Rest day……….well sort of

Today we took a leisurely ride up the coast to Alcudia proper and then turned inland to Pollenca (Po ‘yent sa). Our brief stop in this town earlier made us want to come back and explore. And, it was a perfect way to give our legs a breather, since it is a gentle ride from here, only 10 miles each way.

This day we walked up to El Calvari Chapel at the top of the 365 steps, carrying our bikes. The picture to the left shows one of the houses alongside the steps on the way up to the chapel. The picture below is of Ken coming up the steps.
The view of the city and valley below were awesome. By chance, we were greeted at the top by the caretaker, who spoke little English- but also by the neighbor on the other side of the chapel. He grew up in Lynchburg, VA before moving back to Spain several years ago, the land of his father. His command of English gave us a great insight into the area. He pointed out the Roman bridge far below, one of the last remaining Roman era artifacts in Pollenca. He also told us about the Roman ruins recently excavated in the old town part of Alcudia. We were able to stop there on the ride back to our hotel.
Lunch in Pollenca was the traditional Pa Amb Oli. This is thinly sliced Spanish ham (think of prosciutto), with olive oil and cheese on crusted bread. We browsed the shops viewing some beautiful pottery and jewelry before the shops closed for siesta. Siesta is taken very seriously, nothing was reopening until well after 4:30 in the afternoon, having been closed since about noon. Some cafes stay open for snacks/drinks and we were able to get a cold drink before getting back on our bikes to return to Alcudia.

The oldest part of Alcudia is surrounded by a 14th century wall. It was settled by the Phoenicians and later conquered by Rome. We walked around the wall, which still surrounds the city and were able to walk on top of some areas which are enabled by stairs to get a better perspective of the city and Bay of Pollenca beyond the city.

We headed back to our hotel for our usual wonderful dinner with the rest of the group and took a nice walk afterwards toward the restaurant district to the south of our hotel.

Stats for today: 22 miles, 329 feet of climbing (almost nothing- compared to the last three days! But a well deserved rest day for our legs.)