I am here in Mallorca to reacquaint myself with red clay and heat, but also to explore more of the island.

I trained one on Wednesday for 90 minutes, after which I went to pick up a Spanish SIM card (Vodafone, 20 euros for 145 GB, good all over Europe, for 28 days, renewable in increments of 5 euros). All you need is an unlocked phone with a physical sim slot (no iPhone 14s) and a passport. I got a cheap yoga mat for stretching (4 euros at Decathlon) and then went to Acampo, a HUGE store selling everything from washing machines and motor oil to dishes and towels to French pates, fresh fish and organic fruits and vegetables. It’s like an oversized Walmart combined with a Best Buy but with a much larger food section. There was Iberico ham, dozens of kinds of fresh fish and shellfish, lots of octopus (pulpo), entire aisles of canned fish, chocolate, organic foods, and sausages, a bakery, prepared foods, fresh pizza, half an aisle of tomatoes, lots of peppers too, giant leeks and more. I pretty much know where things are in the store but it still took me an hour to look at everything!

Yesterday I trained twice at Global Tennis Team (Jofre Porta). The kids here train really hard, twice a day for 90 minutes, lots of moving and generally a fitness session too. I trained twice yesterday and it was hard since I wasn’t used to the heat! In between sessions, I went back to Inca. For once I found a good parking spot!

I decided to find the laundromat which was in the town square and it was market day. Inca has a very large market on Thursdays from about 8-2. I found the laundromat which was not very large…only 3 machines, but one was open. After figuring out payment and adding my clothes (soap is dispersed with the water), I headed out to see the market. Around the church (the center or pretty much every town in Mallorca) were lots of fruit and vegetable stalls. One had huge “rosa” Mallorcan tomatoes and they looked so good I had to buy one. I was also on the lookout for olives and found the vendor. I got 200 grams of olives (just under half a pound) for about $2…delicious! There were lots of other produce items for sale…several varieties of tomatoes, some great looking strawberries, lots of lettuces (looking a bit wilted by 12:30 though), cucumbers galore and much more, along with a huge honey stall with lots of varieties of honey and honey with various nuts. Most of the other stalls I saw were of clothing, straw hats, and lots of leather goods, and Mallorcan baskets. There are restaurants lining the main square and lots of people were enjoying lunch. When my laundry was done I went back to my apartment and hung it to dry…it was so hot it was mostly dry within an hour.

Afiza at Global told me the a typical Mallorcan dish is Mallorca unsalted flat bread, avocado, tomato, anchovies from a jar (not a can) and perhaps a drizzle of olive oil. I tried recreating it with my tomato and a slightly underripe avocado and the anchovies (canned in a jar, not as strong as the tinned ones). I didn’t have Mallorcan bread but had a flat piece and it was great mainly due to the perfect tomato and the anchovies. I also added some olives to it.

Today, Friday, I trained once and am off now to visit a leather factory since Inca is the leather capital of Mallorca.