How long have you been visiting?

[graham]

Just out of interest, I wonder who is the longest serving visitor to PP.

We're relative newcomers. Just the past 21 years on and off! But I bet there are one or two of you who have been coming for much longer. So what are people's earliest memories?

 

[Sparky]

Been going to PP for 26 years, the beach was much smaller and Tamarells was just a bit of a shack. They had a jukebox and a fruit machine which was never put away at night and you rarely saw a burglar alarm.

 

[PeRu]

My first visit was 37 years ago. Just a week - but in thhat week the bug had bitten. It took a real hold on my second visit the following year. You all know the thing, just can't wait to go back.
Nowadays it's at least twice and three times a year as we have our own place.
Like so many other places it has expanded out of all proportion whilst retaining some of it's charm. Back then it wasn't overcrowded and was full of lovely people.

PeRu

 

[Linzzzz]

Been going to PP since 1980. Love the place.

 

[HelenMac]

I have been going for 33 years, with the exception of when my kids were born. I remember when cars were able to drive round the square, and there was no Bony's!!! I and my family love the place. I do agree that the planners shouldn't pull down any more old buildings and build new. We have some old pictures, which were produced in a local calendar some years ago framed in the living room, and absolutely love them.

 

[Gommar Goffer]

I've been coming to PP since the late 60s when I came with my parents and sister - nigh on 40 years!! We all loved the place so much that my father bought an apartment in Gommar in the mid 70s.

The seafront in front of Hotel Daina was still a road where the three bars- Cactus, Brisas and Iru had tables on both sides of the road but you paid more for drinks on the beach side!

Hire cars where virtually unheard of. My father hired an old Fiat 500 from the local garage.

 

[graham]

how long have you been visiting

Great replies. I don't suppose you have any old photos lurking in a collection somewhere?????

 

[JH02JLH]

Have you seen the old photos on the Photo section that were taken in the 1960s?

http://www.forum.puertopollensa.com/pollensa-photos/3862-photos-puerto-pollensa-1967-a.html

Fascinating to look at!

I've been visting since 1996, by the way!

 

[Gommar Goffer]

I must have loads of photos, but they are all slides and I have been meaning to get them scanned for ages. One day I will get round to it and post them on Fliker

 

[scotty]

I have been visiting for the past 11 years. No matter where else I travel to PP just has that certain magical pull that brings me back each year .

My first visit was in early May and the weather was not that kind .We stayed in the Bellamar apartments and due to budget at that time ate out every other night and cooked for the remainder . In spite of weather and money being tight I fell in love with the place and ialthough some of the changes that have taken place are not to my liking I still rate it as a very special place .

Scotty Lady

 

[Lorenzo]

We first went to Puerto Pollensa in 1984 - a mere 24 years ago - when Dad bought an apartment there. When we first heard about it in England we thought he was mad - that was until we saw the place & stayed there of course! Soon changed our minds after that!
I can also remember the road passing front of the Hotel Daina along the front.
Although a more recent change, we used to love to see the lovely trees growing up through the front of the Sis Pins Hotel. We also used to enjoy hearing old Lorenzo Valls on his motorised tricycle coming along the Pine Walk, shouting out 'helados'. That always used to make us smile and it's nice to see him from time to time still in the ice cream stand down by the port.
Other nostalgic thoughts - going into Colmado Mir and discovering the multitude of different food & drink items on display there. What an amazing store! One can only wonder what the quality of some of the bottles of wine must have been like on the upper floor in all that heat though.
I've often seen the owner, who has now retired, in Bar Neptuno with his wife. Had a good chat & drink with him last time and he certainly looks very well now that he's retired. I told him how much we'd enjoyed going into his shop over the years. A real emporium! I said I was pleased to see that the name 'Mir' still appears over the new Barclays Bank which has taken over the ground floor there. He said that he was pleased about that bit too. He mentioned that he had tried to sell the shop as a going concern but nobody wanted to take it up. In the end Barclays had been the only people to come in with an offer in the end.

 

[Alcanada]

My family have owned a place in PP since mid 1980s. I took it over recently simply because I have spent more time there than my siblings over the years and I keep going back.

Lorenzo clearly slipped some sort of charm potion into Mr Mir's cerveza That old boy was the grumpiest shop keeper I have ever encountered. And you needed to check you change every time you bought anything as well. If you pointed out to him that he had short changed you he would just shrug! But what an astonishing selection of alcoholic wares he had on display. It is to my eternal regret that I wasn't out there for the closing down sale Happy days...

