Sóller

Goodbye Valencia and on to Mallorca Island.

I had checked out prices and travel times for both the ferries and airplanes to Mallorca, and flying to Mallorca won. I paid $50 each and it was a 1 hour flight. The ferry would have taken 8 overnight hours and cost $60 each. It was a no brainer.

We took a direct-to-airport subway, from a station close to our apartment (so convenient), and arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. Our plane took off at 5 and landed at 6 p.m. easy.

We arrived in the big Palma airport and it took us a bit of time to find our rental car shuttle to the Wiber office. Finally, we got our car, a small Fiat (for $50 Cdn for 6 days!), put on the GPS and drove to Soller where we are staying. The road was good and people drove in a decent manner. Parking in Soller is a problem though with its narrow streets.

Our hotel room is in a very old stone building that only has 6 rooms. Third generation Margarita runs it now. Originally we had a room with a shared bathroom but there was a cancellation and we got a room with a private bathroom - no extra charge…Yay. We have a kettle for tea and coffee and our refrigerator is on the window sill between the window and the shutters.

The room reminds me of a room in my grandmother’s house, years ago. Old-fashioned heavy wooden furniture with inlay, four post bed, a wardrobe, ruffled bed spread, a couple of chairs. It’s clean and once again in a great location, close to the centre but quiet. We slept well after a quick dinner in a restaurant nearby.

This morning, we had coffees in a bakery and a pastry called an ensaimada, a delicate, spiral-shaped puff pastry covered in icing sugar. There are lots of early morning bakeries open here!

So what did we do on a Sunday in Sollar (sounds like Tom “Sawyer”) Mallorca? We walked.

The Soller Valley is one of the main hiking spots in Mallorca. It is a beautiful natural spot with fields of olive trees, lemon and orange trees, quaint hamlets and villages and magnificent views out over the Mediterranean – all nestled in the Serra de Tramuntana Mountain range.

The circular walk that we went on today left from the town of Soller and took us about 4 1/2 hours. It’s not that long of a walk but we took a side trip to the beautiful town of Fornalutx. It was such a peaceful landscape with old stone houses and walls, steep mountains, a river running through the valley, and orchards.

Today is a special day when Mallorcans celebrate Sant Antoni, the Patron Saint of Animals, People from all over Mallorca get together to remember the customs of the countryside and the life of the farmer and labourers.

We arrived in Fornalutx at 10 a.m. and noticed that a street was being blocked off by the police and people were headed to it. Then over 25 horses turned up to parade themselves and their riders in all their finery and race against one another up the main street. They gallop and each rider tries to grab ribbons that have been strung across the road above their heads, to the loud cheers of the crowds. We were in the right place and at the right time to witness this old custom. It was very exciting!

This pretty town is nestled in the Sóller Valley and has about 700 residents. It dates back to the 13th century and was originally an Arab farmstead. It's filled with narrow alleys, steep stone steps (yes, we just had to go up them to see where they went!) and alleyways with flowerpots. Its beautiful high mountain setting made us feel like we were walking around a fairy tale town from a movie.

Coming home, we took a different route through a small, quiet town called Biniaraix. I read that it had been a Muslim stronghold and the name comes from Ben-Arraiz, son of the sea captain. “The traditional stone washstands at the entrance to the Barranc de Biniaraix ravine are a remarkable feature of the village. These were used as late as the 20th century. In the plaza and close to the church of Immaculada Concepció there are ancient houses with painted tiles under the eaves, traditionally used to ward off bad spirits, issue warnings, tell stories and so on.” Biniaraix is the starting point for many hiking trails including one to a gorge and another to an ancient monastery (almost 2000 steps).

We walked the short distance to the busy town of Soller in no time.

Wouldn’t you know but Soller was also celebrating in a similar way at 4 pm. Soller is a bigger town so they started with a parade to the main square. Musicians playing bagpipes, fifes and drums started the parade, followed by children dressed as devils with grotesque masks, and then people with their pets.

The local priest in the name of San Antoni distributes a blessing to the animals and throws holy water on any animal that turns up. They could be dogs, cats, ferrets, rats, snakes, goats, sheep, baby donkey or chickens. The parade goes on for quite some time as the priest takes his job very seriously!

Once the blessings were done, the square was cleared, the beautiful horses of the Soller Valley started their horse races and we went to a restaurant on the square for an early dinner.

Our first full day in Mallorca was a good one! Tomorrow we are heading to the Port of Soller.Read more