Sunshine here and there.

We had a week of sunshine at Colonia de Sant Pere and considered ourselves very fortunate, finishing off the week with a stomp up a mountain to see a hermitage and some rather fine views over the bay of Alcudia into the bargain.

The path took us up and up by twists and turns, scrambling over rocky places that would probably have required a handrail and a warning notice in the UK. Consequently we were not a little surprised to meet some (fool)hardy folk attempting the descent by bicycle. Now I know they call them mountain bikes or in Spanish todo terreno but, homestly, there is a limit!

Still, who am I to tell others what to do? I suspect that they had ridden up the mountain from Arta on a good, properly surfaced road and decided to explore the other side. They really should have taken a look at a map to get an idea of the terrain they were covering.

And so Saturday came along and we said goodbye to Colonia Sant Pere, until the next time, whenever that turns out to be. The dial-a-bus system worked perfectly once again. I really am most impressed with this service.

The taxi driver was commenting on the weather and how fortunate they are in the island of Mallorca and particularly in their little corner which will be very quiet from now until next spring. She felt that children growing up in a place like Colonia de Sant Pare had a real advantage over city children, having the freedom to wander, to get close to nature and to be independent.

Telling us about the winter they lived through this year though, with snow on Mallorca for the first time in about 50 years, she did, however, express a certain regret, a sort of nostalgia for what she never or rarely has, weather cold enough to merit muffling yourself up in scarves and woolly hats and gloves!

Because of the timing of our various buses and our flight from Palma to Manchester, we didn’t really have time for a proper sit-down lunch and so we bought take away sandwiches and a drink from the bus/train/metro station café in Palma. I would highly recommend this to buying food and drink at the airport, We paid 5.80€ for two sandwiches and a soft drink, compared with 6.70€ for 2 soft drinks in the airport and then 1.60€ for a small bottle of water to take on the plane with us. Another example of the daylight robbery that goes on in airports with their captive clientele!

And finally we zoomed down into Manchester where the evening temperature was 7°. Just a little shock to the system. It was even worse this morning, though, waking up to frost on the shed roof! Still, the sun has shone nicely, one of those excellent autumn days, crisp and bright. Mustn’t grumble!!