Serra de Tramuntana, Oct 2011 – Day 3
Sóller to Deià
Wednesday 19 October
With both of us feeling stronger we decided to follow the popular route from Sóller to Deià. There are actually two established routes: we opted for the higher path rather than the lower. Our Cicerone guidebook, “Walking in Mallorca” by June Parker & Paddy Dillon gave a distance of 11km, total ascent of 440m and a time of 3h30′.
We left Sóller on a back road which soon became a wide paved track, the Cami des Rost, which climbed steadily to 250m, passing the smart Hotel Cas Xorc near a path junction. A little further and higher by the Capella de Castelló we joined Mallorca’s only long-distance route, the GR221.
Near the chapel is the large finca of Ca’n Prohom. We stopped here for a break and to take in the views. The finca sells coffee and refreshments, including fresh orange juice, but we didn’t see the signs until we were leaving.
The path follows the general line of the coast, sometimes with views and sometimes in trees, undulating but tending slowly downwards. We stopped for lunch at a point above the village of Llucalcari. (Our path passes above the village: the lower route goes through it.) We finally emerged onto the busy main road which we had to follow for 600 rather unpleasant metres, dodging the traffic round a series of bends before turning off into the olive groves.
A deep ravine runs from Deià to the sea. Inevitably the path drops down to the bottom of the ravine before climbing up the last kilometre to the village. This was hot work with the early afternoon sun directly in our faces. We reached the main road again just as it entered the village, and turned off almost immediately in search of cold drinks. We worked our way through the back streets, going steeply uphill to the church at the top without finding anywhere. With almost two hours to kill before the bus back to Sóller we resigned ourselves to a long dry wait. But persistence paid off. Deciding to walk down the unpromising main road as far as the next corner we found the commercial heart of Deià – a grocer’s shop (open) and a café (also open). Cold beer on the terrace was our reward.
Café Sóller got our custom again that evening for tapas variadas, then we adjourned to Sunday night’s restaurant, Sa Cova, for dinner.