After yesterdays exertions we decided that an easier day would be good. So after chatting over dinner last night we decided to join Alan for a short ride and climb up to the Hermitage at Ermita de la Victoria just outside Alcudia.
We meet up after breakfast and head off down the main drag to Alcudia old town where the market is being held. It is a beautiful traditional Spanish market with loads of local fresh produce and is bustling with locals. The old town is a stunning walled town with narrow streets and many bars and cafes. The town dates back to the ancient Greeks and the Phoenicians but it was the Romans that first developed the town making it the capital of the Island
We meet up after breakfast and head off down the main drag to Alcudia old town where the market is being held. It is a beautiful traditional Spanish market with loads of local fresh produce and is bustling with locals. The old town is a stunning walled town with narrow streets and many bars and cafes. The town dates back to the ancient Greeks and the Phoenicians but it was the Romans that first developed the town making it the capital of the Island
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| Gate to the old town |
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| Narrow streets .... |
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| Street cafes .... |
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| .... walking through the market |
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| Spanish oranges |
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| another gateway |
Having spent all too brief a time in this wonderful old town we head out for the climb to the 17th century hermitage that was originally built as a fortress church. It is now that we discover that the easy climb of the pre-ride briefing is in fact 29% in places. It's at one of these steeper points that the chain decides to slip sending me and my 'nether regions' in a rapid descent towards the crossbar! Kathy also spots and manages to snatch a photograph of something far better suited to the gradient - one of the local goats that roam these hills. All is soon recovered and the top reached where a check on the GPS confirms an average over the whole climb is 9%! Fortunately distance wise it is mercifully short in comparison to yesterday but still about 4k to the summit. The views from the here are stunning, the hermitage beautiful and to top it all an amazing cafe/restaurant, where while having coffee we are joined by Ralph, Maggie and Dennis.
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| a secluded bay |
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| Looking back down the climb |
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| Kathy's goat |
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| almost there |
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| stopping for a quick breather! |
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| Inside the church |
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| Cafe and restaurant |
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| view from our table ..... |
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| ... looking the other way |
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| cafe |
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| Hermitage, now a small hotel |
We leave the Hermitage and cycle down to a quiet bay for lunch before carrying on to explore the back lanes and bays on the way back to Alcudia. Our exploring takes us to points where the road runs out and we carry our bikes over rocks, sand and seaweed. Alan jokes that all we are missing is water to ford. After a quick trip back into Alcudia we head out to explore more of the islands lanes and work our way back to the hotel. After a couple of wrong turns we find our water and you guessed it's a ford to cross.
It's been a great ride and we are back for mid afternoon so I can take my bike to the bike shop to get the slipping chain sorted. the bike shop are brilliant and without question or fuss give me a replacement bike, so all set for our last day.
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| Looks like a good spot for lunch |
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| Lunch at an oversized picnic table |
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| exploring the bays and coves |
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| on the lanes to home |
It's been a great ride and we are back for mid afternoon so I can take my bike to the bike shop to get the slipping chain sorted. the bike shop are brilliant and without question or fuss give me a replacement bike, so all set for our last day.
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