A restaurant that hides a genuine Maritime Museum

The man behind Es Mollet Ca na Marola has spent more than a decade assembling a remarkable collection of nautical objects that now amazes sailors, fishermen and visitors alike.

Some people inherit a seafaring tradition, while others discover it purely by chance. Tito Jordan belongs to the latter group. He was born in Ecuador, but for more than a decade he has devoted much of his time to finding, rescuing and preserving objects connected with traditional navigation. The result is a collection that has transformed the Ca na Marola restaurant, located by the sea in S’Estanyol, in southern Mallorca, into a small museum where every object has a story to tell.

Speaking on the programme Passion for the Sea, Tito explained that it all began with a simple idea: to decorate the restaurant he opened with his wife overlooking the sea.

“We decided to embark on this venture in 2014 and, being right in front of the sea, I thought: I need to find things to decorate the interior. Without realising it, I opened the door to the world of the internet, and I could never have imagined the world I was about to become immersed in.”

What began as a search for decorative items eventually developed into a genuine passion for maritime heritage. Each new acquisition sparked his curiosity about what might come next.

“Once you start researching, you discover that one thing leads to another, and then another. It never stops.”

Tito admits that he never intended to create a museum. His only aim was to give the restaurant a nautical atmosphere, but over time he realised that he was gathering objects of considerable historical value.

“My interest in maritime heritage arose as a consequence of seeing the entire collection displayed together.”

Today, the collection comprises dozens of objects associated with traditional navigation, including sextants, bearing compasses, beacons, an almost unique English compass, old nautical charts, fishing lanterns, pulleys, portholes and even a Spanish Navy uniform more than a century old that belonged to Palma’s 61st Brigade.

For its owner, however, the collection’s true value lies not only in the objects themselves, but also in the stories and memories they awaken in those who see them.

Over the years, the restaurant has witnessed countless emotional moments. Retired sailors, former fishermen and the children and grandchildren of seafarers have found memories they thought they had forgotten among its walls.

One of the stories Tito remembers most clearly involves a customer who looked at the collection and recalled the stories her father had told her about his voyages from Mallorca to Argentina during the Second World War.

“Seeing all the decorations reminded her that the ship carried a white cross so that it would not be attacked by the Germans.”

On another occasion, a former fisherman stopped in front of an old paraffin lamp and explained the origin of the stains that can still be seen on it.

“He told me that those stains dated back to when they used to heat food beside the lamp. When he told me that story, I thought: this lamp must never be touched again.”

For Tito, encounters such as these are the greatest reward.

“When someone walks into a restaurant, the experience should be gastronomic and affordable, but above all, it should be human.”

Every object also has its own adventure behind it before finally reaching the restaurant. Some pieces required years of patience and negotiation.

One example was a set of old lifesaving beacons. Tito spent years negotiating with their owner before eventually convincing him that they would become part of a collection open to the public.

“It is a beautiful object, about 1.40 metres tall, extremely heavy and made entirely of bronze. The owner told me, ‘I’ve been told I could ask as much as €5,000 for it.’ I replied that I could not afford to pay that much. A year went by, and I said, ‘Look, you haven’t sold it.’ He answered, ‘But I’m not going to let it go for €700.’ That was fine, so another year passed. I told him, ‘I don’t want to keep bothering you,’ but then he said, ‘I have to move to a smaller flat. It doesn’t have a lift, so I’ll let you have it for €1,000.’ I replied, ‘No, no, €700.’ In the end, after two years, I bought it.”

Other pieces arrived by chance, such as a weather station that had never been used and was still inside its original box, or a bronze compass repeater more than a metre tall, which he eventually acquired after several attempts.

Although food remains Ca na Marola’s main attraction, Tito acknowledges that many customers return because they are drawn to this small, improvised museum, which continues to grow one object at a time.

“I still become emotional whenever I look at each piece. Every one of them has a special detail; every one of them has a story.”

Without ever intending to do so, the man who once simply wanted to decorate a restaurant has become one of Mallorca’s leading promoters of its seafaring heritage. Ca na Marola is a place where, in addition to enjoying traditional home-style food, visitors can journey through decades of maritime history by discovering objects that have been brought back to life thanks to their owner’s curiosity, patience and passion.