Walked Cala Ratjada to Capdepera and back--8 km

April 10, 2013

Al unexpectely cycled 6 km

Weather: sunny, high 20 C

After breakfast at the hotel we walked on quiet rural roads about 4 km to Capdepera. A weekly market was going strong at the Plaça d'Orient with booths selling cheeses, olives, vegetables and fruit. We climbed the steps to the fortress-like Castello, paid a nominal admission, and wandered through the narrow winding streets imagining the village population crowded behind the walls to escape pirate attacks in the 1300s. There were good views of the town and countryside, a falconry demonstration, and a small museum well worth visiting. It featured informative displays (with explanations in both English and German) about the history of the area, beginning in 5000 BC, onward through the Roman occupation (starting in 100 BC), then the Arab occupation from 900 until the 1200s when the Christians gained control. Throughout the centuries, Romans, Arabs and Christians were all involved in countless hostilities in their attacks and defense of the shoreline. The Capdepera castle was built in the 1300s to protect the Christian population from Moslem pirates.

Watch towers were placed on coastal hills and used to alert the inhabitants of approaching pirates.

The street and stairs leading up to the Castello from the town centre

From the walls of the Castello we could see out over the town and back along the highway we had cycled the day before

As for recent history, it was pointed out that until 60 years ago, the only way to reach Mallorca was by ship—quite a change from the huge numbers of airplanes arriving now, carrying about 8,000,000 tourists a year. There was also an exhibit and demonstration of basket-weaving with fronds from the European fan palm, the only palm tree native to Europe. Capdepera has been a major centre of artisan basketwork production since the late 19th century. We descended the stairs back to the Plaça d'Orient with a greater understanding of the complex history of this strategically-located island in the Mediterranean.

The view back through the mist to Cala Ratjada and the hotel we started from

Inside the walls, there were gardens and pleasant paths to wander on. At one time, the space inside the walls was crowded with houses providing shelter from marauding pirates

The view to the north, showing the road and the hills we would be crossing the next day on our way to Port d'Alcudia

Because of the market, the square was a good deal busier than yesterday, but we found a table in the shade at the same cafe as yesterday and enjoyed another good salad lunch while watching the market activity. After lunch we headed back to Cala Ratjada the way we had come—a pleasant leisurely walk downhill from Capdepera to the highway and then mostly level through the outskirts and centre of Cala Ratjada, with a short steep uphill to the hotel. Just before we crossed the highway we stopped in the shade near a low stone wall for a drink of water and to take off our light jackets. Then we continued onward, meandering along the harbour, checking out possible restaurants for tonight's dinner.

The market in the square in Capdepera where we had lunch

In our hotel room, Al removed items from his pack, and suddenly exclaimed, “Where's the camera?” Oh no! After a thorough search, we concluded that it had been left on top of the stone wall across the highway where we had briefly stopped. It was a good hour later by now and lots of traffic went by that spot. Would the camera still be there? Al rushed out to get his bike from the pool storage area, but the door was now locked and he had to go back inside to the front desk to get the key. Then he discovered that the bikes had been moved to another room, so there was another delay while he looked for them. Finally he took off on his trusty steed as fast as possible for the 3 km ride to the highway intersection, where he was immensely relieved to find the camera still sitting on the stone wall in the shade. Upon returning to the hotel room, he backed up all the photos onto the netbook hard drive!

That evening after all the excitement we walked back down to the harbour area for dinner and ate at an Italian place, O Sole Mio, which we would not recommend. The food was okay, but the waiter misled us about the price of the wine, and the atmosphere was somewhat sleazy. It was the only unpleasant dinner during the whole trip.

Today's ride: 6 km (4 miles)
Total: 153 km (95 miles)

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