MALLORCA is located in the Balearic archipelago splashed in the middle of the Mediterranean off the coast of Spain. Even if it’s already approaching winter, Mallorca is still a hip place bustling of sounds from the locals. British tourists and other Western and Northern Europeans often flock here during summer to have a retreat. They choose to be here because of the warm Mediterranean climate which is different than the rest of the Iberian Peninsula and European mainland. Temperatures here tend to rise from 18 to 23 degrees Celsius and this is just right for the tourists.

They cannot actually withstand the temperature in places such as Bali or Phuket or Boracay because of the tropical heat so they immediately troop here to Mallorca. In fact, most of the tourists who have been regulars here for the past decade or so are recurring already and have erected vacation retreats here. Some of them eventually end up as entrepreneurs because they will ultimately lease these holiday homes to other tourists as well. That’s why the real estate industry is definitely booming here in Mallorca.

Aside from the real estate industry, one thing that makes Mallorca a cut above the rest of the Mediterranean is that olive plantations abound here. These olive plantations produce olive oil which is said to be the healthiest cooking oil in the world, owing to its less fat content. Olive oil blends well with the many Mediterranean species used as seafood such as redfish, grouper, lobsters, mussels, clams and shrimps. In fact, US Sen. Hillary Clinton and renowned Food Network Mediterranean gourmet specialist Mario Battali has recently toured Mallorca and promote its olive plantations via their programs.

During winter time, Mallorca is still a place of leisure. In fact, this is an ideal place to hold a seaside wedding as the beaches are usually deserted at this time of the year. And with the Mediterranean wind blowing in from the east, Mallorca’s beaches are an ideal place for couples to be cuddling up. There are usually no scuba diving activities in this part of the year though as it tends to be very cold underwater. But there are still lots of activities to reckon with such as parasailing, skim boarding, among others. Its nudist beaches are somewhat deserted too yet again isolation is sometimes more ideal than being in a rowdy crowd of partiers.

Speaking of isolation, cycling events ala Tour de France are held here every summer but during winter, it is also nice to bike around the neighborhood and even spend Christmas and New Year here. The holidays here tend to be very elaborate because as an island inhabited by Christians, they are devout to their religion. There will always be nine masses in the mornings preceding Christmas to be culminated by a midnight mass during Christmas Eve itself. If you’ve got local friends, then you are surely warmly invited to their abode for a midnight snack consisting of only the best sweets and delicacies that the island can offer in thanksgiving for the celebration of Christ’s birth.