Mallorca in February on the boat

First trip together with my sister. Objective: to show her a slightly different way of traveling.

First task: pack up

Since low-cost airlines changed their baggage conditions and usually only a small school bag of about 20 liters is free, the first task was to pack up lightly. What do you need for 5 days in Mallorca, where it is warm during the day and cold at night? A few pieces of underwear, three shirts, a sweatshirt, jacket, sleeping bag and pink sunglasses of course! 

"Can I take a book?" My sister's question - the book lover. 

"Sure, but you'll carry it on your back alone." Saying. I won't wear it. 

At the train station in the direction of Vienna I find out that she took a book Hamilton, which has about 1000 pages and occupies half of her backpack. She has to figure out some things yourself. I don't excuse her. In Vienna, she tries to find out where is some closet to where she could leave the book before returning. In the end, she can handle the whole trip with a book on her back, as a training.

Mallorca - first hitchhiking, Port de Soller

The arrival to the Mediterranean island was fast. The journey lasted just a few hours ago, and because it was clear, crossing the Austrian Alps was a fantastic experience! Upon arrival, we swapped winter hats for sunglasses and set off for Funkytown jingles as Shrek among the palm trees for an adventure. Our first destination was Port de Soller, a port town surrounded by mountains. I love the feeling when you first hitchhike in a country you don't know, don't know what people will be like, how the roads are here and how things will go. As always, I am pleasantly surprised when we have the first stop after 2 minutes. Yes, we are two girls, so we have an advantage. The journey does not take us long, everyone is very nice and they will drive a few kilometers more for us. Moreover, the island is really a little over 100km in length. I still can't get used to the fact that we're in Mallorca and I'm always confused with Malta. This will result in a slight faux pas when I enthusiastically tell the first driver that we have just landed and that we are in Malta for the first time... 

Hitchhiking to Soller, we are recommended to take a wooden train/tram to Port de Soller. Tickets are purchased from the driver. So why not, instead of driving a car in the tunnel we enjoy a sightseeing ride. I get excited when we board and the conductor busts us by 14 euros for two tickets. Well, the lowcost trip will be probably a little more expensive... But those views are worth resp. It must be worth it! 

Port de Soller

We arrive at 17.30. We have nowhere to sleep. My sister is slightly nervous because we do not have a sleeping place, yet. "Somehow it turns out." I will branch off and do not solve it much. For me, of course, for her, it must actually be unusual. Despite Couchsurfing, I didn't discover anyone, neither did Airbnb. Normally I would go outside the city and sleep outside, but because my sister was sick and still not feeling well, we finally choose the cheapest hostel for one night.

Hiking, sleeping on a yacht, pirates

After a rich breakfast, where we follow the motto: eat what you can, if it's for free, god knows when you will eat again, we set off the next day to hike to the lighthouse. Marking paths is really exemplary. We continue hitchhiking to the town of Port de Pollenca, where I arranged tonight at the couchsurfer on a boat.

Interesting news we learned from our drivers: 

• About 20,000 Germans live in Majorca 
• Quite a lot of foreigners living here are retired 
• Majorca wine is expensive and not good 
• Beer is expensive and not good 
• It is better to drink wine from Spain (mainland) 
• The highest mountain is about 1400mnm high 

We arrive to the city in the afternoon, after the ice cream and cafe we are waiting for the couchsurfer. To our surprise, we are suddenly approached by a 52-year-old man - Paul, who looks like Pepek the sailor, with a friend. Both smell alcohol and I am slightly nervous. Paul says he has a ship in the harbor, but he hasn't been here long and doesn't know exactly where it is. He runs around the harbor trying to find or contact one-minute-man Miguel, who takes care of his boat. I'm nervous more and more. Being alone, so cool, but with a sister it is different. And this is to be her first couchsurfing experience ?! The other man, Paul's friend - Eddie is more sympathetic, talks more with us and actually calms us down, unfortunately, he is British and so I do not understand much for his accent.

Ship - yacht is finally found! It's just off the shore, so we have to row to it. From the outside it looks like a small boat and I wonder where we can fit, but when we descend below the deck I am surprised there is a kitchen, toilet, 4 beds, and storage room, you can stand here normally and there is quite a lot of space. I'm getting used to Paul's humor, making fun of everything.

"When the ship sinks, you either panic or jump into the water and panic." 

"This is the ax from Finland. When the worst comes, use an ax!" 

