They had a fair in Lluc at the weekend. Did you go? Did you know it was on? Had you been confused?
A fair in Lluc requires that people go to it. Most fairs can be taken to the local people. The problem with Lluc is that it doesn't have any people. Well, not many. Forty-four on the "padrón", 18.6% of the entire population (236) of the mountainous municipality of Escorca, one of Mallorca's bigger municipalities in terms of land area. It is some 12 square kilometres smaller than its neighbour Pollensa. Its population is 1.46% of Pollensa's.
There are, therefore, certain inherent disadvantages to staging a fair in Lluc. This said, it is - courtesy of the monastery - a place to which people go. The weather may not have been brilliant at the weekend, but in a way the weather doesn't matter too much (unless it is absolutely hammering it down). Lluc is Lluc; the weather is largely by the bye.
Reports say, however, that the fair suffered from there having been fewer people. In fact, the numbers were distinctly on the "poco" side. Sales were therefore down. What briskness of trade there was centred on the foody stuff. Folk were eating; they weren't buying artisan pots, much to the chagrin of artisanal vendors thereof.
It wasn't perhaps altogether surprising that numbers were down. There will be those, myself included, who know that there is a fair in Lluc on the second weekend in October. I know because it's one of those things I need to know. I might not otherwise. But I didn't know what exactly was occurring this year. Could I find information?
As Escorca is so tiny as far as people are concerned, it doesn't have a town hall overflowing with staff. It also has a debt of over 700,000 euros to worry about. This may explain why the town hall's website contained not an immediately obvious word about the fair. When you rummage a bit, if you can be bothered, there is a thing which explains that there is a fair on the second weekend of October. Otherwise, the last time anything was posted to the main page was in April, and that was an announcement for a council meeting. There are icons for Twitter and Facebook. Might those have led to respective pages and possible information? Neither go anywhere.
There was, to be fair to the fair, an announcement on the town hall's Facebook page, even if the link from the website wasn't functioning. That at least confirmed the times, if nothing much else, but I'm guessing not many saw the announcement. Likes 149; they've gone up by one now, as I've liked it and become number 150.
The lack of information is not unique. A degree of hunting is often required to find it. Several town halls are deficient in this regard. But might there have been a further reason why the Lluc fair was less than well attended this year? The potential confusion?
The title of the fair in Catalan was Fira de la Serra de Tramuntanta. In Puerto Soller, admittedly only on the Saturday, was the Fira de la Mar Serra de Tramuntana, the first time such a fair has been held. You don't need to understand Catalan to spot the similarity between. Only the sea has come between them.
To be blunt, whose bright idea was it to hold a fair with almost exactly the same name, on one of the same days, not a million kilometres from Lluc? The potential for confusion was great. Had the Lluc fair been moved?
Most remarkable of all was that the Puerto Soller fair had been organised in conjunction with the Council of Mallorca's consortium for the Tramuntana, the body which seemingly now has promotional responsibilities for the mountains. Did no one spot the similarity? You would have thought they might, given that Lluc is about as Tramuntana as you can get and has been holding its fair for years.
The absence of information, the almost identical names of the fairs point to what is an unfortunately incoherent approach to promotion. We are still in the tourist season. German states are having autumn half-terms. There are plenty of people about. I know of hotels in the north of the island which are full, and they really are full; prospective clients have been unable to book.
Given this lucky state of affairs, what a shame that there is such a shambolic approach to promotion. It's hard to understand why it is quite so poor, especially given the means which are now available and the access that the great majority of tourists (and residents) have to these means.
It has, though, been ever thus. What hasn't been ever thus is to have two fairs with as good as the same name.
Showing posts with label Tramuntana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tramuntana. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Friday, March 18, 2016
Marketing Personality: Palma and the mountains
There was a bit of a rumpus at the Berlin ITB travel fair. It was to do with a logo, the one for the Maldives, official partner of the 2016 fair. Was it familiar? Was it rather like the logo used for Spain by Turespaña, the one that the painter Joan Miró had designed all those years ago?
