Palma, Mallorca | Andokides' Porch

After Cádiz, we had our last full day at sea, heading down through the Strait of Gilbraltar. out of the Atlantic Ocean and into the Mediterranean Sea. We passed the Rock of Gibraltar sometime in the middle of the first night. I did not stay up to see it. When we awoke on Tuesday morning, we were already docked in Palma, Mallorca.

From the deck of the ship, we could see Palma’s two most prominent features: the Beliver Castle, a 14th-century castle built for King James II of Mallorca, and The Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca, also dating from the 14th-century and built on the site of an ancient Arab mosque.

As in Cádiz, we skipped the local city card (if there was one), and headed off to explore the city on foot. First, we hiked the 3km up (and up, and up) to Beliver Castle. When we were finished there, we headed toward the oldest part of the city, which in the Middle Ages, was inhabited by Arabs. The Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca (Cathedral de la Seu, begun in 1229, completed in 1601) is in this quarter, built on the site of a Arab mosque, as are the remains of the wall that once fortified the city and the Royal Palace of La Almudaina.

We stopped along the way and had lunch at a sidewalk café; I only remember the gazpacho and the salad.

We toured the cathedral. Though it’s not on any list of largest cathedrals or churches, the Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca is one of the most impressive I’ve ever seen. I’ve been in Notre Dame in Paris and in what is, by some measures, the largest cathedral in the world, the Cathedral of St John the Divine in Manhattan, but no other cathedral I’ve ever seen so thoroughly imposes itself on the surrounding landscape as does the Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca. And the effect continues once inside. These great Gothic cathedrals were designed with the express purpose of humbling worshippers before God and inspiring awe, and one does not have to be religious to fall under their spell. The central vault of the cathedral rises to a height of 144 feet with 65-foot columns. It’s dark and mysterious and has the accumulation of almost 800 years of artifacts and relics, including one that is supposed to be a piece of the True Cross. Though the cathedral itself isn’t on any of the lists of largest cathedrals, it does have one of the largest stained glass windows in the world; its rose window is composed of 1236 pieces of glass and measures almost 40 feet across.

After the cathedral, we went in search of the Arab baths with its beautiful, serene garden. It must have been a wonderful place to go to unwind, relax, wash away the travails of life, and enjoy the company of other men.

It was time to think about getting back to the ship. The size of our boat did us no favors. Looking across the harbor, we could see it looming over most of the buildings in town; it appeared to be “right there,” but it was, in fact, quite a hike. We got in a good aerobic workout, but made our onboard time with probably 2 minutes to spare.

For the complete album of Palma de Mallorca photos, click here. Photos are best viewed by double clicking on the first one, then using the navigation arrows at the top of the screen to scroll through the album.