Life in Cala D'Or Mallorca

My stay in Mallorca has been filled with memories with a bunch of people who I’ve met both in Patsy Fagan’s and outside. I wouldn’t say it’s been sleepless nights, it’s just been usually late nights of slumber for us. 

with the bunch (beside Ann)

The first few days we usually had Pauline and Chris with us, a couple from South West of Ireland. We’d usually lock the gates to the pub and still stay outside, having laughs and sharing stories till around 4 am in the morning. Apparently this was the case even before I arrived. I’d say that my memories of Patsy’s were filled with Pauline’s jokes and the early morning exchanges we had. On my first night, they had me take out the guitar and we just jammed whilst Pauline chose some tunes on the Irish song book, majority of which I’ve never heard before. There was a time that we chatted about “ducks”, pertaining to “frogs”, read..>> useless and heartbreaker men. Pauline said, “if it talks like a duck, walks like a duck and sounds like a duck, then it must be a duck.” Then she pucker her lips and make a unique sound. We’d all crack up laughing. I wasn’t successful in producing such sound until my last few days. Only Anne noticed. But yeah, they were such a lovely couple to hang out with. They said they’ll be back late October, when the islands a little bit quiet. She always reminded me that I’d have a place to stay if one day I decide to pass by her town, and perhaps set me up for some gigs. Along with Pauline and Chris’ company were 2 girls from France. Leslie’s part of 3 bands back home and joined me twice on stage. Her voice was so stunning, deep but full of volume. It was so great to have her, as we did a little bit of spontaneous harmonizing. We exchanged details and they told me that if ever I visit their town, I’d be more than welcome to join her for some gigs. 

One of the things I really liked about Fagan’s was the crowd. It was more family oriented which was one of the reasons why it appealed to me. There weren’t that much rowdy crowds nor noisy teenagers. Some do pass by but they wouldn’t usually stay long. They’d usually move on to the karaoke bars. That’s when I learned that British people had the reputation that they liked Karaoke on the island. Go Figure. 

signboard

There were late nights when we’d close up the bar around 5 am and head for bed. That only happened for 2-3 nights. Some of them were sleeping at 4 am, just because Anne and I would chat away through the morning. I recall only one instance when it was only Patty had a serious conversation going on with me at the patio. And that was till 4 am, with Anne. Oh yes, I remember that night. It was when Anne accompanied me to look for a certain person who owed me money. Yes, how stupid can I be to lend money just because the person was a fellow Filipino. I’ve learned my lesson. Adam and I had 2 moments when we head out, I guess after the 2nd one, that was it for me. I did apologize the following morning if I said or did anything stupid. I felt like I've embarrassed myself a lot. Mixing drinks, i.e. tequila + vodka + beer, has never been advisable anyways. It was unavoidable sometimes though, when the customers would buy me a drink. I’d just usually say yes rather than No, not wanting to offend anyone. But going towards my second week, I started drinking glasses of water trying so much to stay clear of alcohol. The heat was intense and I wanted to do a certain amount of cleansing at least. 

I would perform from 9-12 pm. Cala D’or rules included no noise pollution after midnight. Well, at least, not the vavaboom decibels annoying neighbours. Even though there were heaps of establishments, pubs, restaurants, there were still local occupants. Although, Patty did mention that the police can be a little bit biased with reprimanding pubs. If it was a Spanish owned place, they’d be more lenient. But because Anne and Patty were from Ireland, they’d immediately tell them off, which was what happened before. This goes to the history of the pub which they bought 6 years ago. Apparently, it took them 2 years before they could actually launch the place. Anne encountered a lot of hiccups with the place, more of starting it up with the water, etc. I found it that without the knowledge of the language can also be a little bit daunting. If you’re in a foreign country, I’d say immerse in the culture and befriend some people around. But in saying that, Anne was right, it’s sort of difficult to do that because some people can start gossips. 