Well, perhaps there was some similarity in the image of the sun, though whether it was a conscious attempt at imitation would be impossible to say. What one can say is that the Maldives' logo lacks the distinctive Miró flavour. Similar maybe but not the discernible style that characterised much of Miró's work.
The Turespaña logo dates from 1984, the year after Miró died. It is a logo that is one of the most recognisable graphic displays of branding in the tourism world. In terms of recognition, it is right up there with New York. While Miró may not be to everyone's taste, there is no denying the unique quality of the logo and of so much of his oeuvre. It is unmistakably Miró and it is for this reason that the logo has acquired such a reputation. It is different. It stands out. It makes a statement. It also captures the essence of culture - art in this instance - and of what Spain represents for so many, the sun. As a logo, it does more or less everything a logo should do.
This was not the first time that Miró had designed a logo for tourism. In the early 1970s he donated one to the Fomento del Turismo, the Mallorca Tourist Board. The Sol de Mallorca should arguably now be as famous and as recognised as the Spanish sun. Perhaps they thought there would be confusion by having two Miró logos. Perhaps it was because the newly formed regional government wanted, from 1983, to have its own logo. Whatever the reason, the Sol de Mallorca ceased to be the abiding image for the island's tourism. There has not been a good one ever since.
A logo is only as good as what supports it and what it represents. If a destination lacks substance, strong attributes and messages, then a logo on its own achieves comparatively little. A strong logo isn't always necessary, though. Palma, for example, is doing fine without having one.
In Palma's case, it is the substance and the marketing of its virtues which are proving to be the bedrock for the city's current success. And one of these is Miró. Of the three giants of twentieth century Spanish art, Miró didn't cultivate fame and notoriety in the way that Dali and Picasso did. For this reason, his name is not as strong on a global stage. But it is strong enough, and precisely because he was an altogether more humble man, it can be argued that there was and is greater substance to him. He didn't need the extravagances of publicity to declare his genius.
Miró, the man, his work and his personality have become something of a marketing concept for Palma. It makes very good sense that he should be, as does the apparent closeness between the Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation and the city in using this personality. To promote a city of culture, then who better to do so than an artist with such a strong association with the city and who bequeathed to it the buildings which combine to provide the Miró museum.
Mallorca has had a thing with using individuals for promotional purposes in the past, though this hasn't necessarily been terribly successful. Michael Douglas was arguably one of the more successful, but a weakness of the approach has been to use personalities whose associations are relatively superficial. This cannot be said of Miró. His Palma roots were and are deep.
When writing yesterday's article about the Tramuntana, I had thought about this use of personality. Reflecting on Palma's 365 marketing, Miró as some sort of figurehead is ideal. But Palma's marketing is, as observed yesterday, in a totally different league to that of the Tramuntana. It is heading towards a peak of excellence, while the Tramuntana's has yet to even aspire to make base camp.
If there were to be a personality for the Tramuntana, who would it be? Who, for a global audience, has the substance that Miró has for Palma? There are few candidates. Not Ramon Llull because the world doesn't know him. Not the Archduke Louis Salvador because only German speakers are aware of him. Chopin (and George Sand)? No. A three-month only residence disqualifies both as does the dislike that they expressed for Mallorca. Which leaves?
Someone with a deep association with the mountains and affinity with the culture. Someone whose name goes around the world. Someone who assisted in even better known personalities coming to Mallorca - Ava Gardner, Orson Welles and others. Robert Graves is that someone.
Well, perhaps there was some similarity in the image of the sun, though whether it was a conscious attempt at imitation would be impossible to say. What one can say is that the Maldives' logo lacks the distinctive Miró flavour. Similar maybe but not the discernible style that characterised much of Miró's work.
The Turespaña logo dates from 1984, the year after Miró died. It is a logo that is one of the most recognisable graphic displays of branding in the tourism world. In terms of recognition, it is right up there with New York. While Miró may not be to everyone's taste, there is no denying the unique quality of the logo and of so much of his oeuvre. It is unmistakably Miró and it is for this reason that the logo has acquired such a reputation. It is different. It stands out. It makes a statement. It also captures the essence of culture - art in this instance - and of what Spain represents for so many, the sun. As a logo, it does more or less everything a logo should do.
