Excerpt from Enjoying Majorca

The following is an extract from Chapter 5 of Enjoying Majorca:-

It was not until 1984, almost exactly thirty years after we had honeymooned at Deià, that we booked a flight to return to Majorca. By then over four million tourists visited the island every year, compared with about 200,000 when we were there previously. Booking was simplicity itself; instead of our having to write to the hotel and contact the airline, a tour company offered us a complete package including the provision of a car. We chose an hotel in the south west of the island - a part that we had not yet explored.

The moment that we arrived at the airport in Palma it was evident that Majorca was no longer controlled by a Dictator. Friendly officials merely glanced at our documents and our cases were not even opened.

We stayed at the four-star Hotel Coronado at Cala Fornells, which was then experimenting with modern tourism by being listed in the brochures of a few tour operators, but its main revenue still came from clients who returned year after year to enjoy its spacious rooms, indoor and outdoor pools and ideal location.

Cala Fornells is reached by a road leading south from Paguera. The attractive terracotta coloured apartments that cover the hillside were still being constructed during our visit but we realised how attractive it would be when the work was finished.

The Hotel Coronado is a long white building overlooking the bay of Paguera with a terrace virtually on the waterfront. It was comfortable and friendly and the food was always beautifully presented and served by efficient waiters, unlike the self-service buffet favoured by many other establishments.

The restaurant was managed with an iron hand by Miguel; a bustling, balding man, always dressed in black coat and pinstripe trousers, who came from the old school of hoteliers. He was able to communicate in several languages and could usually anticipate which one to use for each new guest, greeting him or her appropriately. He addressed me as 'lady' which he considered to be synonymous with 'madam' and professed a high regard for the English whom he treated as if they were still in the age of the grand tour.

At breakfast one of the waiters would sometimes push a trolley bearing an exceptional salmon or suckling pig from table to table inviting anyone interested to order a portion for lunch at a small extra charge. Miguel would extol its virtues and it was usually all reserved by the time breakfast was finished.

We loved the Coronado, especially in the evening when the lights around the bay were reflected in the still, dark water. Boats bobbed at anchor just below the terrace and large pine trees scented the air. A band came to play twice a week and we danced until midnight in the cool night air with a jug of sangria on our table to refresh us. We enjoyed every minute of the dancing, but the classes we had taken in England to improve our ballroom steps were of little use because they did not cover the latin rhythms that predominate in Majorca. To this day my husband still sambas with only a little more grace than a shunting engine!

The small beach at Cala Fornells can be rather crowded as it is shared by two hotels and a considerable portion has been concreted over to provide platforms for sunbeds but it has been made very attractive and offers shade cast by straw umbrellas and pine trees.

Two days after our arrival we were invited to tea at Canelluñ and, in order to see an area that was new to us, we left early and drove to Paguera which is a long narrow town bordering the sea. At that time it suffered from serious traffic congestion because the main road ran through it, but a new by-pass involving two tunnels has now greatly improved the situation. It is essentially a holiday resort, with good sandy beaches (including the first artificial beach to be constructed on the island) and offers a wide choice of hotels, restaurants, bars and many shops but nothing of architectural or historical interest.

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