Tag Archives: Transport

Easy Riders

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I was trapped in my car amidst a horde of Easy Riders the other day, a long trail of perhaps twelve or fifteen Harley-Davidsons, with three heavy machines ahead of me and the rest behind. Mallorca’s secondary roads are quite narrow, so overtaking was not an easy option. But, hey, they were considerate and as soon as there was no oncoming traffic and the vista was clear, they waved me to pass, one at a time. They were driving quite conscientiously. Muchas gracias.

My friends and I were slightly concerned that the rowdy, or rather not so rowdy, lot may have been heading for the same restaurant as we were for our lunch, but no. We had a pleasant meal of cochinillo (suckling pig) and leg of lamb and had soon forgotten about the previous encounter. After lunch we headed for the monastery of Bonany, on the outskirts of Petra. You can imagine our surprise when walking up from the car park we passed a noisy gathering of leather clad folk having a picnic-type party. Here they were again, the Easy Riders. Apparently they were from a Harley-Davidson penya in Palma. Oh well. Apart from the exceedingly loud rock music blasting out, they were quite amenable, really.

The photos were taken near Petra, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: September 9th, 2012. The time was 14:58:27 and 15:06:31, respectively.

The Balearic Mountain Championship

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The annual car race up the Sant Salvador mountain near Felanitx is the fourth out of six races making up the Campeonato de Baleares de Montaña 2012 (Balearic Mountain Championship). So far, races were held to Valldemossa, to Monte Toro and to the Castell de Son Mas in Andratx. After Felanitx, two more races remain in this year’s competition, up to Puig Major (October 6th-7th) and to Cala de Sant Vicenç (October 20th-21st).

Tomorrow, September 1st, will be a day of training sessions, starting at 16h30. The proper race will be held on Sunday, September 2nd, at 09h30. Thirty cars have registered to compete here in Felanitx. And the winner is …..

The photo was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of mallorcarallye.com.

Muchas gracias.

The Other Half

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The other day, a commemorative act was held in Portocolom to mark the 90th anniversary of the foundation of Spain’s first civil school for amphibian planes, the Escuela de Hidroaviación Civil. The occasion was reason enough for the President of the Consell de Mallorca, Maria Salom Coll, to descend upon this Eastern harbour town together with a few mandarins in her entourage. The festive act with self-important speeches by the political class was marred by a cacophony of ear-piercing whistles, shouting and booing by up to a hundred mostly young protesters. The audience attending was clearly divided into two groups of pretty equal numbers. The scene was a fair mirror image of today’s society in Spain and more to the point, Mallorca. La Crisis in Spain and here on the island seems to be affecting one half of the population whilst the other half happily pursues a routine of daily life as if everything were normal. I was shocked to see how seemingly far removed the political class present in Portocolom appeared from half their populace. They were all smiling and irritatingly cheerful, totally ignorant of the motives of the protesters who appeared to belong to the 21.3 % (24.6 % in all of Spain) of unemployed, or rather, 48 % in the case of youngsters under the age of 35, which seemed about the age range of the whistlers.

Massive protests have been seen frequently over the last six months wherever the president of the Govern Balear or his counterpart at the Consell de Mallorca made public appearances, either in Sa Pobla, Inca, Felanitx, Sóller, Andratx or Muro. Political decisions effecting cuts and changes in education, language, the health system, paired with effects of inflation, unemployment, taxation and dispossession have caused a lot of ill will amongst many citizens that the ruling body shrugs off without any further discussion. The argument goes like this ‘We have been elected with a majority and will now do as we please‘. A pity though that half the adult citizens did not vote Conservative and seem to feel utterly misrepresented.

It appears only fitting that just two days earlier, the government in Madrid had set up a new Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (Ministry of Homeland Security). I think that sooner or later the street protests in Spain will not be restricted to mere whistling.

The photo was taken in Portocolom, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: July 25th, 2012. The time was 19:27:48.

Caterpillar Tracked Mechanical Donkeys

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The ingenuity of humanity is quite mind-blowing. Does it not sometimes make you wonder how on earth these massive monastery buildings or defence towers were erected on relatively high mountains, here in Mallorca, when there was no road going up, let’s say five hundred years ago, and when there were no helicopters or lorries or other such wonderful modern implements available, when in fact not even the power engine had been invented yet, nor even the steam engine?

I tell you how the folks of old did it. They used the donkey. The history of Mallorca would be quite different without the ingenious use of donkeys or mules. These hoofed bestias have been used for centuries here on the island to carry loads and building material and water and whatever else to wherever these should be needed, with camino in existence or without..