This was not the first time that Miró had designed a logo for tourism. In the early 1970s he donated one to the Fomento del Turismo, the Mallorca Tourist Board. The Sol de Mallorca should arguably now be as famous and as recognised as the Spanish sun. Perhaps they thought there would be confusion by having two Miró logos. Perhaps it was because the newly formed regional government wanted, from 1983, to have its own logo. Whatever the reason, the Sol de Mallorca ceased to be the abiding image for the island's tourism. There has not been a good one ever since.
A logo is only as good as what supports it and what it represents. If a destination lacks substance, strong attributes and messages, then a logo on its own achieves comparatively little. A strong logo isn't always necessary, though. Palma, for example, is doing fine without having one.
In Palma's case, it is the substance and the marketing of its virtues which are proving to be the bedrock for the city's current success. And one of these is Miró. Of the three giants of twentieth century Spanish art, Miró didn't cultivate fame and notoriety in the way that Dali and Picasso did. For this reason, his name is not as strong on a global stage. But it is strong enough, and precisely because he was an altogether more humble man, it can be argued that there was and is greater substance to him. He didn't need the extravagances of publicity to declare his genius.
Miró, the man, his work and his personality have become something of a marketing concept for Palma. It makes very good sense that he should be, as does the apparent closeness between the Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation and the city in using this personality. To promote a city of culture, then who better to do so than an artist with such a strong association with the city and who bequeathed to it the buildings which combine to provide the Miró museum.
Mallorca has had a thing with using individuals for promotional purposes in the past, though this hasn't necessarily been terribly successful. Michael Douglas was arguably one of the more successful, but a weakness of the approach has been to use personalities whose associations are relatively superficial. This cannot be said of Miró. His Palma roots were and are deep.
When writing yesterday's article about the Tramuntana, I had thought about this use of personality. Reflecting on Palma's 365 marketing, Miró as some sort of figurehead is ideal. But Palma's marketing is, as observed yesterday, in a totally different league to that of the Tramuntana. It is heading towards a peak of excellence, while the Tramuntana's has yet to even aspire to make base camp.
If there were to be a personality for the Tramuntana, who would it be? Who, for a global audience, has the substance that Miró has for Palma? There are few candidates. Not Ramon Llull because the world doesn't know him. Not the Archduke Louis Salvador because only German speakers are aware of him. Chopin (and George Sand)? No. A three-month only residence disqualifies both as does the dislike that they expressed for Mallorca. Which leaves?
Someone with a deep association with the mountains and affinity with the culture. Someone whose name goes around the world. Someone who assisted in even better known personalities coming to Mallorca - Ava Gardner, Orson Welles and others. Robert Graves is that someone.
Sunday, September 06, 2015
The Week Of Spirituality
Spirituality isn't solely about religion. Indeed it may not have anything to do with religion. It is an intangible sense of being which may be divorced from religion but which, nonetheless, has its roots in something that is other worldly.
I have heard much about Mallorcan spirituality in recent months. In assimilating what this means, I conclude that it is a mix of religion, of symbols of religiosity, philosophy and learning, of the land (especially the Tramuntana) and the strong vestiges of the past that remain, and also of a streak of irreverence, of mischievousness, of insularity.
The next few days, starting today, bring much of this together. This is a week which might be said to epitomise Mallorcan spirituality, which combines an essentially religious element with the land, philosophy and mischief-making through celebrations that are, with two out of three examples, specifically Mallorcan.
The one that is broader than Mallorca alone is the day of the Mare de Déu on 8 September. The birthdate of the Virgin Mary, it does, nevertheless, have a direct connection with Mallorca. For the birthdate to have been established in Catholic tradition there had to have been the dogma regarding the conception. This had to have been proved beyond doubt and thus embedded into the liturgy along with its own day. And one of those who was instrumental in this dogma was the Mallorcan Ramon Llull. The Immaculate Conception of 8 December thus gave birth, so to speak, to the birthdate: 8 September.
