Palma de Mallorca…What a beautiful place. I never would have thought of renting a car if it hadn’t been for the cloudy weather. I only came for sun & beach. But if you can’t go to the beach, then you have to find a back-up plan. Having a car allows you to see the stunning cliffs and rugged hills around the island.  So much more than I had expected to see.

Fortunately, I was able to join forces with an Aussie from my hostel, Greg, who is now a dear friend. After our grand adventure by Smart Car across the island, I said that he should consider moving to Paris to be a tour guide, and he did. I considered 11 hours in a Smart Car navigating an island to be sufficient as an interview.

 And of course there were glorious Spanish tapas.

Mussels, octopus with paprika, calamari, and my favorite, padron peppers sauteed in olive oil with coarse sea salt

We decided to keep the car another day since it looked like clouds again. After an early morning coffee just outside the hostel, we drove along the southern coast, stopping a prehistoric site for some historical wanderings followed by a mammoth sandwich for lunch.

To this day, I consider this to be one of the most glorious sandwiches of my life. Fresh salted tomatoes & peppers on one side, drenched in olive oil, and Spanish ham and a huge slice of Manchego on the other, with olives. Perfection.

On our way to a pristine beach, we passed beautiful white mountains…of salt.

Pull that car over. We stopped to check out the salt flats of Es Trenc, who produces the creme de la creme of salt, fleur de sel (Flor de Sal in Spanish).

They had an adorable shop where they sold all kinds of beautiful salts, and I stocked up.

Mallorca is full of surprises.

The beaches aren’t so bad, either.

I would return in a heartbeat.