Sadly, these ases (donkeys) or mulas (mules) are not much in demand any more, not here in Mallorca nor elsewhere. Instead, the caterpillar tracked mechanical donkey of mainly Japanese provenance seems to be taking over. Lately, I have seen these little power monsters with increasing frequency here on the island. Traditional small-scale farming is on the retreat as well, and the youngsters who might have inherited their family’s fields without knowing how to till the land because they have an office job or else, work in hotels or restaurants or drive a bus, seem more intrigued by mechanized toy gadgets such as the one shown in the photo (top).

The problem is that these caterpillar track barrows are quite lethal when it comes to any sensitive handling of old and historic tracks and caminos, for instance of the dry stone category. Historic Camins de pedra en sec have been lovingly restored over the last ten or fifteen years in the Serra de Tramuntana. An increasing amount of damage to these old caminos has been reported to the authorities, in all likelihood caused by the caterpillar tracked barrows, each capable of carrying up to 600 kilogrammes or so and causing the dry stones to be dislodged or broken under the weight and due to the friction caused.

I wish some people would come to their senses.

The photo (top) was taken near Deià, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: July 4th, 2012. The time was 14:39:04. The photo (bottom) was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of riowang.blogspot.com.es.

Thank you very much.

Saint Christopher and the Car Blessings

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According to the Catholic faith, Saint Christopher is the saint of safe travel. It is quite customary, here and elsewhere, to put Saint Christopher medals on display in one’s car to bless the vehicle, the driver and the passengers with safe journeys there and back.

There are a few pueblos in Mallorca where this tradition is upheld, amongst others Felanitx, Biniali and Sant Joan, and of course Palma. A Beneïdes (blessing) of lorries, cars and motorbikes will take place next Saturday, July 7th, in Portocolom, the harbour town of Felanitx. The time will be 10h30. I am giving you a few days warning in case you would want to make your way to Portocolom. I am not sure about the date of similar blessings in Biniali, but last year it happened to be a week or two after Felanitx. I don’t know the reason for this divergence of dates. As far as I know, the official saint’s day is July 10th. The Saint Christopher blessings are usually officiated by a priest or someone similarly qualified.

Beneïdes de Sant Cristòfol blessings were also held in the village of Sant Joan for the last 56 years, but they have now been cancelled for this year. Apparently there has been some conflict between the Penya Motorista Sant Joan and the local Ajuntament. What can I say?

The photo was borrowed from the Internet, courtesy of diariodemallorca.es and the photographer, M. Bosch.

Muchas gracias.

Price Hikes

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Steep price hikes were introduced from June 1st for transport on the island. The train from Palma to Manacor is now charged at 3.80 € one-way when it used to cost 2.45 €; an increase of 55 %. The bus from the airport into Palma is now charged at 2.50 € when it was 1.80 € last year, up a mere 39 %. My bus from Felanitx to Palma used to be 4.25 €; now it costs 4.80 €, up 13 %. The bus from Portocolom to Felanitx was 0.95 €; now it is 1.60 €, up 68 %. Other train and/or bus charges in Mallorca have increased between 47 and 58 %. You may have had your own experience if you use the public transport; no one will be spared.

And if you use the car, petrol has gone up as well a week or two ago. Petrol is now 1.44 € per litre un-leaded 95 octane, and 1.55 € per litre un-leaded 98 octane, the sixth increase this year alone. Diesel sells at 1.35 € per litre at the moment.

You may consider this a boring blog entry; believe me, I am quite enraged.

The photo was taken near Inca, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: June 1st, 2012. The time was 13:01:08.

Phileas Fogg

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Once or twice a year, there is fog to be found on Mallorca’s roads. Years ago, some friends of ours came to visit, flying in from Germany. Palma International airport was closed for about five hours, first thing in the morning, and their flight had to be re-routed to Ibiza. Instead of 08h00 in the morning, they finally landed in Palma at 14h30.

The fog last night was not quite as bad. The foggy conditions on the motorway from Palma to Llucmajor were only intermittent and again, between Campos and Felanitx, where I live. Driving a car in foggy conditions is not the best setting for taking photos of the fog, and I must admit that my wife got cross and worried when I could not resist the temptation. The resulting image is not half as good as the visual impression that I had whilst driving my car but there you are. Nobody said taking photographs was easy.

Just in case you feel mislead about my Phileas Fogg reference, take it easy. Jules Vernes is said to have based his novel Clovis Dardentor on the Coves del Drac in Porto Cristo and thus, must have visited the island. Phileas Fogg never visited Mallorca; his character was fictional.

Postscript: Five aeroplanes could not land at PMI airport this morning between 08h30 and 09h15 and had to be diverted. So it was pretty bad fog, after all.

The photo was taken near Campos, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: March 13th, 2011. The time was 22:31:07.

