The Cathedral-la-Seu in Palma de Majorca, in Majorca, the largest of Spain's Balearic Islands

 "The more ignoble I find life, the more strongly I react by contradiction, in humor and in an outburst of liberty and expansion."

-- Joan Miro
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(in the western Mediterranean Sea) Majorca, the largest of Spain's Balearic Islands, contains two mountainous regions, each about 50 miles (80 km) in length, occupying the western and eastern thirds of the island; the regions are separated by a lowland that terminates in Palma Bay on the south and Alcudia and Pollensa bays on the north. The rugged western mountains rise to 1,445 meters at Mayor Peak. Precipitous cliffs, often about 300 meters high, characterize much of the island's north coast, where varied landscapes include thick pine forests, olive groves, steep gullies, intensely terraced slopes, and fertile valleys. The less rugged hills in the southeast are known for their limestone caves and subterranean lakes. The central lowland is a rich agricultural zone with a two-tier cultivation; olives, figs, apricots, oranges, and almond trees form the upper tier, and the lower tier consists of cereals, alfalfa, and legumes. The island’s fairs and colorful ceremonies, its mountain scenery, the benign climate, and the island’s rich historical heritage attract lots of visitors each year.

+ Majorca is rich in prehistoric remains, notably rough chambered towers of stone, temples, and burial caves, among the most famous of which are those of San Vicente in the north, whose type and carvings indicate a close relationship to those of southern France, near Arles. At Valldemosa is the monastery where the French writer George Sand stayed and the Polish composer Frédéric Chopin wrote some of his finest mazurkas and preludes.

+ The island’s economy is based primarily on agricultural products and tourism, but stone quarries, superphosphate works, and light manufactures support some employment. There is regular air service from Palma, the provincial capital, to foreign cities. Many of the farming communities surrounding Palma have been displaced by hotels, and there has been a great demand for new housing, mainly for tourists. Most of Majorca’s population is concentrated in Palma and in the industrial towns of Inca, Manacor, and Felanitx.

+ The ever-popular star of the Mediterranean, Majorca has a sunny atmosphere thanks to its ravishing beaches, azure views, remote mountains, and soulful hill towns. For Miro, it was the pure Mediterranean light. For hikers and cyclists, it is the Serra de Tramuntana's limestone spires and bluffs. For others it is as fleeting as the almond blossom "snowing"on meadows in Spring, or the interior's vineyards in their Autumn mantle of gold. Wherever your journey takes you, Majorca never fails to seduce. Even among the tourist swarms of mid-August you can find pockets of silence -- trek to hilltop monasteries, pedal through honey-stone villages, sit under a night sky -- and engrave Mallorca's lyrical landscapes onto your long-term memory.

+ The Cathedral-la-Seu in Palma de Majorca: