Introducing Vanrell Car Rental
As the admins of the Majorca Mallorca Facebook group we do read a LOT of horror stories about car rental companies. You do have to be careful when you are choosing a company which you can trust, they should treat you as a customer fairly and politely, and not put the frighteners on you with insurance claims and sudden charges.
On the other hand... we have only heard, and read very good reviews of Vanrell Car Rental, and so in the service of our group we spoke to the good people there and asked if we could have a DISCOUNT CODE for our subscribers and members!
They thought about it and then agreed to offer everyone who uses our code a nice 5% discount when you use this code 4383S when you book on their website www.rentalcarvanrell.com
Vanrell offers these which are important to our group:
- Unlimited mileage
- You collect your car directly at the airport, no shuttles and no waiting!
- They have English speaking people in their customer services
- No credit card fees / they accept cash.
- With the Vanrell Comfort option no deposit on a card is required.
- They can also provide child seats in the vehicles
Another of the nice things about this company is that they are genuinely local. The business began in the 60's when Sr. Jaume Vanrell Bergas decided to stop working as a farmer in Llubí and bought a plot of land on the sea front in the Port d’Alcúdia. His family thought he was mad because at that time the land near the sea was not valued like it is today and so didn’t support his idea. However he was quite sure in what he was doing, while he had been cultivating his land, he watched the planes pass overhead and thought how life was changing and without a doubt, now was the time to take a risk and to take a chance. Rent A Car Vanrell was born.
Jaume bought a small fleet of vehicles: Seat 600, Seat 1500 and Sinca 100 among others. He started renting and slowly bought more cars. He started giving a service to the major hotels in the area and their select clientele. He also opened a bar, which today is the Restaurant Las Sirenas. In the 90’s he extended his network of offices throughout the Bay of Alcúdia and began making trips to the Son Sant Joan airport.
With the turn of the century, Toni Vanrell took the reins of the family business and the company continues to grow in size and locations.
We would love to know your experiences renting with Vanrell as we are very confident that they will take extremely good care of you. Let them know that you are from our group, and that you have the discount code when you book!
The Cancer Support Group
We know we spoke about the Cancer Support Group last month, but we wanted to repeat their message about their fundraising activities for April.
Their goal this year is to double last year's participants and to smash the €10000 mark!
This year everyone will be able to set their own goal, for example you could decide to walk 10.000 steps a day, or you may prefer to walk a total of 100.000 in the month. Even though it is Walk Against Cancer, if you prefer to run, cycle or swim, that is fine too, just make sure you are challenging yourself because the idea is to increase everyone's fitness during the month
You can join in their fundraising event wherever you are in the world and get a little bit fitter yourself in the process then their annual Walk Against Cancer could be perfect for you: more info on here.
Restaurante Barlovento
What better way to get to know a place than through its local dishes? But, did you know that paella is not a local dish in Mallorca, the famous rice dish actually originates from Valencia! So if you want to eat some typical Mallorcan food then you need to try out Barlovento Restaurant in Port Andratx.
They serve several dishes which are presented in the "family style" where you have a big pot brought to the table and you share with your companions. The cooler months of March and April are a great time to enjoy a Mallorcan stew such as Arròs brut (which is filled with local seasonal ingredients). Barlovento is owned by Pep who was born and raised in Port d’Andratx, he is a passionate cook and farmer and is happiest when he is cooking over a wood fire in the kitchen. You can't get much more authentic than this!
Barlovento is open Tuesday to Sunday from 12.30 - 16.00 and then again for dinner Tuesday to Saturday 19.00 - 22.00. At the moment they are serving a lunch "menu del dia" Tuesday to Friday which means you can have two courses for 15€ but this offer will probably not be available in the busy summer season.
Finally, we should mention the restaurant location. You will find it in Port d’Andratx, which is a working fishing port and nowadays millionaire's playground. Barlovento is beside the Club de Vela (yacht club) and you will be charmed by how close you are to the sea!
If you go please take a photo and share it on Facebook or Instagram and tag us so we can share!
You can visit their website here.
Introducing Mallorca Solutions
We would like to introduce you to one of our Expert Partners for Mallorca Majorca.
We hand pick our partners depending on their expertise, their track record, their reliability and their character, which is why we approached Mallorca Solutions to be our expert partner for administration and paperwork in Mallorca.
If you are dreaming of moving to live and work in Mallorca, then make sure that you save their name in your phone, or if you already live here you will know that having a professional company taking care of your paperwork can save you time, stress, and money!
Mallorca Solutions was founded in 2008 by Rebecca Bellafont Evans.
Having lived on the island her whole life she understands the Mallorcan ways inside out! Rebecca leads her "super team" of multilingual experts and offers services in Spanish residency, visa applications, driving licenses, transfers of car registrations, in fact any and ALL of those pesky paperwork tasks that are part of life here on the island.
Rebecca and her team are also insurance brokers and work with many companies which means they will give you the best price and cover they can possibly offer you, they are not tied to one company.
You will find the team in our Facebook group advising you on issues around moving to live and work, or retire on the island. So don't be shy and post your questions!
Visit the Mallorca Majorca Group Here
Sant Sebastià
There is one last big hurrah in January, so don’t put your dancing shoes away quite yet because a few days after Sant Antoni, it is time to celebrate Sant Sebastià.
This patron Saint of Palma was a Christian martyr who was shot and killed by an arrow during the Roman persecution of the Christians. The fiesta of Sant Sebastià is celebrated over several days in Palma (full programme of events on Ajuntament Palma website).
This is a seriously important fiesta for Mallorca’s capital city with a full programme of cultural events and entertainment. You can expect pyrotechnics, more open fires and more excited demons running through the streets. Large stages appear around the city in the squares to host open-air concerts playing a range of music which is aimed to appeal to music lovers of all ages and preferences.
