Getting started 03.03.2024
Normally for my birthday I like to take a ski trip, but the weather in most of Europe has been extremely warm and there’s little snow in the area, so we started looking at alternatives. It turns out Ryanair flies to Mallorca and depending on the days flights can be very cheap. Less than two weeks before leaving we booked flights and started planning. Because I figured we’d be doing more ski vacations, and not hiking, I didn’t bring my camera (or my usual backpacking clothes or even trail runners), so for a change all the pictures on this hike were taken with iPhones and an old point and shoot camera that Betty had laying around. Also for a change we booked refugios (and some hotels because of booking availability) so we were able to do the whole trail with small, light backpacks.
March 3rd 2024, we woke up at 4:30, had coffee and a quick breakfast before setting out to Frankfurt Hahn airport. We got to the airport at about 6:40 for our 8:30 flight. An uneventful 2 hour flight and we arrived in Palma Mallorca. We decided to try to start hiking form Sant Elm, which cuts off the first half day, but that allowed us to start hiking right away. The downside is that in order to get to Sant Elm we had to take the 101 bus to Andratx, then transfer to the 121 to Sant Elm. Also we didn’t realize that we needed to take a bus form the airport to the main bus station in Palma center to catch the 101. Also we needed to grab lunch for both the first and second day between busses because the trails go through no towns on the way and because it’s Sunday and early in the season it looked like everything in Sant Elm would be closed (or at least we couldn’t rely on it).
If we miss too many connections to we could have walked straight from Andratx to Finca Ses Fontanelles where we are staying, but it looks like a crappy road walk most of the way, so it wasn’t ideal.
By the time we figured out where to catch the bus to Palma center, we made it just in time to grab a couple sandwiches for lunch and get the 12:10 bus to Andratx. Most shops in Andratx were closed, but there was a small market where we were able to get a baguette and a nice block of some kind of goat cheese, and pop back on to the bus stop to pick up the next bus (20 min total).
We arrived at Sant Elm at 1:40, which was what we hoped for. It was an estimated 4 hour hike to Finca Ses Fontanelles, and dinner was served at 7:30, so as long as we didn’t take any wrong turns our timing would be good
We walked along the coast in Sant Elm, then on the north side of town the path turns inland and heads into the forest. There was a storm that we just missed, but the sea was still rough and it was extremely windy along the coast, the trees provided nice cover.
We climbed up from town generally following the coast, but were unable to see it for a while. Eventually the trees thinned out and we got fantastic views of an island just off shore called Sa Dragonera. It was strangely warm and somehow at the same time cold with the sun and wind.
The trail kept going up for a while giving us constant fantastic views. Eventually we got to the high point and were able to see north to all of the mountains we’ll be climbing for the next several days. Then we descended into the valley on the other side. We made it to Finca Ses Fontanelles at about 6, which is what we estimated.
Dinner was delicious it featured dishes made from ingredients grown right there including oranges and lemons We hung out and drank wine with another couple named Kat and Phillip, who were also from Wisconsin and Germany and living in Leipzig. It was much colder than we expected and still very windy.