After "accommodation" we go shopping, but eventually, we end up in the yacht club.  We only go for one beer. It works the same in our country and in Mallorca. So we stay somewhat longer. There is currently some action, which is also a banquet. They are all very stylishly dressed and you can see that they have money to give away. Despite the fact that our clothing deviates slightly, we manage to unobtrusively join the event and especially the banquet. So my sister gets the first pirate advice on how to steal food, and I make up a story about a rich husband who has a yacht here if someone asks me what I do in a sports sweatshirt and leggings. 

After a tasty dinner, we move to the pool bar as experienced pirates. The course of the game is no longer pirate, the air does not fly pints or burst canvas. After returning to a boat under the influence of alcohol, I feel warm enough, although the ambient temperature around midnight is about 7 ° C. We are by the sea and have not bathed yet! This is a great opportunity! Sister immediately grabs it and is already in the water. Well, I can't lag behind, my friend Maruška, who would bathe in Greenland, would not forgive me. With an elegant arrow, I jump into the water while it is dark and they cannot see how my underwear fell. I overcome the fear of sharks and swim around the ship. I feel warm for about 10 minutes, but then I'm freezing all night.

Goat trail, swinging on a rope, treasure hunting 

The first night on the boat, it was rocking a little, but otherwise, I didn't feel anything terrible, we don't suffer from any sea disease, uff. Sunrise over the sea is nothing more beautiful. The sun is warm in the morning. Paul discovered pieces of rope near the bottom of the sea because we don't have a hook to pull it out, so I volunteer for a morning bath and hunt ropes and other treasures from the bottom. I'll come as a treasure hunter! Others look at me strangely! Swim? February? In winter? In the sea? Fool! But I do not consider 17 ° C as winter. Paul then teaches me other pirate tricks. Have you seen the Pirates of the Caribbean and Jack Sparrow grabbed the rope and swung from one part of the ship to the other? Paul did exactly the same thing. It looks so simple. Playfully he manages to do a few moves and then hang by the legs and hang upside down! I'm weak, but I'm still trying to swing on a rope and I love it right away! Flying in the air around the ship is bombastic!

After pirate entertainment and breakfast at noon we set off on a trek with Eddie. Where? Well, to the mountains. Up. We climb over the fence and claw off the road to the nearest hill. The goal is a bay behind the hill. We thought he was behind one hill, but when we climb up, the number of hills increases and this is repeated several times. The hour walk becomes a 3.5-hour hike. We chase goats because where they get, we get too, we jump from one stone to another, we wade through the grass and climb the rocks. But the views along the way are worth it! Beautiful rocks for climbing, clear sea for swimming simply paradise! Adventure trip, we end up by the road and go back hitchhiking. Finally, we stay with the sailors on the boat for one more night. We discuss American and English history and jam together until morning.

Italiano, the other night on the boats, pasta

Although I was afraid at first, Paul and Eddie and we had a great time in the end! I don't want at all, but the next day we go on to Palma. Lida has enough nature and needs a city. The capital of the island is not so big and you can easily go through in an hour. We will go through historical monuments and spend the last night with another couchsurfer - Eugenia, this time Italian, who also has a boat. So we'll sleep on the boat again. In the evening he invited a few friends who work on the boat and also have their own boat! That's unbelievable. I suspected that, as in Amsterdam, he has every wheel, in Alaska he has every plane, so in Mallorca, every man has his own ship. Because we are more than expected for dinner, there is not enough pasta. I would logically think I'd go into the store and buy another package, but I couldn't be on a boat with Italians! When there is no pasta, we just make our own! Of course I didn't think of it before. So we learn from the greatest experts in the field what it should look like. With the music of Italian songs and the wading of the sea, I fall into the realm of dreams. It was a nice evening again!

Sušák na těstoviny

On the last day, we just climb the castle in Palma, buy a few souvenirs and return home. It was only 5 days, but we managed a lot and we have countless experiences! Finally, I'd like to thank to my 14-year-old sister. For me, traveling like this is normal, but for her, this must have been a bit of a shock. But she did everything well, not complaining when she wore a heavy backpack with a book, or when she went on a 3-hour trek without water, when she didn't shower for X days, or when we slept with strangers on a boat. She did everything well and hope she liked it a little.

Map: https://mapy.cz/s/3p8nV

Highlights

• Hitchhiking in Mallorca is simple, with an average waiting time of 10 minutes and very nice people! 
• The island is small, so you can drive it in about an hour 
• Couchsurfing works great here, lots of people have their own boat! 
• Weather: in winter (February) is during the day 15 - 17 ° C so the shirt and pants, at night 1 - 5 ° C and high humidity! 
• Transport: There are plenty of cheap flights to Mallorca.