A lot of the action happens in Plaça Cort and Plaça Major. Sant Sebastià is loud, energetic, and colourful and again there is always a lot of food and drink to be enjoyed in this carnival atmosphere.
Cycling
Mallorca plays host to the opening skirmishes of the professional road bike racing season in late January. Big name teams and riders head to the island, many choose to make it their base for winter training camps.
The men's event runs it's 33rd edition this year between 24-28th January, and for the first time this year the top professional women racers have their own event 20-22nd January.
Roads will be closed as the riders make their way around the island.
Click the link below for details for their routes. The final is normally on the Passeig Marítim with the finishing line in front of the Cathedral.
Catch them if you can.
Sant Antoni
The next big event of the new year happens around the 17th January when the fiesta of Sant Antoni is celebrated island wide. Sant Antoni was allegedly a very simple man with a reputation for being very kind to animals; The celebration of his Saint’s day begins the evening before with much music and dance. The cold winter nights are tempered by the open braziers (torradas) which are lit on the street for people to bring their own food to barbeque and enjoy a very unusual street party. Groups of people dress up as Dimonis and run through the street with crazy fireworks to ward off evil spirits. It is spectacular, exciting, a little bit scary, but actually a lot of fun. If you are thinking of "dancing with the devils" which many do, don't wear synthetic fibres, and wear old clothes as sparks from their fireworks may land and burn little holes. It may seem like chaos, but actually it is very organised and if you look on the edges of the event you will see fire services always present and watching.
Places to check out: Sa Pobla, Manacor, Artà, Pollença, Santanyí, Son Servera, Andratx, Algaida and Muro. Other areas also celebrate this popular festival.
Perhaps the most charming aspect of Sant Antoni though are the Beneïdes, which translated, means the blessing of the animals. This custom originates from when islanders relied greatly on agriculture and animals and on 17th January, the farmers took their animals to the parish church to be blessed by the priest. This custom continues to this day although in 2024, the animals being blessed are more likely to be the family cat, dog, maybe a sheep, a goldfish, and some donkeys. But if you go to the more rural areas of the island then you will also see horses, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks, and plenty of locals wearing the traditional clothes of their great grandparents.
Everyone is welcome to take their pet or animal to be blessed, it is customary to make a donation to the church when the priest blesses you. In some areas you are given a gift which makes a lovely souvenir of the day.
TIP: put a red neckerchief on your dog for the event!
Three Kings
Phew! So that is New Year done but there will be no utterance of a diet or any temperance in these parts because the main event on the Spanish household is still to come on 5th and 6th January, when the arrival of the Three Kings is celebrated. It is a just little strange to us Brits, when you are out and about in early January, and the shops are still in full festive mode… “We wish you a Merry Christmas” and “Deck the halls” will still be blasting out as you join the locals doing their Christmas shopping.
On the night of 5th January, a carnival atmosphere abounds as the Kings arrive to much fanfare, laden with gifts for the children. Mostly by road, but sometimes by boat, these Kings processions happen all over the island and if you have never been to one, please put it on the ‘To Do’ list. Much thought and effort goes into this event, and it is nothing short of spectacular.
If you are in a town close to the sea, then you can expect the kings to arrive on a boat, and then parade through the town to the church. Local families will have dropped off gifts for the kids to the church in advance and the kings then hand out to the presents by name to the awe struck children.
Pretty much every town and village in Mallorca celebrates so you won't have to go far to find a parade. The biggest of all is in Palma and if you decide to go watch it there be prepared by going early to get a parking spot and a good view point. We personally recommend Las Ramblas as a good place to be to see everything. Check in our Facebook group for more information closer to the time.
Win big with new habits in '24
Brandon and Sam Brown were born in the UK, raised in Menorca and now live in Mallorca. The brothers have teamed up with Rob Martin, the owner of CrossFit Mallorca in the SW of the island to offer online fitness programmes for those who want to reach their fitness goals.
The new fitness platform is named RYS which stands for Raise Your Standards. “The beauty of that, is that we all have different standards. When we coach our clients we are meeting people where they are right now, without judgement, and helping them to improve their fitness and health.” The best part of RYS training is, that it doesn't matter where you live as the programmes are totally remote and all online.
If you want to kick start your fitness journey in 2024 RYS is launching an 8-week Consistency Challenge that launches 15th January. The challenge includes a fitness programme, personalised nutrition guide and a supportive online community to keep you accountable! And if an element of competition helps you to keep motivated, at the end of the 8 weeks one of the participants will win 500€ for having the best transformation.
With the Challenge starting on Blue Monday (Jan 15th).. why not have an exciting programme to get your teeth in to and start working on improving your health and quality of life?
Check out their Instagram below for further details.
Go get it tiger!
Introducing Imperial Properties
We would like to introduce you to one of our Expert Partners for Mallorca Majorca.
We hand pick our partners depending on their expertise, their track record, their reliability and their character, which is why we approached Imperial Properties to be our expert partner for real estate.
Imperial Properties is a family-run business. They have been in business for more than 37 years on the island, and offer an open, honest and friendly real estate experience.
With three offices in the SW, in Santa Ponça, Portals Nous and the third in Palma Nova they can help you find your dream home, whether it is a finca-style property, a sea view apartment or even your next investment opportunity. And if you are looking to sell a property in Mallorca then make sure you contact them as they have buyers waiting.
Their multilingual team speaks English, Spanish, Mallorquin, German, French, Russian and Swedish, meaning language is no barrier.
If you’re thinking of buying, selling or even renting on the island, they are at your disposal all year round.
You will find the team in our Facebook group advising you on issues around buying and selling properties on the island. So don't be shy and post your questions!