Llull, among the many other things for which he is noted, wrote the words of the Lament of the Virgin about the suffering of Christ. It is a text that in its musical form features at Lluc monastery in the Tramuntana, the spiritual land of Mallorca. In those mountains, Llull established his place of learning - Miramar in Valldemossa. The philosophy of the Immaculate Conception and events nine months later can be linked to the mountains of Mallorca.
The monastery is the focal point for the culmination for this week of spirituality. 12 September is the day of the Virgin of Lluc, Mallorca's patron saint. The pilgrimage to the monastery will involve some 10,000 people setting off in the early hours. And once at the monastery, the reverence will be for "La Moreneta", the Black Madonna, the image of the Virgin Mary with its legend of discovery by a shepherd boy (Lluc), who was the son of Muslims who had converted to Christianity.
The legend dates back to the thirteenth century, to a time when Llull was active and when Mallorca was learning about what is now its Catalan heritage. This legacy, it is fair to say, resides in the consciousness, the spirituality if you like of the collective Mallorcan experience. It is one of stability that came from conquest, which created a Mallorcan identity that hadn't truly existed previously.
But into this mix enters the less than reverential, the tradition of the island's "most typical procession", this evening's La Beata in Santa Margalida. As with the Virgin of Lluc, La Beata - Santa Catalina Tomàs - is Mallorca's own. The irreverence arose from the nature of the procession and the comedic antics of demons.
I was aware that Rafael Manso, the Bishop of Mallorca in 1849, had sought the banning of the procession on the grounds that it raised "serious disorders and offences against God" and that it provoked much laughter. It has now come to light that there was a ban - of three years before the bishop relented. The fact that there was a ban only serves to confirm that within the island's spirituality there is also an element of fun and of resistance. It's that island thing.
La Beata represented a spiritual extension to a different land of Mallorca, one away from the mountains and into its farming plain. The legend of Santa Catalina, and the narrative for the procession, involves poor farm workers. Agricultural past and heritage collide with saintliness and irreverence in Santa Margalida and create a specific branch line of Mallorcan spirituality.
I have heard much about Mallorcan spirituality in recent months. In assimilating what this means, I conclude that it is a mix of religion, of symbols of religiosity, philosophy and learning, of the land (especially the Tramuntana) and the strong vestiges of the past that remain, and also of a streak of irreverence, of mischievousness, of insularity.
The next few days, starting today, bring much of this together. This is a week which might be said to epitomise Mallorcan spirituality, which combines an essentially religious element with the land, philosophy and mischief-making through celebrations that are, with two out of three examples, specifically Mallorcan.
The one that is broader than Mallorca alone is the day of the Mare de Déu on 8 September. The birthdate of the Virgin Mary, it does, nevertheless, have a direct connection with Mallorca. For the birthdate to have been established in Catholic tradition there had to have been the dogma regarding the conception. This had to have been proved beyond doubt and thus embedded into the liturgy along with its own day. And one of those who was instrumental in this dogma was the Mallorcan Ramon Llull. The Immaculate Conception of 8 December thus gave birth, so to speak, to the birthdate: 8 September.
Llull, among the many other things for which he is noted, wrote the words of the Lament of the Virgin about the suffering of Christ. It is a text that in its musical form features at Lluc monastery in the Tramuntana, the spiritual land of Mallorca. In those mountains, Llull established his place of learning - Miramar in Valldemossa. The philosophy of the Immaculate Conception and events nine months later can be linked to the mountains of Mallorca.
The monastery is the focal point for the culmination for this week of spirituality. 12 September is the day of the Virgin of Lluc, Mallorca's patron saint. The pilgrimage to the monastery will involve some 10,000 people setting off in the early hours. And once at the monastery, the reverence will be for "La Moreneta", the Black Madonna, the image of the Virgin Mary with its legend of discovery by a shepherd boy (Lluc), who was the son of Muslims who had converted to Christianity.
The legend dates back to the thirteenth century, to a time when Llull was active and when Mallorca was learning about what is now its Catalan heritage. This legacy, it is fair to say, resides in the consciousness, the spirituality if you like of the collective Mallorcan experience. It is one of stability that came from conquest, which created a Mallorcan identity that hadn't truly existed previously.
