Discovering Mallorca by Foot – Ca’n Picafort to Colonia de Sant Pere

A few days ago I had the idea that we should walk Mallorca’s Eastern coast by foot and see where we end up.  No advance reservations.

We planned to take off by 7 AM this morning, but that did not take into account the whole bottle of Mallorcan wine I drank last night.  I didn’t mean to.  Really.

Walking Mallorca

By 9:30, we were packed up and on our way to our unknown destination.  We walked out of Ca’n Picafort to the East, walking past the necropolis we saw the other day.  For much of our walk we were on the beach, on sandy paths that were difficult to negotiate with shoes (Jamie) or without (Laura), it didn’t matter.  Some places, the lava rocks were smooth, flat and easy to walk on and gave relief.   We saw turtles.  After close to three hours, we stumbled upon a sleepy beach town with blocks and blocks of empty mansions.  The town, Colonia de San Cerra seemed completely uninhabited but for one restaurant where we ordered orange sodas that for all intents and purposes were the breath of life for us.   The sun was beating down and we were carrying our packs for the first time.  Walking further, we soon found a table to sit and enjoy a picnic of sardines, almonds, olives, crackers and cheese.  After another long stretch on the beach which was piled high with washed up sea plants we finally reached another town, Colonia de Sant Pere.  By this time we were hot messes (or should that be messi?).   I asked a man sitting in a car where the nearest hotel was and he pointed.  When he saw us walking the wrong way, he pulled up, told us to get in and drove us to the hotel up a steep and long road.  And not a word of language was exchanged except “Muchas, muchas gracias!”

We’re now sitting in the garden of  the German hotel, “Solimar” one of two hotels in the town of Colonia de Sant Pere, Mallorca, Spain.  It is well beyond our budget at the off season rate of 70 euros a night.  The guests and the TV only speak German.  The pool is not yet filled.  The shower sprays all over the bathroom.   It’s a rip-off but one that we do not yet have the skills (language) to avoid.  Jamie stoic-ly lugged a bottle of wine in his pack all day and now we are enjoying it to the sound of sweet birdsong underneath palm trees and a blue sky.

How far can we walk in a day?  That was my question.  The answer is 9.5 miles.

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