Living in Santa Ponsa

I spent the majority of the time I lived in Mallorca in the small beach town of Santa Ponsa.  It is a small town located on the southwest corner of the island.  It is a small harbor with a beautiful white sand beach bordered by a small park of pine trees providing a shady escape from the warm summer sun.  Santa Ponsa is a popular vacation destination for a bit younger Irish crowd.  The main street of town is lined with numerous Irish pubs and music bars.  The beer I found here is relatively cheaper which attracts the younger crowd as well.  One of my favorite Irish pubs is the Auld Triangle, which has a bit more of a family atmosphere with nightly live music.  You will find the pub on Calle Ramon de Moncada as you are heading into the town from the main road.  Of the many Irish pubs lined up throughout town, this is one definitely worth checking out.  Heading further down the road you will find one pub after another advertising Irish food, snacks and t.v.s showing a Celtic football match, or my favorite, bare knuckle fighting.  It sets the tone for late in the evening after a dozen or so pints of Guiness.  The town has a bit of a rowdy reputation if you are still hanging around in the early morning hour.  It still is a fun place to be at night with plenty of fun bars to check out.  Another bar that is quite popular with the Germans is the Bier Koenig.  This is owned by a famous German pop singer who I think looks a lot like Mick Jagger.  He is the self-proclaimed, 'King of Mallorca.'  The Germans really love this guy and come by to get a glimpse and maybe on autograph.  The music is not my favorite, but to each his own I guess.  Another popular place is Cafe Katzenberger.  This cafe has gotten quite a bit of t.v. publicity and is worth stopping by as well.  Lots of German celebrities usually stop by.  I often didn't know who they were, but I could tell they were of some kind of status from the reaction of the Germans.

Santa Ponsa is a great place to swim in the summer months.  I used to jump in around May and swim until about mid October.  It's also where I tough myself to windsurf.  I purchased windsurfing equipment off Ebay from Germany thinking I was getting a bargain, or at least until I paid the shipping costs.  I spent a whole summer trying to learn how to windsurf.  I ran into several million dollar yachts durning my learning curve.  I apologize for any scratched yachts.  By the end of my first summer, I was able to easily maneuver between any obstacles.   There is plenty to do here and a nice view.  Definitely worth a stop.

Around town in Paguera

The town of Paguera has a lot to offer.  It is a popular vacation spot for a lot of Germans, who many come to the same place, stay in the same hotel, the same exact time of year every year as they have for years.  I can see why they love it though.  The beaches are beautiful and a great place to swim and do other water activities such as windsurfing and paddle boarding.  Not too many windsurfers found here in the peak of the summer months.  You will get some good waves on occassion which brings in the surfers from all corners of the island.  Many of whom get frustrated with all the tourist in the water making obstacles for those trying to enjoy a good wave. 

Paguera is rather calm as compared to some other parts of the island as far as the crazy nightlife.  There are plenty of other locations for non-stop party life which I will talk more about another time.  Paguera is a mix of young and old, families with small kids and the groups of friends looking to enjoy the island.  As I mentioned, the tourist crowd here is mainly German.  From my observation, a lot of the Germans still forget they are on vacation and still have their rigidness and daily regiment that they cannot seem to break away from.  The older Germans will set their alarm clocks at 6 a.m., then go to the beach with their beach towel to put on the lounge chair they want for the day and then head back to the hotel for breakfast.  I have seen many arguements over the years break out from people that show up and move the towels laid over a lounge chair to claim a spot.  I thought many times I would see a couple senior citizens break out into a fistfight.  I sure it has happened before.

The Boulevard is the main street that runs through Paguera parellel to the beach.  It is full of the usual open air bars, restaurants and gift shops.  There are a lot of good open air bars that are great for people watching while enjoying a beer and listening to music.  One place I can recommend is a bar called Krummel's Stadl.  It is a good music bar with good music and more of a festive atmosphere.  They have a live performance everynight at 10 p.m. of some well-known German pop singer.  It's a little more lively here than any of the other places in town.  I would see posters all over town of who was going to be performing that evening.  They bring in people who are popular in Germany and they sing and dance around on the bar for a while.  I never knew any of them.  I saw one who was some celebrity from their Big Brother show who had become famous.  I was told they broke into singing party music and did a few pornos.  I had never heard any of their music or their movies for that matter.  They sing everynight, dance around on the bar and sign autographs later.  It's worth checking out, but get there early to get a table.  Later on after the foot traffic dies down, usually around midnight, there are a few nightclubs for the younger crowd.  There is one nightclub a little more for the older crowd called Rendevous.  It can get crowded on the weekends and later on at night.  They have had the same people working there for as long as I can remember.  It is more of a 30+ crowd and stays open until around 4 a.m.

All of the bars cater to the German tourists here.  If you are looking for experiencing a Spanish bar, there are a handfull along the Boulevard that offer the traditional Tapas and Spanish beer.  These are easy to spot.  Full of locals enjoying the cooler evening air sitting around talking about the tourists, soccer or day to day topics.  You can get some inexpensive food and better priced beer than the German bars.  They aren't quite as fancy as the bars that attract the tourists, but worth a stop to get a feel for the local culture.  The bars are usually full of a mixed Mallorquin crowd from small kids running around, family dogs, up to grandma and grandpa.  These places can get a bit loud since all Mallorquins like to talk at the same time and at high volume.  They t.v. is usually on full blast as well to add to the noise.   The bars are full of Spanish temperment.  Until I could speak Spanish, I thought that many times when two Mallorquins were talking, they were argueing and about ready to start throwing punches, only to suddenly start laughing and patting each other on the back.  I was told that every Spaniard has something important to say and they often do it loud, without waiting for the other to finnish talking.  In other words, no quiet candlelight dinners at the Spanish bars.  I enjoy it though. 

I really enjoy the town and would highly recommend making a stop there on your stay.

Paguera

I could write volumes about my time living in Paguera which is located on the southwest corner of Mallorca.  It is a quiet little town with a large population of expat Germans.  Many of whom had moved to Mallorca to get away from the hustle and bustle living in Germany, and most of all, the endless rain.  I had seen many Germans come to Mallorca to live the dream of sun, beach and ocean (as they say, Sonne, Strand und Meer).  Many come with a dream of opening a bar or a restaurant with high hopes of making it.  They come with their life savings to fullfil a lifelong dream, but unfortunately, I saw a lot of them fail and disappear practically overnight.  They often called it a 'Nacht und Nebel Aktion.'  A phrase that I heard frequently, which meant, night and fog maneuver.  In other words, they failed at their dream and got the hell out of dodge rather quickly.  There are many bars and restaurants that have made it.  Mostly through word of mouth marketing and a good business model.  There are several that I would like to mention over the course of my writing.  Many that are still going strong and well worth a visit.

My experience living in Mallorca

I was fortunate to live and work on the island of Mallorca from '01 to '05.  I had travelled to the Spanish island knowing very little about the country, people or local culture.  It is my intent to share my experiences and also help others discover the beauty of the island and give some advice as to where to go to make their visit an unforgetable experience.

Much more to come...