Day 3 (Soller, Valldemossa, Fornalutx)

Today was AWESOME. First, I woke up too early to report, after maybe 4 hours of sleep, but I was so psyched I didn't even notice. I took an old fashioned train up to Soller, which is along the northwest coast. The train is super rad.

Soller is up in the mountains, tucked away in a beautiful little valley. I took so many pictures, it's kind of disgusting, but there's no way I can post them all here. You'll have to check out Flickr for the rest. the link is in Day 2 or something.

Soller and really Mallorca as a whole are supposed to have amazing oranges. When I got off the train in Soller, there was a street market, and there were people juicing their oranges right there. I'm not a huge fan of orange juice but OH MY GOSH

I know my pictures are limited, but this was SO DELICIOUS I assumed that some of its magnificent flavor might be potent enough to reach you through here. You're welcome.

I then caught a bus that ran along through several small towns, including Deia and Llucrasomethingcara. They are all amazing, and there are random turrets and such, and who doesn't love a good turret? I ended up in Valldemossa, a small medieval town. And it was pouring rain. I was literally soaked. But it was still quite warm and I braved through. And found THIS:

This round little piece of love is some sort of potato bread topped with powdered sugar. Be jealous.

Munching on my tasty treat and wandering about literally covered in white powder like a 5-year old, I came up to the old monastery. It is very cool and old, and Chopin stayed there with his man lover for some time. Here is his piano!

Bask in its glory. There was also an old apothecary, all creepy and such. I'm pretty sure old medicine just made everyone sicker. I get sick just looking at it.

After wandering about some more, I made my way back to Soller, and wanted to get to Fornalutx. It's only 3.5km away, and is supposed to be a pretty walk, so that's what I set out to do. About maybe 5 minutes out, an awesome old guy on his scooter stopped, and gave me a ride into town! At least I think he was offering me a ride, I just heard a ramble of Spanish and "Fornalutx", and I smiled and hopped on. Maybe he just took me there to get rid of the crazy girl that jumped on his scooter. I snapped a photo as he dropped me at the main plaza:

Thank you kind sir!

I found a staircase, and climbed it. Then it led to another, so I was like, hey, why not? And then that happened about 15 more times, and I ended up halfway up the mountain. The view was spectacular, and I saw some chickens, but I got very lost. It's alright though. I eventually found my way to the restaurant I wanted to find, and had calamari stuffed with meat. It was so good I almost died. It was also the first real meal I'd had since arriving in Europe, so the joy was overwhelming. I don't care if it looks gross to you, it was little happy dancing squid heads to me. Tasty ones.

Yummmmm. Belly full, I began the hike back to Soller. I got maybe 10 minutes this time, and a taxi pulled beside me, and yelled... something... I understood "Soller" and "gratis". I hopped on in! He chattered away in Spanish as I stared wide-eyed and said "uh-huh". The thing about being here is, even if you tell them you don't speak spanish, they still blast off full speed ahead. I got lucky and suddenly my brain clicked, and I got this much:
He is from Yugoslavia,
He was married in New York and his wife is very pretty,
He has family in the US and Canada,
He has lived in Mallorca for 20 years.
He also asked me a few questions, like why I was visiting, where I was from, etc. You would be impressed. I am properly acclimated to this foreign land. I am an expert now.

Back in Soller, I took the old school trolley to Port de Soller, a beautiful port with a beach I wanted to swim at very badly.

Then, sadly, I had to tram and train my way back to dear Palma. I fell asleep several times on the train though, so it was probably about time I headed back.