns across the island during the summer in which a live band plays catchy music in the main square while people drink copius amounts of alcohol and dance until the sun comes up. Yet again we weren't able to get tickets so we missed most of the first band but fortunately the doors were opened towards the end of their set so we could join in. This verbena was quite a toned-down version of what is expected in the summer considering it was indoors but it was great fun dancing around to some bouncy Spanish music ad the occasional English disco tune by the two bands playing (La Pegatina and La Loca Motora) and gives me another reason why I want to return here in the summer sometime to experience the 'Party Island' for myself.

Indoor Verbenaaaa!

La Pegatina

Unexpected Brass Band

La Loca Motora

The partying continued on Sunday with una fiesta peruana (Peruvian Party). Over the summer a group of the cousins including Núria and Aina went on an epic trip around Perú and brought back various things to show and tell us about so it seemed like a great excuse to throw a Peru themed party. The house was decked out in Peruvian flags, textiles and Peruvian hats whilst Peruvian music played beneath the collective chitter chatter. We all tucked into a sumptuous feast of Peruvian cuisine (something I had no prior knowledge of) in which I tried a whole variety of new dishes such as Ceviche, Papas a la Huancaína and Ají de Gallina, a curry style rice dish containing chicken and nuts which fights off some pretty close competition for this week's FOOD OF THE WEEK. There was such a grand choice of food that I couldn't help getting my camera out and becoming some kind of cross between an instagrammer and a stereotypical trigger-happy Asian tourist as I took photos of literally everything laid out on the table. The party finished off with some slideshows of the cousins' trip to Perú which I found particularly inspiring. Life has reached a certain point of monotony here so the idea of travelling has become very appealing to me once more and considering South America is one of the many places on my world travel bucket list that I am yet to tick-off so it was nice to get a feel for what Perú is like and ask some questions about the country.

¡Fiesta Peruana!

Peruvian Cuisine

Ají de Gallina, this week's FOOD OF THE WEEK

Inka Kola. Essentially yellow Irn Bru...

Marina looking cute

Partaaaay!

Perú slideshow

I must admit that during this past week I haven't felt quite like myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm still having a great time out here, but even when I've been out doing things I just feel like I'm going through the motions a bit. This is largely due to the realisation that in the not too distant future I will be returning home for Christmas and the excitement of seeing my friends and family again has given me my second bout of homesickness. It is also the sadness that I will be leaving soon and the daunting task of sorting out the next leg of my gap year which means an even greater emphasis on my TEFL course to get it finished, rewriting my CV and sending off job applications-a process I very much hate. Sunday was probably the lowest day I've had out here after receiving some pretty bad news from life back home. Although many things were on my mind in the late morning and then the evening, I used the early afternoon to go for a lengthy sea swim with my wetsuit to clear my thoughts then the Perú party was a rather welcome distraction that allowed me to forget about things for a few hours and to really fall in love with the concept of travel again. Overall, a lot of mixed emotions.

To end this post on a slightly more positive note, just like to make a big shout-out to all my buddies from the Salamanca trip last year and hope you're all doing great at University/College. I've been reminiscing about our week together and I miss you all. It would be great to see you again sometime in the future.

For anyone interested in the idea of work experience abroad, please check out Halsbury travel's website:http://www.workexperienceabroad.co.uk/ My trip to Salamanca last October/November was one of the real highlights of my year and I gained so much from the experience.

Until next time world, peace out.

#FraserOnTour

FP

Pumpkin making on Wednesday night

Finished!

Ummm...Scary faces...

Our Pumpkin lit

When The Folks Came To Stay

Hey everyone. As the halfway mark approaches of my stay in Mallorca, my parents and brother Ethan gave me a visit over the weekend. Here's what we got up to.

