Palma de Mallorca - In the past it was only hermits and monks who sought the solitude of the mountains of the Balearic island of Mallorca. Today, many monasteries are offering holidaymakers the opportunity to enjoy peace and quiet as well as an unbeatable view of the Mediterranean. From this perspective no=one would guess that Mallorca is also the island of throbbing nightclubs and packed beaches. This solitude comes at a price, however. The serpentine road leading up the 330-metre-high Puid de Maria near Pollenca gets progressively narrower the further you travel until you have to walk the last steep stretch. After about 20 minutes the enormous walls and ivy-covered entrance of the small cloister from the 14th century appear.
The cloister has a chapel and a fortified tower and has been home to several religious orders over the centuries. Step into the courtyard and you will be treated to a view over the bay of Pollenca and Cap de Formentor. The delicious aroma of paella wafts from the kitchen.
Many islanders come here at the weekend just to sample Toni's paella. Nuns no longer inhabit the cloister and together with his wife Cati he has been running the place on behalf of the church since 1988 as a kind of hotel.
A few guests stay every night to enjoy a glass of red wine in front of the open fire. The room is filled with the sound of crackling wood as it burns in the fireplace. Through the high windows the villages and tourist spots can be seen below, looking like small lights dotted around the coastline.
The atmosphere is one of complete seclusion and serenity. The nun's former cells are very small and sparely decorated. There are only communal bathrooms in the hallways and guests must bring their own towels. Room service, telephones and televisions don't exist.
In the distance can be seen the peninsula of Alcudia, the location for another cloister; Ermia de la Victoria. Over the centuries it was plundered many times by pirates which explains why the hermits who lived there decided to turn the cloister into a fortress.
Today, hikers and people looking for quiet are the only visitors to its secluded church. Twelve small, comfortable rooms have been built above the chapel. The "temporary hermits"must take care of their own needs except for breakfast. In the evenings some guests sit down in the churchyard and gaze out at the sunset with a view of the Bay of Pollenca. When night finally falls it gets quite lonely.
Another old cloister is Sant Salvador near Felanitx. It dates back to the 14th century and is perched upon a rock. Thanks to the five-kilometre-long serpentine road with a seven per cent gradient that leads to its gate, it is very popular with masochistic cyclists.
If you make it to the top of the 510-metre-high peak you can look out over the south-easterly part of the island. The cloister's modern rooms have very little to do with the monks' cells they once were and offer postcard-views down upon the surrounding countryside.
Guest rooms in Nostra Senyor de Cura cloister near Randa are just as modern. Visitors to the cloister come into contact with the monks who live here. Four Franciscans populate the cloister and are not afraid to speak to visitors - however, they are quite elderly. "We can't run the entire monastery on our own, which is why we have hired a hotelier to look after the accommodation and the restaurant for us," says the 73-year-old prior Jaime.
Hospitality has a long tradition in the cloister. In 1945 the monks opened a sanatorium for asthma sufferers. "There is always a light breeze up here, it's dry and at least four degrees cooler than below on the coast," says brother Jose Mendez.
The cloister offers painting and meditation courses. "Many students use the absolute quiet here to prepare for important exams." The cloister was built on the spot where philosopher and theologian Ramon Llull lived in seclusion in the 13th century. While on the mountain he wrote over 27,000 pages of text on religion and philosophy. Llull is regarded as the father of the Catalan language.
Mallorca's most well known cloister is Lluc near Escorca. With its souvenir stalls, restaurants, pharmacy and an ATM there is quite a commercial atmosphere here. The image of the Black Madonna housed here attracts several thousand pilgrims here every day in the summer.
But as soon as the last tourist buses have departed you can walk alone through the cloister's corridors and up the stone steps to the cross. If the monks did not leave their cells at 7 pm to attend mass in the Basilica you might be completely alone with the Black Madonna.
Among the other cloisters where visitors may stay overnight is Son Bleda between Soller and Deia and which is surrounded by almond, olive and lemon trees. The island's capital of Palma also has the convent of Missio which was founded in the 17th century and which has its own top chef in the form of Marc Fosh.
Internet: www.spain.info, www.illesbalears.es, www.lavictoriahotel.com, www.santsalvadorhotel.com, www.santuariodecura.com, www.lluc.net, www.sonbleda.com, www.conventdelamissio.com.
