DAY 2 in Mallorca, we have an excursion to the “caves of drach”. I don’t really know what this is, but the name was so cool I couldn’t NOT book it. You know what I’m saying.
We booked this excursion through American Airlines Cruises, which has been our secret for years to racking up a gazillion miles. They have tons of excursions and often at a smaller price and with a smaller crowd. Good, yes?
Well, we’re learning some reasons why we should have just booked through Princess this time for excursions. In this instance, we got the “ticket’ from AA and it had directions to the pick up place. When you come in to port on a boat, it is very hard to tell where you actually are. I mean, you literally can’t see the shore, the city, the walking path…whatever…sometimes from your view on the boat. So, you have to make a quick decision. Do we just blindly walk out? Or, do we pay to go somewhere?
Now, in this case, we’d been into town the day before so we weren’t totally stupid. So, we walked off the boat and over to the taxi stand and tried to make sense of the walking directions on our ticket. We looked at the map on the bus stop. We stood there and looked around. Nothing made sense. Finally, we realized there wasn’t a good way to figure it out (and please remember we have no WiFi off boat, so we can’t google it) so we decided to take a cab. We walked over to the taxi line and showed the instructions to the next cab driver in line. He looked. He pondered. He asked another cabi. And then he said, “no.” Ok cool. Apparently, the meeting spot was, “just right there” (gestures to a 15 story building in the distance).
After another moment or two, we agreed that we would take the cab even though it was a short distance because we just needed to know we could get to the right spot in time. Off we went on about a 10 minute ride which cost us 8 euro. It was hilarious when we got out of the cab because we were right in front of a Tony Romas, the subpar American rib chain. Of all the places- why?? Ha! We had a few minutes so we popped into a little Spanish cafe staffed by an Asian family and Jason had a fabulous cup of coffee while we waited for the bus.
The bus arrived right on time but half the passengers did not so unfortunately, we ended up sitting on the bus for over an hour before everyone was accounted for and then the drive was an additional hour. The countryside was absolutely beautiful- chock full of lemons, oranges, olives, vineyards, sheep…it looked so untouched and perfect!
When we got to the entrance for the caves of drach, there were quite a few other tour buses and personal vehicles in the large parking lot. Everything has been so empty- I was hoping it wouldn’t be crowded in the cave. We were told it would take about an hour and to meet up with the bus when we were done. Ok, easy enough. And with that, we began descending down the stairs into the cave.
Almost immediately, we were in stalactites and stalagmites central! Holy cow! The cave was mostly an easy walk- decently wide pathways. Lots of stairs. No “easy” route. There were staff members frequently throughout who just quietly stood and observed. Everyone proceeded at their own pace and there was no talking or guide, per se.
Almost at the end, we came into a large section of the cave that had a small grouping of benches. We quietly all found a seat and waited. After a moment, a staffer came onto the mic and made a short announcement in 5 languages (Spanish, English, French, German, and possibly Italian). Basically, we were asked to stay seated and not to take any pictures or video.
Then, the lights all went out. The cave was dark and entirely silent. And then, from what felt like way far away, we started to see a tiny amount of light. And could begin to detect music. For the next 10 minutes, one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen and heard happened. Slowly, a row boat lit up with white lights, eased through the lake in the cave. Seated in it were 5 musicians playing classical music. 2 additional row boats followed just adding a little more light. The boats rowed silently passed us and eventually turned and came back for one more pass. Each part of the cave they rowed through came alive with music and lights- both just bouncing off the little nooks and crannies in the most magical of ways. I think my mouth just hung open the entire time and a few tears slid down my cheeks because it was just entirely magical.
After, we got to choose to take a boat out or walk. We wanted to take the boat initially, but we realized that was going to take a long time because everyone wanted to do that and there were 2 boats and neither was big. So, we walked out, which is to say UP out of the cave. Whew!
We had about 20 minutes before we needed to meet the bus and we were starving so Jason grabbed us a sandwich to share and a glass of some local red wine. The sandwich was clearly fresh baked “French” bread, prosciutto, and olive oil to drizzle over like a condiment. That’s it. And, it was so incredibly tasty. The wine was delicious, as well. I was ready for the long ride back and a chance to maybe take a little nap!
