Mallorca Chapter 5

MALLORCA

Chapter 5

Sunday 11th

Valdemossa, near the western coast, was our destination for today. The weather has cooled slightly and the prospect of climbing up and down hills and steps was far less daunting than it has been. The town is about 40 kms away from where we are in a north-westerly direction. What a beautiful little place! The cathedral complex forms the centre of the town, standing, as so many of these old churches do, on a slight knoll with the town laid out around it. Once again, local stone has been used for all the buildings which lends a warm welcoming atmosphere. It has been commercialized to quite a large degree, and shop keepers are permitted to display their wares on the pavements, but at this stage it has not become overwhelming. Tiny cobbled streets lead off the main thoroughfare and higgledy-piggledy houses cling to the hillside. Wandering through them is a delight as around each corner one gets a “Kodak moment’ view. Flower-boxes decorate the doorways and walls and tall trees give welcome shade. We did the almost-obligatory tour of the cathedral and surrounding complex, and were intrigued by the fact that Frederic Chopin and his lover, George Sand, the authoress, had spent time here back in the late 1830’s. the views from their apartments is quite stunning, but apparently they hated it here. Perhaps in winter, and being unmarried in a Roman Catholic environment had more than a little to do with it!
After a leisurely lunch, we decided to see what was at the Port of Valdemossa (which I have re-named as Valli-Moosa-by-the-sea). In fact there wasn’t much to see at all, but the road down to it was probably the most nail-biting one we have done so far. Remember we are driving a sort of a bus thingy called a Citroen Jumpy, which is probably about the size of a Combi but a little wider. The main road, which we turned out of to get to the port, is about 350 metres above sea level, the port, obviously, 350 metres and six kilometers pretty much straight down below. The road has 85 bends, of which 16 were severe hairpins and the road has no line down the middle, which generally means it isn’t really wide enough for two vehicles. There was a very pronounced silence from the back seat for most of the way down, with the occasional gasp as another car appeared coming in the other direction, but our driver managed admirably and we did not bump anything. or anyone. A tricky moment was when we met two cars coming up right on a hairpin, and a delicate ballet ensued with much backing and forwarding.until we could pass each other. That was nothing though, compared to the return trip when we met a huge camper van on it’s way down!! We are all still wondering if he actually knew what he was letting himself in for when he started out, because if not, he was going to age twenty years in about as many minutes!
Just for an added frisson of excitement, at one of the narrowest sections, on the way down, we suddenly saw a loop of rope hanging from the rocks at the side of the road. Negotiating carefully past it we discovered the other end was attached to a climber who was some way up the rockface! What very good luck we didn’t snag the loop on the outside rearview mirror!! We could easily have had a climber on our roof. When we returned, they were still at it and to complicate matters still further a young girl, obviously not interested in climbing, was sitting on the rock wall on the other side of the road, reading a book with her knees jutting well into the road, totally unconcerned..
We try to come back home again every day about 4 pm, by which time we are quite weary with sun and fresh air; walking and climbing steps, and this also gives us time to do some washing and still get it dry, and to catch up on minor chores. A very relaxing routine, in fact.