Wednesday, May 9 - For dinner last night, we decided to skip pizza and have something better. Bill, Steve and I went to El Patio which was a few doors from the hotel. I had a large salad with a big, round slab of warm goat cheese, red and green peppers, cucumbers, corn, etc. I also had spaghetti with a creamy Gorgonzola sauce and peppercorns. Yummy and filling!
Bed around 10:00.
We were up this morning at 7:00 for our usual 7:30 breakfast buffet. Rides today were optional and since I came here to see as much territory that I could, I decided to take to Port de Soller to Jardins d'Alfabia round trip. To get to the jardins, we had to climb over a significant hill on a narrow, switchbacked road. The highway department has built a tunnel to get the cars through the hill so that left us with a nearly deserted route. The climb was not very steep but it did encompass 29 switchbacks up to the top and 23 down the other side to the jardins. When I arrived at the entrance, the jardins were closed and it looked like there was no tourist activity there for some time.
I began the ride at 9:15 and got to the jardins at 10:30. it was too early to turn around and go back, so I continued on to Bunyola about 5 km down the road. I stopped there for cafe con leche and a croissant at a small cafe. The picture is at the top of today's blog.
After my snack, I turned around and retraced the route. By this time, a lot of cyclists were out riding the same roads. I passed some at the start of the climb and was passed by a couple of others on the way up. A third cyclist was trying to catch me but couldn't quite do it before the summit. He gave me the thumbs-up sign.
On the way down, I caught up with Alison, John and Steve at about the 15th switchback. I cruised back into town around noon. I helped Rob with a bicycle repair, took a shower and had lunch. I ate a small thin-crust pizza with cheese, olives, anchovies and artichokes accompanied by a cerveza grande. Eating alone gave me a chance to relax and finish my book.
After lunch, I sat down in front of the hotel and had good conversations with others in the group.
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