Spain (Mallorca) in continued restrictions!

And so another week goes by.  There is a glimmer of hope that after 2 March, cafe and restaurant terraces may be allowed to re-open but nothing has been confirmed as of yet and all sorts of rumours are flying around about the details.  I've seen lots of speculation on Facebook and elsewhere but the fact remains that we have no confirmation of this (plenty of hope but no confirmation!) and will have to wait until nearer the time.  If nothing else, this past year I've learned that patience is a virtue 😎

In local news, Covid numbers continue to decrease in the Pollensa municipality overall but we must continue to be vigilant or we'll not get those above mentioned terraces open any time soon!  As the numbers of cases drop in other parts of Spain, some regions have relaxed restrictions already and others are considering doing so, so let's see.  The national government have announced their vaccination plan and defined new priority groups including, interestingly, teaching staff and police officers which is a different approach to the UK.  Mass vaccination in the Balearics is scheduled to start in mid-March - assuming they've received sufficient doses - with the aim of 70% of the islands' populations to have been vaccinated by June.  Large venues as vaccination centres have been identified and so......we wait.  Digging deep for those reserves of patience! 😂

Today the Port saw the first social dining room open at the Bellaverde restaurant (Bellavista Hostal) with a meal being distributed to needy people in the Port.  This is in conjunction with NGO Pollenca Cares who are financing the ingredients for 200 people each Sunday.  People who wish to receive a meal have to register for this at the Social Services Department who provide them with a ticket.  People receive a stew, bread and a piece of fruit and to see the queue for this as we took the dogs for their toilet walk was sad and sobering but also good to know that people were receiving a welcome hot meal.  Pollensa Council Social Services are currently supporting more than 350 families and the number is increasing, so as summer approaches it is believed that the number of people needing this initiative will increase and the goal is to be able to respond and provide as many meals as they possibly can 💕 👏👏👏  For pictures of this great initiative go to Restaurant Bellaverde  

Further local news includes the very welcome news that the recent protests against the proposed removal of all children's play areas and other recreational facilities on the beaches in the Port seems to have had a real effect on the coastal authorities who have now reconsidered their previous decision.  Definitely the battle has been won 💪 but whether the war has, remains to be seen.

The weather has steadily been improving here and it's beginning to feel a bit springlike.  Today was scheduled to be 23 degrees but was a bit more like 18, certainly here in the north of the island.  Feeling active we drove to Pollensa and then walked up the Puig de Maria.  We knew that the cloud/haze meant we wouldn't get any great views across to the Port but it was still lovely and we just love the view down on Pollensa:

Quite a few locals had beaten us to it and were already enjoying their picnics in the designated picnic area of the Refugi.  We went into the chapel for a reflective few minutes and then enjoyed a takeaway coffee from the little cafe.  There's a small rocky path from the picnic area - if you know where to find it - that winds further out on the Puig and around the side just below the refugi with the best views of Pollensa (as seen above) and a path on which we've never seen anyone else so ssshhh!  

We sat on a large rock and enjoyed the flask of tea we'd brought with us and then made our way down (this path meets up with the main path).  The route was busier on our return with people making their way up for a picnic lunch I guess.  It was interesting how many children, some quite young, were making their way up - it's quite a climb so fair play to them!  

Work at the RCNPP (yacht club) continues and the final two replaced pontoons are now more or less finished.  During the week we watched work on the old slipway at the end of the walkway out from the yacht club house and just the other side of the boat lift.  This photos shows the placement of the concrete blocks:

A day or so later they seemed to be filling it in with concrete which appeared to be being piped from a queue of concrete mixers seemingly into the boxed in pool of water; we're not sure what the end result will be but are watching with interest!  In case you're wondering, the sailing school has relocated to the building between the boat fuel station and La Cantina in what was a laundrette for boat owners, and the school boats are now in the area just before La Cantina and using a floating slipway.

So....hopefully this time next week we'll have some news on whether some restrictions will be eased here....let's keep everything crossed 🤞🤞🤞🤞

In the meantime, stay safe and hasta el próximo domingo!