On one of our rest days (not a second of climbing), we headed into historic Palma to see some sights. The one that dominates the skyline is the cathedral, and next to it, the palace. Having just taken an art history course, I was interested in checking out these ancient buildings, and Dan and Reilly were excited too. Dan did some reading in our Lonely Planet guidebook and planned out a little walking tour of old Palma for us.
We started by parking under the street; Palma has loads of parking, and it’s mostly underground (and a bit expensive). Parking on the street is a little stressful, so I usually opted for the subterranean garages. Luckily, with Dan’s guidance (he has a good sense of direction), I parked in a garage that right next to the cathedral, so the second we emerged from the gloom underground, our view was commanded by the huge buildings in front of us. The surrounding grounds are stunning; lots of fruit trees and fountains, interesting stone statues, and an immense reflecting pool. Gargoyles were perched high on the walls and the flying buttresses were a marvel in stone. Here’s a shot from Google…
And one of the inside
The cathedral is basically a museum now, and cost a few Euros to go inside. We forked over the dough and went exploring. Inside, I was instantly blown away. The ceiling is tall—like 150 feet tall. I’ve never been inside an old building like this one, but after seeing tons of PowerPoint presentations about Gothic architecture, I was glad to see all the amazing features in person. Aside from the stunning architecture, there were lots of relics and amazing pieces of art inside. The metalwork particularly caught my eye: candelabras six feet tall with brilliantly shaped cupids and fauns all over it. The relics were cool too—one of note was a huge piece of bone (half a femur?) of some ancient saint.
We sat for a few minutes in the simple wooden pews, speculating as to how many people the huge space could seat. It must have been well over 500, probably closer to 1000 or more. Then, back in the sunshine, we headed for an older attraction: ancient Arab baths from the 10th century. They were a short walk away, and we ambled slowly through the narrow streets. And I mean narrow. The surrounding were generally three or four stories, and there was only ten or so feet between them. When a car went by (rarely) we had to stand tightly to one all. Luckily most traffic was two-wheeled (mopeds rule in Palma). At the baths, we paid a few more Euros and went in. I have to say, it was really disappointing. I was expecting an elaborate complex of buildings surrounding lush courtyards. There was a courtyard, and it was slightly lush, but the building was a square room, about 12x12 with a domed ceiling. Tired looking stone pillars held up the ceiling. It was an interesting room certainly, and clearly very old, but man it was small, and man it was kind of boring. Oh well. Lesson learned.
Here are the baths...
We headed back into the streets to wander for a few more hours, and finally ended up at a café near the port for cervezas. Then back to Deya to rest our tired feet.
Coming up: a Deya dinner party, a little climbing, some snow, the festival in Palma, a delayed flight, and home to NH. Don’t stray, I should be posting again soon…
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