Walking in Paradise

I've already been back in the UK about 10 days from the lovely walking holiday in Mallorca with my sister. We flew out separately, as we live 350 miles apart, and met at Palma Airport, but we flew back together so I could go back home with her for a few days and visit my Mum again, following her hip operation, and I've been back home just a week from there. The original plan had been to bring Mum back with me on the train but she isn't ready for that yet so I will drive up and bring her down in a few weeks' time.

The holiday was amazing. We booked a hostel in Soller, which my sister had spotted on a previous visit, and which turned out to be perfect - clean, comfortable, friendly, well located and incredibly cheap.

Hostal Nadal, Soller

My last and indeed, only, previous visit to the island was back in 1981, when I was teaching in Scotland and as part of a group of 4 staff and 30 teenagers  passed a very pleasant 10 days in a small resort on the east coast, so it had been a long time!

I had heard that the north coast was very beautiful, which it absolutely is, and an ex-colleague had told me about her regular walking holidays, based in Soller, giving easy access to the Tramuntana mountains, a network of signposted mule tracks through hills and olive groves, the coastal paths and beautiful villages like Deia and Fornalux.

We walked every day apart from Saturday, which we designated as a rest day to free up time to visit the lively Soller market in the morning and catch the tram down to Port de Soller to spend the afternoon and evening in some beach and bar time.

Port de Soller

On Sunday morning we undertook a modest walk to the Rotunda on the cliffs above Port de Soller before retiring for lunch at a harbourside restaurant and paying another visit to the beach. My sister assured me the sea was freezing when she ventured in for a dip. I whipped my toes in and back out and took her word for it!

The walking highlight of the trip for me was the Barranc de Binaraix, which is a walk taking a pathway built into a river gorge through the San Torrella mountain range. We decided to walk down, rather than up, and seeing how long and steep a climb up it, we didn't regret that decision at all! We took a local bus (we were very lucky to get on it as there are only a couple of buses a day and there was a huge scramble to board) which did all the climbing for us, up a corkscrew road through the mountains to the Cuber reservoir.

It was very cloudy when we arrived there, although it was blue and beautiful down below us, but this made the landscape even more dramatic.

The start of the walk

We could hear the sound of the bells around the sheets' necks and the bleating of goats. We even came across a herd of mules grazing by the reservoir.

The views were fantastic as we wended our way down the path, and although it was certainly easier on the lungs than climbing up would have been, the long descent took its toll on our calves, and mine ached for 4 or 5 days afterwards.

Of course, all this beauty and splendour would have been so much less enjoyable without the gorgeous sunshine, blue skies and seas and warmth, and this feels light years away given the cool, dull weather we are currently experiencing in the south east of England! Beam me back to Mallorca, Scottie!

One other little episode I wanted to share was our accidental discovery of a most beautiful Finca (a rural estate which has been converted into a hotel), which we stumbled over as we were walking along an old mule track. We came across a blackboard at the side of a gateway advertising freshly squeezed orange juice, coffee and cake for 7 euros, and we decided it would be rude not to take up the offer.

What we found was an absolute oasis of calm in a most beautiful setting, and we fell in love with it, so much so that we made sure that our walk the following day took us past there again. My new dream is to win a big prize on the premium bonds, book out the whole place for a week and take my family and friends. We did enquire about the price of a room and were told they come at between 300 and 500 euros each per night, so a biggish win will be required!

Mallorca is an island I hope to return to; there is so much to see and enjoy, particularly if you enjoy getting out onto the backroads among the olives, the lemon and oranges!

I have been so lucky in having been able to travel for 6 weeks this year so far, and I don't take for granted that this is one of the real perks of retirement. I'm also enjoying having the freedom to spend more time with my family in the north without having to measure out the days to fit in with annual leave considerations.