Last year we drove to France and did Eurocamp. With relatively little travel time we had a fab week away in September, although by then it was a little cooler which meant the pool was a bit chilly to hang out by/in. This year I had decided that a bit of sun was in order, and full of fabulous holiday memories from my childhood my mind was set on flying somewhere hot! (Had I known of course the weather plans for the UK, Cornwall would have more than sufficed!)
In my usual blasé style I thought we would wait and get a last minute deal, rather than proper planning and organising - ‘oh it will be fine she said...’ Several hundred stressful hours later searching online and stuck on the phone to Teletext holidays, and after just missing out on a deal to Fuerteventura we concluded that maybe a shorter flight time would be sensible so 7 days before we flew we clicked GO on a week in Majorca! Of course the next minute my anxiety demons flew in at full force- I can never pinpoint an actual reason for it (a bit more specific than booking a hol) which makes the process all the more frustrating and infuriating. I think that is all a whole other story for another time, but in short I got through the build up week and any remaining angst seemed to melt away about half way through the flight. I found myself a bit edgy on the first day but that was it = WIN for me.
Now the hero of the flight was Gordon The Express (off of Thomas The Tank)!! He came with a comic treat that I bought Ethan at the airport, and remained useful for most of the week! In fact no emergency screen time required at all for the whole journey! I couldn’t be more proud of Ethan for how he has behaved throughout the week, he has really been a joy (barr a couple of debatable afternoon nap times!!!) and I have cherished the time away with my boys.
By flying from Exeter we weren’t much more than an hours drive from home, and a 5pm departure meant no rushing in the silly hours. The whole flight process was pretty damn smooth and we were quickly on our transfer bus. As the last drop off we had a bit of a lengthy trip, and in the dark did begin to wander where on earth we were being taken too!.... A compulsory beer before crashing out sealed the day.
Despite the marvel of Tripadvisor you never really know where you will end up, but boy did we land on our feet. Hotel Exagon Park was down right lush. Set on the edge of the small resort of Ca’n Picafort (which we were yet to discover) and surrounded by pine forest we really couldn’t have been in better surroundings. Booked on a half board basis, we had a modest sized room however ample for us, with a balcony looking over the front of the hotel with a view of palm trees, a glimpse of the sea and the dramatic mountain in the background. While we weren’t looking for ‘Tesco value’ when we booked, we didn’t have a huge budget so really felt we’d stuck gold here and definitely got
incredible value for money. Maybe a last minute deal wasn't such a bad plan after all!
Our breakfast and dinner was buffet style, typical of all inclusive - we had struck gold again, as the selection was incredible with fresh cooking stations and something different every day. It does mean turning into a bit of a glut eating more than you usually would, but with so much to try.....! We never found the dining room over crowded, and we always managed to get a table on the outside terrace for dinner which made it even more lovely. All of the staff were lovely and friendly making us feel very welcome.
It didn't take us long to get out exploring. Barely a 5 minute walk along the river brought us to Son Baolo beach, where we could continue walking along the board walk past some beach cafes, or head up to some restaurants, shops and the bus stop. Continuing along the beach road (mostly pedestrianised) for another 10-20 minutes brought us to the resort centre complete with marina and more restaurants. There was a little train that stopped right outside our hotel that would do a loop of the resort every 30 minutes-ish. We took this one evening as far as it would go, and chose to eat out before slowly wandering back along the coast. Ethan fell asleep in his pushchair (we hired this from a company on the island which saved the effort of taking one on the plane, although later found out the hotel also had some for hire) which meant we could sit and have a night cap whilst listening to some live music.
Most days starting by lazing by the pool in the shade of the giant pine trees - I say “lazing”... more like tag-teaming between getting a sneaky couple of chapters in, and playing in the playground or riding the motorbike in the arcade!! The sun got fairly full on post lunch time so we attempted nap times which didn’t always go great with the stubborn child, but when we did get them it made for a much easier evening (and I was so ready to nap)!!! The pool was huge and lush. I'm not much of a swimmer but love to be in the water - particularly crystal clear aquamarine perfect temperature water! I take Ethan to a weekly swimming lesson which is more of a work out for me, so really loved my time in the water (although as good as my intentions were never made it to an aqua aerobics session)!!
We headed down to the beach one morning after breakfast to avoid the mid afternoon sun. Its nuts we live so close to the coast at home but Ethan has never really 'played' in the sand before. Most times on our beaches have been in winter rain suits and wellies! We paid for our loungers and parasol, which included 2x beers for an extra Euro - get in pre-midday drinking!! So the kid absolutely loved the sand and played literally for hours in the shade with his diggers and dumpers. He referred to it as 'his sand pit' and was COVERED in the stuff!! I had a couple of swims in the sea then we packed up and headed to a nearby bar for lunch, conveniently in time to watch the football.
Another morning we took the bus to the walled old town of Alcudia to visit the weekly market. The old town is enchanting with its narrow streets full of shops and tapas bars, although after a stroll around the stalls we ditched the heat and headed back for a dip in the pool. It was pretty busy for Ethan who was walking, and as we had visited Alcudia before for a long weekend (about 7 years previously) it didn't feel like we were missing anything.
Overall we had a super lovely week. A bit of a downer at the end was Ethan picking up a nasty throat infection which lead to a bit of a scary fever on our last night. I managed to borrow a thermometer from reception, and realising it was a bit more than over-heating had to call the doctor to save us. As panicked as we became the care we received was excellent, including that of the taxi driver that had to take Dean to nearby Alcudia at midnight to pick up the prescribed medication. These magic drugs brought his temperature right back down, and although running on little sleep we made our final breakfast together, and our transfer and flight home! Highly recommend this little corner of paradise that we found as well as travelling with a toddler!
Enjoying a snack by the pool A rare shot of the three of us
