#awesome – Page 2 – A Pursuit of Life

Snow in Mallorca?? Oh heck yes! And I was all over it;)

Once in a blue moon in Mallorca you get those rare moments where the mountains get a nice little blanket of snow. It’s a big excitement here, even causing roads to be shut this past weekend as there was far too many people trying to get to it. For some this is their first real glimpse of snow, for others, such as myself, it is just a tease, compared to my Canadian winter wonderland. However, as I do miss snow and this is as close as I am gonna get at this moment, I was all over it! It called for a day of ‘Me time’ adventures. I could see the snow covered peaks where yonder breaks, and they were all too enticing, so I had no choice but to rent a car and go frolic in it all.

I cranked my tunes and headed straight North on Mallorca island, towards a town called Pollensa. I couldn’t have asked for a more stunning day to do some cruisen, the sun was shining and the weather was warm, a dreamy little winter day. The minute I got to the mountains and there was snow on either side of the road, I couldn’t help but have a massive grin on my face.

I needed to make a pit stop at the gas station along the way to get some juice for the car, I love this gas station, its location, its little gas station ambiance. Look at it, you have to admit its quite a good backdrop around that station. Any time I am on a road trip I always hold out to gas up there. Yup, life’s simple pleasures;)

While I was there I decided to park my little adventure wagon and take a hike. Literally. Seeing as how I was seriously missing some snow action in my life, what would a visit to the snow be without making a little snowman?! Rolling a snowball never felt soooo darn good!

Maybe I was amusing myself a bit much with my little creation:) What can I say…He was extremely photogenic, and very well constructed. It’s just what you gotta do when you are on a solo adventure.

Just past Pollensa I arrived in the breath taking Tramuntana mountain range, all the tops of the mountains had snow, you were surrounded by them, it was so massively awesome. Right before heading up the mountains, I paid a little visit to the Lluc Sanctuary, it just so happened to be staring me right in the face. Oh how I also love an unexpected and spontaneous activity. As long as it’s interesting and/or fun, I am always game!It was the first Christian sanctuary on Mallorca Island, dating back to the 13th century; But I learned its more than a sanctuary, it’s also a secular national symbol. It has also been turned into a hotel of sorts, and you can rent rooms at the sanctuary, there are bontanical gardens(which sadly were closed due to it being winter), a museum, and of course incredible surroundings. If you are not into staying in the sanctuary, there is also a campsite. Always great to have options; Do you want to wake up to the sound of birds or the sounds of a choir? It’s an ideal area for cycling trips, incredible cycling might I add, cycling is one of my fave hobbies. After I gallivanted around the premises a bit, and expanded my mind with some new knowledge, I headed up behind the sanctuary to the top of the mountain to check out the view. The hike itself was rockin my world. Super serene.

Holy freaken heck, what a view!!! I just stood there and let my eyes absorb it all. Amazing.

After my eyes had their fill I ventured back to the car to continue on my escapades. You can see that the locals were loving the snow pile in the parking lot! It’s awesome that it is such a novelty. It was even one for me!

I ended up taking the ‘Extra’ scenic route back towards Palma through the town of Sollier, on the very windy(wine-dee) roads through the mountains,with nothing less then sheer beauty to set your gaze on. Watch where your going though! Beautiful yes. However, also very narrow, heaps of cyclist’s and cars all over the show. But if you happen to be the wing man, then keep looking out your window and take in as much of the view as you can!Ahhhhh yes…. An incredible Mallorcan day. This Island just continually gets better and better. Happy snow filled days!!

How to stay classy no matter what jungle your in.

What do you do when you just brushed the end of your life?! Laugh it off, pinch yourself, and keep your classy composure. Of freaken course.

Trust me for the amount of times I have had to pinch myself in my life, you would think I would have scars all over my arms that we could play connect the scars with – and when we finished, they would create a world map. ‘Well would you look at that, Petrena, your scars create a world map!?’ Seriously though, the majority of my friends would not be surprised, and their response would be, ‘only you petrena‘. Fortunately though, I am very adaptable, and so is my body, so it has gotten used to all the bumps, bruises, and skin loss – and it heals like a little Gem. Although this particular bump, almost got the better of me…….

Here I was in English Guyana, South America, in Region 8, deep in the jungles. This was when I was a group leader on volunteer projects. My group leader partner and I had to visit the villages we were working in prior to the volunteers arriving, you know, to assess the work, and the living conditions, etc….

The only way to get to these remote villages is by a tiny third world plane, that seats 3 – 5 people, and has duck tape holding things in place. Up until that point in my life, I had a fear of small planes – but I am not one to back down from things, and when I say I will do a job, I do a job. As if me facing my fear wasn’t enough, I was so lucky to get invaded with an extremely bad stomach bug(oh the perks of loving travel so much). Maybe I should re-think the next time I blurt out that I like a challenge – as this was definitely that.

The morning we were set to leave I woke up with a dodgy tummy, of course I was given Pepto Bismol, but that was not going to cure this bug. He laughed in Pepto’s face, and decided to wreak havoc on my insides. Basically trying to chase anything that was inside of me, to the outside, and more, through any exit there was. I am surprised my Organs were still in there by the end. However, not so fast little stomach bug! I won’t go down without a fight.

The plane was delayed, so I had 5 beautiful(well not the most beautiful I have ever enjoyed) hours to stand out like a sore thumb in the tiny airport being the only foreigner in there, fevering and dying on the couch, and running to the bathroom room to be sicker then I have ever been in my life, every 10 damn minutes.

I refused to call in sick, we only had a week to get out there and back before the volunteers arrive. There was work to be done. Finally when I was sure an organ was jumping ship next, the plane arrived while I was in the ladies room, and I had my Group Leader partner yelling down the hallway to hurry up cause the plane is going to leave.

So I hauled ass, quick splash of water in the sink, quick pep talk to myself, ‘Come on Petrena, you got this. Its only like a 2 hour flight. Your Empty inside’. And off I ran, only to get to the tarmac and see the smallest most beaten up plane of my life, with duck tape holding some things in place. Yup, the stomach dropped so low, it basically fell out. I knew I would lose something dang it!! However! I made it. Barely. I borrowed some duck tape from the pilot to hold myself together.

Well after a very uncomfortable week of recovering in the jungle, and a 7 hour extreme hike from one village to the next, carrying enough stuff for a mule, we were on our way back to Georgetown to await the volunteers arrival.

Here I was the day after that intense 7 hour hike and myself still recovering from being attacked by that stinken travel bug – I feel I masked it pretty darn well.

So the little plane arrives on the little red dirt landing strip to pick us up. The Pilot tells us he has to do some deliveries, so he will have to drop us off in another village, do his deliveries, and then come back and get us. So, off we went. With all of us off the plane in the next village, he loads up and gets ready to take off, not before asking me if I would like to go on a ride though. ‘Heck yes I do!‘. I was thinking this was going to be a great opportunity to see other remote villages that foreigners rarely see. Woop woop.

Yet what he actually meant was…..’Do you want to go for a RIDE?!’ We fired up the little plane, sped down that little bouncy red dirt air strip, and not any sooner than we had taken off and launched upward, were we going straight DOWN!! All I could see was trees coming straight for us, and I had one arm bracing each window, and the only words coming out of my mouth were, ‘Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God!!’. Just as the trees skimmed the plane, he pulled back up, then we were upside down, then we were sideways, it all just meshed together really. And throughout the whole time all I did was brace the windows and say ‘Oh my God!!’

Finally after that unexpected roller coaster, and so that’s what it feels like to have your whole life flash before your eyes moment, he straightened out. Well obviously I was catching what breath I could possibly gasp for, and pinching myself harder then I knew I was capable of.

The pilot turned to me with a big grin on his face and asked, ‘Soooo, how was it?’

Trying to be as calm, cool and collected as I could, I replied, ‘Haaahaaa(due to lack of air), ahhhh, it was fun(that was extreme sarcasm though), but please don’t do it again’, and I preceded to break the cement of shock off my face to flash him the best fake smile I could find in my pocket. ‘No worries’ he said while rubbing my arm, ‘it is totally safe’. I just continued with my complacent smile, while thinking ‘HA, yah freaken right, so is the duck tape’ he was wrong, that was definitely not safe, and at the same time I was still questioning myself to see if I really did survive that. I have mastered the art of smiling no matter what my circumstances are, obviously freaking out on the inside.

See, I had it so together I could even take a chummy photo with my buddy who nearly ended it all for me. All is well that ends well.

Three things came of this,

1 – Suddenly I was no longer scared of small planes anymore, because it all just happened so fast anyway, there really was no chance to be scared.

2 – I realized I should stop accepting rides from people in random places around the globe, because something crazy always happens.

3 – I also discovered, ‘Wow, duck tape really is amazing, and totally does hold things together extremely well’.

Although, after the whole project was finished, 2 volunteers and I were on board another tiny duck taped plane back to Georgetown, and we were blown away with the surprise of flying straight down face to face in front of these stunningly majestic falls, and all the way through to the end of the Gorge walls. Something that never would have been possible if we were not on that taped together micro plane. Yup, it made me feel just as ‘alive’ as surviving the tree skimming upside down ride.

And that my friends, would be, how to stay classy no matter what jungle your in.

Don’t tell your mom when your hitch hiking in Africa

Sometimes in life there are those moments, where you happen to be in South Africa and you find yourself in a little jam, somewhat of a minor setback…… You know…. No big deal, a bump in the road. Well funny enough, I have been known to sometimes find myself in these moments a little to often in life – and this just happened to be one of those instances….

My wonderful travel companion Meghan and myself, were on route from Jeffrey’s Bay to Cape Town to take a course, and naturally as ladies do, we were running just a tad bit late. Not gonna lie, I did have the sneaking suspicion we were on route to missing the bus.

Long behold, when we arrived at the bus station with our whole lives in tow(of course we needed all this stuff for a one week trip, there was just no other way we would survive), we found out we missed the bus by 5 minutes.

Really?! Darn it. I knew it.

Alright, no need to cry over spilled milk, so Plan B it is! We called the bus station to see if there was another bus. No sir-ee, there sure wasn’t. So we called a taxi company to see if they could take us to the bus and we could flag it over on the highway, or possibly to the next town to meet the bus. But to no avail.

Hmmm, ok then. Plan C it is! We came to the unanimous decision to hitchhike. I mean we had to get there, and this wasn’t my first time hitchhiking in Africa. It was actually my 3rd at that point. So after our team chat and agreement, it was time to get this show on the road! And when I say show, I mean ‘Show’! And when I said we had a lot of stuff, I meant ‘we had alot of stuff!‘

Meghan had 2 large, very bright floral print suitcases, and I had my 70L backpack, and my massage table…. Yup that’s right. The first thought that popped into our heads was, ‘Who the heck is gonna pick us up with all this stuff?!’ Oops… Maybe we could have left a couple things behind. Or maybe the bus could have waited.

Either way, off we went. We took a local run down old van, that has now been turned into a bus, just past the next town to a gas station, where we got off, with all our luggage in tow. Not 5 minutes after we got there, we scoped out a guy gassing up, with a nice demeanor about him, and clearly traveling alone. PERFECT we thought. Except he has a very small car. Crap…. Oh well let’s give it a go anyway.

So pulling out the best smiles we brought with us, and leaving our luggage to the side so we could maybe, potentially, sneak that load past. We gracefully approached him, and asked for a ride.

Boom! He said yes! But he was only going as far as Knysna, it wasn’t Cape Town, but it was for sure a start. Both of us being stoked at our awesome hitchhiking success, we went to grab the U-haul containing our luggage. I mean, he already said yes, and didn’t ask what we had with us. Sooo.. you know. We saved that info for last, minor details really.

Yes, he was surprised when he seen our hitch trailer full of luggage to attach to the back of his little car, especially since we were hitchhiking….. But he happily jammed all of our stuff in.

Upon arriving in Knysna he was awesome enough to take us on some sightseeing, before dropping us off outside a gas station.

We parked ourselves across the road from the gas station and put our stuff not totally hidden to the side, but pretty much as hidden as possible, so not to ruin our chances of getting picked up. Strategic planning really! We then preceded to do what any good hitchhiker would do, and put our thumbs and arms way out. Now let’s remember, we are two light skinned girls in Africa, and I really am not one to differentiate people by skin color, but in Africa you never see Caucasian people especially being females hitchhiking like its no big deal.

Not to mention there were locals hitchhiking the next street up, and we also didn’t want them to think we were stomping on their turf and trying to take their rides.

2 hours later, we had quite a few people stop, but only to question if we were kidding, or seriously hitchhiking.

‘Oh no, no, we aren’t actually hitch hiking, we just decided to pack up all our things and stand on the road with our thumbs out for some shits and giggles’, best way to spend an afternoon.

