Bill and I aren’t opposed to air travel but when given the option of getting there by train we are likely to go the “rail way”. One big draw for moving to Carcassonne was that we could get to many cities in France and Spain in a few hours plus into all the other surrounding countries that same day, arriving downtown in each one, just by walking to our own downtown train station. Getting to an island, however, would be a railroad challenge yet Bill spotted an advertisement that would let us visit the Balearic Islands off of Spain’s east coast without stepping inside an airplane. We were sailing to the islands!

The travel brochure promised “Mediterranean sunshine and dream destinations…charm and authenticity…Gothic churches, fishing villages and exuberant nature,” but first we had to get to the departure port of Barcelona. When we’d been there before our concentration was on the works of Gaudi but we missed one huge display, Güell Park. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is known for its mosaics (today’s featured photo across the top), salamander fountain, and sprawling terrace with city views but we were equally impressed with the gardens. We forgot to buy the 10€ advance purchase entrance tickets so we opted for a 30€ per person guided tour that got us into the park on the one day that we were available. With that tour complete it was time to head back down to the port for our overnight sailing to the island of Ibiza.

The only impression we had of Ibiza Town was “party central”, that is, night clubs, beach bars, and non-stop dancing from dusk until dawn. We knew, however, that this capital city had an old town, Dalt Vila (or “Upper Town” in Catalan), and that’s where we spent the afternoon wandering the narrow, cobbled streets. The town is enclosed by a 16th-century defensive wall that successfully kept out Berber pirates and other outside forces, including the French. The 13th century cathedral guards a gold and silver religious object, a monstrance, created in 1399. Unfortunately the cathedral was closed for renovation while we were in town.

Sailing overnight put us the next morning in Palma, the capital of the island of Mallorca. As we were arriving you couldn’t miss the massive Cathedral right on the edge of the old harbor. The towers rise 14 stories above the building itself that covers the area of a football field. As we found in other Spanish cities, this cathedral was built on the foundations of a Moorish mosque beginning in 1229 and still contains stained glass windows from 1320. 

Right next to the cathedral stands the Royal Palace of La Almudaina that was originally a Moorish fortress but was transformed into a palace by King James I of Aragon around 1281. It has served as a residence for Mallorcan kings, Spanish monarchs, and is currently the summer residence of the Spanish royal family.

Without a specific itinerary, we set off to explore the streets directly behind these two historic buildings, intentionally narrow with taller buildings to create a shady canyon effect in the summer. As expected, we found numerous plazas with a fountain in the center and circled with cafés, lots of historic churches, some grand townhouses, and plenty of shops. Walking back to the ship we passed by the windmill you see in the first paragraph.

That evening we set sail for the final island of this journey, Menorca, plus a full day at sea to evaluate the ship, the cruise, and future destinations. All of that next time.

If you go, this is good to know: In Barcelona, Bill used the website Vessel Finder (dot com) to see that we would be departing from a different location than indicated on the documents from the cruise line. Other passengers were eventually directed to the correct dock where we were already waiting for them on the sun deck, drink in hand. In both Ibiza and Palma, ship-side taxis were available but we chose to walk on wide, flat sidewalks from the ship to the old towns in about 45 minutes.