Several of the hotel dining room staff recognize us now, and we enjoy chatting with them. Most of them are young and have grown up on Mallorca. They all speak some English and more German and even a bit of Danish—these are the main languages spoken by the hotel guests, although we have not encountered any other English speakers. The older woman who prepares the omelets and crepes speaks excellent English with an unrecognizable accent—it turns out she's from Scotland! She married a Mallorcan and has lived on the island for more than 20 years, raising her family here. She said Mallorca is relatively prosperous compared with other parts of Spain, and young Spaniards have been flocking to the island in search of jobs, which is undermining the reasonable standards of wages and working conditions in the tourist industry here.
Today we planned to visit several hilltop towns that were visible from a distance on our flatter ride yesterday. We started out cycling directly to Sa Pobla, not through the park, and when we got there, rode up narrow streets to the main square, which was crammed with shoppers at the Sunday morning market. We could barely walk our bikes through the crowd, and after a cursory look around, headed out of town toward the tiny village of Buger (pronounced BOO-yay), uphill at the base of the Tramuntana mountains. Things were much quieter there, as we rode to the church at the top of the village, passing folks sitting outside at café tables enjoying their morning coffee.
As we stopped to look at the fields of vegetables, we were passed by serious cyclists
It was downhill and then up again into Campanet, a larger village with a picturesque main square lined with bars and restaurants and outdoor tables. Groups of cyclists were already gathering for drinks and lunch. We found a table in the shade at Bar Es Club and ordered pa amb oli with grilled squid for Al and a goat cheese salad for Eva, both delicious. The one waitress was somewhat overwhelmed on this busy Sunday, but she did really well. We noticed that most of the German cyclists, travelling in large groups, didn't order lunch, but only a beer or other drink. Our hotel's bicycle facility offers free pasta to cyclists between 4:00 and 5:00, and quite a few riders load up on the carbs when they return from their ride instead of eating lunch enroute. We assume other hotels offer similar fare to their cycling guests.
After a short climb up into Campanet, we were rewarded with a choice of lunch spots in the main square
After lunch we rode gently downhill toward Pollença on a beautifully scenic road past several impressive stone houses built into the hillside. Then came a short very steep 11% uphill bit just before entering the town. We knew that Il Giardino would be open and Al wanted to pick up another apple pastry there. The Sunday market in Pollença's main square was just winding up and the bakery had one apple pastry left. We continued homeward to Port d'Alcudia in the late afternoon sunshine after a very satisfying day of riding.
After Campanet the quiet road went through a picturesque valley on the way to Pollenca
This journal seems to be as much about food as about cycling, but we must say how impressed we are with the meals at our hotel. Tonight is our fourth dinner, and each evening the selection has been different. There is always a meat dish, a fish dish, and a pasta selection as well as various vegetables salads and desserts. Most of the offerings are served buffet style, but each night there is also a “show dish” of meat or fish cooked to order. Tonight's menu featured tender pork filets with raspberry sauce and tumbet, a savoury Mallorcan vegetable dish with eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes and peppers baked together.
Today's ride: 63 km (39 miles) Total: 378 km (235 miles)
