Kontakt
|
Newsletter Kontakt |
||||||
| Spots | Contests | People | Calendar | Forum | Links | ||
| Sk8Mag.de > Spots > Mallorca Street Spots |
Deutsch |
||||||
Text and photos by Michael Pfister.
I have been to Mallorca (Peguera) in 2004, September 3 to 17. I can only recommend going there this time of the year, the average temperature had been 29°–35°. I wouldn't recommend going there in July or August because I think it is simply too hot.
Beeing less than a two hour's flight from Nuremberg, I can only recommend Mallorca. You shouldn't pay attention to those RTL2 report: In my eyes even the notorious Ballermann wasn't worse than every normal beer garden in Germany. Besides, those "ugly" German or English corners are only a miniscule part of the island. The rest is unbelievable beautiful. There are beaches which compare favorably to the South Sea with warm, turquoise water together with a wide, level, white sand beach with palm trees in the background. You don't need more to relax. And then there is this mountain range which is superb for hiking and mountain biking. The island has beautiful small cities, good food and I was surprised by the moderate prices everywhere. What's more: Most of the people are really friendly.
I want to advise against the three water parks. They are nice but very but very expensive: 16 Euro entrance fee, 4 Euro for a couch, 3 Euro for a locker, 3 Euro for a hoop, 3 Euro for a Fanta, etc. This way you can spend very fast 50-70 Euro for two persons … For the first visit I highly recommend a rental car. Don't take the first offer at the air port or at the hotel but look at the place where you are staying and bargain. I payes unbelievable 234 Euro/12 days for an optically not absolutely new Daewoo Matiz and it didn't have neither servo nor air condition. On the other had this price meant only 19,50 Euro per day and Europcar or Avis charge at least twice as much. And you simply don't need more car than this. I happily invested the saved money in ice cream and fresh pineapple … *g*
OK, the three street spots in the first part of this travel report are well worth taking the board with you if you like skating street. Especially the two spots in Palma and in Inca are superb and compare very well to the legendary spots in e.g. Barcelona. What's more, a spanish skater told me that a skate park with obstacles is currently being bult in Palma near the soccer stadium and it shalle remain there for one year to see how it works out. And in Alcudia they are working on an indoor skate park which won't be very big but it should be completed soon. The rest of the spots in part 2 are standard ramps of different height, but always with the same radius and width. They always have a metal surface which can be problematic at 30° and sun shine. All in all I cannot recommend those spots only with reservation. I would bring my board only with me when living directly in the neighborhood of one of those mini ramps. They are not worth driving there.
BTW: There are two skate shops in Palma. One is located directly in the pedestrian area. It's named Devil, just ask for it, the people there know about it. Besides the skate shop there is a tattoo and piercing shop. There are many such shops in the center (I have counted eight of them) and I have noticed that many spaniards are tattoed and pierced.
The other shop, Switched People, is directly across from the Placa Sa Faxine which is probably the most well known street spot of Mallorca. It is directly at the road Avinguda de l'Argentina. Immediatly besides it there is an inline shop which sells mostly clothes but it also offers the most important stuff for inline skaters.
The skate park at Sa Faxina has several level which are all connected by different combinations of steps which are bordered by different ledges. Additionally there are concrete and marble benches, diverse gaps, curbs, etc. You can almost alway meet other skaters there. The best spots are always waxed. In any case, this is a great park well worth visiting.
The second killer spor is in Inca. This is the leather city of Mallorca located about half an hour from Palma and easily reachable via freeway. If a girl friend is accompanying you she will like the camper outlet store which has beautiful trendy shoes. You best leave her there and go skating at the following spot:)
It is directly in the center, the roof of an underground parking. It is a very spacy construction which is relatively new. It has banks in all variations, a set of steps, ledges and curbs. I have seen no skaters there but lots of the stuff is waxed so that you can assume that there is often a session going on. Sadly there is a lot of car traffic so that you can't skate there always or at every time. I would recommedn Sunday or Monday, since Monday is always some kind of holiday in Spain.
Last not least I describe a spot which is only interesting of you are living there or driving by it anyhow. You can find it only using a map. Coming from Pequera drive towards Palma. At a roundabout which leads in one direction towards Santa Ponsa take the other direction towards Calvia. After 150 meters there is a scheel on the tight side. Take the only possible exit and you will find a fun box on the right side and a street spot on the other side.
There is completely new building quarter with a big school, lots of greffitis and a strange, very high fun box. This fun box has transitions on all sides, but coping only on two of them. it is about 160 cm high and is placed on a slight slope. Well, there is nothing else, the area around the box is too small anyway so that you can't get enough start-up from anywhere. It is somehow weak-minded but maybe it's more an object of art. It looks really spacy, such a monster of a transition block directly near a school.
The other spot is a small place with benches, steps, curbs. Nothing special but OK if you happen to be there by chance.
Some remarks about the graffitis. It's really unbelievable how many graffities there are on this islands and of which extraordinary quality they are. Graffitis seem to be very hip there. I even saw a flyer about a graffiti contest in the skate shop and you find graffitis of the highest quality even in the back-country in the middle of nowhere. There are very impressive pieces of work at the most impossible and dangerous places which rival the work you can see in Amsterdam, London or Berlin.
Discussion about skate spots in the spots forum.