Tuesday September 3, 2024, Alaro, Mallorca

Yesterday was scorcher in the morning in Mallorca. Add that to the long hike the day before and running was hard on the court but I persevered…but it was 40 degrees according to my car thermometer when I got in it around 1pm (that’s 105 Fahrenheit), though the air temperature was closer to 36 (mid-90s or so).

My friends Gabi and Frank, global citizens (they travel more then I do I think and have friends everywhere, as lovely people do.) Gabi is originally from Romania and speaks many languages, as does Frank. They came by Global Tennis yesterday to say hi and stayed to hit a few balls together. I met up with them after I finished my session, at the Mallorca Mall and we caught up and had a light lunch…then it was back for the afternoon session. During the afternoon the skies darkened and the thunder was LOUD! I asked Victor, my trainer, if there was lightning too and he said yes…but unlike the USA no one was fussed about it, only about the rain, which did follow…but was short lived. It cooled things off and the session went better for me.

I drove back to Alaro and managed to snag a spot at the public parking, backing into a spot in case someone parked too closely in front of me. As I’ve mentioned, parking is tough here and natives can get in and out of tight spots quickly, their parallel parking skills are excellent. Mine are average for an American and terrible for a Mallorcan!

Today I trained again in the morning and it was a bit cooler, and I had recovered pretty well from my long hike on Sunday. I went back to Alaro in between sessions and when I started to walk to my car there were a few rain drops. But I’m close to the Serra de Tramuntana, the mountain range in Mallorca which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so I thought in the plains it would be dry. After driving about 10 minutes I was disabused of that thought and had to pull off the road because it was raining so hard I couldn’t see! It felt like Florida. Tennis was cancelled for me, and after the rain abated a bit I drove back to Alaro and parked near the gas station…a bit further from my apartment but perfect for a quick exit from town tomorrow.

I’m staying near the church, and the bells ring at least once and hour I think, sometimes more often, but it’s not too loud. I walked down to the town square and it was pretty busy, with a couple of restaurants pouring into the square, people chatting, grocery shopping and dog walking.

I have one more day of tennis and Friday morning move on to Germany.