We apologise for our long silence, but there has not been much for us to say to anyone planning a holiday on Mallorca. Our website at www.enjoyingmallorca.info attracted considerable interest when we launched it last year, but since travel restrictions were imposed to limit the spread of the corona virus, like Mallorca it has had few visitors.
Here on Mallorca we are far from back to normal but there are few new cases of the virus and even fewer deaths. The number of shoppers allowed at any time in the supermarkets is limited, masks are compulsory and social distancing of two meters applies. Virtually everyone is complying with these regulations and the holiday areas are unusually empty for this time of year, but a few restaurants are already open.
There have been no shortages of essential items apart from a brief period when demand for toilet rolls exceeded supply and a current problem with self-raising flour which is still not available in some supermarkets. There was a brief spell of panic buying at the start of the restrictions but that soon calmed down and, with few visitors on the island, shopping is not a problem.
Those in the UK who are planning a holiday in Mallorca will be discouraged by the imposition of a 14 day quarantine on their return from abroad. However. there are already signs that this unpopular restriction will soon be abandoned. Most hotels and restaurants are hoping to re-open in July and there is a general air of optimism here although the tourist industry has suffered heavy losses.
We have kept our website running at www.enjoyingmallorca.info but it is virtually impossible for us to update it while most of the restaurants and attractions it lists are still closed. As the situation changes we will contact as many as we can and try to amend the editorial content, but for some time it will be essential to phone or e-mail in advance to establish if and when any restaurant or attraction is open. We provide a telephone number for each of the restaurants, museums and other places we recommend for a visit, and often an e-mail contact. Surprisingly few restaurants have their own website but we naturally include web details if we can obtain them.
While our website has been somewhat dormant, our other information source about Mallorca has been making quite good progress. That is, of course Pamel Legge’s classic book Enjoying Mallorca which we updated a few years ago and now offer on Kindle. It combines a really excellent guide with an amusing account of Pamela’s experiences on Mallorca, including her friendship with Robert Graves. Full details are available on our website at www.ggbaker.co.uk including some of the many favourable reviews that this comprehensive work has attracted over the years. It provides useful information for those planning a holiday on Mallorca and an entertaining read for others when they get here.
The hardback edition of Enjoying Mallorca is now out of print, but it made quite an impression when it was published. The Director of Promotion of Tourism for Mallorca praised it as “An extremely accurate description of the island” and promised to promote it whenever possible. Robin Young in The Timers ranked it as “a welcome addition, distinctive and highly readable addition to Mallorcan tourist literature”.
Broadcasters also liked it. Petroc Trtelawny described it as “a delightful book” while Debbie Thrower on BBC 2 stated that it is “packed with useful information”. The updated Kindle version has also attracted favourable comment and it is currently rated 4.5 stars on Amazon. One purchaser stated “I have visited Mallorca since I was 18 and I’m now 67 and I’ve learnt such a lot from this book, while another rated it as an “absorbing and charming insight into Mallorca”.
The Kindle version is available free for those with Kindle Unlimited Membership or at £3.99 for others from Amazon.co.uk.
Finally, we have enlarged our history of Mallorca and it is now available to all at no charge and no need to sign in on our website at www.ggbaker.co.uk.