Simply owners - Lorenzo and Frida

Simply owners - Lorenzo and Frida. | Jessika Ekman

Jessika EkmanPalma07/02/2021 10:00
TW
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There are too many of us sitting at home with too much free time on our hands and the list of things pending to do is getting shorter as the days go by. I find the beginning of this year to be more difficult than last year during confinement. Then everything was new, we found new recipes for day to day life, zoom meetings were new and cool, home office was fantastic, spirits were high and now a lot of people feel low. We are tired of cooking and we need to do something to make us feel better. There are still some activities that are allowed.

Hand on your heart, even if you have lived here forever - there are still places on the island that you have not visited.

One of the best activities right now to quickly forget all about the virus is packing up a nice picnic and get out of the house. Walk, if possible, at least 10.000 steps a day. It is good for your body and good for mental health.

binissalem finca almendros flor

Go out to see the almonds in flower in Mallorca – with more than 7 million almond trees planted onthe island it sure looks like we had snow in some areas during February. A fun fact is that we have two kinds of almonds on the island – the white flowers are the sweet almonds, and the pink flowers are the bitter ones. An adult tree can give between 4-5 kg. Both types are eagerly collected and was last year paid around 0.50€ per kilo. Pocket money not worth spending the time for some, others families save the household economy with them. Loads of tourists have come to Mallorca every February to enjoy the spectacle of the flowers – but did you?

There is a legend going around the island that the local guides use to tell the tourists when they do almond flower photo excursions. It goes something like this - “A long time ago a beautiful Scandinavian woman fell in love with a man from Mallorca and decided to move here. According to the story the couple were very happy, but the woman got sad every winter because she missed the snow in Scandinavia that she was so used to seeing. So the man decided to plant almond trees as a surprise to his beloved, and one day in February when the woman woke up and went out in the garden everything around her was white – the almonds blossomed, and for the first time she felt as if she was home again. Some days passed the petals fell to the ground and it looked like snow, just like in her home country.”

Even for me, who has been here for ages, I had to think twice before I could suggest some of the best routes to see the beautiful flowers. In a normal year the village of Son Servera do the special Almond Fair at the beginning of February – Fira de la Flor d Álmetler, but as you can imagine it will not happen this year.

The biggest concentrations are around the rural towns and villages of Bunyola, Lloseta, Marratxí, Sant Llorenç, Santa Maria, Selva and Sencelles.

For a driving route, where you can easily stop and take photos along the way I would recommend the road from Santa Maria – Bunyola, or the road between Selva – Moscari.
For hikers the famous three-hour walk from the pretty village of Es Capdellá through the publicly held Galatzó Estate is a favourite. The trail presents some magnificent views of the conical Puig Galatzó.

If you bring small children and still want to walk, the area around Raixa on the road to Soller is very recommendable. I just love when you hike, and you have brought an amazing picnic with you to enjoy on a mountain top or a beach on the route. Sadly, picnics are not my strongest point, I love eating them but do not like making them.

And if you don’t feel like making your own picnic the Mallorcan/Swedish owned Simply Smart Food Bar, in Carrer de Sant Magi 77 (Santa Catalina) has some healthy and very tasty offers that you easily can prebook via Instagram to collect. Poke bowls, nice shakes with fresh fruits full of vitamins and Sandwiches. They also offer a large variety of Vegan products such as soups and bakery goods.

We’re open thanks to regular guests that keep coming back to Mallorca every winter

Palma Suites Aparthotel in the old town in Palma is one of the very few places still open during this winter in the worse crisis for the business in modern history. Mats Jakobson, came to Mallorca 8 years ago to run this hotel, and Feliz hotel in El Terreno.

One of the reasons he can keep Palma Suites open is thanks to regular guests that keep coming back to Mallorca every winter. These guests are long stayers that spend the winter in the heart of Palma, enjoying the comfort of a Scandinavian style apartment with all the comfort and services needed. All apartments are unique and with a home feeling is an amazing alternative. This year they also have locals that have escaped from messy home refurbishments to enjoy a month in Palma for the special price of 1200€ for a full month.