Breakfast not-included = freedom of departure time. A few slices of not-too-dry supermarket cake and a banana are the perfect fuel to get going bright and early. After arriving late at the hostel yesterday, the early morning route back to the GR221 confirmed my expectations. Cute town – unnecessary to spend a half day there.
Esporles to Valldemosa
Unbelievably, 2km out of town, I missed the turn off point and walked pointedly towards a distant farm, until a lovely woman in a car pulled over and notified me of my error.
Again! I pride myself on my inner navigational skills, but staying on the trail this trip has been wildly unsuccessful.
Returning 1km back to the point of my mistake, I noted that while there was no sign pointing in the direction I wanted to go, there was one pointing in the reverse direction that I had even noted whilst passing it. A short stretch up an incredibly pot-holed road shortly led to the entrance of a forest. In the UK, some wonderful passive-aggressive heroes throw birthday parties for major potholes. I wouldn’t be surprised if this road had it’s own festival.
At around 4km the potholed pavement turned off into a forest. I was greeted with 2 options: follow the official signpost and go forwards, or follow the serial-killer-in-the-woods sign and go left.
The next 4km were relatively slow going do to ascent, descent and the track, but being in a forest in the morning is highly enjoyable, even without much of a peak at the Mediterranean Sea. Drizzle made the dry stone route relatively damp and the descent into town slippy. I always hike without hiking poles and routes like this remind me way.
The descent was slow. As with each day so far, I underestimated the route based solely on distance and elevation gain/loss rather than considering the terrain.
I stopped a Valldemosa for lunch and had a Llonguet from the surprisingly chic Cafe Barbaflorida. Every other place to eat in town had a “just jumped off the tourist bus” look about them, but Barbaflorida had simple, tasty, slightly trendy vegetarian options. Bingo!
As someone who poorly researches all trips, I skipped past the monastery and also walked through the town. It was probably the nicest little town I passed through on the whole GR221 and I definitely regret that. But as you know, the temptation to continue walking is hiiiiigh.
Valldemosa to Deia
The path out of town cuts across a main road and swerves uphill. I turned left onto a path that said “road closed due to risks from X storm” – said storm was in February. Hiking in October, I felt safe to continue. If a branch had waited this long to drop onto my head, I’ll accept that as heavenly intervention.
The stony (surprise!) path is straightforward to follow. I ignored the shortcuts planned to me by Komoot and followed the signposted route exactly. Onions were growing underfoot and wild Mallorcan goats hopped along the mountainside. Possibly searching for onions.
Above the treeline, the landscape was stunning. A clear blue sky, crisp green bushes, and those darling slightly-browned stones to hop between. My speed decreased rapidly from taking so many photos. I swear the view looked different every 20 metres!
After a relatively even 1km across the top, the descent to Deia begin. You can see the town from the descent. What you’ll also notice on the left of the picture below is the creeping shadow indicating the setting sun. Again, I felt a time pressure to descend before sundown. I don’t mind hopping downhill at a decent pace, but the stones definitely jolted my knees.
After powering it down, I arrived in Deia before it got dark, perfectly in time to see this bizarrely wonderful illusion. The sun reflected a true red (not a trick of the camera) across the distant mountain.
I sadly walked past the Rifugio Can Boi, which was fully booked. They had a cosy looking outdoor terrace which would have been perfect for a supermarket dinner. Instead, I ate my supermarket dinner on the bed of my budget hotel room, booked online at the last minute. It was on a hill 500m out of town. After a long day of hiking, this was somehow the most difficult ascent!
Komoot GR221 Day 3 Esporles to Deia
I always use Komoot to navigate whilst hiking (with a premium account for offline maps). You can check out my actual route here: