Today we shall be looking at the east coast of Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands, Spain, where ancient fishing villages stand beside modern tourist resorts. We will begin our visit at the ancient fishing port of Porto Cristo, an important harbour since the 13th century, when it served as the seaport for the town of Manacor which is about 10 kilometres inland. Located at the end of a long sheltered inlet, where the El Rivet river runs into the sea, Porto Cristo is, these days, a popular family resort with a fine sandy beach and some decent restaurants, worth a visit is the Mallorca Aquarium, where over 100 aquatic displays feature a range of species from Brazilian piranhas to fish from the Australian Barrier Reef. Another of the nearby attractions are the Coves del Drach, a series of three dark, humid limestone caves with beautiful stalagmite and stalactite formations and also the largest underground lake in Europe (Lake Martel) which is named after Edouard Martel who first discovered the caves in the late 19th century. Visitors can take a boat ride on the lake, accompanied by the sound of classical musicians. Porto Cristo is also significant as being the only Mallorcan town to see action during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), when it was briefly captured by Republican forces in 1936. In stark contrast to this ancient fishing village, the modern resort of Cala Millor is one of the most popular on Mallorca’s east coast. Fifty years or so ago this was a deserted area of dune-covered coastline, now it is an unbroken stretch of hotels, apartment blocks, bars and restaurants, sitting behind one of the best beaches on the island. Mostly attracting the younger generation, Cala Millor is especially busy during the summer months when visitors party long into the night. Just inland from Porto Cristo and Cala Millor you will find Mallorca’s second largest town, Manacor, which is the nearest you will find to an industrial town on the island. Well known for many centuries for its handicrafts, Manacor is perhaps best known for its artificial pearls, produced by the millions and almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Most visitors to Manacor end up in one of the pearl factories, where they can watch glass beads being coated with a glaze of resin and fish scales, some 50 million are produced each year using the scales from some 1 million fish. Also worth a look in Manacor is the church of Nostra Senyora dels Dolors, built on the former site of a mosque, it has a distinctive minaret style clock tower, an immense wooden door and an unusual figure of the crucified Christ. Further south you will find the pretty fishing village of Porto Colom, originally a seaport for the town Felanitx, it was named after the famous explorer Christopher Columbus who is claimed (with little evidence) to have been born there. Close by you will find one of the most important ancient burial sites, “Navetas”, on the island. Still further south is the Park Natural Mondragó, an ideal location for walking trips, with some excellent market-out routes along a region of rugged coastline backed by attractive pine forests. A couple of inland towns of interest in this area are Felanitx and Santanyi, Felanitx is well known for the production of capers and boasts a fine 13th century church (Sant Miguel) with a superb façade in the Renaissance-Baroque style. Santanyi is mostly built from the local golden sanstone and is dominated by the huge church of Sant Andreu Apostel, Santanyi is the location of one of Mallorca’s most popular street markets.
