Brits ignore Magaluf's bye-laws and carry on 'lowering the tone'
Brits ignore Magaluf's bye-laws and carry on 'lowering the tone'
DESPITE attempts by Calvià town council to eradicate its beach resorts' reputations of cheap, boozy hedonism, the season has kicked off with British tourists plumbing new depths of unseemly behaviour – such as wandering around naked in public.
Two young British women were caught on camera with no clothes on whatsoever in daylight early in the morning on Magaluf's famous Punta Ballena strip, where most of the nightclubs and bars are based.
They were seen standing around chatting to two other women, who were fully clothed.
One of them was wearing nothing and not even carrying clothing, whilst another, who was carrying hers, wore only a very skimpy thong.
They were attracting wolf-whistles and lurid comments from young men nearby, but did not seem to be concerned by this.
It was only when they realised they were on camera that they became alarmed and walked off, one of them covering her rear end with her hands.
The footage was taken in front of Alex's Bar on the main street.
Calvià town hall says police are attempting to identify the women, who will be fined heavily if they are caught.
Theirs is not the only case of Brits giving a poor impression of their nation on holiday in the Balearics – last weekend, a massive drunken brawl broke out between England and Scotland fans during the World Cup qualifier match, which was being televised in bars in Magaluf, with Brits hurling chairs at each other and swearing.
Three men were arrested and fined.
Just a week ago, around 20 British men went for a 'skinny-dip' in the sea in Palmanova, a beach satellite hub like Magaluf which comes under Calvià's jurisdiction, and ran through the streets to and from the shore with no clothes on in the middle of the day.
One wore a T-shirt, but with his bottom half uncovered, and none of them made any attempt to conceal their modesty – despite their route taking them past a children’s park where several young kids got a full view.
They were all fined, and although they apologised and paid up immediately, the incident still left a sour taste in public authorities' mouths.
According to left-wing British tabloid The Mirror, Brits in Magaluf – dubbed 'Shagaluf' by tourists – have broken 109 bye-laws in place to keep the brakes on anti-social behaviour.
These include drinking alcohol, having sex, urinating, defecating or being naked in public places.
Regular visitors say they 'go there to get wasted' and even organisers of Magaluf's infamous pub-crawls just laugh at the rules, saying 'nothing has changed'.
Witnesses describe broken glass and pools of vomit on the pavements with unconscious British youngsters among them as early as 16.30, when the pub-crawls begin, and holidaymakers being loaded into ambulances in droves before dark practically every night.
Girls and boys are seen exposing themselves unashamedly, even in front of children, and nightclub DJs urge women to get up on stage and strip off.
Organised tours offer five hours of free bar drinks, shots and drinking games for just €24, and another excursion calls itself 'The Pass-Out Crawl', costing €30 and including free drinks all night for four hours, promising a night of 'partying hard until you pass out', according to The Mirror.
Young visitors boast of serial one-night stands with people whom they cannot remember afterwards because they are so drunk – which often take place on pavements – and dropping trousers and urinating in the middle of a crowded street is a common sight.
Although the new bye-laws have apparently made no difference to Brits' anti-social behaviour, authorities are still working hard to try to clean up Magaluf's and Palmanova's images, and locals, traders and residents – who include expats – have started a petition on Change.org calling for a ban on organised pub-crawls and booze-cruises.
But all is not lost for Magaluf and Palmanova – both are cheap destinations and very well-connected to the rest of the island by bus and road, and out of season are very quiet.
September to April is an ideal time to go to either, meaning very little money spent on flights and accommodation and a peaceful, safe base from which to explore Mallorca's unrivalled attractions – the caves of Drach and Ham, the artists' colony of Deià, the quaint village of Valldemossa where French author George Sands and Polish composer Frédéric Chopin famously spent a winter together, the chic, cosmopolitan city of Palma, and the beautiful, remote countryside with its hidden coves, pine forests and mountain passes.
