Vam anar a Mallorca, Days 4-5: Playa del Mago, Estellencs, Ma-10, Sa Foradada, and Palma

I had been eager to do some nude sunbathing and snorkeling ever since I found out we were going to Mallorca.  So, after the late-night photo session, I slept in a bit and then headed to Playa del Mago.  The tiny beach had a mix of clothed, topless, and nude sun-soakers, so I stripped off my clothes and went for a dip.  

Oh, I didn't mention the restaurant.  Within feet of this nude beach was a restaurant with fully-clothed patrons enjoying lunch!  The sign specified that reservations were recommended, but I asked if they could squeeze in a party of one in an hour and I came back after my swim.  And I'm glad I did; the grilled calamari is up there as my top or runner-up calamari ever!  They grilled it just perfectly with some carmelization but not overcooked.  Soooooo good!

After lunch, my next destination with a fixed timeline was Sa Foradada for a very late lunch reservation (basically dinner).  But I had plenty of time to kill, so I took a drive along Ma-10 on the NW coast.

My drive led me to Estellencs.  Most guidebooks said to park at the top of the slope in town and walk down because there isn't much parking at the bottom and that the road down was a difficult drive.  I was trying to maximize my stops on the day, so decided I'd drive down.  If there wasn't parking, I could always come back to the top.  I found ample parking and enjoyed the rocky shore.  There was a nice little restaurant and boat harbor there.  Several parties were sunbathing, but the sea was raucous that day, so anyone who went near the water was punished and quickly retreated to lay on the shore.

Then, I headed back north along Ma-10, stopping for some nice views and to photograph the famed terraces of Banyalbufar.

I arrived over an hour early for my reservation at Sa Foradada.  Sort of.  You see, the parking is at the top of the slope, and you have to hike down to the sea.  It's hike or boat.  But an hour should be plenty of time, right?

Of course, I got wrapped up in the scenery; the olive trees, the rocks, the coastline.  I just kept stopping.  Soon, I realized that I didn't have much time, and actually had to jog the last 1/3 of the hike to make it just on time.  I had the last reservation of the day, and many people had commented on reviews that they were turned away without reservations or if they were late.

I made it!  This was one of two restaurants on my "must-do" list, so I was excited.  At least I was after I caught my breath.  The restaurant only has a handful of tables and cooks all of their food over locally harvested wood.  I was there for the famous paella.  What I didn't understand ahead of time is that paella is rarely served for less than two people.  I stumbled for a second, then threw caution to the wind and ordered the paella for two!  I'd pack out the extra and share it with Laura.

The waitstaff were incredible and encouraged me to move tables to set up my tripod for pictures and to head further into the kitchen to document the cooking.  The paella was served in a traditional manner, with them plating it at my table, and served with a plate of green pepper and lemon as a refreshment.  I always turn away peppers, but I embraced the experience and now I don't hate green peppers!

The restaurant is perched above a turquoise cove.  After my meal, I was definitely not ready for a hike back up the hill, so I walked down the stairs to the water and went for a swim and to take some pictures.  The point was blocking the rough seas, making for a pleasant snorkel.  Although I didn't get a picture of them, I saw a massive school of barracuda, which was something that I had been hoping to see on the trip.  There had to have been over a hundred of the silvery torpedoes swimming along the drop-off to deeper water.

Laura was here for a carbonate geology conference, so I just had to take this picture of all of the tiny encrusting organisms on the lush seagrass beds.

Acetabularia mediterranea algae

For those who arrive by sea:

Here, you can see the restaurant at the top-left of the frame:

Eventually, I had to buck up and hike back up to the car.  It took me a ridiculously long time.  Rather than push hard and rush up, I stopped frequently to take pictures.

I had some fun with "intentional camera movement" to create these abstract shots of the water...

There is another restaurant near the parking area, and it was hopping!  Dozens of people gathered atop the restaurant with drinks in hand to watch the sunset.  I caught one more look and headed home.

The next day, I went scuba diving at Isla de El Toro.  I had a few hiccups with paperwork (my fault), so arrived to the boat with a pile of gear under my arms to find everyone already geared up on the boat.  I was a bit frantic, and out of sorts.  It had been a few years since my last dive, so setting up my gear involved correcting a few bonehead moves as I went along. It was also my first time diving metric.  Honestly, the first bit of my experience was stressful, which only stressed me out more since this was supposed to be pleasurable.  Luckily, all of that washed away as soon as I hit the water and gave the "OK" sign.  It was amazing; I had gone from frantic and clumsy to totally at ease.  The rest of my experience was exactly what I had hoped for.

I didn't have my dive housing for the camera, so I don't have any pictures from underwater on that trip, but I had a great pair of dives!  Because the area is a marine reserve (little to no fishing), there were a lot of large fish!  I saw dentex, dozens of large groupers, moray eels, octopuses, wrasses, seabream, a passing school of amberjacks, and countless small reef fish.

That night, we attended the banquet dinner for the conference.  On the way out, we got to walk through part of the Palma Aquarium, and Laura got to see her "boys", the sand tiger sharks!

We walked back to the apartment along the beach and saw the most stunning sunset of the entire trip!

The trip continues here...