After having not very good luck, the gas attendants from the station ran across the and presented us with a sign that they had made, saying we are going to Cape Town. They could see we were in need of some assistance. We were clearly going nowhere fast!

Now that we looked and felt more professional, we were ready to nail our long awaited ride. At least we thought so….. A few more hours later, a few more people seeing if we are joking, and having also turned away a few rides due to bad vibes, a semi-truck pulls over with 3 gentlemen inside.

Turns out they were also en-route to Cape Town. Feeling a bit hesitant, we weren’t sure if we should take the ride. The guys from the gas station came running over to say that this is the ride we should take, it’s safe. Alright, if you say so, all aboard! Meghan and I hopped in the back, the 3 guys in the front, putting the pedal to the metal and chatting up a storm. Okay, okay, we thought, this isn’t bad at all.

That is until a little while into the ride when we realized the driver was drinking, and not just sipping, chugging like we are at a college frat party.

Freaken heck, here we were stoked we found trustworthy and nice people, forgot to add in it would be nice if they were sober drivers. Middle man’s job was to be the bartender for the captain. ‘Now what?!’ we thought. Can’t really get out in the middle of nowhere when your in Africa. Have to keep some sense.

He was fine though. At first that is. Meghan dozed off and was laying down beside me like sleeping beauty, when the driver suddenly went from fine and dandy to smashed, and was swerving all the over the place as though we were in an obstacle course, hitting pylons, and purposely trying to hit other Semi’s that wanted to overtake.

You could say my nerves were on angst, and my fingers were gripping onto the back of the seat for dear life, almost puncturing through the material. The other guys kept trying to console me, and tell me he was totally fine to drive. What the?! That is not what I call fine!? I thought.

Finally 2 nerve wracking hours later(are we going to die, or are we not going to die) I couldn’t take it anymore, I started shaking Meghan. ‘Meghan! Meghan! You have got to wake up! We are going to die! You have to wake up now!’. Ever so calm and slowly she sat up and looked at me, ‘Really, we are going to die, and you wake me up for it?!.

Good point. However! I tried my best to hold off, to spare you, but it was taking too long, now I couldn’t do it alone anymore. Meghan loves a good roller coaster ride, so she had no problems with the crazy driving. I think she almost enjoyed it. I was still not okay with it. Not gonna lie though, just having her awake and beside me made me feel so much better.

We finally reach this truck stop that I had been to before, an hour outside of Cape Town, and no sooner as the driver pulled over and turned off the ignition, was he face planted and out cold right into the steering wheel. Literally.

The other two guys were apologizing profusely, saying they wanted to help us, but company policy was that they couldn’t drive after eleven. ‘No problem, I am soooo fine with that!’ I replied, as I thought ‘Really?? and your just fine with the driver being inebriated and face planted in the steering wheel??’ while at the same time pinching myself to see if I had actually survived that.

They then said we could sleep in one of the trailers, and they will drop us in Cape Town in the morning. Done. Just after that decision was made, and us girls were still in the back of the of the Semi cab, with the driver still out cold on the steering wheel in front of us. My phone rings. It’s my beautiful mother. ‘How’s Cape Town?’. She asked.

To which I responded, ‘Ummm, well we aren’t actually in Cape Town yet…. Funny enough mom we actually missed the bus’.

‘Oh really? So how are you getting to Cape Town then?’ she asked.

‘Well, also funny story’ I said.’We decided to hitchhike’.

‘You’re what?!’, she almost choked out, while gasping for air.

‘Yah, we are in the back of a Semi-truck’. Well obviously that didn’t go over well, I could hear the death in her voice. I tried to make it sound totally cool though – I said the guys were awesome, and I made jokes about the trip. She was laughing(kind of) till we hung up, so I thought, ‘Oh Good, she is cool with it’. I also thought I did a good job of not mentioning the drunk and comatose driver that I was staring at.

So off we went to our 5 star semi trailer hotel, to turn in for the evening. One of the guys was to stay in there with us, to make sure we were safe. That was cool, and then we all got pad locked in to our trailer full of rolled up carpets. I mean this is Africa, you don’t go leaving things unlocked. Yes a bit daunting, but it was for our own safety.

We actually had the best evening ever, joking with our new friend, and listening to his stories of his wife and kids till we all eventually went to sleep.

8 am, I am peacefully sleeping wedged between two rolls of carpet, and the truck turns on and starts moving. All is good in the hood, not in Meghan’s hood though. Suddenly I am the one being shaken awake.

