Mallorca Retreat

The island of Mallorca elicits an old memory from my first trip to Europe. I was 20 years old in 1978, taking an overnight boat from Barcelona, Spain to the Iberic islands on the Mediterranean sea. My destination was the island of Ibiza and the smallest island of Formentera. In the morning, after a very rough journey on the sea, we arrived in the port of Palma de Mallorca. Wow, what a beautiful place and city. While I did not disembark on that April day in 1978, I have returned these last 3 years to the city of Palma de Mallorca on the way to the retreat center, la Serrania. You too will fly into this city on the way to our yoga retreat.

Palma has the distinct feel of being in Spain as well as being on an island. The city is very European with an elegant old world architecture crossed with the tiles and gardened courtyards of Spain. As well, there is a very hip, cosmopolitan feel in this old world city. The islands are a major destination for the European sun lovers, particularly the British and Germans. I have really, really enjoyed my time in this city and am always left longing for more.

Just outside the city, on the 50 minute drive to the northern shore of Mallorca, stretch many, many miles of Olive and Almond orchards, dotted with stunning colors of Bouganvilla and Oleanders. The landscape is filled with broad mountain vistas and long trails of ancient stone fences dividing the farmland and orchards. I get the feeling of abundance and a slower pace here in this arid, island environment. The retreat center, la Serrania (Serenity) is located on a mesa ridge overlooking a long and broad valley, just 10 minutes outside the town of Pollenca. The only sound I hear is the wind and the clinking of the bells from the goat herds as they wander in the landscape.

So while there is the feeling of remoteness and peacefulness here, we are indeed close to town and
the Mediterranean sea.

All are welcome...