Rare Sightings in Rural Mallorca

A few vehicles of the khaki cavalcade

We’ve seen some odd things in our lane during our time in rural Mallorca. The most recent rare sighting was on Saturday night as we drove home late from a nearby restaurant.

As we came down the lane, a car was crawling up towards us. We thought this was strange behaviour – until we made out a low shape in front of the car’s headlights.

On many occasions, we’ve seen sheep that have escaped their field by hopping over a tumbledown stone wall. However, as we drove closer we realised this was no woolly jumper, but an elderly Mallorcan housewife bending down.

After the heavy rain earlier in the day, she was collecting snails for the cooking pot from the verge. The car’s headlights illuminated her labours as she made slow and no doubt back-breaking progress up the lane.

As we slowed to pass, I wound down the car window and we called out the traditional Uep greeting. Mrs Snail Collector grunted something in return; her husband, sitting comfortably in the driving seat with the car’s interior light on, gave us a knowing smile that seemed to say: ‘Look who got the easy job.’

Lycra on Speed

Our dear Oxford friends Kristina and Duncan were staying for a holiday when we had another memorable rare sighting. An unfamiliar minibus full of colourfully clad people travelled down the lane past our property. Minutes later, a speedskating team – clad in vibrant Lycra outfits – skated back up the lane past our finca, arms swinging high behind them as they went. Up.

We were in awe of the level of fitness required to do this with apparent ease. Maybe our hill was not enough of a challenge for speedskating training purposes, because we never saw this rare sight again.

Khaki Cavalcade

One afternoon we were travelling back down the lane when we met a fleet of authentic Jeep-style vehicles coming our way. We guessed a group of khaki-coloured vehicle enthusiasts was on a Mallorca trip as we saw them again a few days later in another part of the island.

You just never know what you may encounter on a rural lane in Mallorca.

©Jan Edwards 2022

2 thoughts on “Rare Sightings in Rural Mallorca

  1. Hi Jan, I’ve been reading your blog for a while now, ever since we arrived in Mallorca. Quite entertaining! We’re a Dutch family ourselves and currently looking for a place to call home on the island (hopefully soon, but the property search has been going on for over half a year now and been quite frustrating with no results). I would really love to read about your experience in this regard! Best regards, Jaap

    • Hi Jaap. Thank you for your message and kind comment about my blog. Oh, the stories I could tell about finding our place! In fact, I am writing a memoir about moving to our finca, although it is still at the first-draft stage. I shall, however, publish a post about the start of our living in rural Mallorca journey. It isn’t easy these days as prices have risen, as has demand. But it sounds as though you are probably renting and I think that’s a good way to start living here so you can get to know the island better before you commit to a purchase. I wish you good luck with your search; that perfect property for you will surely come to light eventually! Best wishes, Jan

Leave a Reply