Sunday August 31, 2025

Sunday the academy is closed so everyone can get a well-earned day of rest.

Last night, Saturday, I did another walk near Sa Cabaneta, taking a different route. It was a nice end to the week.

Today, Sunday, I decided to go to the Pollenca Sunday Market, one of the best ones in Mallorca (along with the Arta and Inca Markets), before driving down near the Port of Pollenca to the trailehead for the Cala Boquer walk.

The first challenge of most any Mallorcan market is parking. I had a few false starts before I nearly gave up, but it turns out there’s a very nice parking area just outside of the market area (not far from the big rooster dominating the roundabout on the road towards the Port of Pollenca. I checked other cars to make sure there was no permit required (it seemed too good to be true), and all the cars I checked were rental cars, so it was good.

I walked up to the market, and started with the food and vegetable stalls. I was on a mission to buy some olive bread, olives and tomatoes and found them quickly. The tomatoes I bought were huge (one I had for lunch when I got home with some avocado, a slice of the olive bread and anchovies. Delicious!). You can see how large of a tomato I purchased (head size of racquet is 105).

I then walked through the town square and up the 365 Calvari steps (one for each day of the year) to the Calvary Chappel. It’s worth the climb (which is pretty easy), for the view of Pollenca and the sea at the top.

I climbed back down, though I circumvented the top stairs to walk closer to the view of the water, found my car and headed off to Cala Boquer. This walk was #1 on a website I found of the 10 best hikes in Mallorca, and it sounded both pretty, with mountain and sea views, close to the market and not too difficult. It was rocky..though I saw people wearing flip flops or flimsy sandals going up as I was leaving. I recommend hiking or tennis shoes..or trail runners which is what I had. Parking was easy and plentiful.

The Serra de Tramuntana is a Unesco World Heritage site and the mountains are really rugged and interesting. The plants in the Boquer Valley were mostly familiar..rosemary, Mediterranean dwarf palm, Aleppo Palm and a Pistachio Bush/Tree (not with nuts though…with red berries…the sap of the tree is the original chewing gum!), and other plants. The tops of the mountains were rocky but the valley had a lot of green vegetation, much of it pines, palms and pistachio.

There are lots of goats, especially at the start of the trail. I even saw an albino goat.

I didn’t go all the way to the cove…I was looking for a path to the cliff to overlook the sea, but didn’t find it, but I got quite close and enjoyed the walk..I would recommend it.

Tomorrow is a busy one, two sessions of tennis…no walking!