After 3 attempts I am finally on my way to walking the Tramuntana mountain range in Mallorca. This is at the top of my bucket list and has been a dream for many years. I’ll be flying out tomorrow with literally everything I can imagine I might possibly need for a week of walking in the mountains. My vague worries are anything hurting, needing a poo when I’m out walking and whether the people I will joining are nice and whether I’ll hold everyone up. Let’s see what happens …
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There is something about Mallorca that sits very deep in my heart. I can’t put the feeling into words other than I simply love the place. I have visited Port de Pollensa many times since I was a little girl, too young to remember the first time. It is linked to spending time with my dad, time that was often spent tramping through marshes looking for rare wading birds. I guess it helps me to feel a bit closer to him.
I also deeply love the place, the warmth, the scenery and especially the scent of the island. Not all the scents admittedly. But the perfume of the pine trees and the herby scrub in the mountains and I want to soak that in over the next few days. There is something about getting really close to the mountains, getting immersed into the mountains that has called me for a long time.
And also something about shedding too, as if I can fill up with something more simple and natural and dispel some of the concerns that can worm their way through my mind. I find that walking in itself is great therapy and always helps to put me in a better frame of mind. And if I can shed a few pounds in weight along the way, so much the better.
So this trip has a sense of pilgrimage about it.
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Arrived at Hotel Abelay in Palma. I think the last person who stayed in my room enjoyed a little toke on the wacky baccy.
Then later I met up with the gang of people who I will be spending the next week with. A couple of weeks ago I shared my concern with Ben saying I wonder what they’ll be like. In his wisdom he said I’m sure they’ll be like you. And I think they are. Most of them know each other and there are another couple. And me. But they are lovely and friendly and very experienced walkers.
Some great conversations started already and I am starting to see how this walking bug could catch on.
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And we’re off. Feeling full of energy and excitement for the trek ahead. Today we walk from Valdemossa to Deia. We have been warned that this is a tough day with strep ups and downs. It will be interesting to see how my post is later
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I survived! The first day of walking from Valldemossa to Deia. 11 miles with a significant amount of ups and downs.
The air in the mountains is so fragrant I drew in big lungfuls. At least when I could get my breath that is.
Well Deia is certainly an interesting place. It attracts people of a more artistic persuasion as witnessed when we were spontaneously entertained by an Irish performance poet who popped into the bar we were in.
It’s a bit like Lyme Regis in that it’s a small town on a steep slope and is beautiful. The scent of lemon blossom permeates the town. Not like Lyme Regis which smells of sea with the occasional whiff of ganja.
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A stunning start to the day with the sun rising over the mountains surrounding Deia. Such a beauty spot.
The walk today was truly beautiful, following the western coast of the island to start off with before going inland.
I love these mountains. It is such a privilege and a joy to walk amongst them.
I almost remembered to start tracking todays walk from the beginning but missed the first 40 mins or so. Still here is the route we took today.
We ended up descending into Port de Soller where I have been a few times before. Some good memories.
Rest day tomorrow. My legs are a bit tired so we’ll just do an hour’s walk into the town of Soller. The day after we are climbing the pointy mountain you see at the top of the next photo which is slightly taller than Snowdon 😬
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We had a day off in Port de Soller which is honestly just as well because I had the shits. I stayed in and around my hotel room just in case I sneezed.
The next day, which is now yesterday, we set off for our big day. The pointy mountain in the photo.
I have to say that the start of this trek was really hard. It was warm and muggy and I was very hot. I’m hiding my red sweaty face behind an apple.
It was a tough climb to the summit of L’Ofre which stands at 1091 metres which is slightly taller than Snowdon but since we started off pretty much at sea level, much more to climb. Well done us. I seem to have managed to miss an awesome panoramic view from the top but you could literally see the whole island. You could see the coast in every direction!
On the descent a black vulture passed directly overhead. Thanks dad.
The day continued with a series of alternating despair (the up bits) and elation (the down bits).
At 7pm we arrived at the mountain refuge called Tossals Verds, where we all slept in the same room. It was a lot more peaceful than I imagined. After 9 hours of walking we were proper knackered.
Today bright and early we set off for the next leg of the trek to Lluc monastery.
I must have been feeling better today because this was a breeze compared to yesterday. Even though the path was the stoniest path ever. Imagine loose rubble. We passed just under the summit of Massanella, which I climbed back in 2015.
The views were spectacular. So spectacular I got my camera out and can’t get the camera to send pictures to my phone so can’t show you yet.
The walking is hard. We walked uphill for about 2 hours today and it takes a touch of grim determination. But is is always the case that the surroundings are captivating and the fresh mountain air fills your lungs and keeps you going. If you see Rich’s photos on Facebook you will notice that I am usually at the back. There is a reason for this. I am the straggler who would be picked off if there were lions in the hills.
We arrived at the monastery at Lluc where we are staying the night. This is a seriously revamped monastery with restaurants, bars, shops. And en-suite rooms yay.
I love it here so much. Behind the crowds it has a deep silence that is very soothing to the soul.
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This is the start of my last day of this adventure. I am a bit sad that it is over so soon. The group of people that I have spent the past week with are lovely, kind and friendly and I have so enjoyed their company. It will be sad to say goodbye.
But there is another day ahead.
I am leaving Lluc monastery knowing that I’ll be back to this special place that exists underneath a rather corporate surface.
The weather today is stunning and the walk although long is not as hard as the other days.
As we descended down towards Pollensa I got excited with a sense of homecoming.
And here I am in Pollensa at the end of the trek. So happy I did this. It has been a fantastic experience. The physical challenge that we achieved, the lovely people I have met and friends made, the stunning scenery and views and the voice of the mountains. I loved it all.
The after party was a never to be forgotten experience.
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