Joe Duggan (Reporter)
MICHELLE Obama has touched down in Mallorca – but without husband Barack.
The former First Lady is visiting the island as the guest of ex-US ambassador to Spain, James Costos and his husband Michael Smith.
It is the second time she has visited Palma, having stayed with King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia at Marivent palace in 2010.
Obama arrived in the dead of night at Son Sant Joan early on Tuesday amid heavy security, according to airport sources.
She is expected to stay with close friends Costos and Smith, who usually holiday in luxury Mallorca finca Ses Planes, a sanctuary for horses.
The farmyard is owned by Marieta Salas, with the nearest house – a finca owned by ex-King Juan Carlos’s cousin – a 15 minute drive away.
Salas is close with Marta Gayá, a friend of King Juan Carlos, was married to Prince Zourab Tchokotua and is one the most influential women on the island.
The visit is part of a summer holiday for Obama and is not being undertaken in an official capacity.
The Obamas have spent the summer in Martha’s Vineyard in the States, where they celebrated the former US president’s birthday on August 4.
