Last weekend Xisca invited Amanda and me on her family’s fishing boat to spend Saturday out on the water/beaches of northern Mallorca. We took the bus to Port de Pollença, which is at the very top of the island, and met Xisca, Biel, and their daughter for a day of sun-filled fun.
We hopped in the boat and headed out to Formentor; a luxurious area where the wealthy of Europe buy real estate. The mansions we saw from the boat were enormous with rock cliffs and beautiful vistas of the sea.
We arrived at our destination about an hour boat journey later. It was an informative ride as Biel pointed out different historical areas and told us about old-time Mallorca. Amanda and I were both relieved that Xisca and Biel like to talk because sometimes it’s hard to start lengthy conversations in Spanish; especially over the roar of the waves, motor, etc.
After I made sure my sunscreen was on, I jumped into the water-cool but refreshing. We swam around a bit and then got back on the boat for lunch that Xisca had packed. It was so delicious, and we were starving. We ate roast chicken, trampó (cold salad of raw onion, tomato, and green pepper with salt and olive oil), melon and brownies-not to mention the pre-lunch Spanish standard of olives and chips.
Something that I really admire about Xisca is she never makes me feel stupid, which, trust me, there are plenty of times that I either say something odd or misuse Spanish, or eat raw red pepper for that matter, that she could look at me like I’m a complete idiot and she doesn’t. Anyway, as Amanda and I were eating melon, we took bites and it basically exploded juice all over us—Xisca’s family was in control of their pieces. I made a comment about how we were a couple of disasters on this side of the boat, but Xisca reassured me that we just needed a couple of napkins because they already knew how to eat melon-we just needed practice. I thought that was nice of her; it’s the little things. Ha.
We also talked about cultural differences during lunch, which is always a fun topic. The major one we hit on, besides how Amanda and I both DESPISE dos besos (kissing a person’s cheeks when you meet, see them, say goodbye, ALL THE TIME), was the use of alcohol. Somehow we got on the subject of how wine, champagne, and usually anis are always present at my school and how that’s not only unpracticed but straight-up illegal in the US. They couldn’t believe it.
As we were heading back to Pollença, the wind picked up and started majorly rocking the boat to the point where Amanda’s hand (on the side of the boat) dipped into the water on a wave. And I yelled at one point. I was sure we would die and we still had about an hour to go in the boat.
We finally arrived back at the port, unpacked the boat, and went to Pollença to drop off Xisca’s daughter as she had to get ready for a concert (she plays the trombone). We met Biel’s mom who’s about 90, but cooks Sunday dinner for her whole family still! I couldn’t believe it. Biel’s family (4 people) and his sister’s family (4 people) come for weekly dinner to their mom’s house. It’s a great tradition, but I think it would be so much work for her to cook for that many people. Apparently it isn’t though, and maybe she really enjoys it. I’m not sure I would, especially if it wasn’t potluck style and happened every single week.
After Pollença we went back to Xica’s summerhouse in Llubí (a pueblo in the center of Mallorca) in order to catch the train back to Palma. Biel offered us an afternoon coffee, but as it was about 1000 degrees, I said I’d pass. Instead, Amanda and I watched him down an espresso and then take (and offer us) a shot of hard liquor. Um…okay. He told us the coffee was to wake up, and the liquor was to take the espresso taste out of your mouth. Good to know.
When we got back to Palma, we were dead tired, and it was only about 8:30. Between sun, swimming, and Spanish all day, I was in bed by 10:00. Such a fun day and I’m so thankful that we were invited.
