Not all the Nordics that come to Majorca live in Santa Catalina in Palma. This week I will tell you about a Swedish couple that bought a house in Fornalutx, one of the most picturesque villages on the island, located in the Soller Valley.
I met the couple some years ago when I was looking for tips and ideas on where to hike on Majorca. I had the regular guidebook but thought it would be nice for a more personal presentation. I googled and found “El Limonero.”
www.limonero.one is the personal blog Birgitta and Thomas had been working on for several years. They are originally from Häron, a small island on the Swedish west coast. The couple love to hike and have put together plenty of information and photos from their own excursion experiences on the island.
“An immediate and shared love for Majorca met us the first time we put our feet on the island. We never thought we would be affected by such strong feelings for a certain a place without reservation and without consideration”, says Birgitta.
Their first visit to the island was in May 2013, visiting good friends in Puerto Soller. The perception they had of Majorca was Magaluf and Palmanova. A “party island”, filled with ugly hotel complexes and alcohol. They had never been so wrong. The Soller valley felt like home from day one and they decided at once that this was the place where they wanted to stay.
Their friends introduced them to a real estate agent in Puerto Soller who showed them a couple of apartments in the neighbourhood. Three days after their arrival on Majorca, they visited a lovely apartment in Puerto Soller that was up for sale and signed a contract before returning home to Sweden four days later.
Early on, Birgitta and Thomas began to discover the island on foot. With the beautiful Tramuntana mountains close by, their choice became easy. Many of Mallorca’s beautiful hiking trails start from or cross the Soller valley.
To get suggestions for hikes, Birgitta googled, but discovered that there was not much information or pages that inspired or showed photos from the various trails.
She decided to follow a Norwiegan couples hiking bible, “Vandra på Mallorca” (translated “Hiking on Majorca”), by Anita and Birger Lövland’s, and document with her own comments and photos. You can see the result on their website: www.limonero.one
Birgitta also started the Facebook group “Hike Mallorca”, with the purpose for the members to share their hikes in words, films, and photos and to suggest things that you absolutely must not miss when you are out hiking and things you should avoid. In 2016 the couple changed the apartment in Puerto Soller to a small house in the incredibly beautiful little village of Fornalutx. “We love it here” they say. “The village has been selected as the most beautiful village on the island and we agree.There is a lovely little square to sit and enjoy a morning coffee, we really appreciate the restaurants and the people who live here are so kind and from all over the world.
“More and more people from Scandinavia have begun to discover the hiking routes in Majorca and many of our travel agencies organize hiking trips here. The Germans and the Brits have long found their little treasures on the island. Thomas says “The hiking trails in Majorca are numerous, clearly marked, most of them safe and easy to follow.
The hikes on on the couples website range on a scale from easy to medium. Mallorca has a large variety range of hiking opportunities. Some of the tours go to peaks reaching 1000 to 1300 meters, while others might follow a valley or traverse a narrow ravine.
“Many of the tours introduce aspects of local cultural interest, taking you close to the local population while enjoying the lush landscapes and picturesque villages. On the northwest side of the 90 km long mountain range of the Serra de Tramuntana, one can follow the scenic coastal trails. It is here that the most exciting hiking tours are available.
“The idea with the house in Fornalutx was not only to invite friends and family to come over and stay they do have a tourist license and rent out the spare rooms to eager hikers from all over the world.”