What I'm about to do is an "Expression of Mallorquin-ness"
apparently. It's written on my passport. Una
expressió de Mallorquinitat. Not a real passport, but the piece of paper
I'm carrying to be stamped at different points during the 48km walk to Lluc
monastery.
As I head to the starting point in Palma, I still don't really believe
I'm about to spend the night walking. I'm quite a determined soul, but even I
realise 48 kilometres (30 miles) is a LONG way. It's more than a marathon and
I've never done one of those.
But walking is gentler, I assure myself. It's just a case of putting one
foot in front of the other for a very, very long time.
Ten hours as it turns out and with very few and very short stops. The
pain sets in if you stop and my four companions and I were well aware that the
later we arrived the next morning, the hotter it would be. Mallorca has been
experiencing a heat wave with highs of 38 degrees. At night it was still in the
high twenties and my fingers grew all puffy and swollen.
It all began in 1974 with a few friends
setting off from a bar to the monastery to thank the Virgin because a girl had
escaped being injured in an accident. I'm guessing they'd been drinking!
The walk might have begun on a religious note but now it's become an
adventure walk for teenagers. I was amazed how many there were. They weren't
even using it as an excuse for getting up to mischief...
From 23.00 to 06.00 we were walking along tarmac roads under streetlights
and the light of torches. It felt like New Year's Eve when everyone is looking
for a taxi in the early hours of the morning; the kids with the ghetto blasters the typical ones looking for the after party.
I started to ache quite a lot after twenty kilometres and I was relieved
I'd packed a cheeky hip flask. A few nips of rum definitely improved my mood. Other
than that I was drinking loads of water, fruit and nuts.
At the four main stops at Santa Maria, Binissalem and Selva, we saw
people with their shoes and socks off lying on the pavement looking like they
would never get up again. It made me wonder how many actually finished.
At 6.15 we finally arrived at Selva where we were thrilled to find REAL
ground coffee being served. Up until then the drinks stations had been rare and
far between. At Selva we saw the sun rise and that's when the walk started to
make more sense. The scenery around Lluc of the Tramuntana mountain range is
really stunning.
I can't help thinking - why not move the walk to a cooler
season and do the whole lot in the day time?
But it's tradition I guess and it felt good to be a part of it.
Hopefully it continues as it was almost cancelled this year due to low funds.
My companions and I walked it to raise fund for the JoyRon Foundation, a
local charity which helps vulnerable children. With the money raised they are
making a cinema room in the hospital for kids who are terminally ill.
Would I do it again?
Hmm... I'm sure there are other mad traditions to be tried out first!
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Love all things Mallorca? Then you'll enjoy my novel The Hen Party set on the island!
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