Majorca Mallorca

In this episode we sit down with Rafa Winckelmann , the driving force behind Fundació Handisport in Mallorca. He talks about the growth of adaptive sport on the island, how the foundation creates real access for people with physical, sensory and cognitive disabilities, and what it means to build a community where everyone can take part. Rafa shares stories from the athletes, the impact of outdoor activity on confidence and independence, and the challenges of running a project that relies on skilled instructors, specialist equipment and steady funding. It is a clear look at the work being done to make Mallorca a place where sport belongs to everybody.

This episode focuses on the mission and work of Fundació Handisport. Rafa Winckelmann talks through the origins of the foundation, the sports they offer, and the real world impact on participants and families. He discusses accessibility on the island, the importance of trained staff, and the emotional and social benefits of sport for people with disabilities. The conversation offers insight into how Mallorca can continue to grow as an inclusive and accessible destination.

This week Vicki is joined by her “events bestie” Nina Moons, the founder of The Calendar Mallorca, to talk about winter on the island, Christmas build up in Palma and how to make the most of the quieter season.

Nina shares what she has been up to lately, from local concerts and village fairs to family hikes, lazy lunches and discovering new boutique fitness and wellness spots. She and Vicki chat about the famous Palma Christmas lights switch on, the charm and chaos of the city centre that night, and how to navigate the Christmas markets, from Plaça Major to Passeig del Born and village fairs in places like Alaró.

They also dive into community, language and lifestyle. Nina explains how The Calendar Mallorca helps people plug into island life, why experiences make the best gifts, and how her own family is growing up multilingual and very outdoorsy. Expect lots of practical ideas for winter days, from cultural events and kids activities to cosy brunches, jazz nights and spa sessions.

• Winter rhythm on Mallorca after the summer season
• Palma Christmas lights switch on and how the city celebrates
• Christmas markets in Palma and in villages such as Alaró
• Why experiences make great Christmas gifts on the island
• How The Calendar Mallorca connects different communities and interests
• Raising multilingual children and family life in Mallorca
• Boutique gyms, wellness spots and ways to stay active in winter
• Comedy, theatre and live music as part of the off season scene

Event and lifestyle resources

• CHECK The Calendar Mallorca website https://thecalendarmallorca.com/ and Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/thecalendar.mallorca/ for weekly event listings.
• Palma Christmas lights switch on in November, an evening in the centre with street performers, music and the first big taste of the festive season.

Palma and village Christmas markets, especially:

• City centre markets around Plaça Major, La Rambla and Parc de la Mar
• Hotel and boutique markets, including Es Baluard and similar spaces
• Village markets, for example Alaró, with a strong community feel.

Wellness, fitness and language

• Rdy Studios in Palma, an indoor cycling and music focused spin studio with themed classes and community runs.
• Balu in Santa Catalina, a boutique Pilates and yoga studio that hosts creative community events.
• Haslap, a locally founded running app that lists runs, clubs and events across Mallorca.
• Spanish by Living (Tia’s Spanish speaking club), weekly conversation meet ups in Palma plus special activities such as hikes with lunch or boat trips, all aimed at helping people improve Spanish in real life settings.

Food, drink and going out

• Grun restaurants in Fornalutx and Deià, open all year with charcoal grilled dishes, fish of the day and family friendly options, ideal after a hike.
• Palma jazz lounge at Plaça de la Reina area, a small, intimate venue with live jazz and themed evenings, perfect after dinner.

Family and kids

• Palma Aquarium “Yo También” charity days, with reduced entry for residents, extra workshops and activities for children, and a donation from each ticket to a local children’s charity.
• Year round family hikes and nature time, especially around Deià, Fornalutx and Sóller, combined with lunch at local restaurants.

Wellness and spa

• Wild Spa sauna truck in the Sóller mountains, a mobile sauna experience with community sessions and private bookings, ideal for colder months.
• Infrared and recovery style sauna sessions in Palma, as a gentler alternative to traditional very hot saunas.

A conversation with two of Madrid’s leading English-language comedians. Xavi Jallois is from Chile, Abdullah Ozturk is from Turkey, and together they tour a split-hour stand-up show exploring what it means to arrive in Spain and feel like an outsider. They talk about learning to be funny in a new language, finding community in Madrid’s growing comedy scene, and why humour often begins where frustration lives. We also discuss touring logistics, small venues, audience differences across the country, and the joy of shared laughter when you have lived between cultures.

Included:

• How the show We Are Not From Here began

• The Madrid Comedy Lab scene

• Performing comedy in your second or third language

• What it feels like to be new, foreign or misplaced

• Turning culture shock into material

• Touring across Spain and audience reactions

• Xavi Jallois on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xavi_jallois/

• Abdullah Ozturk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benabdullahozturk/

• Madrid Comedy Lab https://www.instagram.com/madridcomedylab/

If you enjoy the episode, share it with someone who has ever felt like an outsider.