But into this mix enters the less than reverential, the tradition of the island's "most typical procession", this evening's La Beata in Santa Margalida. As with the Virgin of Lluc, La Beata - Santa Catalina Tomàs - is Mallorca's own. The irreverence arose from the nature of the procession and the comedic antics of demons.
I was aware that Rafael Manso, the Bishop of Mallorca in 1849, had sought the banning of the procession on the grounds that it raised "serious disorders and offences against God" and that it provoked much laughter. It has now come to light that there was a ban - of three years before the bishop relented. The fact that there was a ban only serves to confirm that within the island's spirituality there is also an element of fun and of resistance. It's that island thing.
La Beata represented a spiritual extension to a different land of Mallorca, one away from the mountains and into its farming plain. The legend of Santa Catalina, and the narrative for the procession, involves poor farm workers. Agricultural past and heritage collide with saintliness and irreverence in Santa Margalida and create a specific branch line of Mallorcan spirituality.
Thursday, November 27, 2014
The Mountain Ant Of Mallorca
But care should be taken. I'm not about to suggest that one starts to hug an ant, but one should be aware of the precarious continued existence of one particular species. Extinction may be around the corner, which in entomological terms might normally mean thousands of years but which could be very much sooner for "lasius balearicus". This ant, which I shall refer to as L.B., has only recently been discovered, which makes its potential disappearance all the more disappointing. You go millions of years looking for a new species, only to find one that is on the point of becoming an ex-species. That's what one calls sod's law in the world of entomology I suppose.
Unless you happen to live on top of a mountain, you can be safe in the knowledge that L.B. isn't about to target your kitchen. L.B. is a mountain ant, and the higher the better, as it prefers cooler temperatures. It is only to be found on the higher peaks of the Tramuntana, which helps to explain why it had remained undiscovered for as long as it has been: roughly 1.5 million years. All that time ago, L.B. parted company with "lasius grandis", a species abundant on the mainland. High on a mountain, it formed its distinctive appearance. It is small even by ant standards, is hairy and has a yellowy-brown colour.
The discovery of L.B. has caused something of a sensation. Apart from anything else, it can truly be said to be an ant indigenous to the Balearics, one which evolved as it did because of isolation. It is an example of endemism, i.e. a species which is present in only a limited geographic area and which is part of a specific ecosystem that has undergone separate development. And up on the Tramuntana mountains is one such ecosystem.
The L.B. is metaphorically carrying a sandwich board proclaiming the end is nigh on account of two things. One, it rather foolishly doesn't like wooded or forested areas. Foolish? Yes, because forests would afford it some protection from the heat, which is point two. It has grown accustomed to a Mallorcan heat, but climate change and a rise in temperature would make this heat unbearable: hence, no more L.B.
It is researchers Gerard Talavera, Xavier Espadaler and Roger Vila who have reported the discovery of L.B. in the "Journal of Biogeography", though it would seem that they first unveiled the sensational news two years ago at a congress in Innsbruck. The researchers make the point that L.B.'s discovery shows that there is still biodiversity which remains undiscovered even in Europe and they add that the Tramuntana is an area which is rich in endemic species, not just L.B. but also, for example, the Mallorcan midwife toad, aka ferreret aka "alytes muletensis". They stress the importance of conserving natural habitats, such as those of the Tramuntana, in order that other species can be found before they also become extinct, though in the case of the L.B. there isn't, one would assume, a great deal of conservation that can be done if mother nature's heating system is turned up too high.
In a way it is perhaps surprising that there are discoveries to still be made in Europe. In some parts of the world it would be altogether less surprising, but this hasn't prevented six new species of so-called Dracula ants recently being found in Madagascar (they suck the blood of their young) or the mirror turtle ant being discovered in Brazil. It can apparently disguise itself by mimicking a different and aggressive ant and so get away with nicking its food.
As for the L.B. it doesn't go in for blood-sucking and doesn't have the need to infiltrate a rival ant's gang. It has more pressing concerns, i.e. a rise in temperature and its preference for rocky scrubland as opposed to cooler forest habitats. It has just been found but it might just also be on the point of being lost.
