Serra de Tramuntana, Oct 2011 – Day 4
Mirador de ses Barques & Bàlitx
Thursday 20 October
Encouraged by yesterday’s walk we decided to try another route starting with a good uphill section. The Mirador de ses Barques is actually just off the main road, but you can walk there from Sóller through olive and carob groves. The Mirador looks out along the coast and is understandably popular. It celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. It took us a bit more than an hour to get there, and we were happy to sit and have a coffee and share a piece of almond cake.
There is a well-defined path from the Mirador to the isolated bay of Cala Tuent but we judged it was too far to walk there and back and we didn’t know if or when there might be a boat back to Port de Sóller. Instead we decided to go only as far as Bàlitx d’Amunt, cross over to the col below Puig de Bàlitx, and make our way back down from there. Instead of following the access track downhill and back up to the col we traversed the hillside through the olive terraces, a decision only slightly marred by staying too high and having to negotiate a fence and a wall to get back onto the public access track.
Leaving the ascent of Puig de Bàlitx for another day we took the main path downhill, zigzagging down to a squelchy area by a flowing spring (font) where we had lunch. At this point the driveable track ended. Hacked undergrowth and a vague red paint splodge hinted at a path. I reconnoitred and declared it a dead end, but Jonathan correctly interpreted the fence as a stile with a footpath continuing the other side. Sure enough this led us out to another access road which we followed all the way to the tarmac road and back to Port de Sóller. I realised later that the route we came down is in the guide book as an approach route for Puig de Bàlitx.
That evening we made the only bad choice of the week for dinner. One of the cafés/restaurants on the east side of the square offerred pizza and paella. I had pizza, Jonathan had paella. Both were equally dreadful – you would have had better from any British supermarket.
11km, 390m ascent.