Tag Archives: walking Mallorca

Cycle (or walk?) this way…

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We had to go to town hall yesterday morning for ‘a bit of bureaucracy’ (there’s plenty of it for those of us who live in Spain) and, as we drove out of our gates, we spotted a pick-up truck at the corner of the lane, laden with wooden posts. Two workmen were pulling various bits of kit  off the back of the wagon, seemingly preparing for some action. Perhaps some work to a neighbour’s gate?

Curious, but fixed on our mission, we headed into town and thought nothing more about it. On our return, we found out what those posts were all about: our valley now seems to be part of an official walking route; the posts have been distributed along the way to guide walkers.

Walking signpost

Walk this way…

We’ve occasionally seen hikers in the lanes around us, kitted out with their rucksacks, hiking boots, and walking poles. Cyclists regularly challenge themselves on the steep lanes, heads down and leg muscles bulging with the effort. Once we saw a whole team of speed skaters, clad in brightly hued Lycra, whizzing down the lane past our house; like most of the cyclists who pass through the valley, I doubt that they spotted much of the countryside along the way…

Our valley is picturesque and peaceful and, if we didn’t live here, we’d love to come and walk the lanes too. It’s not surprising that our municipality decided to create an official walking route through such an unspoilt area. But I found it rather ironic that, on our return, we spotted some plastic water bottles discarded into the verge – exactly where we’d seen the workmen unloading their pick-up truck to install one of the posts.  Could they not have just slung the empties into the back of their wagon and disposed of them properly in town?

Littering the countryside

It’s enough to make my blood boil!

Rant over for now; I’m off to make some DIY ‘No litter’ signs…

POSTSCRIPT: A little subsequent research has revealed that the route through our valley is intended for cyclists, rather than walkers, and is part of a round-trip route of more than  40km. I’m not sure I’ll be trying that one on my trusty (or, more accurately, rusty) mountain bike… 

©Jan Edwards 2017

Finding Mallorca’s “loneliest area”

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The best-known walks and hikes on Mallorca are in the Serra de Tramuntana, but you don’t have to head to the magnificent mountains to enjoy great views and decent walks.

This morning began very windy but mild. The thermometer in the shade on the terrace was already registering 18 degrees C before breakfast, so we decided to brave the hoolie that was blowing and check out a walk we’d read about in a book I bought recently in Palma.

As we parked the car on the side of a quiet country road, near the small town of Sant Llorenç, the sun was shining out of a bright blue sky. It looked perfect, but for the trees waving from side to side like a swinging pendulum. I figured the few extra pounds gained over Christmas (which this year’s walking effort has not yet shifted) would act as a kind of ballast and stop me flying off like an umbrella-less Mary Poppins.

Old stone drinking troughs - a marker for the route

Old stone drinking troughs – a marker for the route

Our walk to the Muntanya de Calicant started on a dirt track leading up to a manor house with old stone drinking troughs beside it. Despite the fierce wind, a bonfire was burning in the garden – with nobody in sight anywhere it.

After a while we crossed a dried-up river bed and then began the more challenging part of the walk, as the path up to the Calicant mountain is pretty indistinct in places and, at times, we were pushing our way through long, almost pampas-like grass, to follow the path. It’s a really stony route and I recommend using walking poles. Actually, a machete for all the vegetation obscuring the route would have been useful…

Bucolic beauty

Bucolic beauty

Cairns to mark the route are not always obvious in such stony surroundings

Cairns to mark the route are not always obvious in such stony surroundings

The nearby mountain known as Es Telegraf

The nearby mountain known as Es Telegraf

Gone were the blue skies...

Gone were the blue skies…

"Humans! Didn't they see the weather forecast?"

“Humans! Didn’t they see the weather forecast?”

Our goal was the top of the Calicant mountain, from which we had read that the Bay of Alcúdia is visible, but we didn’t make it today. What had started as a beautiful spring-like (albeit very windy) day had turned into one threatening rain. Shortly after we reluctantly turned back – to avoid getting soaked – the rain began to fall.

Our book describes this as “one of the loneliest areas on the island” and we didn’t see any other people for the duration of the walk. They probably all have a better weather-forecasting app than we do…

©Jan Edwards 2017

Hiking New Year from rural Mallorca

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Walkers in Mallorca

A walkers’ coffee break by the Med

The Boss and I have started 2017 with plans to become regular walkers again. In the UK we lived close to the Cotswold countryside and Sundays were often spent striding through muddy fields and cool copses, trying to work out where we were supposed to be going. At the end of our walk we’d reward ourselves with lunch in a cosy pub or a hot drink and home-made cake in a traditional ‘ye olde tea shoppe’.

Since moving to Mallorca we’ve become less-frequent walkers, for a variety of reasons – none of which is related to the lack of English pubs and quaint tea shops on the island. In January 2015 (full of the usual good intentions at the start of a new year) we visited Lluc for a walk in the mountains. I had dragged my faithful Hawkshead walking boots from the back of the wardrobe, dusted them off, and reacquainted them with my feet. Alas, with every step I took in the mountains, a bit more of the soles turned to rubbery dust in my wake. I eventually hobbled – in sole-less boots – back to the car and we went for a drive instead.

Booted anew

About six weeks ago I finally got around to replacing my boots. But I did it in style, buying a sturdy pair from the renowned Mallorcan company Bestard, which was founded in 1940 in the small town of Lloseta. Mountaineers scale the scariest peaks in the world wearing this brand, so I’m confident they’ll be tough enough for our modest excursions. (I did the canny thing and bought mine at a discounted price from their shop at Festival Park Outlets).

My Christmas presents from The Boss included a pair of walking poles (highly recommended when walking in the mountains, on rough terrain, or the wilder areas of our own land). He unwrapped his own pair of Bestard walking boots. We wasted no time in trying out our new ‘toys’, notching up three decent walks in warm sunshine over the festive period. It’s hard to beat a fine-weather winter’s day for a good walk.

We’ve lived on Mallorca for 12 years and 2017 is the year we intend to discover more of the island’s renowned walking routes … taking our flask and cake rations with us, of course.

Es Calo

A walk to Es Calo on the Bay of Alcudia, with views to the Tramuntana

Mallorca woods walk

The walk above the coastline from Cala Molto near Cala Mesquida

Mountainous Mallorca

Puig Mayor in the Tramuntana mountains, from the walk around Cuber reservoir

The knowledge:

Keen walkers living on or visiting Mallorca may find the following of interest:

Mallorca Hiking Club – If you’d like to walk with a guided group (a great way to meet new people), check out the walks arranged by this Club.

Serra de Tramuntana – Here’s information about Mallorca’s magnificent mountain range, with its renowned GR221 hiking route.

The excellent book GR221 Mallorca Ruta de Pedra – published by Triangle Postals and available in English – is packed with useful information.

©Jan Edwards 2017