Our day started with a walk to the station to buy our tickets for the Tren de Soller, otherwise we may have an expensive taxi ride tomorrow and miss one of the highlights of the holiday. So popular is the train that the ticket queue went right round the Square and we were advised to return later in the day when we were assured it would be much quieter. Next stop was the Mercat Oliver, an undercover market selling everything from tripe to beetroot seeds. It appeared to be the place to have a mid-morning Prosecco and oysters as well, so we stopped for good value tea and coffee.
Then we headed to Nano Cycle Hire. The plan was to cycle out to the Marina before retracing our steps and cycling back along the coast to Arenal, a flat round trip of approximately 30km. Our route took us along dedicated cycle paths which were narrower than we were comfortable with, but we were safely away from traffic. The route out to the Marina gave Kim another opportunity to recreate Ken’s photo from 1964. The yachts are significantly larger.
Cycling back towards Arenal, we stopped for lunch on the outskirts of Palma. It was nice to stop at a Mediterranean beach bar, but it was overpriced and highly average. We continued on to the outskirts of Arenal and bemoaned the fact that 30 minutes outside Palma we could have had a more authentic meal at half the price. We really should know better by now.
We didn’t make it to the centre of Arenal but the ride took us along some very pretty seafront routes.
Bikes were returned at 5, with just enough time for John and Ken to get back to the station and buy our train tickets. Something had been lost in translation, the ticket office had closed at 3pm and now we have our fingers crossed that we can get on a train tomorrow
Our evening meal was booked at the popular Cellar sa Premsa, a converted warehouse that has been a source of Mallorcan food and hospitality since 1958. It didn’t disappoint but, not knowing what to expect, we ordered a starter and main course each which was far more than we needed.
Finally, someone’s ankle was sprained in a kerb and bike related incident. Guess who had this accident? It may make the ‘walking’ part of our holiday more challenging.
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