Day 10: Palma to Port de Pollenca via Bunyola and Orient
by Will Wattles

I may have found the perfect Mallorca 50 mile bike tour.

I left the Hostal Terminus and followed the narrow gauge rails of the Soller train. Known locally as Mallorca's tourist train, this beautiful antique takes passengers (but not bikes) into the mountains. After a while our paths diverged, my road went over the freeway and continued north. It was a bit congested but, I never felt really uncomfortable.

In a mile or two, it became a quiet back road with a slight incline that increased as I went. After 8 miles I joined a regular two-lane highway for the last mile into the village of Bunyola. I had coffee at the Paris Cafe, noticing the name because I was headed to the Hostal Paris in Port de Pollenca. This cute village hangs on the side of a hill and has narrow streets. The sign with the two arrows means that the car going the direction of the white arrow has the right of way. When I see such a sign, usually at narrow bridges, I'm always glad I'm touring by bike instead of driving a car. In the case of the streets of Bunyola the one that is to yield usually has to back up because visibility is limited.

Right outside of town I saw a row of cars parked mostly on the road so that the narrow two-lane road now was really narrow. I passed a sign telling about 5.4 km road to the top of the pass and its 5.9% average grade. Another sign used pictures to tell cyclists in groups to ride single file.

The road ventured into a narrow valley with steep sides covered with trees and wound back and forth in the familiar switchbacks. The cold morning air felt good as I worked up a real sweat hauling all my gear on the long climb. I saw not a car along the way and heard some sheep bells and nothing else. I took a picture of a gorgeous house set alone in a high spot of the pass with a sheer wall of rock behind it. I got to the top where I sign announced I was at Coll d'Honor. Col means mountain pass in French and I liked the name that seemed to give me credit for my 550 meter (1800 foot) climb from Palma. A teenager on a mountain bike happily took a picture for me in front of the sign.

Naturally the next thing was to go down the other side. The beauty of the road forced me to go slowly and enjoy the unmarred natural scenery. Then through an opening in the trees I saw a picture-perfect green valley in wonderful isolation, surrounded by hills and mountains.

I biked across the valley enjoying the sound of the sheep and went over a small hill, around a corner and into the tiny town of Orient. As I continued up and beyond Orient it seemed too pretty to be real. I could look behind me and see the rocky outcropping of the pass I had come through.

The road then wound smoothly and elegantly through the countryside basically going around the mountain with the old castle ruins I had climbed from Alaro on day three. I had seen this road from the castle and regretted that I wouldn't have a chance to ride it. The decision to include this scenic detour on my ride to Pollenca was not one I made lightly. I worried some about carrying all my gear over the hill but my previous outings must have given me some climbing legs because it felt great.

The last 25 miles to Pollenca involved some of the same road I had enjoyed so much a week ago. However, I followed the bicycle tour signs through Mancor de la Vall and Caimari instead of Binimar and Selva. It was marginally more scenic and slightly more effort.

I arrived in the Port de Pollenca found my way to the Hostal Paris. At 20 euros a night, the hostal was quite a bargain. As was the case with my last lodging in Palma, there was a shower and sink in my room but no toilet. The room also had free wi-fi, a nice bonus for a guy traveling alone without a phone. The lack of heat probably explains the low price though.

I cleaned up from the ride and went out again to forage for groceries. By the time I returned to the hostal, my odometer had clicked 50 miles for the day, my most enjoyable bike tour of Mallorca thus far.

Mileage for the day: 50
Total trip miles: 333

Mallorca Bike Tour - Formentor Peninsula

More about Will Wattles... Will truly enjoys bicycle touring. Over the last decade, he's toured places such as Greece, Costa Rica, Malta, Chile and Venezuela. For more stories and photos from Will's previous bike trips, visit WillBike.com.

Labels: Mallorca-bike-tour, Montague-MX-folding-bike