The weekend during our stay in Sollér coincided with the celebration of the Fira and Firo festival. It celebrates the defeat of Algerian invaders by the Mallorcans. "Fira" is held on a Sunday and is mainly an agricultural show, while "Firo" is held on the following day, and depicts the battle of the Moors and Christians through loud and colourful reenactments and parades. The weekend is filled with exhibitions, live music performances, late night parties, and stalls selling different merchandise. The locals are even dressed up with their traditional wear. The festival is held annually on the 2nd week of May.
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| Bums out at Cala Deià |
When we rented the car, we were warned by the company that since it's the festival season, it will be difficult to find parking in the town centre. We first headed towards Fornalutx and stayed there until lunch. Then, we drove back to Sollér and true enough, we had to park the car at one of the parking spaces near the highway and then walk our way towards the city centre. The parking was free because of the festival.
It was a Sunday and we decided to check out the town and Can Prunera.
The town was boasting with locals and tourists. There were stalls lining some of the streets leading to the centre selling different food cuisine, pastries, fruits, and other goods. We had ice cream and bought cherries from one of the fruit stands while walking along the rustic streets of the town.
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| Towards the church |
First stop: Església de Sant Bartmeu - a Catholic church located in front of Plaça de sa Institució.
Recommended length of stay: about 20 minutes
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| Esglesia de Sant Bartmeu |
Surrounding the church and plaça are restaurants and commercial shops.
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| Can Prunera first floor |
We then headed to Can Prunera - an old mansion turned into a modernist museum. It was showcasing works by Joan Miro during our visit. The entrance was free because of the festival. But the regular ticket is normally priced at 5 euros each.
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| Joan Miro Overload Look |
The ground floor has a souvenir shop, while the first floor contains original furniture of the mansion. On the 2nd floor was the exhibit of Joan Miro's works. It was an interesting collection of art and you can really see how Miro's style very much had its roots from that of Pablo Picasso.
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Joan Miro's works
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Recommended length of stay: about an hour
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| Driving to Deià |
It was getting late, and was about time for dinner. We decided to check out the famous Ca's Patro March. It is a waterside restaurant perched at the side of rocky Cala Deià in Mallorca's Tramuntana mountain range. It was about a good and scenic 15 minute-drive from Sollér town centre. From the main road, upon entry to the private road leading towards the restaurant, the road becomes very narrow. But I personally still think it is much better to drive to the place rather than hike because of the slope. It is easy to walk down, but I imagine it would be quite a task to go back up. Hiking towards the place takes a minimum of 30 minutes. Parking fees apply though.
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Ca's Patro March
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The restaurant serves seafood in an alfresco dining setting. They also offer meat dishes. Locals and tourists alike tend to eat at the restaurant and swim and or sun bathe by the cove. It is a bit pricey mainly because it's seafood and the place offers quite a view. The food served were delicious but not extraordinary. It is usually packed, thus, pre-booking during peak season is advised. I read that service can also be quite slow during such times. During our visit, it was relatively low season, thus, service was prompt and we didn't have to pre-book as there were available tables at walk in. See photos below for the serving (maybe good for 2 not-so-hungry pax).
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Grilled Squid
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We had a quick dip into the crystal clear blue waters of the Mediterranean by the restaurant and enjoyed the sun along the cove after stuffing ourselves with seafood.
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Swimming at the cove
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We then headed back to Port de Soller with a quick stop-over at a convenience store to buy groceries.
Expenses:
- ice cream: 3 euros
- cherries: 2 euros
- Ca's Patro March: 23.50 euros pp
- groceries: 3 euros
Total: 31.50 euros
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