Mallorca Day 8

Tuesday, May 8 - Sa Calobra

Dinner last night was very good. I went to a cafe a few doors from the hotel with George and Dorlene. It was the cafe with the blue place mats. We sat outside across the pedestrian walkway from the beach. For starters, I had a green salad with goat cheese (there are lots of goats on the island), corn and a creamy yogurt dressing. My main course was grilled monkfish with an orange-colored Mallorcan sauce, potatoes and cooked celery. The fish was perfectly cooked - crusty on the outside and moist on the inside. No dessert tonight. We were too stuffed.

We awoke this morning to bright, sunny skies. The standard breakfast buffet was at 7:30. We met at 9:30 to take the 10:00 ferry to sa Calobra. When we got there, we found that the ferry schedule had change and we couldn't leave until 11:00. This was just a minor glitch. The ferry ride was beautiful along the cliffs of this part of the island. We talked to a German cyclist about the ride and he he gave us some tips about the climb. He had been here a few years running and knew the route well. It is a "must do" for cyclists who visit the island.

In Mallorca, sa calobra means "the snake". The ride starts at sea level and rises 2400 feet in 10 kilometers on a twisty road with countless switchbacks. The picture above shows a small section of the road.

We began the climb immediately after we got off of the ferry. I rode with Tom Grant, Rod Harmon and Peter Krichman. The weather became very warm so the grade of 6 - 10% was a good workout. There was very little traffic coming up the hill and a lot of traffic going down the hill. The downhill traffic included a lot of tour buses. Apparently, the buses take people on tours and end up in sa Calobra so that they can take the ferry back to Port de Soller. Once they empty out, the pick up people that have arrived by ferry and take them back up the hill to where ever. This works out well because buses couldn't pass each other in opposite directions. I had to stop a couple of times so that buses could make it around the corner.

It was a terrific climb with lots of scenic lookouts. At the top of the climb, we dropped down a few hundred feet and stopped at an outdoor snack shop where we merged into yesterday's route. I ate a sandwich, a banana and a Snicker's Bar and drank an orange Fanta. After that, we traced the end of yesterday's route climbing another 1000 feet and dropping 2400 feet back to Port de Soller.

After showering, washing my cycling clothes and catching up with email, I bought some lemon yogurt and peanuts and sat with other people from my group at an outdoor cafe and had a cerveza grande. Bill and I might go for pizza tonight and splurge for a good dinner tomorrow night.

Daily statistics:
Max speed - 37.0
Time - 2:42
Average speed - 10.1
Miles - 27
Elevation - 3450