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You can email us at [email protected]

Food lover and broadcaster Jan Edwards returns to talk winter on the island: staying at La Residencia in Deià, why Peccata Minuta is worth tracking down, the tapas trail TaPalma, Port Adriano’s Food Passion weekends, and a clutch of great value places from Palma to Felanitx and Son Ferrer. Expect practical tips, price-savvy picks, and how to actually find out what is on.

A birthday stay at La Residencia, Deià. What makes the service special, Miró artworks, and choosing between El Olivo’s tasting menus and Restaurante Miró’s à la carte.

Quiet-season culture in Deià and why small exhibitions and concerts are part of the charm.

Peccata Minuta by Chefs(in): how the token system works, why it draws local food lovers, and how to keep an eye out for dates.

Inca in autumn: cloister venues, fairs and why the train beats driving on big festival days such as Dijous Bo.

How to navigate TaPalma when information is sparse, plus the case for neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood routes.

Port Adriano’s Food Passion weekends in November and why fixed-price menus help you try new kitchens.

Palma fine dining: Izakaya and the “date-night” test.

Finding out what is on: The Calendar Mallorca for daily listings, SóllerWeb for Sóller valley updates.

Seasonal chat: Thanksgiving options, the challenge of booking Christmas lunch in Mallorca, and why private chefs can be a smart solution.

La Residencia, A Belmond Hotel, Deià — belmond.com/hotels/europe/mallorca/deia/belmond-la-residencia

El Olivo and Restaurante Miró — Dining at La Residencia

Chefs(in) Mallorca — Peccata Minuta — chefsins.com/peccataminuta

TaPalma tapas route — tapalma.com

Port Adriano Food Passion (weekend set menus in November) — portadriano.com/en/events/food-passion-port-adriano

Izakaya High Japanese Cuisine, Palma — izakayamallorca.com

Asador La Cumbrecita, Son Ferrer — facebook.com/asadorlacumbrecita

Protur Naisa Palma, cafeteria set lunch — proturnaisapalma.com/gastronomia

Estragon La Plaça, Felanitx — restaurant-estragon.com

PAX Gastrobar, Felanitx — pax-gastrobar.com

Batec Restaurant, Felanitx — batecrestaurant.com

Son Bascós, Montuïri (quail and grill) — sonbascos.com

The Calendar Mallorca — thecalendarmallorca.com

SóllerWeb — sollerweb.com

Shirley Roberts is a beloved voice in the Sóller Valley, known for her daily letters and meticulous fact finding on SóllerWeb. In this conversation we look at social inclusion in Mallorca’s cultural scene. Why was the Rocky Horror Show playing to half empty rows in Palma. What could venues do to fill seats without alienating paying audiences. We discuss tried and tested theatre tools such as papering the house, community partnerships and using the back rows first, plus the value of pay-what-you-can concerts that still fairly compensate artists.

Shirley also paints a vivid picture of autumn life in Sóller. Tardeo at the covered market, free jazz in the Escorxador cultural centre, the annual buñols, All Saints, winter opening patterns, young drummers in parades, and the new children’s Firo. We touch on cyclists, car park debates and drainage aggregates, bonfire smoke inversions, and the wave of older newcomers choosing Mallorca for its social fabric as much as its climate.

It is a generous, grounded hour about belonging, access, and keeping local culture alive all year.

00:00 Intro and mic-check chaos

02:0 Who is Shirley Roberts and SóllerWeb

06:10 Empty seats and pricing. Papering the house 101

13:45 Pay-what-you-can concerts and artist pay

18:40 Autumn in Sóller. Market tardeo and free culture

24:10 Hotels, seasonality and what stays open

28:55 Car parks, aggregates and drainage gripes

33:30 Cyclists, courtesy and living together

39:20 Teachers as culture makers and role models

44:15 Children’s Firo and young drummers

49:00 Bonfire season and air quality concerns

53:20 Buñols, All Saints and street life

57:00 Inclusion ideas and next steps

59:30 Wrap up and December previewSó

• Covered market tardeo, live music and family-friendly afternoons.
• Free or donation-based concerts at local cultural centres.
• What typically closes in November and who stays open through winter.
• Culture and community
• Teachers as the bridge into arts and sport.
• Children’s Firo, young parade drummers and keeping traditions alive.
• Car park expansion, aggregate choice and drainage.
• Cyclists, courtesy and seasonal rhythms.
• Bonfire smoke inversions and health concerns.
• Food and folklore Buñols for All Saints, why October feels like Mallorca’s best month.

SóllerWeb (events and local info): https://www.sollerweb.com/

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You can email MM on [email protected]

In this episode we sit down with Berlin gallerist Johann Nowak, the driving force behind Art District Palma in La Soledad. Johann has spent the past few years acquiring former workshops and houses in this overlooked neighbourhood, and transforming them into a growing cluster of galleries, studios, bakeries, and public cultural spaces.

