More walks, further afield 2

MALLORCA 2013

BASED AT PUERTO POLLENCA.

SETTLING IN AND CALA BOQUER.

After having such a good holiday there last year, we decided to go back to Majorca again this year, as we had had a hard Summer working, and just wanted a 'no-brainer' where we could feel comfortable right away. We arrived early at Manchester airport. We managed to get a window seat on the plane (excited!), then once we’d boarded, realised it was over the wing (those ticket staff must really get a buzz out of disappointing people who ask for a window seat, but haven't paid to choose).

Anyway, as it transpired, it didn't really matter, as it was cloudy all the way, so no views to speak of.

You can see the previous blog by clicking;

HERE

It got a little better as we approached Majorca. Some very exciting views of the cliffs and this spit of land poking out into the sea.

Looking out on our final approach.

Plenty of cruise ships in at Palma today.

Then, before we knew it, we were down and transferred to our hotel (Puerto Azul Aparthotel). We stayed here last year, and liked it so much, we decided to come again.

We weren’t disappointed, as it was as good as we remembered, but the stars of the show are their staff. Remarkably friendly, and yes, they remembered us :-)

The first couple of days were quite cloudy, still very warm though, so tee shirt and shorts were the order of the day.

Nothing we love better than a jug of sangria and a balmy evening.

Today, we had both.

It was good to re-acquaint ourselves with Puerto Pollensa, such pretty streets and cafes.

Later on, we walked along the pine walk to the Cafe Daina, where we were thrilled to see the guitarist Mariano Miranda.

He is skilled to say the LEAST! We only got to see him the once last year, but this time we made sure we saw him both times he was there.

You can see him performing on these YouTube links;

LINK ONE

LINK TWO

LINK THREE

LINK FOUR

LINK FIVE

The next day was again warm, mid upper twenties, and the sky less cloudy with lots of blue.

We decided to take a walk to Cala Boquer, where I fell in love with snorkelling last year.

It’s a very pleasant and easy walk (note; Sue is wearing sandals).

In less than thirty minutes, we were in paradise!

The water was a little choppy, it’s usually like a mirror, but that didn’t put us off.

It was a beautiful azure blue, and Sue wasted NO time in getting in.

Straight in, as the temperature was really nice. No shock as you walked in at all.

Small (and sometimes large) boats were often seen in this bay, as it’s a favourite of many for a stop-off to swim and picnic.

Now, I’m not sure if this little chap had a bite, and was in no hurry to find out!

Earlier in the year, we’d been to Fuerteventura, and noticed LOADS of this ‘rock balancing’. Now, here was an example that was definitely not here last year.

We were to see lots more of it on this visit to Majorca. I’ve no idea why it has become so popular, all of a sudden?

Nature has its own stab at being better than the balancers.

After a lovely time swimming, sunbathing and snorkelling, we made our way back in the early evening light, with the island of El Colomer glowing in the sun.

Witchcraft?? This dried out goat kid was on a rock at the side of the path.

These eye-catching red and black berries were in abundance.

We spotted an adult goat above us on the rugged skyline. (Click on the picture for a larger version)

You can see the strong shadows, but the sky looks VERY angry this evening. We wondered if we’d get a storm later.

The clouds were gathering over the bay too.

Even in October, the flowers here are lovely. these ones were everywhere.

It seems one colour isn’t enough – it HAS to be two!

Again, we decided to take in the evening with a stroll down the pine walk to the harbour.

The evening light was picking out boats in a very special way.

Some of the crepuscular rays were amazing.

Yachts as white dots.

We watched the last rays of the sun in the balmy evening before making our way to ‘Bar Bony’, one of our favourite bars.

The guy is an absolute eccentric, but HIS is the busiest bar in the port square, so he’s doing something right.

The cocktails are HUGE, and the place is filled with little jokes, like the toilets saying GENTS on the outside door, then LADIES on the inside one (and vice-versa in the ladies).

The bar clock goes BACKWARDS, and the hand towels in the toilets are about five feet up the wall :-)

The opening times are stated as 11:58AM to three minutes past midnight 🤔.

A couple of these cocktails made us sleepy, so we meandered slowly back to the hotel through the quiet, safe streets of Puerto Pollensa

TIFFIN ON TRYFAN

Tryfan is a mountain in Snowdonia. At just over 3,000 feet, it qualifies as one of the ‘Welsh 3,000 ers’.