* My thanks to Simon Tow for pointing out the ant's discovery and to Xim Cerdá of the Doñana Biological Station for additional background information.
** Photo: Lasius balearicus, Gerard Talavera.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Anneke Finds Treasure: Tramuntana
The same size as Cornwall and three million tourists a year. Granted Cornwall isn't quite Clacton, but I'm sticking with my only way is the same size as Essex. Three million? Look, let's not be over-picky. This was 1984 after all, and we had to be merciful that our lives had not become dominated by Big Brother. Not then anyway. TV-land had yet to become the unreality of reality, and liberties applied. Helicopters could be flown. Blonde-haired presenters could run in pink jumpsuits followed by a cameraman with the lens trained on the backside of one particular presenter. Liberties were taken, but they were small liberties. Yes, Mallorca is roughly comparable in size to Cornwall but not as roughly comparable as Essex, and it was true that in 1984 there were three million tourists. And some more. Four million (at least) would have been more accurate.
This was "Treasure Hunt". In 1984 the treasure, for one episode, was to be found in Mallorca. It was ten years on from two great Mallorca moments in British television history - "Coronation Street" on holiday and the first ever "Wish You Were Here" with Judith and Jim chinking the champagne flutes on a pedalo in Magalluf - but in some respects it was light years away from both of these. The treasure had shifted from the goldmines of Palmanova and Magalluf to the mountains of the Tramuntana and the presentation had ceased to be coyly self-conscious. Because of her bottom, it is easy to overlook just how good Anneke Rice was. Dashing around in search of treasure and jumping in and out of a chopper, she could have been forgiven for not having consistently and endearingly worn a smile and for not having been able to improvise when mostly anyone else would have been so short of breath they wouldn't have been able to speak let alone have done some improv.
While Anneke represented a new breed of presenter, "Treasure Hunt" hadn't totally shaken off the stuffiness of the past. Kenneth Kendall, ex-schoolmaster, ex-Coldstream Guards and by then ex-news reader, was the studio-bound master of ceremonies whose delivery was pretty much like a news reader. Nowadays an equivalent of the homosexual Kenneth would have found camp innuendo in any exchange. Not Kenneth, though. "Are you ready with your instruments?" he enquired of Nettie, the studio adjudicator. "Let's hope for a smooth operation," responded Nettie, without any hint of an ooh-er missus from either of them.
The bookish Kenneth with a whole stack of books behind him introduced father-and-son team Patrick and Michael. Kenneth wished to know if Michael was enjoying his first year at Cambridge. Michael paused before saying, "yes, thank you." The politeness of both was overwhelming, but such was life thirty years ago, a life which included things like stacks of books. Perhaps the greatest curio of "Treasure Hunt" was that they relied on books. With no internet, all information about Mallorca was contained in a guide book. Several of them. The sight of Patrick, Michael and Kenneth poring over a map and texts didn't then and still doesn't make for great telly. The greatness lay with Anneke and the short travelogue she offered.
To the initiated of today, it would have been obvious where the hunt started. Sa Calobra. The clues would, for the most part, have been obvious too, as would have been the references. This was a treasure hunt to the Torre Picada above Sóller, to the town's tram, to the Archduke Louis Salvador's Son Marroig via the "I Claudius" of Graves and the "tir de fona" of slingshot competition, to the cell of Chopin and Sand in Valldemossa and finally to the manor house of La Granja. Knowledge was outweighed by lack of knowledge. Kenneth, as might have been expected, knew about Graves but didn't know about the Archduke. He was adept with the pronunciations. No one else was. "Val de Mozo?" asked Anneke, for whom the lingo was also a challenge. "Monsieur," she uttered several times on the tram. Tourists on the ground were of little use, apart from one who knew where Anneke's helicopter was when she seemed to have lost it.
