Port de Soller, Mallorca, Spain - Ses Tres Creus, a not so gentle walk

I was rather stiff from my "gentle walk", it had been abut 4 hours long, so I took it easy yesterday. A stroll around the bay, some sketching, some reading.
Today I tried another walk that I had not done before. The springs of Soller and Ses Tres Creus. In my hiking book the degree of difficulty was listed as "low", time:1hr , type of walk: unmarked, stone paths.
First I walked into Soller.

The orange juice stand was open

so I had to have some.

I love fresh squeezed orange juice anyway but sitting on a bench, half way to Soller, looking at this view makes it even more delicious.

They use decorated stones as paperweights on the notes about their organic lemons for sale and to hold down the napkins that the glasses rest on.

In Soller I went up to the administration offices in the train station and renewed my tram card for another month. I am not here for a whole month but it will still work out cheaper than paying full price every time I use the tram.

I stopped in the square for a coffee (and a pee) and the decorations are going up for the Orange Festival that starts this week.

Attached to the top of the fountain

and blowing in the breeze

it just made me want to take pictures.

The instructions in the book started at the square in front of the train station, where there just happens to be a fabulous bakery. I picked the ensaimada with custard and apricots for 11 o'clock snack.

It was tough choosing - there was nougat, cookies,  eclairs, squares, cakes, ensaimadas, savory pies and candies.

The shot from outside has too much reflection, but I rather like it anyway.

The instructions had me walking out of town, up the valley towards the tunnel to Palma, across this torrente

and over the Soller-Palma railway tracks.

No idea what it is but it was growing along the fence like a weed.

The instructions said to take this road to the end and go through the gate between two houses. Well it had a lock on it and a video camera. Someone really didn't want anyone to go that way. So I gave up on going to the springs (they come out of a cave, would have been neat to see) and headed back to a sign post to Ses Tres Creus that I had seen on the way.

Up a stone path between houses and walled gardens.

I stopped to watch the chickens pecking at oranges

and the rooster came straight over to see me off, followed by his harem.

Shortly the path was blocked by a gate and some quite emphatic signage - no dogs, please close the gate - strange how capitals make it stronger.

This was a very old and rather overgrown olive grove. The path climbed from one terrace to another

and round and over the naturally occurring rocks.

I came across a "fixer upper",

4 walls standing but no doors, windows or roof.

Great view though.

I carried on up

and there was another one. You would have to transport everything for the renovations on donkeys.

I was getting flashbacks of Peru, having to stop and get my heart rate down and drink some water. I was wondering how much higher it could possibly go, was I on the right track or had I accidentally wandered onto one of the "over the mountain" paths? Should I turn round? This was supposed to be easy!

Then the path went by some more occupied little fincas and the path was blocked by ponies.

They moved away but remained curious. I thought perhaps they were the way goods were transported until I came, suddenly, out onto a paved road

that ended, at a lookout over the Soller valley. Suddenly it was all worthwhile.

There was the train station

and the church

and I have to find this house with the turret and the blue and white tile roof.

Looking up the valley towards Fornalutx and Biniaraitx

and towards the Port.

I walked down the stairs to the front of the monument

and then headed down the road

which I knew passed the cemetery on the way back into town.

Most of these old water channels now have PVC pipe in them, fewer leaks and less evaporation.

This one was still open and crossed a gorge in an aqueduct.

I stopped in the cemetery

and admired the statues

that identified family plots.

This was the first time I had seen people in hours. Gardeners were pruning and tidying.

There were pots holding flowers and shrubs on the graves and as some of the grave stones were in the paths, sometimes I had to walk around them and realized that you couldn't help but walk on graves.

It was a short walk through town and back to the square where I tried a different restaurant.

I ordered a medium size of variety of tapas and a glass of red wine. There were 7 different tapas and it made me try some I wouldn't have otherwise and it was reasonably priced.

These posters were up all over town and although I understood that it was the Orange Festival and would be on for 3 weeks

when I managed to find a brochure I discovered that restaurants in Soller and Port de Soller would have tasting menus for 20 Euro featuring oranges in the recipes. I haven't been eating out except the tapas for lunch and that's $30 but I will have to give it a try.