Walking the GR221, Mallorca – Day 6
Lluc – Pollença
12 October
Stats: ascent 285m; descent 720m; time taken 5h 40′
For our last day we had a plan to climb another significant peak close to the GR221 – Tomir – but a combination of weariness and low cloud put it in doubt. I was troubled by an increasingly sore right heel and wasn’t keen on the idea of another long stony descent.
It was still slightly misty around Lluc when we set off. Our first target was the refuge of Son Amer about 1km away. This is a modernised building, busy as we walked through the common room on a Jaume short cut!
After the refuge the GR221 climbed steadily to a col then more easily to another, the Coll de Pedregaret. This is the point where the path to the summit of Tomir (1104m) leaves the GR. Although we were in sunshine the summit was in cloud and no-one had any enthusiasm for the climb so we stayed on the main track.
About 7km from Pollença we reached a tarmac road which in turn led to the main road. The final kilometres into Pollença were flat and unremarkable apart from an unofficial detour designed to avoid a kilometer and a half of road walking. This involved scrambling in and out of a (dry) stream bed and some back-tracking where part of the bank had slipped into the river taking the path with it. Jaume explained that the GR221 was intended to follow this line but the bridge which would have made it feasible had never been built. A walk along the main road was the only viable alternative.
Our arrival in Pollença was a bit of an anticlimax. The final GR221 sign was in a dull residential area about a kilometer from the town centre. We took photos then walked through to the main square for celebratory beers. There didn’t seem to be any shops selling “I ♥ GR221” t-shirts or other merchandise (entrepreneurs please note!). Nicky was polite to the resident garrulous alcoholic American expat who sat at the next table. Jaume disappeared to collect the people-carrier from where he’d left it in the outskirts of the town.
Missing Tomir meant we had arrived quite early, so Jaume offered to drive us out to Cap de Formentor, the extreme north-east of the island, to see the cliffs and the lighthouse. We readily accepted, and the excursion was well worth it.
Back at Lluc that evening we had a celebratory meal of paella (or in my case pork chops), sharing a bottle of cava generously bought by Jonathan and Nicky. And other drinks too of course. In my official role as capo de grupo I thanked Jaume for guiding us through the week. Although the GR221 is supposed to be a well-established long-distance route it was true to say we wouldn’t have done all that we did in the six days without his help.