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| Some village houses |
Many years ago - more than I care to remember - I worked in Mallorca for a
British tour operator. One day it was
decided to inaugurate a new half day tour, but the professional guides weren't
interested in guiding it so it fell to me.
The first trip was decidedly an adventure.
We left the main road at Santa Maria and headed towards the mountains. En route we were to stop for coffee in a
small hamlet. That road was just about
wide enough for the coach and twisted and turned down hill then began to rise
again but.... On the outskirts of the
hamlet the road was up and the workmen nowhere in sight. We got off the coach, found a couple of
planks to put across the trench and I led everyone up towards the restaurant
only to discover that it isn't open on Mondays.
Meantime the driver had found the workmen who, together with some of the
passengers, laid the two pipes, cemented them together and filled the
hole. The coach was then able to cross,
go up the hill, turn around and comeback down.
As we all agreed, that job was probably supposed to last all day!
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| The Cafe Terrace |
We eventually arrived at the village of Orient where we did find somewhere
for coffee and cake and had time to stroll around the village. But I was in for another surprise. The driver had to turn the coach around. Why?
Apparently the road further on wasn't suitable for coaches. And there I had been under the impression
that we were taking a circular tour.
The return journey wasn't that uneventful either. We had to pass through another village which
had a one-way system. As the coach
turned left there was a road sign attached the wall of a building which impeded
the vehicle. My driver simply leaned out
of his window and pushed it back against the wall. To my knowledge it stayed like that and could
still be so!
The clients didn't mind the problems as we made a stop in Santa Maria for
liqueur tasting and, as they said, it was a tour with a difference.
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| Beautiful mountains and valleys of Mallorca |
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