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This is all about my transition from an American lifestyle and culture to my newest adventure, life in Spain, in the city of Palma on the island of Mallorca in the middle of the Mediterranean sea!! I moved from the USA to Cuenca, Ecuador, South America and lived there for 7 years before moving here to Spain in early 2018. I'll be recapping some of my day-to-day experiences (and mishaps) to highlight what it's like to live here....across the pond...as well as Home Exchange trips to exciting places all over Europe!

Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Bopping Along Palma's Waterfront on a Kick Scooter (with GoPro)

JULY 2020

This year has been warmer than normal.  We usually don't spill into the 90's until August, but this year it was happening mid-July.   We had several days teetering at 99!!!  As such, a lot of people took to the beaches in the evenings to cool off, not be in their hot homes, and enjoy stunning sunsets.

Last month, I purchased an electric kick scooter.  They're very popular here, but for those who don't know what they are, imagine a motorized skateboard with a handlebar.   The electric motor is in the front wheel (some models in rear) and the long (and heavy) battery is under the standing platform.  The handlebar and tower can fold down so you can carry it (for example up stairs to your apartment for charging).  From there, options vary.  For instance, I have rear disc brakes, cruise control, a front shock absorber, headlight/tailight/side lights, and air-filled tires (vs solid).  Some models CAN go faster, but local regs require the max speed to be no more than 15mph.  Depending on the size of the motor and battery (plus the drivers weight) the distance you can travel on a single charge can vary between 10-20 miles.

For this blog segment, I decided to take you on a little trip along the Palma waterfront.  It's a great scene taking in the beaches, coves, yachts, small fishing boats, sailboats, bicyclists, skateboarders, rollerbladers, joggers, dog-walkers, volleyball games, outdoor cafes, etc etc, oh....and eye-candy.  Palma has an amazing 12-mile long promenade that stretches from the cruise port all the way to El Arenal with an exclusive bike path adjacent to it.  Palma places a lot of importance on bike paths throughout the city.  In fact, there's a project currently underway to remove one lane of traffic along the marina waterfront so the promenade for walking can be widened and the bike path separated from the pedestrians.

The image below shows the path I took.  Leaving my apartment (blue dot) I scootered down to the waterfront (black line), then along the marina area (red/yellow line) and back.  Then I continued on the (yellow/brown) line all the way out to the 'doggie beach' under the airport flight path.  The yellow-only line shows how much further the promenade continues.



Unlike while riding my motorcycle where I clip the GoPro to my helmet, for the kick scooter I attach it to the handlebar tower (cuz I don't wear a helmet).

Ok, so let's head on out shall we?  Full Disclosure:  This epic movie is 37 minutes long.  I know, I KNOW!!  And, that's AFTER I edited out a lot of  _______!!!!  If you don't want to watch the entire thing in one sitting, you have a few options (aside from not watching at all!!).

1.  Stop it and take note of the minute/second timer at the bottom.  Then, when you're ready to watch more, simply start the video and slide the bar at the bottom to that same position and continue watching.

2.  If you're impatient and just want to 'get on with it', slide the bar ahead (showing the parts you're passing in fast motion) and let go of the slider when you want to resume normal speed.

As always, I highly recommend NOT watching this on a teeny tiny (albeit VERY expensive) cell phone screen as you'll miss a LOT of detail.  Far better on a larger screen like a laptop or PC or even connecting via HDMI to your big screen TV!!  I-pad users.....hmmmm.....okay.

Oh!  Also, don't forget to click on the little box in the lower right corner to expand the viewing screen to full-size!!


Hope you ENJOY!!!

(click on the video image)
or







Stay Tuned...

Who knows what I'll blog about next!!!

Dano



By the way, if you're interested in viewing any of my past entries about travelling around Europe and where I live in Mallorca, simply scroll down past my signature to the end.  There, you'll see 'Blog History'.  You can click on any Month/Year to see the titles I published at that time.  Simply click on the title you're interested in and it will take you to that page.




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