To the Islands We Go!

"The Balearics, Island Sisters of the Mediterranean" is the second article in the February, 1928, National Geographic magazine I'm currently reading.  The author, Roy W. Baker, was the American consul at Barcelona at that time.

South of Barcelona, Spain, in the Mediterranean Sea, there are three major islands in this group, Majorca, Minorca, and Iviza, and several smaller ones.  The smallest, Cabrera, has a land area of eight square miles.  Palma, with 100,000 citizens, is the main city of Majorca;  there is "Bellver Castle, built by Jaime II, overlooking it from the top of a handsome wooded hill" (p. 182).

Mr. Baker relates many fine characteristics of these islands:
*the climate is ideal.
*the inns, or fondas, are "invariably clean and their meals wholesome" (p. 179).
*the harbors are excellent.
*there is a mixture of Spanish and English (due to occupations at various times) influences plus also some Moorish influences on the culture and architecture.
*the land area totals 1,935 square miles, equal to the land area of the state of Delaware, U.S.A., with more inhabitants (p. 179).
*the chief products of the people are shoes, tourist trade, capers, fruit and vegetables, figs, nuts (especially almonds), and olive oil.
*the area is rich in relics and history: "Castles, churches, palaces, forts, and watchtowers are seen so frequently that they become almost matters of course" (p. 180).

The people are extremely friendly and welcoming.  The caption on Color Plate XVI explains, "This man is making ready a repast of cactus fruit and if you happened by he would invite you to share it with him, for the Majorcans are a friendly people.  One is always at liberty to help himself to any fruit or vegetable that he may find growing and is equally welcome to a mattress and blanket in any household.  Doors are almost never closed and locks are practically unknown."

"From the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries the Balearics occupied a place of importance in the Mediterranean world.  900 vessels and more than 30,000 sailors went out from Palma alone and to a great extent the islands dominated the commerce and shipping of the western end of the great inland sea" (Color Plate X).

Mr. Baker finds these island folks have an enviable lifestyle which is not rushed!  When he finally found the government mail boat that would take him to the tiny island of Cabrera, he asked the captain when the boat would leave.  The captain said, "Senor, we are due to leave at 2 o'clock, but when you are tired of looking at the mountains tell me and we will go" (p. 199).

Other interesting observations include: "Spanish regional costume is making one of its last stands in Iviza and Formentera.  True, there are to be seen a few bobbed-haired damsels in short skirts, but the majority of women still wear the Ivizan dress" (captions on Color Plates V and XI).
   "The hands of maidens engaged to be married are literally covered with rings.  After marriage the jewelry is handed down to the next oldest woman of the family" (p. 206).
   "The fan of Spain, without which a flirtation is almost impossible, is replaced in Iviza by a handkerchief, which is a powerful weapon in the hands of a deft maiden" (p. 206).
   "And this is the impression that the visitor takes with him from the Balearics: life played on a small stage aglow with color and romance" (p. 206).

Since I'll be departing for my own Island Adventure soon, I thoroughly enjoyed this Island documentary.  Keep watch here for a real, 2013, trip to faraway Islands!