The Calm Time of January

"What do you do in winter?” is one of the most frequent questions we are asked by inquisitive summer tourists. As owners of a busy tour company in Soller on the west coast of Mallorca (our home for the last seven years), we find January one of our favourite months. It's a time when the pace slows and we get to discover more of the island's infinite treasures.

The locals have a special term for the weather now; “ses calmes de gener”. Translated from Catalan, it means “the calm time of January”. The nights are cold but the days are bright, sunny and relatively warm. The temperature reached 20 degrees last week.

In answer to the question “what do you do in the winter?” we reply “we explore Majorca, because it’s the only part of the year we have any time to do so”. At the same time we reflect on how lucky we are not to live in northern Europe during the winter any more.

With exploration in mind, we recently set off with friends to Bunyola, on the other side of the Tramuntana mountain range from Soller, to discover Sa Comuna de Bunyola. Thanks to the tunnel, it’s a short 10 minute drive between the two. Before the tunnel it used to take 40 minutes as you had to drive up and over the mountain pass known as the Coll de Soller. ­­­

Sa Comuna de Bunyola is one of the few areas in the Sierra de Tramuntana where getting lost shouldn’t create a big problem. The Tramuntana Mountains run for 70 miles from Andratx in the south-west of Mallorca to Pollensa in the north. As most of the range is privately owned, if you don’t know where you are going it’s easy to stray into someone’s property. Sa Comuna de Bunyola is publicly owned, so we didn’t have to worry about the hunters who seem to be everywhere at this time of the year. Still, it was with a good map in hand that we set off from the centre of the town, up into the mountains.

Within minutes, the hustle and bustle of Bunyola was replaced by the peace and quiet of the woods. The path climbed steadily and before long we came across a lime-kiln and a sitja; a charcoal burning site, both reminders of the not too distant past. The limestone rocks used to be turned into quicklime for building mortar and the holm oaks into charcoal for cooking fuel.

We continued upwards and we were soon shedding jackets owing to our effort and the winter sun. After nearly two hours of steady walking, we finally reached the top; the Penyal d’Honor. At 810 metres we were now over 500 metres above Bunyola. It felt like it too as the ridge drops vertically towards the Orient valley. This is not a place for those with vertigo! After admiring the view, it was time to head back down. As we did so, we passed the Cas Garriguer recreation centre – a picnic area which is very popular with the locals on Sundays. As it was mid week, we had the place to ourselves. In fact, we hadn’t seen anyone since leaving Bunyola.

The descent through attractive woodland was beautiful and some four hours after setting off, we completed the eight mile circuit. We all agreed it would be an equally good walk in the hotter summer months, thanks to the shade provided by the oak and pine trees. The calm time of January is definitely one of the best months for walking on the island.

Andy Mitter & Michelle Holland operate Tramuntana Tours, an adventure company offering a range of outdoor activities.