A Day Trip to...Sineu - Petra - Manacor - Can Picafort - Santa Margalida - Ariany

Another day trip on my moto.  It's such a great way to explore my surroundings.  Cars are very limiting...not only from a vision standpoint, but also maneuverability.  I can slam on my brakes and make a U-ee most any place I'm inclined to do so.  Motos can be parked virtually anywhere, not so with coches (cars).  

For todays trip, my main destination was Can Picafort because I had seen in someone's blog some cool pics of urban art and I wanted to find them.  Between Palma and Can Picafort are some small and not-so-small towns that lured me in to see what jewels they might offer my camera lens.

Unlike the Tramuntana mountain range, this trek took me across the vast, flat, countryside of the center of the island, passing fields of freshly rolled bales of hay, fincas (farms) of olive trees, and grape vineyards...to name a few.

My rudimentary arrows point the direction of the path I took.

SINEU

Sineu is yet another of what seems like endless charming villages on this island!  Like so many, it too is built on a mound, at about 450 ft above sea level in central Mallorca.  Its population is a whopping 4,000.  The train, on its way to Manacor, makes a stop here.  There's very little of anything touristy here, aside from the weekly (Weds) outdoor market.  It's just a quiet village where you kick back and enjoy an outdoor meal, coffee, or a beer and admire the ancient blond stone architecture.

Church of Santa Maria

Restaurant Molí d´en Pau

http://www.molidenpau.es/

PETRA

Petra, is a traditional rural town of about 3,000.  Though I wasn't all that duly impressed by the town, I was surprised to find out one of its famous past inhabitants had a significant influence on San Diego, California...where I lived for 17 years.  Petra is the birthplace of St. Junípero Serra (1713-1784), a Franciscan friar who founded the first nine of 21 Spanish missions in California from San Diego to San Francisco.

MANACOR

Manacor, the last stop on the train route, is the 2nd largest city (population 26,000) after Palma.  It has a reputation as Mallorca's home of industry due to furniture making, pottery, artificial pearls, liquors, and wines.  Like many others, it too has a weekly outdoor market on Mondays.

Nostra Senyora dels Dolors

(Our Lady of the Sorrows)

Notice the old twisted Olive tree in front (age unknown)

I love gargoyles!!!

CAN PICAFORT

Can Picafort is a seaside holiday resort with a resident population of about 7,000.   Located on the Bay of Alcudia, a few miles down the road from Alcudia itself, CP was a small fishing village of about 200 habitants until the 1970's boom when tourism drove the construction of hotels which now house about 10,000 beds.  As such, CP becomes a quiet village for the locals during off-season.

Looking across the bay to the town of Betlem.

Looking towards Alcudia on the Victoria Peninsula.

Buhhh-tocks

(Forest Gump)

SANTA MARGALIDA

Santa Margalida, another town on a mound, is about 6 miles inland from Can Picafort (27 miles from Palma) and boasts a population of about 3,500.

Parish Church Santa Margalida

Built in 1232 and renovated in the 17th or 18th century.

ARIANY

No, not a town built on a mound...but a town built on a knoll....and hosts about 1,000 residents...all of which could probably fit in the church.

Parish Church of Nuestra Señora de Atocha (built in 1570)

Yes, the clock was correct!!

That was my day, May 27th, 2020.  It encompassed riding my moto 120 miles over a span of 7 hours on a beautiful 80 degree sunny day.  Lovely as that sounds, my butt HURT by the time I got home!!!

Next Up...

Puerto (Port) de Valldemossa

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.

A Day Trip to...Bunyola - Orient - Alaro'

It was May 15th, 2020 partially cloudy and 72 degrees when I hopped on my moto to explore yet another part of Mallorca.

I headed for the Tramuntana mountain range as if I was going to Soller, but turned off at Bunyola.  After winding through some very narrow streets of Bunyola, I was on my way to the village of Orient via a road no more than 1 1/2 lanes wide, flanked by almond and olive tree 'farms'.  

Anywhere you go in Mallorca, you'll see rock walls (many non-mortared) demarcating property boundaries or used to create flat terraces where almond, olive, orange, and lemon trees can grow.  I'm fascinated by them....their beauty, how difficult it must've been to build them (yet alone retrieving the rock from its source!), and how old they might be...yet still standing.

BUNYOLA

Bunyola is the last town you pass before entering the tunnel that cuts through the Tramuntana mountain range on the way to Soller.  It has a population of approx 6,700 and sits 800 feet above sea level, about 9 miles from Palma, just as you leave 'the flats' and start to climb the flanks of the surrounding hills.  The vintage train to Soller makes a stop here, though you have to walk 8-10 blocks up a fairly steep street to get to the center of town.

Approaching the Tramuntana mountain range.

I was in Bunyola over a year ago and took this snap of these pruned trees lining the main street as you enter town.

Now look at it!

Ok, who dug those holes in the hillside??

Having left Bunyola and enroute to Orient.

My camera added some funky texture to the foliage!

Goat family out playing and eating.

ORIENT

Welcome to Orient....no.....not The Orient...just Orient.  This tiny hamlet MAY have 30 structures, including a church, 3 restaurants, a couple of boutique Inns, and approximately 35 full-time residents.  It's popular for the many hiking trails that launch nearby.

Just about a mile outside of Orient is this hotel formed from an old Mallorcan homestead.

Along the way to Alaro'.

Look closely and spot all the rock walls that form terraced land.

ALARO'

Bienvenido a Alaro'....yes, the accent is on the O!...elevation about 800ft and population around 5,500.  Due to the lack of accomodations in the surrounding area (ie; Orient), Alaro' is mainly used as a base for the outdoorsy type.

Alaro’s most famous tourist attraction is the ruins of its ancient castle, the Castell d’Alaro' which sits more than 2,500 ft on top of a mountain rocky outcrop just outside of town.  It was built to ward off invasions from pirates after the 13th century.  You can drive part way up, via a pitiful road, then you have to hike the rest.

At the main square is the church, town hall, and cafes with outdoor seating.  What can be more Mom and Apple Pie than that?

Instead of continuing out of Alaro' and onto the flats to connect with the town of Inca and the freeway back to Palma, I decided to backtrack the way I came and enjoy the same scenery a second time!  All totaled, my day jaunt added another 40 miles to my moto odometer.

Ok...you've read about it, now see the movie!!!  If you're unable to fall asleep, this will surely work.

Hmmm...where will I go on my next Mallorca outing??

Stay Tuned!!

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.