Ah, finally, a scheduled port! LOL. We have two options planned for today – either rent a car and drive out to the northern most part of the island, Cape Formentor, or stay in town explore the museums and palaces. After some debate, we decide to stay in town and take the free shuttle. Its been ages since we have stayed in the city of Palma, and since there is no guarantee that the little rental car hut in the port parking lot will be open, we’ll just hop on the shuttle that is right outside our gangway.
We are trying not to get into town too early, as it is Sunday, so we can’t go into the cathedral, and the museums don’t open until 9. But as is always the case, we’re ready to go and get the first shuttle into town (driving past the shuttered car rental hut) and arriving in the center of the city a little after 8. Oh well, its a spectacular day and we’ll just walk around. Being early also has its advantages since there is hardly anyone around, and taking pictures of the statues, the park and the cathedral are far easier.
Our itinerary today is pretty ambitious – the Cathedral (exterior), the Arab Baths, the Almudaina palace (said to be Palma’s Alhambra) and finally the modern art museum, Es Balaurd. But, we’re game, and get our bearings as we head up to the cathedral first, climbing up the stairs at the back of the Palacio Real de la Almundaina, which we will visit later.
We are hoping we get lucky and can get into the cathedral quickly before the first mass, but there is a guard at the door, and we don’t think we can fake our way into convincing him we are parishioners! So, we content ourselves with wandering the exterior, watching the horse and buggy drivers try to shill for fares, and exclaiming over the intricate detail of the architecture of the cathedral.
Even though it is early, we decide to go ahead and make our way through the small little roads and alleys that lead to the Arab Baths. Its very nice walking through mostly empty streets, and we actually find it pretty easily. As expected, they are locked up tight, so we turn back, find a portal to the park on the waterfront and hang out on a bench in the sunshine for a while. You can’t beat the weather or the scenery if you’re just hanging out.
At the appointed hour, we walk back to the baths, and they are open (big sigh of relief because even though our research says the museums will be open, it is Sunday after all, and nothing ever used to be open – by law – on Sunday here in Palma). The door is totally unassuming, and the entrance fee really cheap, but inside is a lovely garden area and fascinating remains of the original baths the Arabs used when they resided in the city. There is a video loop that provides explanation in Spanish, English and German, that provides some interesting information, like how thick the walls needed to be to contain – and withstand – the heat of the baths, how two layers of flooring were created to circulate the hot air in between (radiant heating) and how the tops of the columns in the center room are constructed differently because they used demolition materials from other buildings – a typical Arabic building technique.
We spend a little time in the garden, just enjoying the atmosphere, before pushing on with our city tour. Since it is still so early, we make a pit stop at a little cafe for cappuccino. We’ve got a lot of territory to cover but we also have all day, and need to time our explorations to lunch – so we’re chilling on the sidewalk, savoring our cappuccino and watching the world wake up and walk by in Palma before heading to the Palacio.
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