Our bus guide also spoke 4-5 languages and everything he said required repeating in all the languages. It was a nice refresh for my brain on my Spanish and German. As we raced back, trying to make up time because we were running late, the guide sprung into action and found a way to dump off the passengers who were all late in the morning at a different spot. He thought that would shave off time. We knew we were still going to be hours ahead of the onboard call time so we weren’t nervous but we were ready to get off the bus! 2 stops before ours, our guide stood up, shouted goodbye, and hopped off. Well. That was weird! And, we didn’t get to tip him! Anyone who has to speak 4-5 languages all day long deserves a tip.
We walked back to the ship. We realized why we didn’t think it was doable to walk in the morning - mostly because there was no sidewalks and you had to cross a bridge and a roundabout. But, it wasn’t too crowded so we made our way and it only took 10-15 minutes.
We were meeting the crew at 7 for drinks before dinner at 8 so I thought I had time to do a load of laundry. The machines are like large, commercial appliances so I decided we could do one massive load. Well. The dryer disagreed. I had to run everything through twice, which was annoying to me but even more annoying to the ladies all waiting on dryers. And, a pair of my underwear decided this was a great moment to unravel itself and tie everything else into a series of bizarre knots. I really enjoyed untying everything with my underwear strings in front of a crowd of grumpy women. But, I am known for always having a good time, right?
Fresh off the underwear debacle, I was back in the room before really noticing that Jason’s jeans, khaki pants and socks were actually not really dry. And, of course, the grumpy women were now using the dryers. Oops. I was sure hoping he had another pair of pants to wear to dinner that night. Turns out, he decided to try a new way to stay cool and he wore the damp khakis. Ha!
So, we get down to Vines and Richard and Siobhan rolled in. Shortly after, Debbie and Mike arrived- they are another Irish couple who have a home in California south of us and in Lake Como, Italy. And then, an English couple arrived to round out the group. We hadn’t met them yet, but I’m so glad we did. So, everyone else was “club class” meaning they were staying in a suite or have a high elite status on Princess, so they have access to a private dining room. They got clearance for us riff raff to go along with them. Interesting, it is the same as the main dining room menus, with a bonus option every night.
This group had me in absolute hysterics. I thoroughly love Irish and Bristish senses of humor. So dry and witty. One zinger after another. Plus, their natural phrases and timing gets me every time. I just laughed my head off the entire evening. One really funny thing is Siobhan realized she had been calling Jason the wrong name the day before. Somehow, we didn’t notice this. Apparently, she called him Jimmy. Or Justin. Or random J names. So, now she was just going to keep calling him Jimmy (Jim-uh with the Irish accent).
Afterward, a nightcap in Vines was called for so we all meandered over. At this point, I was dead tired so after a few moments, I was ready to leave. I gave Richard and Siobhan huge hugs. So sad to see them go already! Hopefully, our travels will reunite us next year somewhere in the world.
Oh wait - while we were in Vines, Kelly and Helaine showed up for their night caps. This is the couple from Mexico. Ok, they aren’t from there but they are currently retired(ish) and living there. In their words, she is a “new York Jew” and he is, “mostly from Miami.” Anyway, the guys got into a rowdy conversation about protecting ourselves from the “damned Chilean pickpockets” who, not only pick your pockets, but also squirt mustard on you or throw babies at you. Frankly, at this point, I hope I see a damned Chilean pickpocket because that sounds like a really good story to tell!! Anyway, Kelly let Jason know how to beat up a damned Chilean pickpocket and then offered to help. This is a dude in his later 70s, probably. Not someone you would think would want to get into a street brawl. But, hey, if it happens and we need a gang, we’ll take it.
At the end, I said, “Sorry, we have to go. We’re worn out.” This is funny to say as the youngest people by 2 decades. Anyway. Kelly yells out, “You need to get a man who can last longer.” I said, “Where can I find one?” His wife, Helaine, with all the New York Jewish accent you can imagine, screams out, “I wouldn’t know!!!”
Oh, my stomach hurts from the laughing.
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