‘Petrena!, Petrena! You have got to wake up right now! Something is happening, and the truck is moving!’ Calm and relaxed I roll over rubbing my eyes, ‘Oh don’t you worry, we are just going to Cape Town’. I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself that the tables had turned, and I grabbed another 10 min of shut eye.

When I finally opened my eyes and looked at my phone, I seen I missed 9 calls. I had a feeling it was my mom. An hour later and we arrived in Cape Town. The now sober(and actually very pleasant driver) took us right down town in that big semi truck and dropped us on Long Street where our hostel was, and wished us the best.

Still haven’t yet spoken to my mom again, I received a frantic call from my brother, ‘What the heck is going on?!’. Yes he obviously had to do damage control for my poor mother. I forgot that the last she heard from me was that I was in the back of a Semi truck in Africa, hitchhiking. Then her not being able to get through to me on my phone perhaps was a bit worrying…. Yes, you could say that might stress a mother out. You could also say ‘Might’ is a bit of an understatement(love you mom).

Of course once I explained it to my bro, he was totally cool, and reminded me, ‘Petrena, next time your hitchhiking or doing something crazy like that, DON’T TELL MOM’. Lesson learned.

In the end, Meghan(who is one of my best travel buddies) and I went on to rock our course, and rock Cape Town too! Us with our hitch hiking story did make ourselves pretty popular. Oh, and in case your wondering, to date, after that crazy experience, that is the last time I hitch hiked.

Basking in Basque Country:)

So before heading to Basque Country, I didn’t truly know what a treat I was in for. I had been hearing many incredible things about the area from people whom had been there before, but once I was able to feast on it with my own eyes, I fell in love with yet another place on this planet…. My plan was a weekend in San Sebastian(Spanish Side), then a week in Biarritz(French Side) for a Detox/Retreat. I arrived in San Seb, dropped off my bags, and decided to take myself for dinner. It was super lively everywhere, the streets filled with people, drinking, eating Pintxo’s(Tapas) and being merry. After a long day, walking into a super packed bar/restaurant alone(normally I have no problem with this) was just a wee bit daunting. But I was enjoying the stroll, and just taking in the energy of it all. Then long behold I spotted a Vegan Restaurant, called ‘Green Break’, and just as fast as the women in front went to hand me a flier, I went breezing right past her and said ” it’s ok, I am in!!:)” Happy dayz, is exactly what I was thinking. I took a seat, grabbed an organic beer, and was ready to tuck into an epic and healthy meal(and epic it was, as I ate there every day that I was in San Seb). But not before I asked a table of lovely ladies to take my photo. Upon which they asked if I wanted to join them.

I love traveling alone for this very reason, you always end up making new friends. I ended up having some amazing nightlife tour guides that evening, with one of my new found buddies showing me the sights around San Seb the next day too. I felt so freaken lucky. Not to mention, she is an incredible young women, one of those people you feel lucky to have met in general.

The scenery was breathtaking.

And it was super interesting to learn about the Basque culture, and the fact that they have their own language, and consider themselves to be independent from Spain and France. Some facts I never would have learned had I have not visited this area. It was all new to me!! Ahhh, good ol’ traveling. Never a dull moment. Well unless you have been stuck with layovers in multiple airports, and are feeling jet legged as all heck, then, ok, maybe a bit dull:) We hiked up to where the Jesus monument was, it made me remenisce about when I travelled Brazil in fact, almost as though I was in a mini Rio.

Stopped on the way to have a Carajillo(espresso shot with rum), one of my fav Spanish treats! Although they didn’t have the correct rum I was after, the skill he put into making it was very impressive!

After a day of sightseeing, there was no better way to finish it off before preparing for the Saturday night festivities then grabbing some Rose, and a couple pieces of fruit, and chilling on the beach watching all the people surfing. Right before grabbing some pintxo’s, to make sure we had some sustenance.

My intention was to do some surfing while in San Seb, but there was just too much sightseeing to be done, and I had to hop on the train on Sunday and head over to the French side, to beautiful Biarritz… Which only means one thing… Guess I gotta go back there!? Oh darn!! Twist my rubber arm.

That’s a Catch!!:)

When in the Northwest Territories Capital city of Yellowknife, a must stop for some incredible ‘Fish & Chips’ is Bullock’s Bistro. Located in the Old Town, in an old building full of character, run by a very friendly and talented chef named Andre, it is one of my absolute favorite restaurants. Ever. 🙂 Any time I am back in home in Northern Canada, and in YK, I make it a point to go and eat there.