Tin Lizzy

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Yesterday, on one of my numerous rambles through Mallorca’s back alleys, I came across another unexpected find. The wrecked car shown here is not a Tin Lizzy which would have been the Ford Model T (built between 1908 and 1927). A Ford it is alright but, I would rather make that the Ford Model B, also known as Ford Model 18 (built 1932 – 1934).

I very much doubt that a car like this was ever sold in Spain, let alone in Mallorca. Not many landed gentry would have been able to afford such a luxury in Spain  and less so in the years leading up to the Civil War. I suspect that the car was rather bought overseas by an erstwhile Mallorcan emigrant who had subsequently made his fortune in South America, perhaps Argentina or Cuba, and had then brought the automobile back to Mallorca upon his return to the land of his forebears, possibly after 1940. Or perhaps I have inadvertently trespassed on a former property of Joan March Ordinas, not quite yet gentrified in the early Thirties.

It is a shame that the coche is in this quite lamentable state and seems rather beyond repair. Fully intact Model B examples have become rare, even in the USA.

The photo was taken near Artà, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: September 6th, 2011. The time was 18:24:20.

The Rule of 2 Leguas

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In the old days, distances in Mallorca were measured in Leguas. There was a Legua Real for distances on land and a Legua Marítima for distances at sea. The old Legua Real had a length of 6,687 metres. For distances on sea, the Legua Marítima had a length of 5,573 metres. The Legua has an equivalent in the English measure of a league, even though they are not equivalent distance.

You may have noticed, or you will discover once you study a Mallorcan map in some greater detail, that there is a strange rule of distances that governs Mallorca’s pueblos and their distance from one another. All towns and villages seem to be roughly 2 Leguas Reales apart (some 13 km), give or take a bit. It may be 12 km in one case and perhaps 14 km in another, but in general, almost all Mallorcan urban places appear to be equidistant.

See for yourself. Llucmajor to Campos: 13 km. Campos to Santanyí: 12 km. Felanitx to Manacor: 13 km. Inca to Santa Maria: 14 km. S’Aranjassa to Llucmajor: 12 km. Sa Pobla to Santa Margalida: 12 km. Llucmajor to Algaïda: 10 km. Montuïri to Algaïda: 11 km. Andratx to Es Capdellà: 11 km. Alcúdia to Pollença: 11 km. And so forth. You can take your own pueblo and check on the distance to the next village up the road.

As always, there is a reason for this strange rule and this close proximity: the donkey cart. In the old days, farmers had to bring their goods to the nearest market, or from one pueblo to the next one. And 2 Leguas Reales was roughly the distance that a normal, that is, slow donkey could pull a cartload of goods in one session. That would be from here to the market in the morning, and then from the market back home in the afternoon.

I once had a Mallorcan friend, Joan Estepol, whose father was a horse dealer. When Joan was a boy, he accompanied his father to the market in Sineu, to sell horses and mules. They lived in Felanitx and they had to walk twice the distance, i. e. 4 Leguas Reales from Felanitx to Sineu, or 27 kilometres. The journey took them two days, there and back. Luckily, for Joan and his father, the market was only held once a week. Joan is dead now. I rather miss him and the stories he told me about life in the old days.

The photo was taken near Llucmajor, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: September 1st, 2011. The time was 14:12:50.

Sentimental Journeys

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I must confess that I am intrigued by old things of a bygone era, be that a classic car, an old fountain pen, a motorcycle with sidecar, a Thirties wireless radio, a Wurlitzer jukebox, an old-fashioned printing press, you name it. Saying that, you’ll be surprised when I tell you that you’ll find none of these in our house, except perhaps for a fountain pen from the Seventies.

Here in Mallorca, my heartbeat goes up every time I see an old farming instrument, a plough perhaps or an old wine barrel, a horse cart like the one shown in the picture or a loom of yesteryear. You may call me old-fashioned, sentimental, a romantic even, but, there you are.

Even more than the old objects I admire people such as some of my friends here on the island who lovingly restore and cherish such old treasures. One friend collects and lovingly reconditions old motorbikes, another proudly stores and restores vintage cars, yet another overhauled his old horse cart with great care and dedication and has just laid his eyes and his heart on yet another, slightly bigger carriage, as old and equally beautiful..

Talking about the cart in my photograph, I have you know that you won’t be able to take this vehicle on any public road in Spain, not even here in Mallorca. There is a law prohibiting old spoked wheel carts, wooden or otherwise, careering up and down public roads as long as their wheels are rimmed with an iron band. Should you want to cruise with such an old cart, you would first have to refit the vehicle with modern type, rubber-tyred wheels. Of course it can be done but, it will not quite be the same.

The photo was chosen from my archive. It was taken near Felanitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: February 6th, 2011. The time was 12:52:58.