I have been on wine tastings before, but never one that takes place in a time machine. The bus screeches to a halt where the landscape has changed from sparkling beaches to rows and rows of vines. I’m in between the towns of Inca and Muro on the Balearic Island of Mallorca.  Wine tastings often take you through the winery, vineyards and onto a tasting room, where you learn just what you should taste and why. The Son Ramon vineyard however doesn’t produce wine in the ordinary manner. Set up on an estate with vineyards from 1760, a glass comes with the uncanny ability to transport the sipper Continue Reading

Early in the morning, I board the bus in Palma half asleep and wake at the Port d’Alcúdia. It feels as though a great deal of time has passed judging from the window-face I now adorn, but I’m just 54 kilometers from Palma. I have crossed the island to another world that knows no time. Alcúdia sits in northeastern Mallorca. While the historic center is the main attraction, I begin by exploring its waters at the port. The area affords over 30 kilometers of coastline, littered in sun-seekers, sands and holiday homes. It is possible to cruise the Badia d’Alcúdia, but not entirely Continue Reading

I step off of the wooden train car into a state of isolation in Sóller. For centuries Sóller kept to herself, cut off from the island. The sea functioned as Sóller’s only means of communicating with the outside world. The peaks of the Tramuntana mountain range wanted to keep Sóller forever in that isolation, but the historic train route from Palma altered that agenda in 1912. The train station welcomes in a variety of languages, suggesting Sóller is not so alone these day. The building itself used to be an ancient fortified house from the 17th century. It would later take on the identity of a Continue Reading

If you live on the Balearic Island of Mallorca, a far distance can be 20 minutes away. Perhaps it is the island mentality, but you don’t take the slow road in Mallorca if there is a faster way. The Ferrocarril De Sóller chugs along at the slowest of paces for a local, taking over an hour to go from Palma de Mallorca to the town of Sóller. Covering 27.3 kilometers, the route is frequented not by locals but tourists with time. They hop abroad not just for the train’s slow pace but to experience a part of history on the island.  I arrive at Placa de l’Estació in Plaza de España in Palma de Continue Reading