I don't know why or how, but Mallorca (also spelled Majorca) got stuck in my brain as a place I wanted to visit. In November 2016 I took a week-long 'Med Cruise' from Palma, Mallorca to Naples, Rome, Florence, Marseilles, Barcelona and back to Palma. I stayed an additional 5 days on the island of Mallorca and fell in love with it. The itch got itchier!!
Oh, btw, Palma is the largest city on the island (and it's capitol) with a population and physical size about the same as Cuenca.
I decided to go back again in June 2017 for 2-3 weeks with a specific mission to research the viability of living there. Was it beyond my budget? What was transportation like? Day to day activities? Crime? Are the people friendly or snooty? What about my so-so Spanish "skills"? Would it be too hot and/or humid? What does a gallon of gas cost? Juice? A chicken breast? Rent? Vodka?
As it turned out, most everything got high marks. Rent is more expensive than Cuenca but I don't think you could get much lower than Cuenca's rental prices unless you lived in a hut, so pretty much everywhere is going to be more expensive than Cuenca! Still, rental prices in Mallorca beat what I'd have to pay if I remained in Seattle.
OK, it was settled. I decided to make the big move....AGAIN.
Then came August 2017 when I was diagnosed with cancer. Luckily, it was caught early but it did throw a whammy into the process of gearing up for the move because for 3 months my focus was pretty much getting through chemotherapy and radiation treatments. My energy level was being zapped, too.
In September, I began the process of obtaining a Spain Residency Visa. It wasn't an overly complicated process, nor did it cost much $$. I had to travel down to Guayaquil 3 times (though I could've done in it only 2) to the Spain Consulate to file the papers. They gave me the approval within their 30 day maximum limit.
The clincher was...once the Res Visa was approved, I was required to travel to Spain to VALIDATE said Res Visa within 90 days. I booked another trip to Spain starting November 25th, which so happened to be 3 days after my final cancer treatment!!!
Once back in Palma (the first week of Dec) (now the 3rd time within 1 year) it was relatively easy to get my Res Visa validated by applying for a Residency Card. But (there's always one isn't there?) they said the Res Card would be available for pickup withing 40 days...yet I was due to fly back to EC in 10 days. YIKES....40 days to make up a plastic ID card?
Since my Res Visa was issued with an expiration date of January 18th, I was concerned I wouldn't have my Res Card in time before the Res Visa expired which might mean I would go back to being just a lowly tourist. I didn't want to risk it, so I arranged ANOTHER trip from Cuenca to Palma on Jan 15th...just 3 weeks later....making it the FOURTH trip in a little over a year!!
The day after I arrived, I was able to pick up my Res Card and now I was fully legal to live here in Spain and travel in/out with no restrictions. Turned out, I didn't need to do this trip because I had a letter from Spain I could've used if I didn't have the card. Oh well.
Go back to November. Since June, I had been viewing online ads for apartment rentals every morning. I looked at HUNDREDS of them!! It helped me get a good look at what goes for what and where, amenities, etc.
My intent while there in November was to spend a good chunk of time looking for apartments because my final, FINAL move date would be in March. Well, that didn't work out very well because the vast majority of rentals are managed by rental companies rather than the individual owners. So, to see 5 properties you might have to engage 5 rental companies, their availability, my availability, and sometimes restrictions on when the apt would be available to view if it was still occupied. A HASSLE to say the least.
The day before I was slated to fly back to EC, I spotted a great apartment newly listed that morning and immediately called the rental office. They were close by and the actual apartment was just 3 doors down from their office. I liked it right away and pretty much told them I wanted it...but I had less than 24 hours remaining before flying out. The next day, I went back to check on it again and verify everything worked properly. By late that afternoon, I signed the contract and forked over a lot of money. You see, I paid for Dec, Jan, Feb, and March rents even though I wouldn't be living there until March...it would be empty while I was back in EC frantically trying to sell everything I own.
Ok, skip ahead to January. While there for 2 weeks in January, I went on a buying spree at IKEA to furnish the apartment. Believe it or not, UNfurnished apts are somewhat rare here. Doing it this way allowed me to have the place furnished with the necessities when I did the 'big move' in March. Plus, if I had waited until March, prices of apts would start going up and inventory going down as the high season would be right around the corner.
Once back in EC I had to bust my butt selling off everything I had. Since I was operating a 2-suite B&B at the time, I not only had to liquidate my personal belongings but also all the B&B stuff. That meant 3 beds, 3 TV's, 3 microwaves, extra tables, artwork, etc etc. I devised a 'Virtual Garage Sale' where everything was put online (photos/prices) and then published the website to everyone I knew. I was able to sell almost everything by the time I flew out on March 11th...my FIFTH trip.
