Day 47: Ses Salines

April 5, 2025

Heart

Comment

Breakfast offerings continue to add stuff we would never put out at home. In fact we probably could never find these things at home, so as to choose not to put them out. Today we saw what are probably anchovies and probably sardines, as well as smoked salmon, capers, and sundried tomatoes.

Pickled peppers? why not. And beside the capers, don't know what those green bits are. Tomorrow I am planning to try each of these items, to make a positive id.

But would I have the courage for these three weird selections of sliced sausage and the shaved Iberian ham? Probably not.

Our plan was to stay over one extra night here in Ses Salines, to allow us to hit two special targets during the day today. The first was the lighthouse at Cap de Ses Salines, which is the most southerly point on the Island. The second was the salt works Salines de Solobrar, and the nearby beach of Trenc. At the lighthouse, stuff we had read referred to raptors swarming about, and at the Salines, many species of water birds. Unfortunately these two spots were in two different directions from Ses Salines, so we would have to go to one and them backtrack all the way, to set off for the other. We really didn't mind, since any excuse to keep cycling around here is fine, and we would have happily cycled many more hours, all around this wonderful environment.

Heading for the lighthouse, we again enjoyed narrow quiet roads, lined by dry stacked stone walls.

There were few houses. We liked this one, which like all others were made of stone, behind a stacked stone wall. We decided that this is off grid, and we noted both its windmill and solar panels.

I tried pushing on a wall and found it as secure as concrete. The interlocking and accuracy is tremendous. Something like this could stand for centuries, ands sheep or cattle or even pigs would have no chance of a jail break.

The wild forests here are pine, growing in sandy soil - maybe like on the southern Atlantic coast of France. Here too are nests of the procession caterpillars, though not very many, as we have seen elsewhere.

Ah, the southern point of the Island. So colourful. That is the small island group of Cabrera in the distance.

The lighthouse. It's grounds were locked.

It turned out that the migrations of the raptors are in summer through October, and we scarcely saw any birdlife here at all at this time.

The was this European Shag in the water. He was repeatedly diving, so we had to wait to get this shot.

Many people had come, to hike along the rocky shoreline. The rocks are small rough volcanic boulders, good for building fences. But we found our balance is wonky now, so unlike the others, we did not go far.

Heading back towards Ses Salines, I stopped to show this clever installation of a ladder over the stone wall.

As we began to mention yesterday, flowers are figuring as a major attraction out here in the Mallorca countryside. The fields filled with various wildflowers are one big thing, and then there are individual clumps of wildflowers beside the roadway. Here are some examples of that:

The road and fencing continued, making in our opinion a super fine riding experience. Some others might like to see some hills in the mix, and while there were one or two, one would have to go to the mountains in the north for that form of experience.

The strength and texture of these walls is extraordinary.

The walls and the trees dominate this environment.

These two elements, stone and trees, really make the place.

And of course, flowers:

And stone houses. (This is the same one that we took on the way down to the sea. There are just not many houses around, to pose for photos!)

Here the stone wall stackers could cheat a little, by digging the road through the rock.

We returned to Ses Salines, but didn't stop. we just swung through to head for the salt flats. The route we chose headed toward Colonia de Sant Jordi, and that had a bit of traffic. But it also had a broad new cycle path. Only when we turned north, towards the salt, did we encounter both a bit of hill and a bit of traffic. But neither was really much concern, and we soon arrived at the salt works. The salt works caught our attention with its mountains of salt, which if you look at them in closeup look like real mountains.

We only realized when we were leaving that tours of the salt works could be had. We were too tired by then to give it a try, but maybe next time.

Salt was on sale too, and they had "tasters". I was surprised at how coarse the flakes were.

Some of the salt pans look violet.

From the salt pans we headed toward the beach. The road passes a lake that must be just the right saltiness, and there we found Shelducks, Avocet, Stilts, and a Redshank:

We continued toward the beach, and found car traffic increasing. People are much more attracted to lying on a beach than to tasting salt or looking at birds.

Here there are sand dunes - explaining the Pine forests about - Pine seems to do well in sand.

A restaurant was established just off the beach, and lots of people were sitting out in the sun there. Sitting in the sun is just not our thing.

These were the prices for fish, given in euros per kg. Don't know if this is cheap or expensive.

I was more interested in the gulls, that were taking advantage of the shore breeze to float around:

Our plan tomorrow is to begin heading up the coast, with the destination of not far off Porto Cristo. There are caves there that one can visit, though we had not initially planned on it. But if we can make it early enough, we may give it a go.

That Redshank was new for this year, bringing the total to 175.

p.s,. Yesterday we included a photo of a unique form of windmill. Scott had informed us that mills like this, used mostly to pump water, are a "thing" here. He pointed us to a web article where we learn that there are 3000 of these on the Island.

Bonus: an early victim of Trade Wars?

While we were at the Turia Hotel in Valencia, we were very successful in getting Amazon.es to send a tire, tubes, and patches to us there, c/o the hotel. But one thing did not work out. When the wind blew Dodie off the road, way back when, her bike took a tumble, along with her. Her mirror was a victim of this with one of the arms that holds the glass snapping right off. So a new mirror was a logical addition to our orders to come to the Turia.

The mirror in question is the brand Mirrycle, which we have found over the years is far and away the best on the market. So I was glad to find that the Spanish version of Amazon had it listed, and they said it would arrive days before we would be leaving Valencia. The only thing was that the price was about triple what we normally pay at home. I accepted that, because what else could I do?

As time went by, Amazon began to hedge on its delivery date, but always promising that the parcel would arrive really soon. When time for us to leave drew near, I began to freak, and started trying to contact Amazon, the seller, and the shipper, DHL. I got nowhere with this, not once succeeding in talking to a human, though several AI's pretended to step in. Finally it was time for us to leave, and I told the staff at Turia that they were probably going to inherit a super expensive mirror.

Then suddenly we got a message from Amazon, saying they would refund the purchase in full. OK! But get this - they blamed customs delay, and here is where I first found out that they had sourced the thing out of the States, and initially they were flying it out to me, with a delivery of just a few days from when I placed my order.

It could be the days when you could do that, and to boot not mention or think about tariffs on the transaction, are gone. And what does Amazon say of my package now?:

I bet EU president Ursula von der Leyen ate it!

Today's ride: 45 km (28 miles)
Total: 1,258 km (781 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	5
Comment on this entry	Comment	2

Eva WaltersAl and I are so glad that you are enjoying the cycling on Mallorca. You'll find those nice paved roads edged with dry stone walls all over the island. At Porto Cristo we found the caves to be surprisingly impressive, and the tour was very tastefully done. It's fun to read your posts, and reassuring to know that cycling on Mallorca is still special. Looking forward to reading more!
Reply to this comment
1 week ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Eva WaltersWe have your blog bookmarked and refer to it before the day's ride when we are covering the same ground. You were the inspiration for our plan to cycle here, and we are so glad you blazed the trail for us. Mallorca is a really special place.
Reply to this comment
1 week ago