Western Mediterranean Cruise 9 Nights 11 Days Travel Day 5: Palma de Mallorca and Soyer Village

Travel Date: 2023.09.08 – 2023.09.18

Destinations: Alcázar of the Christian Monarchs, Ahn Eak-tai Memorial, Soyer, Mirador Observatory, Restaurant Es Racó d’es Port, io Gelats Artesans

Day 5 of 9 Nights/11 Days Western Mediterranean Cruise

Costa Smaralda

Breakfast was at the main restaurant again.

This is the only place where you can get made-to-order omelets.

It’s really delicious with cheese in it~!

That bright red ham smelled so bad I almost gagged.

It was so off-putting that I couldn’t eat it even with bread, so I left it…

Costa Smaralda

A shot from the meeting point~!

Looking back now, why is the editing so heavy? lol

Palma de Mallorca

Palma de Mallorca

Palma de Mallorca

We arrived at the first tourist spot after a short ride on the port shuttle.

The video shows the sea view right after getting off the bus.

It was so beautiful, but the sea breeze was no joke…

And they said Mallorca island is currently under development.

(I don’t remember the details lol)

Royal Palace of La Almudaina

Carrer del Palau Reial, s/n, 07001 Palma, Illes Balears, Spain

Royal Palace of La Almudaina

And right in front of it is the Alcázar of the Christian Monarchs.

It’s been about a month and a half since I visited, and now that I’m writing about it,

the impression has faded… sob ㅠ

Crossing the street and passing through the garden next to the palace,

Palma de Mallorca

Walking and walking,

We also saw the memorial for Mr. Ahn Eak-tai..

It was so amazing to see a memorial written in Korean in this faraway country.

Learned some background knowledge I didn’t know, like his wife was from Spain

The tour guide sang the national anthem as a souvenir,

and they sang it so well that at first I thought it was a recorded track… ;;

It was almost like a classical solo concert. Since it was early in the morning and there weren’t many people,

if there had been a crowd, everyone would have applauded.

Familiar franchises and street photos.

The weather was beautiful, perfect for spontaneous photos.

Train Sóller Station (Palma de Mallorca)

Carrer d’Eusebi Estada, 1, 07004 Palma, Illes Balears, Spain

The wooden train was so beautiful.

We took a commemorative photo at the train station before entering,

and the station attendant grandpa behind us was in the shot..

Wow, I found it funny later when I checked the photo and saw him smiling. lol

A shot with Mom too.

Soyer train

We had to wait quite a long time for the train to depart.

I was getting baked in the sun, and it was so hot that I couldn’t stand it, so I ended up standing… ^^

Just kidding, I saw people in the connected car and thought, “What’s going on…?”

I slowly went out with them, and it was incredibly cool thanks to the breeze. ㅎㅎ

Soyer train

So this is what an open-air train, like in the movies, is like.

The speed was such that you could probably jump off if it were a truly urgent situation,

which made sense 🤔

It was a bit scary when we entered a tunnel and it became dark.

I considered going inside to avoid inhaling too much dust,

but since the windows were open anyway, I just stood there.

At that time, the breeze was so cool that it was almost a little chilly!

Mirador del Pujol de’n Banya

07100 Sóller, Balearic Islands Spain

Soyer

The train makes a brief stop of about 3 to 5 minutes at the Mirador observatory.

You have to quickly get off, take a bunch of photos, and then rush back to board again lol

The panoramic view stretching far into the distance is truly breathtaking.

After disembarking at Soyer station, you have to take a tram to 포르트 데 소예르

This tram is said to be so famous that some people come just to ride it.

There’s no air conditioning here either, so it’s deadly hot.

포르트 데 소예르

Arrived at 포르트 데 소예르~!

Literally translated, it means “Port of Soyer“.

It seems to be a port city.

But I’m curious why “Puerto” is called “Port”. If anyone knows, please comment…

Restaurant Es Racó d’es Port

Carrer de Santa Catalina d’Alexandria, 6, 07108 Sóller, Illes Balears, Spain

We were given almost 2 hours of free time here upon arrival,

so we went straight for lunch.

We chose a place with a Google Maps rating of 4.0 or higher and close by.

Ordered drinks as soon as we arrived lol

No, it’s because they take drink orders first.

The sangria had quite a high alcohol content, which was actually good 😎

(I’ve been seeking out wine since I took a bartending course…)

The first dish was gambas.

Isn’t gambas a must-have when you’re in Spain?

At first, I diligently looked for Spain, which is famous for tapas,

but I later learned that tapas isn’t a dish name, but rather a category of food.

It’s like an appetizer that you can easily pick and eat.

So, I actually ordered the gambas without knowing,

I ordered something that said “grilled shrimp” and gambas came out lol

The second dish was Bolognese pasta.

It was the safest menu choice for picky-eater Mom!

It was predictably delicious, a common but fail-proof taste.

Finally, paella.

It was octopus paella, I think?

The first bite was amazing… so delicious, like crab roe fried rice.

The umami was incredible.

But as I ate more, it got saltier, so I left a lot behind ㅠㅜ

Mom said it was very salty, so keep that in mind.

io Gelats Artesans

Carrer de la Marina, 18, 07108 Port de Sóller, Illes Balears, Spain

After some quick shopping, we had gelato for dessert!!

It was a bit melted because it was hot, but still delicious…

Gelato is always a little melted wherever you go.

Soyer train

On the way back, the sun wasn’t shining as much, so it was bearable even without going outside.

We stopped by a souvenir shop on the way back,

and the seashells and pebbles were so pretty.

But I didn’t buy anything (ST’s specialty is not buying decorations).

This was probably the cathedral next to the Alcázar of the Christian Monarchs,

but we couldn’t go inside due to time constraints. The door was open,

so I took a zoomed-in photo from in front of the bars… lol

And I quickly took a picture of a horse with a glossy coat that I saw passing by, it was so cool.

Costa Smaralda

The fixed menu didn’t appeal to me much that day,

so I tried the standard onion soup, which is available every day, but ugh…

It was really hard to eat.

And the appetizer, something like tuna sausage..

That wasn’t my style either~!!

Tomahawk steak

And the separately ordered Tomahawk steak~!

It was quite a large portion, and not excessively expensive, so the tour guide recommended it.

It was so large that we shared it with other parties (and still had leftovers).

The taste… it wasn’t incredibly delicious, but we enjoyed it with the atmosphere.

Tomahawk steak

A shot with the Tomahawk steak before digging in ㅎ

You can’t see the meat well, but you can roughly see how big it is, right?

The next day was a full sea day with no sightseeing,

so I finished a whole bottle of wine without worrying about a hangover ㅋ

Costa Smaralda

I was sad that there weren’t many appealing dishes that day ㅜ

The fries that came with the Tomahawk steak were the most delicious!

Gift for Mom

Me, being filial with money won from gambling.

I’m not sure if this is filial piety or unfilial conduct…