And what nature did not provide man has added: gently shelving golden sands suitable for the youngest children
Posted in General on 03. Aug, 2010
And what nature did not provide, man has added: gently shelving golden sands suitable for the youngest children, while older siblings will find enough shops, cafes and discos in the dusty backstreets to prevent even teenage languor.Three miles away, the old Roman town of Pollensa, with its hilltop chapel, markets and summer festivals, is a bonus, while neighbouring Formentera is a (distinctly pricey) class act, and there are superb spring walks in the Boquer Valley for flora and fauna addicts.The simple Hotel Miramar, on the waterfront, which once housed the migrating British families has itself been in the same local family for more than 80 years. British civil servants and their families were deposited here for acclimatisation before heading east to India.Spanish families, too, have been holidaying here for years, staying in shady villas which line the splendid pine-fringed walkway at the smarter northern end of the resort, where much of the promenade is traffic-free. They harbour fascinating towns such as Ibiza Town, Cuidadela in Menorca and the much underrated Palma, plus a rich cultural tradition for those prepared to look beyond the mass packages.
Starting with the largest, the 62 by 47-mile Majorca – where six out of 10 visitors are squeezed into just a 10th of the island – we look at a variety of resorts to suit the mood of just about every holidaymaker.Puerto de Pollensa, MajorcaFlying boats used to land in this bay, one of the most beautiful on the island, with the rugged purple peaks of Cap Formentor providing a spectacular backdrop. The Balearics certainly have their share of raucous resorts, but also offer some of the best value-for-money hideaways, family hotels, shopping and eating anywhere. WHO WOULD want to go to the Balearic Islands – the location of the most over-crowded tourist resorts in the Mediterranean for the past 20 years? The answer is, those who really know the islands. Hosting good honest tourists from around the world cannot be a one-way affair.
All those Russians, Spanish, Italians, Turks, Japanese, Iranians, Turkomen, Uzbeks, Chinese, Arabs and Pakistanis who have hosted me over the years, take note (But one at a time please.). You still have to ask: am I planning to reciprocate the favours? Am I planning to host, say, Italian families in London, putting aside hours of my time to prepare them genuine British meals of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding? Or did I always plan to extract the maximum advantage out of people before fleeing scot-free back to England?I admit it hardly seems fair. After all, what Italian would really choose my cooking over his mother’s? All the same, I am determined not to take people for granted. Perhaps they actually wanted to put a frozen curry into the microwave and watch a video, not idle away their time listening to the broken platitudes of some half-witted Englishman who thinks that, say, Uzbekis always eat whole roasted goats served on platters of rice.But let’s assume that people do enjoy hosting foreigners. While travelling in, say, Iran, I was invited for almost every night of my stay. Right across Asia, in fact, there are people to whom I owe a skewered sheep or three (not to mention hours of social time).Of course I may be kidding myself that there was anything mutual about the pleasure Perhaps my hosts have always been too polite to say no. In some countries it is impossible to walk down a street without being invited into people’s homes to eat a freshly killed sheep, to sleep in the main bedroom, to use up the entire village water supply, etc.
Visitor gets free lunch, family bust out of tedious, humdrum monotony of daily existence. Tell me honestly: where’s the catch?The formula works best in places with fewest visitors. The net happiness of the world will increase on two counts.
Machiavellian, moi? But it’s true isn’t it? Visitor looks hungry, family cooks Visitor smiles, family gets warm feeling inside. She’ll exclaim at my appetite and I’ll exclaim at her melanzane parmigiana. I’ll have two helpings of every course, and my hostess will be so appreciative of my appreciation that the pleasure will be as much hers as mine.
Next week I’m going to visit a mate in Calabria, where his mother, I strongly believe, is going to prepare a series of meals comprising ham, melon, pasta, antipasto, meat, fish, pizza, ice-cream, fruit, dessert, cheese and coffee for the foreign guest. THERE’S NOTHING like staying with the locals. Accommodation during the carnival period is extremely hard to find, but it can also be booked in advance through Journey Latin America on the telephone number above.. The easiest way to get to Recife is by air on TAP, aka Air Portugal, via Lisbon. Journey Latin America (tel: 0181-747 3108) is currently offering return fares to Recife starting from pounds 475 plus pounds 36 tax.
To get the chance to be here at that stage of February and say thanks but no thanks? You’d be a lemon, sugar.FACT FILEolinda festivalGetting thereOlinda, a few kilometres from Recife, is one of the most beautiful cities in Brazil and its carnival is reputed to be one of the greatest on earth. These festas celebrating Sao Joao (Saint John) week are a chance to turn brains into crepes for the first time since Lent put an end to the festival which you will never think of as Pancake Day ever again. The alternative is to stay until late June when the frevo and maracatu are shelved in favour of the coco, the embolada and the ciranda, examples of yet more criminally under-exposed music styles developed in the arid interior, the Sertao. And then just smile at the secret you tried to share.The week of build-up and the event itself require either an acceptance that you can only see so much, or a resolve to come back to do it again one day. If you can’t take the happy turbulence at street level, the best way to hit the middle ground dancing is to blag your way on to the balcony of one of the office buildings that sit on the banks of the Rio Capiberibe.The sensory overload is more than any Glastonbury or Notting Hill veteran could imagine. Tell them there’s something 10 times bigger somewhere else and hear them laugh. Whichever happens to be the most popular of the “mangue” bands (which fuse hip-hop with maracatu, or funk with frevo) leads an elephantine convoy of trios electricos, electrified trucks with inbuilt speakers.And it is not up to you just how trapped you wish to be, such is the force of the human current created by it If you want out, you think twice before going in.