Searching for the gumball machine meant detours into all of the little villages and beach resorts south west around the bay of Palma. It was very quiet, obviously, but lots of places still had cafes open and Spanish people drinking coffee, wrapped up warm (still more fur). I thought I spotted a machine fairly early on, but - on a nudge from Kevin - kept quiet so that the mission could continue.
We wound our way onto the headland of Torrenova and parked up for a walk down many steps to a beautiful deserted bay (Cala Falcó), then halfway back up we went exploring along a little path all around the headland. Jemima loved it; she and Daddy led the way (Daddy between Jemima and the steep drop), and she was so excited about our intrepid path-finding "where no-one else has ever been before".
Back to the car, then another stop at steps down to Cala Vinyes - another pretty beach, surrounded by a slightly down-at-heel residential area with a big children's playground, which Jemima enjoyed. And we ventured into the ghost town of Magaluf - a lovely beach lined with empty apartment buildings, and shuttered Irish pubs, lap dancing clubs and Indian restaurants (there are a LOT of Indian restaurants round here, more than any other type by a mile). It was strangely peaceful, without a soul to be seen, but we enjoyed imagining the contrast come the summer months.
Finally, we felt it was time to achieve our mission, so we found our way back to that first gumball machine. Jemima was thrilled, and she and I both enjoyed putting the money in and turning the ratchet-y handle - more so than the actual gumballs, which were both disgusting, and a choking risk. But the Great Gumball Adventure had reached its happy conclusion, and we'd had a lovely afternoon exploring too.
Back at home, we dropped the car off then wandered back to our favourite pintxos stall at the marina Christmas market. It was much busier - Saturday early evening had brought out the crowds - but as now-regulars we were allocated one of the reserved tables. More amazing ham, mini burgers, fishy/crab mixture, plus wine (and some free Haribos for Jemima from the stall owner), all in the evening sun. It was to enjoy moments of sunshine like this that we decided on this trip; and it was wonderful.
Sunday dawned not so sunny. Rainy, in fact. So a trip to the giant supermarket was on the agenda, to stock up on vital missing items: a spatula, car seat and a scooter for Jemima amongst them. It was in the main shopping centre, Porto Pi, ten minutes from us - very much like any other shopping centre, except for the travelator-style ramp/escalators, so that you could take your supermarket trolley on them. Then, shopping done, and after our sushi lunch (the same chain as in the Bury St Edmunds' Waitrose, amusingly), it was time to take the new scooter for a spin.
Back to the marina, where the smooth jetties for the various yachts/ super-yachts/ mega-yachts were perfect scooting ground. Kevin had hurt his back just before we went out, so it fell to me to keep up with Jemima (preventing her scooting happily into the Mediterranean). The sun had come out, and the marina was full of Sunday lunchers and afternoon promenaders (around which we weaved). And then a final trip to our pintxos stall for dinner - this was the last day of the market, sadly. I told them we'd miss them.
And that was it - our first Mallorcan weekend. So far, so good - great, in fact. Better than we could have imagined. However, the real test of our trip's success would come tomorrow: Jemima's first day at her new school...
Cala Falcó
Cala Vinyes
All kitted out...
Our favourite stall!
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