Finca Galatzó

Winter 2021 / 2022 is off to a good start. After a fairly rainy period, during which we visited the Dinosaur Tours Mallorca, the sun has been shining for weeks now. Yesterday it was slightly overcast, but a brilliant day to look for an outdoor activity with the kids.

Xenia, the best wife of all, had the idea of the Finca Galatzó.

So I drove there with the kids. The approach via Calvia and Es Capdellá is winding and beautiful. The last short stretch is not for people who are very attached to their car. No asphalt, lots of potholes. But that’s the price of country life …

Then we unpacked the bikes from the family wagon and off we went.

Finca Galatzó is an old agricultural estate that used to be farmed and was later made available to the public by the municipality. The farm tracks have been repurposed into hiking routes and, in some sections, can also be tackled by bike. But: In places there’s quite a bit of incline and lots of little stones—just as is customary here on Mallorca.

On the way to the manor house, you’ll also find one of the small storage huts where the tenants had to deposit their “tithe” to their feudal lord, as I believe it was called in Germany. That was the tenth part of the harvest that belonged to the owner in return for providing the land.

In the end, the old manor house appeared majestically. Conveniently, with an integrated chapel on the right-hand side. In the large forecourt, tables and benches are set up for a picnic; further out in front there’s a kind of small landscaped park that invites you to linger.

But the real attraction lies behind it and has an almost magical pull—especially, but not only, for children: a small animal enclosure. When we were there, there was only a very well-kept and quite friendly donkey hanging around, and it happily let itself be petted. A really friendly and cute donkey, even if the sentence sounds really weird…

So as not to forget culture entirely, we then took a closer look at the manor house. The stations of the more upscale rural life of the past are nicely presented and renovated. And there’s also a not-very-inviting coffee machine. So you’d better bring your own stuff …

The old olive mill with the (necessary) explanations and the old kitchen were great. That was probably just how real life was back then. Very hard, full of hardship. But not exactly packed with entertainment …

After that, we rode the bikes back to the car. And in a cloud of dust, headed toward civilization.

As a short outing, it’s absolutely suitable on foot even with smaller children. Strollers should be “off-road” capable. For smaller children, kids’ bikes depend on the little rascals’ skill and willpower—either leave them at home, or be prepared to put up with some grumbling on short sections. For older kids or adults, the hiking routes are probably much more interesting. I suspect they’re not really bike-suitable, but I haven’t been able to try that yet. If you know, please leave a comment about it!

We had fun; the landscape is absolutely amazing. Time flew by—we were outside and mostly in a good mood. From me, it gets 5 stars.

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