Palma to Biniaraix

For those of us who could walk without limping, our final morning in Palma was spent visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art. Despite our best efforts we are not renowned for our culture and, true to form, everyone was back at the hotel within the hour.

This gained us an advantage and we caught an earlier train to Soller. The tiddly pom train left Palma along a track down the middle of a busy road, whistling and tooting at every intersection. It would have been great to watch it go past from the kerbside. Once out into the suburbs, we passed many homeless encampments before winding our way up through Olive groves into the Tramuntuna mountains. Thunder storms had been forecast but, apart from some heavy showers in Palma, the weather has been lovely.

We arrived in Soller at lunchtime and spent the afternoon exploring. The town is very busy and gearing up for the big Es Firo Soller, a four day festival celebrating the region’s defence against Moorish invaders in 1581. Luckily, we leave on Saturday and hopefully will escape being chased round the streets by Moors with paintbrushes and pots of tar.

An out of town village bar in Biniaraix up in the hills was recommended by an English couple who have been spending their winters here for over 30 years. Luckily, Kim wasn’t paying attention otherwise she of the purple twisted ankle would have vetoed the uphill walk. It was worth the trek, stunning views accompanied by the heady scent from orange groves. We stopped for refreshment at a lovely bar with an excellent music choice. It was a walk well worth doing.

Finally, this is the view from our balcony.