But tourists there most definitely were. While Hilda Ogden had known how to spell Valldemossa ten years before, the mountains had in 1974 generally been a mystery to a tourist who confined him or herself to the beach and the bar. The new Mallorca of 1984, with an emphasis on its culture, was a deliberate development born out of social and political change, and "Treasure Hunt" reflected it. The views from the helicopter were stunning, Anneke marvelled at the rock formations. From Sa Calobra, across the sea by Sóller and to the buildings of Deya, Valldemossa and Esporles, she had found the treasure.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
A Short History Of Wind
Though the north-easterly occurs almost every afternoon, it is, and despite the variability of the shipping forecast, the southerlies which dominate in summer. The north-easterly is welcome. It may cause panic if it suddenly blows in and uproots beach umbrellas, it may be annoying in that it throws grains of sand and small pieces of beach detritus on to you, but it is cooling. If there were only southerlies and only African air, afternoons on the beach would be as stifling as they are inland, where the north-easterly rarely penetrates.
Mallorca is sun, sea and beach, but it is also wind. And not just one wind. The eight winds of the Mediterranean are so much a part of Mallorca's existence that they lend their titles to names of streets, to bars and restaurants and even to entire mountain ranges. The northerly tramuntana dominates in winter, along with its north-westerly neighbour, the mestral. The north-easterly gregal is less evident, but it blows nonetheless and can be cold and fierce, bringing with it rain and snow. In summer, it is more benign, more welcome. It lives up more to the summery implications of its meaning from the Latin "graegalis" - coming from Greece.
Though the summer gregal blows each day in the bay, it typically goes no further than the coast. Occasionally it can, if it has enough force. And if it does, the chances are that it encounters a different wind. Eight winds of the Mediterranean there are, but there is a ninth wind in Mallorca. Or different ninth winds, to be more accurate. The brisas marinas, the sea breezes peculiar to Mallorca. They have a collective name - embat - an atmospheric phenomenon caused by the contrasting daytime heat of the interior and the comparative coolness of the sea, which is both predictable and unpredictable. It can go in different directions and come from different coastal areas. Hence, there can be different winds - the brisas marinas - not just the one.
The eight winds, which in clockwise order starting with the tramuntana (the north wind) are gregal, llevant, xaloc, migjorn, llebeig (or garbi), ponent and mestral, were depicted in the "rose" of winds created by the father and son team of Abraham and Jehuda (aka Jafuda) Cresques in the latter part of the fourteenth century. The Cresques were responsible for the "Atlas Catalan", which is held in the French national library, and the rose was one aspect of this mediaeval cartographic masterpiece.
The Cresques were Mallorcan Jews. Jafuda certainly converted to Christianity, taking the name Jaume Riba, though Abraham probably didn't convert; the persecution of Jews in Mallorca was something that started after Abraham died. Their atlas, also known as a "mapamundi" (a map of the world as they knew it), was worked on from 1375. The Cresques received some payment from the Aragon crown for their work, but the atlas was donated to the French king, Charles VI, in 1381. It wasn't until the start of the nineteenth century that it was discovered, lurking unknown in the national library. While the map itself was of huge but seemingly unappreciated importance, the rose of the winds was also hugely important. Though the names on the Cresques' original were not identical to those of today, they bore a very strong resemblance, and the most significant of them was the tramuntana.
There has been much debate as to the origin of the name tramuntana. Its most likely origin was from the Latin "trans montes". Though it is said that it was first documented as an Italian word in the early sixteenth century, it most clearly wasn't. The Cresques used it, and Ramon Llull, the great Mallorcan polymath of the thirteenth century, also used a word that was very similar. Why, you might ask, is this important? Well, it is because the eight winds of the Mediterranean, as they are now known, are also sometimes referred to as the eight Catalan winds of the Mediterranean. In effect, the Cresques invented the "vents", the winds. Or certainly, they invented the tramuntana, no doubt borrowing from what was common usage that had probably been handed down from Llull.
So, when the wind blows in Mallorca, you should know that the winds aren't only part of the Mallorcan climate, they go very much deeper into Mallorcan existence. The winds, made in Mallorca.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Decisions on management of Tramuntana by the end of the year
The Council of Mallorca is looking to complete the process of handing over to private operators the running of two of the dry stone route refuges in the Tramuntana (those in Deià and Pollensa) by the end of the year. The privatisation will save the Council around 250,000 euros.
