After a five-day road trip to Bilbao and Bordeaux, it was with welcome relief that I walked out of Palma airport in the early hours of Tuesday morning to be hit by some warm air and hours later to see and feel the sun blasting through the terrace windows.
After having spent the whole time battling the elements, driving rain like Mallorca rarely gets to see, not to mention having to endure six hours plus on motorways and 3ºC temperatures, I have hardly been happier to have got home to Mallorca.
I know there is lots of talk about booming tourism and property sales in northern Spain but one has to look at the pros and cons. I’ve known the north for many years and yes I enjoy it - there’s no island fever for example, more space and plenty to see and do - but personally, I could not live in that kind of climate.
I dread to think what the heating bills are, despite a proper glass of quality wine only costing 2.50 in the centre of Bilbao. No I’m sorry, much that I love northern Spain, it’s got to be Mallorca - the weather is far more conducive for a healthy, active lifestyle. We might get a bit of snow and the odd cold snap but it’s nothing by comparison. Yes, it’s more expensive on the whole and perhaps the quality a little poorer but one has to balance the books.