We felt like doing a shorter ride today, and took off late in the morning for Alcudia and the finger of land that juts out into the sea behind the town, ending at the Cap de Pinar. This rocky promontory is traversed by a narrow road beginning at the easternmost intersection on Alcudia's ring road. We cycled through the suburb of Bonaire, and then up and down through pine forests with good views of the Bay of Pollença and the Formentor peninsula where we had cycled yesterday. Our goal was the Ermita de la Victoria, another scenically-located monastery that had been converted to a hotel. The adjacent restaurant, the Mirador de la Victoria, had a high class reputation, but they advertised a reasonably-priced menu del dia for weekday lunches, so we decided to give it a try.
The large terasse that surrounded Ermita de la Victoria, which is now a hotel
After passing a youth hostel and beach area at sea level, we continued up through the pine trees and soon reached the turnoff to the Ermita. A steep hill for another 500 metres brought us to the imposing stone building and a shady viewpoint. The restaurant was up a flight of shallow stone steps from the hotel, so Al carried the bikes up and parked them in the entryway. We had our choice of tables on the large shaded terrace with a terrific view. Unfortunately the air was hazy, so not that good for taking photos. The three-course menu del dia was fine—notheing special—but we enjoyed sitting in the well appointed surroundings and retracing yesterday' s route to the Cap de Formentor from across the bay. A group of people at a nearby table ordered several types of paella, a specialty of the house, and it was fun to watch the waiter performing the elaborate service that the dishing-out required.
The large dining room was pleasantly quiet when we arrived
This area is known for its hiking trails, and we saw a few of them on the way back. They didn't look that appealing—generally rough, stony and steep with very little shade. Even now in mid-April, they would be hot work indeed. We also passed a feral goat by the roadside and managed to get a photo before it scrambled up the bank. We walked our bikes through the walled centre of Alcudia and continued onward to our hotel where we had time for some reading and internet in the late afternoon.
Osteospermum were common either in beds or growing in odd places along lanes