You can read up on it here; http://www.summitpost.org/tryfan/150335

It never even crossed my mind to ‘do’ it, until I asked Sue if she fancied a drive through the mountains. It was our first day off for two weeks, and to be honest, we hadn't done as much walking as we’d like over the summer holidays, as we were so busy at work. “A drive – why can’t we go up one then? You haven’t climbed Tryfan, let’s do that?” was Sue’s reply. So, at around 7:00AM we set of for Snowdonia.

When we arrived about 10:AM, there was a bit of rain hitting the screen as we drove along, plus the mountains were enveloped in a wispy mist. NOT good! Then, as we approached the base of Tryfan (that’s it on the left), it miraculously started to clear! Even blue sky started to peep through. GREAT!

Looking up Tryfan, I saw that I thought were a couple of people on the top. Sue explained this was Adam and Eve, a rock formation I was to get a LOT more intimate with later on. If you blow this picture up, you’ll see what I mean, and how I thought it was people.

All around us, the mist was uickly clearing from the tops - GREAT!

We parked up at the plentiful free parking at the side of Llyn Ogwen. This is a place dear to my heart, as my Mum and Dad used to take us to Anglesey for our holidays from when I was about 9 years old. They always insisted on stopping around here, and my brother Colin and I would take an empty bottle to a mountain stream and fill it with cool, clear water.

See what greeted us by clicking on this link;

CLICK HERE

The view down Ogwen, to the Nant Ffrancon valley.

We got booted up, and set off in the vastly improving conditions, even feeling the sun on us now.

Yes – the path goes UP! Sue had (for some reason) chosen the hardest way up. The North face of Tryfan is not what most people would call a walk, as you have four points of contact most of the time, making it more of a scramble. We both love this sort of thing though, but was it wise after so long a lay off?

The view down Llyn Ogwen and the Nant Ffrancon valley.

The heather was blooming - but this is where the midges hide in wait for us!

This is more indicative of what you get up to on the North face.

Of course, there are LOTS of dramatic points too, with it being so steep. This is the famous ‘Cannon stone’, with views to die for (literally, if you slipped)

See the view from the stone by clicking on this link;

CLICK HERE

Sue and I had lunch here, a dramatic and memorable spot.

This is Anna. She and her dad were also doing Tryfan that day, and it was the LAST ONE in the 3,000ers for them. HUGE congratulations to them both.

Sue was determined to have a go too, but was a bit more ‘respectful’ of the stone.

We saw one or two other mountain goats on our way up.

This photo goes a little way to showing how steep the way up is.

One last pic, before we press on up.

The cloud was REALLY clearing now to the West, but over our shoulder to the South, it would linger all day. More of that later, but for now we got this stunning view of Llyn Idwal, & Llyn Bochlwyd, (left) as we gained height at a phenomenal rate.

See a sweep of the valley (complete with commentary by me) by clicking on this link;

CLICK HERE

Llyn Ogwen was looking very blue and beautiful in the strong sunshine now.

Looking up, this gully looked the most serious part so far. there were people ahead, so we just pressed on – slowly!

NOW it was getting good – Sue and I were being paid back in plenty for our hard climbing with views like this.

Clear views are good, but I must admit, I DO love an ethereal cloud or two in the shot.

Watch Sue clambering up the North Face

CLICK HERE

We reached the top of the third gully, and looked through to Y Garn across the valley. It was at this point, or nearby, that we disturbed about 2 million midges, and we were bitten quite a lot. All I ended up with were red spots, but poor Sue had a bad reaction to them, and was a week itching and uncomfortable.

It got REALLY WOW! as we got to the top. This cloud was ‘waterfalling’ from the ridge of Glyder Fawr, into the Nant Ffrancon valley below us.

We were surprised by just how many people there were when we got to the top, about twenty, in all. We all just sat around, admiring the terrific views and weather conditions.

Then, I noticed the two stones I had seen from the valley – ‘Adam and Eve’.

Time to get ‘better acquainted’.

First Eve........

.....then Adam.......

To gain 'The Freedom of Tryfan', it's customary (necessary) to leap the gap between the two stones.......

So - here goes.........

DONE IT!

My photographer - relieved that I'd done it OK.

You can see the jump in moving form here;

CLICK HERE

We got a guy to take our picture in the warm sunshine on the top of Tryfan.

Mum and Dad – if you’re watching, I TOLD you I‘d climb it one day!

Then, it was time to start down.

One last glance back at Adam and Eve.

After quite a while on the top, chatting and taking it all in, we reluctantly set off down. Sue never wants to leave when she reaches a summit, but time was against us now.

The cloud to the west over the Glyders Fawr and Fach never fully cleared all the time we were there. It was awesome to watch it moving and rolling though.