Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Mallorcan Countryside

Chapter 20

sheep & lamp(Click photos to enlarge)

Going for a drive in the country was a favourite pastime for many in those days when country roads were quiet, save for the occasional flock of sheep, horse and cart or neighbours passing on their bicycles.

Mr. G. enjoyed a Sunday drive out into the Mallorcan countryside, where once out of Palma city one could notice the scents of olive wood smoke, freshly turned soil and wild thyme growing on hillsides.

shapherdWe would go with Helen in the Citroen deux cheveaux to join the domingueros or Sunday drivers as they exited the city to take in the warm Mallorcan sunshine by perching on a hillside under a pine tree, or by spending the day on a beach with a picnic basket. Some families would scout the woods for wild asparagus after a spring rain. Others could be seen unloading a carload of equipment for not just a simple picnic, but a full cooked meal in the woods, with camp stove or bonfire, tables, chairs and cooking pots brought for boiling the Sunday dinner al fresco.

shepherd leaving Mallorca was an island full of stones. Stone walls, stone castles, stone fences and fincas, or country estates were constructed from native stone.

women on bikes
countryside gI had been accustomed to the rainforest greenery of Vancouver Island and so this Mediterranean island was a sharp environmental change. Pine trees lined mountain ridges, their rounded crowns like soft green puffs painted on a gentle landscape.




Photo of Deià by Adrian Pingstone


I felt sorry for the poor dogs tied to the back of horse-drawn carts who were expected to keep walking even when tired.

cart and dog

Continue on to Chapter 21......Loli

Go back to Chapter 19......Eurovision 1968

5 comments:

Antoni Mir said...

Hola Sharon: Sentí gran satisfacción al ver tu escrito, pues fui amigo de George Bowden y, ademas de un buen constructor de guitarras era una gran persona. También pude conocer al maestro Calatayud, ya que tuve la suerte de poder estudiar con el algún tiempo. Tu blog, me ha gustado mucho con estas fotos estupendas de Mallorca. Espero que en lo sucesivo, podamos compartir parte de nuestras aficiones, entre otras y como habrás visto la música.

Saludos
Antonio Mir (La Guitarra Balear)

Canarybird said...

Muchas gracias Antonio y muy amable de tu parte.
Un saludo,
Sharon.

Inday said...

Another interesting blog to visit! I am very privileged to be a blogger and be able to visit and read other fellow blogger from all over the world! Your countryside experience is no different from what we have here down under.

Canarybird said...

Thank you for the visit Bonnie! I'll be over to read your blog shortly.
Sharon

aumento de pecho said...

The mallorcan countryside is so beautiful. Many people think of the island like only a party or tourist place but it has a lot to offer.

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