Over the last day and a half our ship sailed from Rome through the straight separating Sardinia from Corsica to Palma, the capital of Majorca, Spain.

We had chosen the cycling excursion which was a little unfortunate because the temperature turned out to be in the high 30s. The first stage was a steep climb up to the 14th century Beliver Castle, followed by a visit to the huge Palma cathedral dating back to 1229, then a 15 km cycle along the waterfront passing beaches occupied with the local sunbathers (many topless!), swimmers and people fishing. Because of the heat, we curtailed the cycling at a lovely seafood restaurant right on the coast where Sharon and I had a fabulous lunch enjoying the friendly local hospitality. Our cycle back all the way along the waterfront to the ship into the wind was handled comfortably by our E bikes .

Whilst just a short visit, we really liked the little we saw of Majorca and particularly the relaxed beach atmosphere all along that section of coast adjacent to the city.  

Majorca does have from a distance a very attractive range of mountains visible from the city. Many adventure holiday companies do offer hiking excursions in the Majorca mountains. I can see why. In fact, I’ve often considered one myself to try something different. But the countryside outside the city looks very dry and scrubby and very similar to scenery I experienced and found unattractive hiking on sections on the Spanish Mediterranean coast in 2017. Accordingly, whilst we saw plenty of reasons why we might want to come back, I don’t think it would be to hike.