We talk about how he first discovered La Soledad, why the area’s everyday life matters just as much as the art, and the importance of keeping the neighbourhood accessible to locals rather than shaping it into a tourist zone. Johann shares the long-term philosophy behind building a cultural district: patience, infrastructure, and meaningful relationships between artists, curators and communities.

We also hear stories from the street paella festivals, the independent radio station broadcasting from the barrio, and the early days of Berlin-Mitte that helped shape Johann’s approach. This is a conversation about art as community, place-making, and the slow, deliberate work of bringing something new to life in Palma.

Visit artdistrictpalma.com

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You can email MM on [email protected]

Sign up for our free newsletter here. https://majorca-mallorca.es

Mallorca Insider Mia Naprta on food, parties and local flavours

Mia Naprta is a food, culture and lifestyle columnist based in Mallorca, originally from Croatia. She writes for publications including Mallorca Bulletin, Última Hora and The Islander Magazine, and shares regular updates on Instagram under @mianaprta.

In this episode we cover her recent holiday in Greece, where that enviable tan came from, her take on the end-of-season party scene in Mallorca, her favourite value lunch spots, and how local Mallorcan cuisine is evolving.

Mia’s break in Greece — what she did, how it compared to Mallorca.

The party season in Mallorca: multiple venues in one night, what it’s really like, and the old-school insider access (Lamborghinis welcome!).

The food scene:

• Value menus (“menú del día”) and the shift towards more cost-conscious dining.
• The value vs glamour of gourmet burgers.
• Local Mallorcan food (mallorquín cuisine) vs the international expectation of paella everywhere.

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You can email MM on [email protected]

From Reykjavík to Palma: Reginn Tumi Kolbeinsson is reshaping Mallorca’s creative scene with fearless theatre that asks the big questions: identity, belonging, and the human condition.

In this episode of the Majorca Mallorca Podcast, we talk with Icelandic playwright and director Reginn Tumi Kolbeinsson, a creative force who has made Mallorca his stage.

Reginn shares his journey from Iceland to the island, his love for storytelling that pushes boundaries, and his latest productions that challenge audiences to think differently about culture, connection, and emotion. We discuss the evolution of the theatre scene in Mallorca, the importance of creating original work in English, and how island life fuels his creativity.

This is a fascinating conversation about art, community, and courage and what it really takes to bring bold theatre to a Mediterranean audience.

🎧 Tune in for insight, inspiration, and a glimpse behind the curtain of Mallorca’s emerging performing arts scene.

Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

🎙 Majorca Mallorca — the sound of the island.

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You can email MM on [email protected]

Legendary DJ Des Mitchell has sound-tracked Mallorca for decades, from the golden age of Magaluf and BCM to his residencies that defined the island’s nightlife. In this episode, Des talks about the highs, the near-misses, and the passion that’s kept him behind the decks long after the lights come up. A conversation full of rhythm, humour, and heart from one of Mallorca’s best-loved entertainers.

If you’ve danced anywhere on the island in the last 30 years, chances are DJ Des Mitchell was behind the decks. From his early days on British radio to becoming a household name in Mallorca, Des’s story is built on community, connection, and an undeniable love for music.

In this episode, he joins Vicki McLeod in the studio to talk about:

🎧 How he first arrived in Mallorca and became part of the island’s nightlife history

🏝 His favourite memories from the glory days of BCM, and beyond

🎵 The new generation of DJs carrying the sound of the island forward

Funny, open, and unmistakably real, Des Mitchell is more than a DJ, he’s a storyteller with a soundtrack.

Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

🎙 Majorca Mallorca — the sound of the island.

Please follow Majorca Mallorca on Social Media:

FACEBOOK PAGE https://www.facebook.com/MajorcaMallorca.es

FACEBOOK GROUP https://www.facebook.com/groups/MajorcaMallorca

INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/majorcamallorcapodcast/

You can email MM on [email protected]

Meet our newest Mallorca Insider, Erica Lay — veteran crew agent and author of Superyacht Life: How to Start, Succeed and Stay Sane. Erica lifts the lid on the real superyacht industry in Mallorca: what counts as a superyacht, why TV shows like Below Deck skew expectations, and how hiring really works for deck, interior and engineering roles. We cover the starter essentials (ENG1 medicals, STCW modules, dock-walking), realistic entry salaries and seasons, plus the culture on board — tiny cabins, long hours, big teamwork — and why mental health, boundaries and diversity matter at sea. Erica shares straight-talking advice for “green crew”, what captains actually look for, and how women are carving paths on deck and in the wheelhouse.

Got questions for a follow-up Q&A with Erica? Send them in and we’ll put them to her on air. Sign up for our free newsletter here. https://majorca-mallorca.es

Please follow Majorca Mallorca on Social Media:

FACEBOOK PAGE https://www.facebook.com/MajorcaMallorca.es

FACEBOOK GROUP https://www.facebook.com/groups/MajorcaMallorca

INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/majorcamallorcapodcast/

You can email MM on [email protected]