Today the ABT technician was back to do the starboard stabilizer at 0900. The good news is that he was able to get the pin out and change the bearings with no problems. The bad news is that we have a small leak, so he wound up changing the cylinder. Let us remind you that this is the same side that we had the leak repaired in Turkey, and they repaired the leak by changing the cylinder. We are crossing our fingers that all is fixed for good. This person works full time for ABT, doing installation as well as repairs, as opposed to the guys in Turkey who were only contractors for ABT. We think this time the work was done right. Once again, all the work was covered under warranty and we didn’t pay a penny.

Yesterday we had spent some time searching for someone to fix our Simrad secondary autopilot, which started acting up in Fiji and stopped working properly in Thailand. We found someone who said they could come out today. Shortly after the ABT technician arrived, a Simrad technician arrived. It didn’t take him long to deduce the problem is due to a defective cable, which is an easy fix. They don’t have the cable in stock, but we were assured it would be shipped within a few days. It is also covered under warranty. Sweet.

By 1230, both technicians were done and gone. It had been windy and rainy all morning, but, to our delight, the rain stopped about the same time they left. We decided to spend the rest of the day sightseeing. We took the bus to the giant Cathedral. We could have walked, but it is a long walk. The closest bus stop on this line is actually several blocks away. As soon as we got off the bus, we knew we were in the historic old city, probably dating back to medieval times. This was definitely more in line with what we had expected Mallorca to look like. It is the usual narrow lanes and buildings packed tightly together. As we strolled along, we commented about how much it looks like the old cities in Sicily. Probably the Arab influence, we would imagine. The streets we walked through are primarily residential, with only a handful of businesses on the first floors. Pity. We were hoping to find a restaurant.

There was a restaurant right next door to the cathedral, so we got lunch there. We ordered paella, a traditional Spanish dish. Paella is saffron flavored rice served in what looks like a deep dish pizza pan. Mixed in are pieces of assorted meats, assorted seafood or a combo of both. We ordered a meat, which had pieces of chicken and rabbit, along with a small sprinkling of green beans, peas and bell pepper (capsicum), and what look like giant white beans. It was OK, though not great, which means this is only a so so restaurant. We have had awesome paella in San Diego, so we know it can be better than this.

On a side note, we have found that prices in restaurants are quite a bit lower than what we saw in the rest of Europe. And Mallorca is a resort town. Mainland Spain must be quite reasonable compared to the rest of Europe. Something we found interesting is that this restaurant has two sets of prices, one for interior seating and slightly higher for patio seating. We don’t think we’ve ever seen that before.

After we were done eating, we went into the Cathedral. The cathedral was started in 1230, just one year after Jaume I of Catalonia and Aragon had conquered the Arabs on the island of Mallorca. The town’s main mosque had been on the site and was torn down for the cathedral. A symbolic gesture. The building wasn’t completed until 1600. It was built in the Gothic style originally, though sections have had a facelift to modernize them.

The church is in the process of being refurbished, and we saw people on scaffolding outside working on it. It looks like the refurbishing is overdue. Like many old buildings we have seen all over Europe, there are plants growing on the roof and exterior walls. Not the small beginnings of a plant that have just started to grow, we’re talking good size, healthy plants that have probably been growing for a while. The plants on the roofs is yet another thing that we can’t remember if we have ever mentioned before. Every time we see them, it makes us realize just how powerful Mother Nature is. Left to her own devices, Mother Nature will turn that cathedral into a forest in no time.

Anyway, for sightseeing, you don’t go through the main entrance. Instead, you go in through a small door on the east side that leads into the museum attached to the church. The museum is only three rooms and has a modest size collection of extravagant things. It is the usual church museum display — big candelabras, sculptures ranging in size from figurines to small statues, a couple old book, some jewelry, and ceremony accoutrements such as incense burners and communion chalices. There is an outer courtyard with old tools hanging on the wall, presumably farm tools. We don’t even want to think about what else the Spanish church would use medieval style saws, pulleys and so forth for.

We entered into the main sanctuary. This is definitely the tallest church Christi has ever been in. It is reminiscent of Notre Dame in some ways. The construction is all limestone blocks, shaped into arches, pointed arches, and vaults all supported by pillars, so that a lot of the character of the church is in the unique and interesting architectural design rather than extensive decoration. The floors are marble, with decorative tombs inset into the floor. The main altar had a big scaffolding in front of it, so we couldn’t get a good look at it. We were kind of taken in by how many stories of scaffolding it took to get to the top. It is so many, we lost count.

Like Notre Dame, the main décor in the central part of the church are big, colorful stained glass windows that dominate all the walls. And, like Notre Dame, the side walls are lined with chapels, and each little chapels is decorated differently. Unlike Notre Dame, most of the chapels feature gigantic pieces of sculpture with painted art incorporated into them. Here are a couple of the chapels so you see what we mean.

One nave is different, though. It features modern art, something we have never seen a church before in our entire lives. The design is supposed to be an ocean, we think, and it is weird. The glass is painted black, deliberately painted to look like the paint is cracking. The walls are textured in a way to make them look like they are also cracking. The walls have some sea creatures painted on them, but they look ominous, like things that attack and eat you in horror films. There are designs carved into the walls, one that looks like a pile of skulls and a pile of writhing fish. Eric thinks it is really cool and impressive. Christi just couldn’t believe it.

We exited through the gift shop on the east side, then walked around to the west side of the church, the side which faces the bay. The exterior is attractive, graced by rows of spirals, and the setting is even more attractive. They built a small seawater lake underneath the cathedral, making it the only cathedral in the world that is reflected in the ocean. In this photo, you can see the bay behind the man made lake. There is also a small theater in between the lake and the stairs up to the cathedral.

The cathedral faces north, and directly opposite the entrance is the entrance to the Palau de l’Almudaina. It was a castle built by the Muslims that was converted into a palace for the Mallorcan monarchs at the end of the 13th century. King Juan Carlos uses it as a vacation home, and apparently really does visit every summer. Sometimes official functions are held there, but when the royal family isn’t in town and there are no functions, it is opened to tourists. We opted not to go in. We decided we’d rather wander around old town some more.

We walked by the palace and made a right turn onto Av. Antoni Maura. One of those red sightseeing busses was parked there and people were getting on. On the bus the words “ticket good for 24 hours” was painted in big letters. We hadn’t considered a tour bus because it was so late in the day, but if the ticket is good tomorrow, then why not? So we hopped on. We rode the whole loop, taking in all the sights and listening to the history and trivia. Like in Monaco, the audio is pre-recorded and you pick the language you want. And like Monaco, often the audio didn’t always line up with what you are actually passing by. The bus driver tried to keep the tape in sync with location, often stopping the tape suddenly if the bus was stopped in traffic. But the guy is busy driving, and keeping the audio in sync is a secondary concern. And, we felt like we actually learned a lot from this audio.

After we did the entire loop, we got off at the palace. We stopped at a nearby café for a snack. On the tour, they had mentioned a Mallorcan specialty pastry called ensaimada, so of course, we had to order one. You could get plain or chocolate covered. We picked chocolate covered. The pastry is very light and soft, so light that the dough seems to be mostly air. Maybe getting chocolate covered was a mistake, because all we tasted was chocolate and we are not sure what the pastry itself tastes like.

After our snack, we decided to head back. It was getting dark and too cold to stay out. We decided to walk back along the waterfront. It is pretty at night and walking kept us warmer than standing at a bus stop would have.

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