What are you waiting for?! Come on in!

It is by no means a high end restaurant, its more of a relaxed environment, where you can just chill out, take a load off and give your tastebuds a run for their money. You can help yourself to the drink fridge, unless its a Alcohol filled beverage you are after, in which case you will have to ask for assistance. There is a tiny patio outside as well, where in the summer you can enjoy the ambiance of the outdoors while deliting your palate.

It’s considered a bit pricey by some, with a fish and chip meal begining at about $26, but the fish is fresh from the ‘Great Slave Lake’, and you get a good portion, with fresh cut chips(not sure if he picked the potatoes himself tho, a salad, and ridiculously delicious hot out of the oven buns. On a day where the reel won’t stop turning, and there are lots of good catches, you can be lucky enough to have the wide array of options that consist of Whitefish, Cod, Pike, Trout, Pickerel, and Arctic Char.

I don’t know, but I do not mind paying the price for the quality, and freshness. It is well worth it.

One thing Bullock’s in known for is their secret sauce they make, that you pour on your fish. It truly is delicious!! Hmmm, and as would everyone else, I want to know what’s in it!! They also have a really delicious home made feta dressing for the salad, which I thoroughly enjoyed! 😉 All these little touches just add to the dining experience. If you want to get into the true spirit of visiting this little Bistro, then you can grab a pen and leave your mark on the wall. The whole place is covered in people’s markings;) So of course I got right in there!! Gotta keep the traditions rollen on!:)

Make sure you go there with an appetite and sweat pants. Cause you are gonna leave full and your top button of your pants undone. Yes, if you want a truly nothern experience, in a way that you don’t have to physically go out and catch some fish yourself(although, that’s always fun too!), then ‘Bullock’s Bistro’ is a great choice, and will provide you with nothing less then a memorable experience. DeeeeLish!!

Ay Matey, it was an adult pirate show!!:)

A good friend of mine was finishing on the Super Yacht that she had worked on for a couple years, and it was time for her to have a going away party. So on this particular festive occasion we jumped ship and headed to the ‘Adult Pirate Show’. I always love a good reason to get dolled up and dress like classy ladies;) The show is held in Magaluf, one of the big party spots of Mallorca. In the summer Magaluf goes off, and is full of Endless bars, rides, shows, and people celebrating, stag’s, birthdays, graduations, promotions…. Well really any given reason to have a crazy celebration(even if it’s just celebrating being alive) is a reason enough for people to head to Megaluf and let LOOSE! It’s full of debauchery.

The pirate show has its own permanent venue, and this is their 29th year in production, there is a dinner show for the whole family, or the late show for the more mature(well supposedly) audience;) With no food, only liquid diets. The venue itself is great, it’s quite big, and has ample space to seat large groups of people. After seated we got right in there and started with some Sangria. For those of you whom are picky with your drinks, bare in mind this Sangria comes from a container, so it isn’t freshly made, but it does the job to wet your whistle while you decided what else you may like. Literally, I personally can only have 1 of those prepackaged sangria’s, otherwise it’s sickly.

Lights, Camera, Action! The lights dim and the music goes up, and the show begins. There is a ring leader who comes out and does the talking and narration in between sets. Dressed a little more risqué, and using sexual innuendoes when he is speaking, mainly to go along with the ‘Adult’ theme. The acrobatics in the show is absolutely beyond impressive. With people, jumping, flying, and flipping all over the show. And they truly do a good job of getting the energy in the room up, and people clapping and cheering, and being in ‘Awe’ and amazement, for the whole 2 hours of the evening entertainment.

In the end though, the show really didn’t seem to have anything to do with Pirates. Other then the pirate ship on the stage, that was used as a prop and the costumes. Really it was some swearing, and sexual jokes, along with extremely fit acrobats, doing some very impressive stunts.

Can’t complain though, it was tons of fun, and I would do it again! Not a bad way to spend an evening with a great group of people:)

Traintastic Adventures!!

There is just something about Antique things… They are full of so much character, and of course, history… Wouldn’t be considered antique if it wasn’t actually old! So that being said, why not go on the Antique Trolley Train here in Palma?!?! And well, us thinking this same thing, that’s precisely what we decided to do!

