Mallorca

Monday 28 May 2007
I finally arrived in Palma de Mallorca Sunday afternoon. Ana and David met me at the airport and took me to their home just below the castle Bellver for coffee and ensaimada, a special Mallorcan pastry with a filling that tastes much like an almond croissant. Ana was very tired from working all night, and David took me to Angel´s apartment after we studied maps and possible camp sites during our kayak trip around Menorca. Angel arrived from Cordoba at about 2 the next morning. Monday I walked around Palma to get familiar with the city. Angel´s apartment is located within a short walk of all of central Palma.

Tuesday 29 May 2007
I sent email and put some photos on Snapfish, and cooked spareribs. Angel worked late and was very hungry when he got home at about 1630. I served the spareribs with a green salad and cottage fried potatoes. Angel got a loaf of bread from the bakery downstairs.

Wednesday 30 May 2007
I took the train to Sóller, hiked to Biniarix, and hiked up the barranco de Biniaraix. I met Tomas, an Austrian businessman on a mountain bike near the foot of the trail. He was unable to ride the bicycle up the stone steps, so we walked together for several hours. He offered to give me a ride back to Palma if I would meet him near the train station in Sóller at 1700. At 1400 I turned around and headed back to Biniarix. I stopped for a while in the shade of a venerable old olive tree to dry out my books and maps that had become wet from the sweat that soaked through my day pack. There is a water pipe along side the trail with a faucet every few hundred meters so I didn´t need to carry so much water. I arrived at the train station at 1650, and ordered a jar of beer at a table near the train station. Tomas arrived at 1720, and we had a nice ride to Palma. I gave him my email address and expect to hear from him again.

Thursday 31 May 2007
Angel left for Lisbon today. I read and sent some email. I put some photos on Snapfish and invited friends and family to view them. I did some shopping and house cleaning before I called Betty. Later I enjoyed a beer and dinner of cuttlefish, salad, flan and un cortido, strong coffee with milk, while watching excellent entertainment by mimes, a guitar player, and a dance and acrobatic group of Africans. I returned to Angel´s apartment at 2200 to find a note from Ana saying that she and David had come by to pick me up for dinner at 2030. I rushed to the corner telephone store to call her. I finally fell asleep just before midnight.

Friday 1 June 2007
I spent the morning trying to figure out how to get to Ille Cabrera. I found that the boat leaves from Colonia de Sant Jordi at 0930. To get there in time I will have to catch a bus at 0700. That is hard to do when I don´t get to bed until midnight, but I hope to make it happen Tuesday. I also visited Merkat L´Oliver, an immense, modern mercado. There are about 25 fish vendors there, and numerous vendors of fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, spices, meat, cheese and all kinds of foods. It is larger than any grocery store I have ever seen. I bought some cheese, nuts, and spices. I visited the cathedral Le Seu. It is quite impressive, but too dark inside for me to take a good photo. I later visited a section of the city where many craftsmen and women have workshops. I bought one stained glass gift. There is a bookbinder there who gives classes, but his shop was closed. I hope to return and visit with him or her. I went back to Angel´s apartment and heated up some spareribs for supper and was asleep by 2200.

Saturday 2 June 2007
I was planning to kayak with Ana and David today, but Ana had to work until nearly 1000 this morning. I had to go to the locutorio to communicate with her, so I stayed, read and sent email. Put 5 more photos on Snapfish, and brought this blog up to date.