The 3 of them arrived in Mallorca on the Thursday however I didn't get to see them until Friday. This is because after sorting out their baggage collection and car hire at the airport, they couldn't enter the address of their hotel in Alcúdia into the sat nav which led to them spending the best part of an hour asking for directions around Alcúdia before eventually finding meaning that they had no time to visit me in Palma. Fortunately I was otherwise occupied as Thursday was a national strike over the TIL education laws which meant no school for Simó and Júlia but a day which included attending two demonstrations and forcing me to watch their favourite film-Teen Beach Movie. At both demonstrations outside the Institute of Education near our flat and on the Passeig de Born once more, there were members of the communist movement handing out information leaflets and carrying the red and yellow flags of the USSR. Along with the musicians playing traditional Mallorcan instruments such as bagpipes (they're not just in Scotland you know), this added extra flavour over the previous demos and it does make you wonder how restless people are getting over the current Spanish government especially due to how hard Spain has been hit by the credit crunch in recent years.

Communist flags on the Passeig De Born

Traditional Mallorcan Musicians playing at the earlier demo

Red flag of one of the communist group members

Despite arriving as I did into a country in turmoil, this didn't affect the rest of my family's stay in Mallorca and I was reunited with them late the following morning after having to power-walk across the city to meet them on the waterfront. In the early afternoon I became my family's personal Tour Guide/Translator, a role I played for the rest of the weekend, and took them around the various sites in the centre of Palma using the information I had gleaned from Pau's tour just a month before. My Dad was particularly interested in the street performers and illusionists that line the more touristy areas of the city especially the ones who appeared to be sitting cross-legged in mid-air holding nothing but a simple pole for support. We  figured out how the illusion works however in order not to ruin your entertainment, we shall keep our musings to ourselves but I'll leave you with the cheeky picture I took of one such illusionist.

Here's my picture of the illusionist, you're not supposed to take pictures of them without paying hence why I took this behind him. How rude!

The garden next to the Palacio Real, one of the most beautiful places in Palma

We found an open garden whilst walking around the city so I got some even nicer pictures

After having a relatively cheap lunch, we wondered along the harbour looking at the various expensive yachts and wondering how many million each would cost as well as spotting  a few sailing boats and a 'Pirate ship' out in the bay. We then jumped into the car and headed up the hill to visit Bellver Castle except this time I did get to enter and for 4 euros a ticket it most certainly worth it. Bizarrely enough for a Friday afternoon during half-term holiday week there was a real lack of tourists so we had the castle pretty much all to ourselves. Inside the main section, there is a large circular courtyard with various statues and bits of information about the castle through the ages then when you get to the top, the view is STUNNING. You can see the whole of Palma as well as the mountains in the distance and the coastal terrain just north of the City which at first left me speechless especially with the excellent weather we've had of late and Friday was by no means an exception. Needless to say, I took plenty of snaps.

The courtyard inside Bellver Castle

The view from the top minus me

Me with the view

80% of the family reunited 

Blogger caught in the act

The next day, now both me and my family were based out in Alcúdia, we decided to take a road trip into the mountains of the Serra de Tramuntana, Deia the destination of choice. My Dad is a big fan of the obscure, psychedelic, space rock band-Gong whose founder Daevid Allen used to live in the town so for him it was some kind of pilgrimage however for the rest of us Josep had described it as a 'must-see' in Mallorca due to its natural beauty. Despite getting slightly lost around Pollenca, we eventually found the road that twisted and wriggled its way through the mountain range offering some incredible vistas of the landscape around us. After stopping at various places along the road to soak in the atmosphere around us and to take some pictures we arrived in Deia feeling relieved as both Ethan and I had been getting queasy from all the winding mountainous roads and Dad had to concentrate not just because he was driving a european car on the wrong side of the road but because of the sheer difficulty of the narrow country roads. Deia is a quaint village perched on the side of the mountains that overlooks the sea below where many rich/famous people go to live in luxurious farm houses so there was a lot to admire about the place. We had lunch at a Trip Advisor recommended  restaurant in the centre of the village where there was a leafy green garden that was just begging for a photo op which all made for a really idyllic location. Overall, I can only describe the Serra de Tramuntana as breathtaking and is a place you should visit if you want a change of scene from the beaches and vibrant towns while in Mallorca. I think I will be heading back up into the mountains at the end of November for a weekend adventure with the family and some of their friends but I hope this isn't the last I see of this area while I'm here.

