A home with a sea view in Mallorca ... except it isn't a home

Local people look out for him but say it's dangerous for him to be there

A homeless man in Can Pastilla, Mallorca

Nicolás, surrounded by his belongings. | Fernando Fernández

Andrew EdePalma22/03/2025 10:22

Nicolás, an elderly man of Bulgarian origin, claims to own nightclubs and apartments in the Can Pastilla area. If he did own apartments, he would live in one. Instead he lives in an improvised shack made with planks. He has a sea view, but his is not a 'property' with a sea-view advantage to be promoted by an estate agency.

"I just want to live in peace, I don't bother anyone, I'm happy here," he says. But not everyone is happy that he is there. Some of his belongings were set fire to a few days. There are local businesses, however, who look out for him. "He doesn't ask for things, he doesn't bother anyone, and he's an elderly person. It's a shame he has ended up like this," says one owner.

His shack, attached to the barrier between the premises on the ground floor of a residential complex, has objects of all kinds. Bottles, chairs, tables, a massage table, a cage, toys, furniture. There are paintings that he proudly displays. "I live here, with my paintings and my things. I don't want anyone to touch anything, I want peace of mind." He receives this from the likes of a shopkeeper who checks on him daily. This shopkeeper points out that social services have not been around.

"He's old. Something could happen to him any day. He can't stay here. It's dangerous for him, and it's not a place for a person his age," says a resident.

For now, though, he has his sea view. Cyclists and other early-season tourists pass by. The season will soon be in full swing, when peace of mind might prove more difficult.

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1 comment

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J M | about 11 hours ago

There must be many people in Mallorca that still have a heart. If this was in the UK the authorities would tear it down on the first day and throw him out with nothing more than a sleeping bag. What societies and economies are we living in where so many people don’t even have a home. We haven’t exactly left the next generation a great legacy.

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