But, I'm still not done. GRACIE!! Gracie, my dog, couldn't travel with me in March due to <stupid> European rules that restrict her travel until after 90 days has passed from a blood serum test (which cost $600!!) that confirmed she doesn't have rabies. So, I'm going back to EC the beginning of May to retrieve her and fly BACK to Spain (my SIXTH trip!).
I don't relish the thought of having to fly that trip any time in the near future. It's ELEVEN hours of sitting in ONE seat on an airplane. NOT fun!!!
Ok, we're up to March now. Between the end of my treatments in late November and the March trip, my energy level was down to about 60%. Getting things accomplished was a challenge when all I wanted to do was sleep. Plus, while in Cuenca (which is at 8,000ft) I was having a lot of breathing problems probably due to the chemo wiping out a lot of good red blood cells needed to carry oxygen. But, now that I'm at sea level, that's history.
Just before I left Cuenca I had tests performed again to see how effective the cancer treatment was. I was told they found no signs of cancer life. YEA!!! But, that doesn't mean I'm totally out of the woods for the rest of my life.
Now it was time to paint the entire apartment from top to bottom. UGH. Plus I had PILES of cardboard from all the IKEA boxes that I needed to cut down to smaller pieces to carry to the recycle bins a block away. I told myself I have to carry an armful out every time I leave the apartment. Well, maybe 60% of the time!
Living here in Mallorca presents some challenges...new ways of doing things. There's a lot of cars here and 98% of them are very small because parking is very limited and the cost of gas is about $5 a gallon. Plus, who needs a big car on an ISLAND that's only 60 miles wide?? I don't plan to own a car...first time since I was 16!!! Scooters are by far the most favored mode of transport because they're cheap to own, get 60 miles to the gallon, can park for free, and you can pretty much squeeze one in anywhere there's an open space. Then, there's the excellent bus system that's CLEAN and QUIET (as opposed to Cuenca's). Taxi's are ridiculously expensive here so I doubt I'll be using them much!
BUT....all of this presents a challenge....how to get big items home from Leroy Merlin (ie; Home Depot) or IKEA, etc? You can only fit so much stuff on a scooter!! IKEA does have an excellent delivery system for a reasonable fee. Leroy Merlin, however, is more pricey. This means you have to plan. The best thing to do is order online and try to order everything you can think of all at one time to avoid multiple deliveries and shipping costs. If I want paint, that's easy to transport on a scooter, but probably only a gallon or two at a time.
A few weeks ago, I finally found a scooter I wanted to buy. I was renting one and the cost was adding up. I found a nice 2016 Kymco scooter with a 300cc engine and a really dumb-sounding model name...."Super Dink". I mean....C'MON!!!!
Now I have my OWN scooter and I can go anywhere I want, anytime I want. I've already taken three out of town day trips on it, up into the mountains and down to the sea on the other side of the island. We have several freeways on the island (in addition to trains) and I very comfortably cruise at 65-70mph on my new scooter (which I've named 'Scoot').
Scooters and motorcyclists also get some perks from the dept of transportation. At many intersections, they allow motorcyclists to move up in front of the cars and sit in a special lane parallel to the crosswalk. This is because scooters are very fast off the line and can easily get ahead of the cars instead of waiting behind them.
Here's photos of my 'Scoot'....
Here's a few pics from my last few trips...
- December 2017
A video.....
Another video of strolling around a very popular pedestrian-only shopping street, Calle Sant Miguel, which is only 2 blocks from my apt.
- My January Trip
Apparently,
January is a big celebration month here. I don’t know the whole story, but the bits-n-pieces I’ve gleaned, it entails:
- Saint Sebastian
- About 3 weeks of January
- Big parade at the beginning with focus/theme surrounding the 3 wise men bringing gifts
- Big outdoor concerts
- Neighborhood bonfires. The city delivers big BBQ grills to various locations around the city and citizens are invited to bring their own foods and grill them, party, drink, meet neighbors
- Beasts and Demons and Dragons
- Fireworks
·
…and
a mixture of other cultural events including photography contests, free museum
openings, dances, bicycle races, etc.
Here's a few examples of what goes on!!!
A video of the (noisy!) action!!!
Here's a video of yet another beautiful day in Palma....Mallorca....Spain.
One day, I hopped on my rental scooter to go check out a neighborhood nearby called ‘Genova’. I was
very surprised at what I found. A very charming village like it was
lifted right out of Italy.
Looking down on Genova (bottom of photo) and outward to Palma.
Well, that's it for now. My FIRST Mallorcan blog entry!!!
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Dano
Dano
Fabulous Dano!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLooks fantastic !
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you sound very happy there.
Congratulations on your new big adventure.