You begin at the train station in Palma, just near to Plaza de Espana, in the centre of Palma, and your final destination is a town called Soller. When you arrive to the Palma station, you see the large and fabulous ‘Art Deco’ wrought iron archway that is the entrance to the terminal, that’s when you now know you have arrived!! Not to mention, seeing the railroad tracks, that also kinda gives it away….. In any case, let the adventure begin! The train itself is very cool looking, and like I said, I love the fact that its antique, just makes me that much more excited to get on it. Once again, one of the best parts of doing these activities in the winter, is that there are barely any tourists, so you have all the space in the world. Well all the space in the train to be exact. In the summer these things tend to get packed, and your jammed in like a can of beans, but no matter what season you choose to do it in, it will still be enjoyable and memorable none the less.

Here we go! All Aboard!!

Once you enter the train, is when your little time warp kicks in, your surrounded by polished wooden coaches, and the mountain style electric engine. You may find yourself questioning what year is it again?!? Although sometimes I question that exact thing after I have been travelling a long time in more remote places;) The train ride itself is a wee bit bumpy, but nothing uncomfortable. You have to keep in mind it’s all quite old, so it comes with the territory.

However, the scenery is nothing less than incredible. A feast for your eyes, and a treat for your soul. This little Island is so vast in diversity, it’s an amazing thing to appreciate. As the train departs on the journey, you go through side roads, past little shops, and then long behold, you pop out right in the Centre. Once out of the city, you go through the local farms and farmland, just one of the many facets of Mallorca, you also get to pass through a couple of tunnels. The train doesn’t go to fast, so you really do get to absorb it all.

Now comes the real spectacular beauty as you climb up and through the mountains, on your way to Soller. Spectacular. Is the exact word I would use to describe it. Ok, and maybe I would throw in magical, it’s also a bit like this too:)

You get to Soller, and it’s this charming little place tucked away in the mountains. There are plenty of nice little local eateries if you feel a nibble coming on. You can sample plenty of different things.

After you have spent some time walking around, checking out shops, and snapping photos, you can now hop on the little Tram that takes you to the Port of Soller. It passes through all the narrow streets and past all the little cafes, then right in between, like back gardens of people’s houses, then finally arriving to the port, which is in a beautiful bay. Just when you thought your eyes couldn’t take any more splendor, you now get the cherry on top of your little cake. There’s a beautiful beach, lined with more shops, cafes, and restaurants, if you have not already sampled too many delight’s back in the town, then this is a gorgeous spot to have lunch. We held out to eat at the port. We picked a restaurant called ‘El Pirata’, sat outside on the patio, and took in the stunning view. The service here was super good, and we shared a combination of tapas, and literally every bite we took was ridiculously good! We loved it! and would highly recommend it. We both decided the only and best option to wash it down with, was a nice chilled glass of rose. Talk about tasty and refreshing!

What a kick ass and unforgettable day!! mixed with some fantastic company, and you got yourself just another, unbelievably awesome day in Mallorca. Happy Trails!

New Years in Palma

Yup, its officially 2014! Another year bites the dust… Its amazing how fast this past year went. What a kick ass year is was though! Good times… Just like last night!

A New Years in Palma!

The evening’s in Palma at this time of year are so beautiful! They have their streets and plaza’s all lit up, it just feels so darn magical:)

We all went to this square in the Old Town of Palma, in front of the Townhouse. People head there about 11 pm, there was a stage with live music, and by 12 the square was freaken packed!! Like a tin of sardines, and I was in the middle;) The Plaza was beautifully lit up too though!!

Literally it was amazing!! I just wanted to stand there and take it all in! Which is exactly what I did. Palma sure knows how to light up their lives!

Everyone brings their own drinks, and snacks if you like, and has a big ol shindig in the streets. Having some Champagne not only keeps you warm, but makes it much easier to deal with being squished. Its tradition that at midnight when you hear the 12 bell sounds you are supposed to eat a grape at every bell, and you make a wish while gracefully chomping down. Its a cute little Palma tradition. Now to see if my wish comes true!

And yes, my grapes are swimming in Champagne. Haha… I only had one cup and two things that needed to be put inside my 1 solo cup. All in all Palma didn’t disappoint for New Years!! Had a nice little winter chill in the air, got sprayed with Champagne, stepped on a bit, pushed around, laughed a lot, and had a ridiculously great time!

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