MALLORCA – GREEN & PLANT-BASED

For many Brits landing at Palma de Mallorca Airport, after passport control and baggage reclaim, it’s a short taxi, bus or coach ride to Magaluf (basically, the island’s Benidorm). Sun, sea, sangria, all-day English breakfasts (with fried slice and bubble & squeak, of course) and more Irish bars than you can hoist a Guinness at.

But that’s not the limit of the island’s holiday offerings. And you won’t need to travel far to experience a different Mallorca.

Coaches from Palma’s Plaça de España can take you all over the island, perhaps west to peaceful Peguera or north-east to half-way house Alcúdia, but you’ll also find another type of transport in the heart of the city: the Ferrocarril de Sóller, a railway running on narrow gauge tracks that exists because of the island’s historic orange and lemon trade. Wood-panelled trains—so old-timey you’ll be half-expecting a cameo from Butch & Sundance—snake through the mountains between Palma and Sóller. If you love tunnels, you’re in for a treat. If you love to mutter health & safety gone mad, you’ll be speechless on the open-to-the-elements platforms between carriages, although expect the scenery to oblige mouths around you to form the odd wow!

The end of the line is Sóller, a pretty little town. Despite the occasional rush hour feel as spurts of twenty-first century transport requirements meet times-gone-by narrow streets, for the most part, Sóller solicits serenity. Taking it easy here is effortless. And while shorts and flip-flops abound, this is a classier Mallorca.

And classy is where L’Avenida has positioned itself. Close to the main square (Plaça de la Constitució—which is little more than a sneeze from the train station), this hotel, with its huge, high-ceilinged rooms and old-school customer-comes-first mindset plays to your inner Lord Grantham.

Yet it’s not stuck in the past. Recently acquired by Mallorcan entrepreneur Rafael Balaguer, L’Avenida is undergoing gradual changes to match the ethos of the modern traveller. While moves such as complimentary bottles of water being glass—not single-use plastic— are baby steps, such small shifts are important on an island that currently consumes 1.5 million beverage containers per day (all brought to the island by sea), with only half finding their way to rubbish management facilities.

L’Avenida is also conscious of changing food trends amongst visitors. Although it has yet to embrace a menu with a good selection of meat-free options, hipsters will welcome the excellent avo toast available at breakfast. Hotel staff are also able to recommend suitable eateries to the increasing number of guests seeking plant-based cuisine. Although there are currently no exclusively vegan/vegetarian restaurants in Sóller or nearby Port de Sóller—which is a tram ride away (NB currently €7 per person, a taxi is about €10; thank you L’Avenida reception)—there are many places where you’ll find excellent plant-based and/or dairy-free options:

Re Organic—a short walk from L’Avenida—opened early 2019. It’s part organic food shop, part restaurant and is all about healthy eating. And flavour. The chef’s Vegan Mayo deserves a new Nobel prize category to be created just for it. But just like An Officer and a Gentleman, there’s more than just Mayo to appreciate (kids, Google is your friend).

Recommendations in Port de Sóller include Noname. Again, it’s what the politicians would call a broad church, but there’s plenty to keep plant-based worshipers singing its praises.

With so much variety in Mallorca you may want to add on a few days at L’Avenida’s exclusive sister hotel, Son Penya.

It is just outside Sant Llorenç des Cardassar (a handy 20 minute drive from the Caves of Drach). Green thinking is also on the agenda here: located in the grounds of a former Mallorcan farm, there’s plenty of space to take advantage of strategically placed solar panels; the hotel’s olive oil started its journey to the restaurant’s tables just a (olive) stone’s throw away (you can look up from your plate and see the olive trees); and the hotel’s garden provides the chef with fresh vegetables (aubergines, tomatoes, squash, etc) and a variety of herbs.  Plus, there are electric vehicle charging points for your own electric car, and for the hotel’s nippy electric BMW – which you can borrow if you fancy a day out.

A short drive away is Porto Cristo and the Caves of Drach. The Port has seaside cafes, tourist shops, a small sandy beach, sheltered swimming and boat trips. But it’s the caves that are the real attraction.

First mentioned in the 1300s but not explored until the late 1800s the caves are about 25m deep and 4km long. There are four connected caves: Black Cave, White Cave, Cave of Luis Salvador, and Cave of the French. At the end of your tour, you’ll stop at Lake Martel for a classical music concert – with musicians on a small rowing boat – before taking your own trip across the lake.  See giant stalagmites and stalactites, flags so fine the light shines through them, and pencil thin soda straws.  The caves, although unfortunately damaged (like so many caves) by early explorers in some places, are worth a visit. Allow about an hour for the tour plus time for the gift shop, café and maybe a picnic.

 

FACTBOX 
L’Avenida – avenida-hotel.com/en/
Son Penya – sonpenya.com/en/
Caves of Drach – cuevasdeldrach.com/en/
Mallorca Tourist Information – infomallorca.net

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chantal Cooke is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster and co-founder of PASSION for the PLANET. Chantal is passionate about tourism being used as a force for good.  You can follow her adventures on Facebook and Twitter @chantalcooke and on Instagram @Chantaldcooke