See more: Ultima Hora
See more: Ultima Hora
Sunday, December 16, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Tramuntana refuges receive 18,000 guests
The five refuges (hostels) on the dry stone route through the Tramuntana mountains will have received just over 18,000 guests by the end of the year. The annual cost of maintenance of the refuges has climbed to over one million euros, this cost being a principal reason why the Council of Mallorca wants to privatise two of them (one being in Pollensa).
See more: Ultima Hora
See more: Ultima Hora
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Pollensa's refuge to be privatised
It has taken several months to confirm but the Council of Mallorca has finally and officially set in motion the process to privatise two of the five refuges on the Tramuntana dry stone route, one in Deià, the other by the Roman bridge in Pollensa. The debt for running the refuges in 2011 was 600,000 euros, hence the decision to privatise. The services offered to walkers by the refuges will not be changed under the planned privatisation.
See more: Diario de Mallorca
See more: Diario de Mallorca
Monday, November 19, 2007
Show Me Round Your Snow Peaked Mountains
Snow. The recent snowfalls were, for Mallorca and for November, relatively heavy; they even inspired the BBC to announce that people were ski-ing on the island. Well yes, but don’t get any thoughts about Mallorca becoming a ski destination.
The surprise is perhaps that people express surprise that there is snow here. Among those who have never visited Mallorca, that is understandable but for those who have it is far less so. What after all are those bloody great big mounds forming a spine along the west of the island? The highest of the mountains - the Puig Mayor - is 1,445 metres.
It rarely snows that much and some winters hardly at all - last winter for instance. But it is far from uncommon to see whiteness on the tops of the Tramuntana range. Typically it does not snow below around 500 metres, but it can and does, though at sea level it is pretty freakish.
That surprise might be expressed does, I fancy, put the position of Mallorca’s mountains into perspective. Though summer visitors do indeed take trips into the mountains, were one to ask a selection of them to place the following in order of what they associate with Mallorca, see where mountains and mountain scenery would come - sun, sea, beaches, bars, mountains. I don’t think fifth would be far from inaccurate.
This all links back to what I have been saying about winter tourism and especially the marketing of the common perception of Mallorca as part of that winter tourism (or indeed marketing that seeks to alter that perception). The mountains do not form a part of that common perception, in my opinion. To try and market them as an aspect of winter tourism could probably only be as a supplementary item. The Tramuntana range is no Sierra Nevada. I have a brochure for the local equivalent of Air Miles. Among the offers in Spain, being marketed to a Spanish audience, are some mountain destinations - spas and hotels in Cantabria and above Valencia. Mallorca?
QUIZ
Yesterday - Dire Straits. Today’s title - a line from? Very famous group.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
The surprise is perhaps that people express surprise that there is snow here. Among those who have never visited Mallorca, that is understandable but for those who have it is far less so. What after all are those bloody great big mounds forming a spine along the west of the island? The highest of the mountains - the Puig Mayor - is 1,445 metres.
It rarely snows that much and some winters hardly at all - last winter for instance. But it is far from uncommon to see whiteness on the tops of the Tramuntana range. Typically it does not snow below around 500 metres, but it can and does, though at sea level it is pretty freakish.
That surprise might be expressed does, I fancy, put the position of Mallorca’s mountains into perspective. Though summer visitors do indeed take trips into the mountains, were one to ask a selection of them to place the following in order of what they associate with Mallorca, see where mountains and mountain scenery would come - sun, sea, beaches, bars, mountains. I don’t think fifth would be far from inaccurate.
This all links back to what I have been saying about winter tourism and especially the marketing of the common perception of Mallorca as part of that winter tourism (or indeed marketing that seeks to alter that perception). The mountains do not form a part of that common perception, in my opinion. To try and market them as an aspect of winter tourism could probably only be as a supplementary item. The Tramuntana range is no Sierra Nevada. I have a brochure for the local equivalent of Air Miles. Among the offers in Spain, being marketed to a Spanish audience, are some mountain destinations - spas and hotels in Cantabria and above Valencia. Mallorca?
QUIZ
Yesterday - Dire Straits. Today’s title - a line from? Very famous group.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
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