Unreal Mallorca, 2017
Gosh, where to begin? Okay, let’s just start by saying that I actually never thought I’d like Mallorca. The first things that came to my mind when thinking of Mallorca were party animals, drunken jerks on the beach and bad taste in music. I mean, really bad music. Nothing more to it, really. Oh, had I been wrong!
The journey you’re about to read about changed my perspective. And I’m not only talking about the island itself here, it actually changed me as a person. You know, everybody carries around their own individual worries, fears and self-doubts, me included. We may not think about them all the time, but that doesn’t make them go away. On the daily basis, we see other people doing amazing stuff, living their „life goals“ and pursuing their dreams. As a logic consequence, we compare ourselves to them – maybe only subconsciously:
Why am I not living like this? Why am I not perfect? Why can’t I pursue my dreams and live the life I ever wanted? Why am I afraid of the future? Why am I afraid to fail? Why am I here and what is my purpose in life? Why is my work not as good as theirs? What do I do wrong? Why are they more successful than me? Why does their work, which is not even that good, get more recognised than mine, although I shed my skin and put my bones in it?
…
These questions sound familiar? Welcome to the club – You’re a human being!
Why am I writing all of this, when this post was originally supposed to be about my trip to Mallorca? Because I travelled with five awesome and talented fellow human beings and photographers (of which I only knew one personally – I know, crazy, right?) and in these four days we spent in Mallorca, we grew so close and although I left my olf self behind, I won five new friends and started to think about these questions more consciously.
You see, it wasn’t just a trip to take beautiful photos, it was a creative journey with lots of emotional input. Tami and Melli, who basically brought this project to life, spoke about fear and about ways to find your inner calm in such a personal way, that I was deeply touched by their words. What got stuck in my mind was the phrase
„To be afraid of fear is pointless. Fear is a decision. Fear is restricting. Fear is temporary – Regret is forever.“ (Tami)
Even as I’m writing this right now, my eyes start to fill with tears, because I once again realise how personal this journey was and that these words really spoke to me. I felt so addressed by them – almost as if God gave me a sign. This spot, right on this finca in Mallorca, was the place I was supposed to be in this moment, to hear these words. You know what I mean?
To face your fears and to start writing about yourself and your thoughts can be so hard. But it’s oh so worth it! Talking to the girls about everything, laughing, crying and letting loose by running aroung naked just set something free inside of me. Sounds cheesy, I know. But I don’t know how to describe it any other way. Along with Sandra, Rebecca and Kathrin, we spent unbelievably amazing days in Mallorca – you could say, it was UNREAL.
Together with Tami, I drove to the airport (very) early in the morning. After two hours of flying, renting cars and picking up the other three girls at the airport, we started our journey south to the lovely Finca Es Moli near Santanyi – and guys, we were BLOWN. AWAY! This finca was everything! It was SO huge and full of surprises – for example the pool, the beautiful open kitchen and living room, a hammok, an outdoor shower, an awning in the garden and a patio with a tower to overlook the whole area – could be worse! Also, Kerstin, the landlady the finca, is an amazing and adorable person – she popped the champagne corks right after we met her (literally)!
On our first day, we hiked to a hidden bay, Caló des Moro, and took a dive in the crystal clear turqouise water – all the exhaustion of the arrival were immediately forgotten and SO worth it (also, if you’re ever planning to visit this beach, make sure you’re wearing the right shoes – sandals are NOT the best choice here). On the way there we stumbled upon beautiful spots and took the chance to shoot each other.
Day 2 was all about exploring the beautiful spanish nature – I started in the morning and captures the first sunbeams fighting their way through the fog and after that, we went to a beautiful cactus park (I didn’t expect to fall in love with these plants, they always seemed so aggressive to me with their spikes).
The third day also began quite early for us, because we wanted to watch the sunrise above the area at a very old monastery. Funny enough, we didn’t know we could drive right up to the building – instead, we climbed the stairs up, which was very exhausting, but also very rewarding. It was truly a very special time for everything was quiet and the landscape awoke so gently and slowly right in front of our eyes.
Day 4, our last day on the island, we spent hanging out naked by the pool of our finca and enjoying our last moments of the journey by meditating and thinking about what makes us tick.
All in all, I couldn’t be happier to have set forth on this journey. What I learned is: GO YOUR OWN WAY & LEARN TO LOVE YOURSELF. I would’ve never thought that one could get to know and love each other so much in only four days (also, we hung out naked all the time, no shame here!) and I’m looking forward to our next trip together. I am so happy to be party of this awesome squad and I can’t wait to see what the girls will accomplish in the future!
I could write so much more about Mallorca, but for now, let’s let the images speak! Have fun!
