Friday 23 October 2009

Re-Visit

Tuesday of our holiday and we decided to have a look round a part of the island which Malcolm had stayed in some years ago. We started at yet another small fishing village (there are so many!), this time called Cala Ratjada.
No longer a small village, it is now a major draw for holidaymakers, especially the Germans, who seem to have taken over the place. As the sun shone through the shady pines, we took a long walk from where we parked the car at Font de Sa Cala into the town.
An onshore breeze kept it comfortable until we stopped for a coffee in Cala Ratjada. Sitting in the sun and out of the breeze, it was scorching, but the view was well worth it.
Moving on, we had a look at the small, inland town of Capdepera, just a couple of miles from Cala Ratjada.
This medieval town lies in the shadow a 14th century castle and you get some magnificent views of the surrounding countryside from the top of the hill - but the climb up there was quite a strain.
The town features large in the mythology of the island, especially in connection to King Jaume I's reconquest of Mallorca from the Moors.
An annual fiesta is held in the town on 18th December celebrating the defeat of the Moors and the 'miracle of the Fog'. This was when a dense fog is supposed to have descended over the hill following the placement, by the townspeople, of a statue of Our Lady of Hope, on the castle battlements. This so terrified the Moors that they fled in fear. Looking back to the castle on hill from a bit further away, you get a better idea of the scale, as well as a view of the lighthouse built in the middle of the castle.

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