Tunnel vision

The port of Sóller taken from Mirador de Ses Barques

By a mountain reservoir

Deia

The garden of the restaurant where we had lunch

One happy Dad

After a mad rush back from the mountains, my parents dropped me off at the 'Poli' (sports centre) in Sa Pobla so that I could watch my first 'El Clasico' with Josep, Marta and Pau. The bar was filled with Barca fans like Marta and Josep with me as the only neutral and Pau as most likely the only Madrid fan (Marta claims he was changed at birth). The game was everything I expected with lots of drama, action and lots of Barca fans going through the inevitable emotional rollercoaster of it all. A 2-1 win for Barca meant for a satisfied audience (well, apart from Pau) especially considering how good Alexis Sanchez's breathtaking chip was that won the match. :O I then met up with my family again in the centre of Alcúdia to have another meal out and to spend some more quality time with them.

View of Puerto de Pollenca taken from the car

Early on Sunday Afternoon, I convinced my parents to visit Pollenca. Sundays in Mallorca seem to be Market Day so there was added interest for simple tourists like ourselves with Market stalls littered across the main square and the narrow alleys of the town. The last time I visited Pollenca with the French rellies during my first week in Mallorca I had wanted to climb up the stairway of Calvari, 365 cobbled steps that lead to a small chapel and more importantly an incredible view at the top, however French contingent deemed it to be too exhausting so we didn't make the ascent. This time I followed through with my wish and we embarked on the steep climb in the sweltering mid-October heat (about 29 degrees). It was much harder than I imagined due to the humidity yet I reached the summit with Ethan and my parents trailing behind me. The sound of Spanish guitars from two buskers welcomed me at the top with a few trees offering some much-needed shade and a viewing area overlooking Pollenca and its nearby Port by the sea. For some reason it all made me think of being in a country like Greece or Cyprus as it all seemed much too idyllic to be the Spain I know but I appreciated it all the same.

Flower stall in Pollenca

Start of the climb up Calvari

Spanish guitarists

The chapel

What a view!

King of the Hill

Before my family headed home that Sunday evening we had a sumptuous barbecue back at the house which was cooked expertly by Josep and Pau. There, my parents had the chance to chat with some of family members I have got to know over these past weeks while Ethan tested out the pool-making huge splashes in the process! For dessert we had 'Panellets', traditional catalan treats that Josep had made the night before which were very popular (the coconut ones were my favourite) and are subsequently my pick for FOOD OF THE WEEK. He says they are traditional to have around Halloween so we have been having a few throughout this week too. After the meal, I went back to Palma with my family firstly to prove to my Mum that I was keeping both my room in Palma and Alcúdia tidy and so I could say goodbye and wave them off before I next see them again for Christmas. I must admit my first bout of homesickness crept in slightly during the days that followed and I have noticed that although it hasn't been that long they have already changed slightly which is something I have never really noticed before. It won't be long till I'm back with them in the UK though. This is was Ethan's first trip to Spain and despite the fact he didn't really try any of the local cuisine and that he complained a lot of the time saying it was "too hot" he did give the conclusion that he liked the country though he didn't comment on whether it was better than our normal holiday destination-France.

BBQing at the house

FOOD OF THE WEEK: Panellets

 So that was my weekend. I hope my family enjoyed visiting me in Mallorca and that they think I haven't changed too much for the worse but more for the better while I've been here. I would just like to finish by making a disclaimer to my Gran who by no doubt is reading this post right now. Mum told me that she was worried that I was drinking and eating too much out here. I'm sorry Gran if I'm giving off the wrong impression. The truth is that many of the more exciting episodes that I have been writing about in my blog have indeed contained some form of food or drink. There have been plenty more mundane occasions in which I have been eating healthily and exercising regularly so when I arrive in Norfolk for Christmas I shall be in good shape!

FP

#FraserOnTour