It’s been 2 months since I’ve played the guitar. I left my Luna behind at Mum’s and the only instance that I had the chance to play a guitar was back at the Goodbye Lenin hostel in Zakopane and the one in Hostel Meteora, Greece. So imagine me, playing every night in Mallorca. The first few days meant sore finger tips, callouses reforming again. The guitar strings were a little bit rusty too, good thing they had a new set. However, it was still a different one. Now that I’ve been reunited with my Luna, I realized I’ve replaced the strings with something new, which lasted longer and didn’t hurt the fingertips as much. 

I had a long repertoire of songs, well for me it was long. But then I realized it wasn’t enough. Yonathan who was working in the restaurant across the street, did mention that I’ve been playing the same songs. Fair enough. I tried to learn a new song or two in the day, only if I had time. Patty placed a sticker on the big Patsy Fagan’s Irish Pub sign outside, it was green that read “Jowe on stage tonight, keyboards and guitar”. He asked me if that was okay and at first I told him I wasn’t used to having my name on signs. But eventually I said yes, I figured, nothing to lose anyway. 

There was hope that with a musician on stage, that people would be coming in. The business was a little bit in limbo and we had to recover expenses. It was quite difficult most especially it was at the end of a street, where people wouldn’t usually pass by unless they arrived from the train. In saying that, the train passengers only served to be advantageous during the day. That’s where the hut came in. A few months ago they put up a small hut that sold ice cream, milkshakes, sausages and drinks. That was Adam’s area. He would put up chairs outside, a big white umbrella and I told Patty to turn on some music to get the attention of passersby. There were high hopes that the hut would at least bring up ROI’s. 

with Mckenzie and Erin

In a way I was a little bit disappointed with myself coz I wasn’t able to draw a bunch of people. It was a little bit challenging. Some would listen from outside or some would even be bold enough to just lean on the arches and listen to a few songs. I’ve only known a few cover songs, but with the role that I had, I was supposed to play heaps of that. I was able to play a few of my cover songs too, but of course, it was best to make sure that the crowd can sing along. 

There were more families who would pass by with the kids. Mackenzie and Erin were successful enough to make me cry. They were the kids of Danielle and Daniel from England. After a few evenings of listening to me, Danielle their Mom, said that they’ve been singing my song “Freein’ My Mind”. That brought me to tears. And so on their second to last night, they sang it with me on stage, a night to remember for sure. 

McBrown Family

There was also Lee’s family, a Photographer from England, who came back now and then gain within the week. He’s been really nice on my last night, as he offered to pay me so would send him an mp3 of the song Freein’ My Mind. It seemed to be the favorite so far. We also had the chance to discuss about softwares for post processing Photography. Whist in England, I sent him my MP3 and have heard back from him. I was just told that its now included in the family’s fave list of music. 

Another group was Mary, Sean and Shay who would always go on holiday in Mallorca. For years they've been visiting the pub and last year when it wasn't open, they were a little bit disappointed. Mary was so sweet and I really liked her personality. The 2 boys were also so pleasant and easy to talk to. They're all from Ireland and I've been in contact with them even after. Sean requested a copy of the Freein' My Mind too, which I gladly sent over. 

Anne and Patty were okay with me going out after a night of music. They always said “make sure to have fun”. One of my realizations though was that I couldn’t drink alcohol every night… unlike when I was in College (Uni). I think there’s more room for a sensible conversation when sober. Besides, I was in an environment that was new to me. 

The beach was just a 5-minute walk from our place. One of my regrets was the fact that I haven’t gone

with Lee's family

swimming in Cala D’Or. Ironically, the only time I went for a swim was when we went a little bit further on one of my road trip moments with Anne. But then again, I was so burnt already when I was in Athens and Santorini. Last thing I wanted was to turn black. 

There were a few people I met around. One of the significant ones was Jose, a 40+ guy who was born French, but grew up in Spain and have been living on the island for so many years now. His fluency in English was impeccable but moreover, his accent. He was very eloquent with all of these 3 languages and I was just impressed. He’s been working at the internet café/restaurant which was just stone throw away from our place. I was supposed to be practicing Spanish with him, but we always ended up chatting in English. He had a 13-year old son who was on vacation with his grandparents over the summer. 

with Mary, Shay & Sean

I found it a little bit weird when people asked my age. Even Anne found it a little bit strange. Some of the neighbours would pass by and the old limping gentleman would ask me and say “muy linda” and in his Spanish say that I looked 19 years old. Yeah yeah. Must have been some eye problem or something. A lot of the customers asked my age too. Anne and I agreed to answer that I was 19… just for the fun of it. 