I'm sure I read somewhere on this board that he owns a lot of properties in PP including some of the dreaded Tex Mex establishments

 

[CathB]

We are relative newcomers....been visiting since 1998 but have managed 2 or 3 visits each year for the last 4 years.

Just love it

 

[its cd]

First Visit

I came for a day trip 30 years ago when I was on my first foreign holiday with my then boyfriend. We were staying in Arenal - oh dear !

My recollection was that PP was a lovelly place but didnt have much going on

I returned to Majorca 5 years later on a family holiday with my parents, sister and nephew and again we visited PP for the day ........... I remember that more fondly, the road still went past the Daina, the place was still small and quiet ..,,,,,,,,, but lovelly

5 years later I was back to Majorca again with Mr CD, we went to Santa Ponsa ( Still young, still not learned ! ) ..... We came to PP again for a day , in fact we came twice ..... I remember thinking it was great, a bit more lively than I remembered the first time but Soooooo expensive ....... in Santa Ponsa we were living on chicken and chips for 300 pesetas !

5 years later, when our daughter was 8 months old, there was only 1 choice for our hols ............... and the rest is history .............. I imagine we have visited about 40 times since

Daughter can't imagine life without it and interestingly, the aforementioned nephew is now a strapping 30 year old who is also a PP addict

The place has certainly changed over the years and the pace of change is quickening of late ............ however, the essential charm has never gone away and interestingly I have a friend who came for the first time this year and she just cant stay away ............. so you see, our beloved PP still grabs people today in the same way as it has always done ............ and that's good to know

 

[Stocktonmackem]

I am pleased i read this thread because in the summer when i came to PP i argued with my husband that we had past through PP many years ago and that the road ran right along past the hotel Daina. Needless to say he was adamant that we hadnt. Guess who won. If only we had stopped maybe it wouldnt have taken us 20 odd years to discover its charm.

 

[beadnut]

Hmm. So far I can't see anyone that has been as long as I have. I first visited Puerto Pollensa 49 years ago (1961) with my grandparents, parents + 2 brothers. There was a feeling of having discovered it at that time. We returned almost every year for 15 years or so. Then I met my husband-to-be and we went together. Then 3 children came along and they went too, so they are 4th generation Puerto Pollensa fans. Within another 5 years or so i suspect there will be a 5th generation going.

We are just back from our July 2010 Puerto holiday with all the family and some friends. I suspect they get a little sick of me saying "I remember when......". Yes I have old photos, and recently we had 35mm film put onto DVD so I have some amazing shots.

• The Corb Mari being almost the end of the village
• the single track road outside Hotel Uyal, but piles of stones to make it double track
• Cart being pulled by donkey on the main road
• no sandy beach just the concrete piers into the sea
• Cala San Vincente with not a soul on the beach
  Hotel Uyal and Pollentia before they were extended

It is quite incredible how the village has grown over 50 years.

I'm not sure where best to upload them. Here? Flickr? I would love to share some of the shots, so I'll see what I can do.

 

[ragdollabbi]

We are most certainly a couple of 'newcomers' to Puerto Pollensa, having first visited Mallorca and Puerto Pollensa in October 2006. We were regulars to Menorca for about 15 years prior to that. We still love Menorca, although have not been there since July 2006....a 4 year break!!!! Since 2006 we have visited the Port 5 times so something must be drawing us back!! Our first impression was that it was 'nice' but not the same as Menorca, but I think that over the years (albeit only a few) it has certainly grown on us and at this minute in time I wish I was back. We were there in July and if flight prices would come down just a bit we just might think about returning in October. First time we visted it was a package (Flora Apts) but since then we have stayed in an apartment in Pinaret and love it. Anybody there just now.....have a drink at Illa D'or for me.....love it!!!

 

[Belladonna]

Wow! There should be some interesting photographic history. Definately upload onto flickr, and do a link on a post to get to them directly. Cant wait to see them!

 

[marilyn]

We started coming to PP in 1987 and have not missed a year since! Try other places as well but always come back "home" each year.
There is a great page on Facebook
FOTOS ANTIGUES DE POLLENÇA
which has lots of very old photos of the area. The person who set it up seems to welcome input from everyone.

 

[Belladonna]

You are right, and if you havent already come across the thread started by Lorenzo, click to it here, and there is a link to the facebook page on one of my posts;


http://www.forum.puertopollensa.com...photos-pollensa-puerto-pollensa-facebook.html