The Sunday Times April 24, 2022 5Travel Balearics
Ben modestly said
that, yes, he’d done a
little climbing beforewarm the bones after a long pandemic,
but also challenge and inspire.
Mallorca, thankfully, is a lot more
nuanced than I’d given it credit for. While
parts of the sandy south are indeed
blighted by crowded beaches, clubs and
ugly high-rises, you don’t have to go far
to find an altogether different side to
the island: there’s the craggy, imposing
Tramuntana mountains to the west and
north and set among these is the small
coastal village of Deia.
A former fishing town, its natural
beauty, cobbled roads and limestone
houses have long inspired arty types.
Here, planning laws are strictly adhered
to; it’s hard to find a single building out
of character.
Our base was La Residencia, an estate
that in the 18th century housed an order
of monks who owned the majority of Deia.
After decades in private hands, it was
turned into a luxury hotel in the 1980s
with each room individually decorated
with antiques. It attracted a loyal
following among the artists drawn to
Deia, and curated its own art and
sculpture collection.
We had interconnecting suites, with a
plunge pool, a terrace and huge windows
that we threw open to the spring sunshine
and warm breeze. The view, across Deia to
the mountains beyond, we agreed was
one of which you could never tire.I
t was an innocuous question — a
casual, conversation-starter asked
by our guide, Eduard, a ruggedly
charming Mallorquin, as we
followed him down a narrow path.
“So have you done any climbing before?”
My husband, Ben, with typically British
understatement, said: “Yes, a bit.” And he
might have got away with it, had it not
been for me, a wife consumed with a rush
of pride. “He’s actually climbed Everest,”
I said, enjoying Eduard’s look of surprise
and admiration.
“Really? To the top? Well, we’re
certainly going to have some fun
today then.”
I scrambled to point out that neither
myself nor our children had done much
climbing, but the damage had been done.
As we turned the bend and Eduard
pointed to a cliff, I wondered if I’d live
to regret my immodesty.
We were in Mallorca, the largest of
the Balearic islands. Naively, I’d always
considered it a party destination of
pounding nightclubs and tourists too
hungover to apply sun cream effectively.
That’s not the kind of holiday that
appeals to the Fogles, it’s fair to say. Ben
has been lucky enough to travel to more
unusual and remote corners of the world
than anyone else I know and the kids —
Ludo, 12, and 10-year-old Iona — have
inherited his travel restlessness. We
wanted a destination that wouldn’t just
The Fogles head to a coastal village in Mallorca that
offers the perfect blend of relaxation and adventure
DEIA
SEIZE THE
The La Residencia complex; a vulture, top; Cala Deia’s turquoise
water, above right; the Fogles tried coasteering, above and right Continued on page 6→TYSON SADLO/BELMOND; PIXELLIEBE/GETTY IMAGES; MARINA FOGLEThe Sunday Times April 24 , 20225