There were times when I’d help Patty with some of the stuff that he’s been doing. With the plan to convert the place to a Psychic Development house in winter, we had to clean up the patio on the second floor. Patty wasn’t supposed to be carrying heavy stuff, so I helped him bring down some of the chairs and blocks. He’s sort of a quiet gentleman with a few moods going on most especially when he had his mind busy on something. He was sort of an electronic genius, tinkering with something and usually hanging out in the basement where his main work area and tools were. He liked the typical Irish cuisine and we would agree on a fish meal. I rarely had the chance to talk to him, as one of his ear had problems. However, Id usually tell Anne that it was more of selective hearing because I’ve observed times when he’s hear clearly even though Anne was whispering. We’d just laugh when I blatantly blurted it out. There were times when the couple would have their own feats, but that’s a different story altogether. Patty was always set on his way, needless to say, he was very much used to the type of food he’d eat. Both of them told me about it, and yes, I did observe that too. Of course, there was no judgment from my part. 

Adam, on the other hand, was on a different stage of his life. More on the discoveries, learnings and well, a

with Adam

bit of partying too. I met his Polish friends, who he’s travelled with, hitch hiking around Europe. I didn’t quite have the chance to talk to them really in terms of lone meaningful conversations. I’d just walk away when they communed and started talking Polish. They had a few girls over too, one of which was Adam’s “girlfriend”. Adam, I found was smart and very inquisitive. He desired to learn and would have deep conversations with me and Anne. Both Anne and I were very much fond of him and I guess he was well aware of it too. I did enjoy the discussions I had with him. He wanted me to share my adventures on the road and perhaps learn a bit from my experience. At his age, there’s a certain desire to feed from an adrenaline rush. I can’t blame him. I was the same back then. He wanted to get into the renewable energy area, with the hope that he’d move to Melbourne, Australia and pursue that field. Civil Engineering wasn’t really his interest, though I noticed he was more into Astronomy and Technology. Hopefully by the time he gets home, he’d figure out what he wants to do. All in due time. 

Even way before, I’ve never been used to getting stared at by Men. I felt like I was either getting stripped off visually or I might be looking weird. Either of the two made me so uncomfortable. The thing was, on the island, I got stared at and sometimes got hit on. Anne knew that I detested it. Some girls would like it, but I just couldn’t bear the thought of it. I wouldn’t usually wear skimpy shorts and singlets, but because of the intense heat, I just felt more comfortable with that attire. I had a few bad memories of getting hit but I’ll leave it unexposed on this blog.

On Sundays, I’d go to the only church in CAla D’Or, and listen to a Spanish mass. It sort of reminded me of back home. For the 2 Sundays that I’ve been there, I’ve met 2 different Filipina ladies. One lived in Madrid and another one lived on the Island working part time.

During my free time I’d grab the chance to practice music or read a few things. I rarely do so though coz usually Anne and I would be off to something. On my second to last day I offered to help paint the other room, knowing that Petra, Anne’s friend, would be arriving soon. It was hard labor but I found it fun most especially with my ipod on. 

There was a time when I cooked dinner for them. I prepared my usual pineapple chicken mixed with herbs, a typical Filipino dish, though I add a little bit of my own signature on it. Anne loved the flavours and Adam was also delighted with my cooking. However, Patty wasn’t impressed at all, most especially coz it had chicken bones. He heated left overs of the previous night and kept silent after giving me the feedback. I wasn’t offended, I guess it was fine knowing that he was very much used to the Irish cuisine. 

Majority of my moments and memories were either of the stage, audience, road trips with Anne or conversations with Adam. Anne and I had so many rich conversations may it be day, night, on the road or in the car. And these I’d always cherish as my fond memories of Mallorca.