The Interior - Mallorca - page 261

Algaida
POP 5370 / ELEV 201M
Centred on a Gothic church, the Església de Sant Pere i Sant Pau , this quiet farming
community kicks up its heels for the Festes de Sant Honorat (16 January) and the Festa
de Sant Jaume (25 July). On both occasions, cossiers dance for an appreciative local
audience. The origins of the cossiers and their dances are disputed. A group of dancers
(six men and one woman), accompanied by a devil, perform various pieces that end in
defeat for the demon.
Algaida's main attraction lies 2.5km west on the Ma15. The Museu de Gordiola
( www.gordiola.com ; Carretera Palma-Manacor Km 19; 9am-7pm Mon-Sat, 9.30am-1.30pm Sun)
glassworks and museum, set in a mock-Gothic palace, has a factory area on the
ground floor where you can observe the glassmakers working from 9am to 1.30pm. Up-
stairs, the museum has a curious collection of glass items from around the world. The on-
site shop contains some lovely pieces amid the tack.
On Algaida's northern fringes, Ca'l Dimoni ( 971 66 50 35;
www.restaurantecaldimoni.com ; Carretera Vella de Manacor Km 21; mains €9-15; 8am-11pm Thu-
Tue) is rustic Mallorca through and through, with wood beams, chunky tables, cured saus-
ages hung from the rafters and an open fire where chefs sizzle up meaty mains. There's
always a good local buzz here, as well as heart-warming dishes like frit Mallorquí (a
lamb offal fry-up), caracoles (snails) and arròs brut (dirty rice).
Getting There & Away
Various buses heading from Palma to the east coast stop here (€2.35, 20 to 25 minutes).
The most regular service is the 490 Palma-Felanitx run (five to nine services daily).
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
SANTUARI DE NOSTRA SENYORA DE CURA
This gracious monastery (Puig de Randa; daily) stands atop the 548m hill of Puig
de Randa. Like most monasteries, it was built partly for defence purposes, though
supposedly the monks enjoyed the heavenly views, too. Ramon Llull lived here as a
hermit, praying in a cave (now closed to visitors). In the 16th century, the Estudi
General (university) in Palma created the Collegi de Gramàtica here, and for cen-
turies thereafter live-in students grappled with the complexities of Latin grammar,
rhetoric and other classical disciplines.