Joan Castelló Guasch collected in Rondaies de Formentera (1976) the story of two sisters who “if one was envious, the other was even more so; and ill-spoken, which is not for saying.” The drama began when, after the mother's death, instead of making the eldest heir, as was customary, and leaving 'her rightful share' to the youngest, she divided everything – property and houses – equally between the two. Every now and then they had fights and arguments, each time more inflamed. “Well, you'll see that one day when the dispute was more heated than ever, the youngest let loose in a bad way. And she ended up saying to the eldest: ‘May you have a bad end, and your property too.’ ‘What you wish for, may you have!’, she replied”. In the end, a large and strong wave swept everything away. It submerged the property from top to bottom, burying houses and sisters and everything under the water.

The following proposed itinerary is a long walk through the south of the municipality of Maó, along old, narrow paths, between dry stone and history. Stretches of sinuous freshness, beauty, and authenticity. We start from the hermitage of Gràcia, patron saint of the city which has been, since the 18th century and by British imposition, the capital of Menorca. The intention is none other than to go around the Maó hamlet of Llucmaçanes, a small urban nucleus of 179 inhabitants, headed by the modern church of Sant Gaietà, from the end of the 19th century, and a series of small, orderly houses. “The first news of the existence of a settlement in Llucmaçanes dates back to the 16th and 17th centuries, when there was talk of a concentration of small properties where vines were cultivated and wine was made. The name of the nucleus is older and would originate in Roman times, in an elocution that presents us with a place with an abundance of fruit trees, mainly apple trees. In 1860, the urban census shows us the existence of 43 houses and a hundred inhabitants. The first urban plan is from 1889 and four streets and the Plaça de Sant Gaietà are projected there.” (Maó, “Guide to the Municipalities of Menorca”, Josep Portella Coll. Hora Nova, 2007).

Les Alqueries is a beautiful hamlet in the municipality of Santa Eugènia, located on the northeast side of the village and crossed by an old transhumance route, the Camí de Muntanya. From the Middle Ages until the early 20th century, the mountain paths allowed the passage of the herds from the large estates that spent the summer in the mountains (estivada) and the winter in the lands of the Pla and Migjorn (hivernada) of Mallorca.

Our objective is the Torre de la Gavina, one of the five towers built in Formentera during the 18th century for the surveillance and defense of its fragile coastline. The other constructions are the Torre de la Guardiola, on the island of Espalmador, the Torre de Punta Prima, next to Es Pujols, the Torre del Pi del Català, on Migjorn beach, and the Torre del Garroveret, near Cap de Barbaria. The route we have traced circumvents the Estany del Peix, a large natural pond open to the sea by La Boca, which was the island's first major fishing and salt port. Indeed, the venda de Porto-salè takes its name from the Portus salarius, a salt exploitation from Roman times. An extraordinary place where natural and heritage values have built a powerful and extensive cultural landscape. We will also visit the public estate of Can Marroig, one of the emblematic corners of the Ses Salines de Eivissa i Formentera Natural Park. For inquiries about the island's public transport, we can consult the website busformetera.com, where we will find all the information about routes and timetables.

Our objective is the Artrutx watchtower (17th century) from the beaches of Son Saura. To begin with, a clarification, because we must not confuse the starting point of this route with the Son Saura sandbank, north of the municipality of Mercadal, to the right of the Fornells watchtower, also owned by the Comte de Torre-Saura Foundation – José María de Olives i Ponsich. In addition to the walk, we propose a dip in Cala en Turqueta before starting the return journey.

“It was a grey and rainy day; in the middle of a scrubland of strawberry trees and myrtles, my men had lost their way and we trod for a long time, before finding the path that leads from the Cave to Valldemossa” (What I know about Miramar, Archduke Ludwig Salvator, 1911). It was the month of September 1867 and the ‘prince, scientist and traveller’, as the scholar Helga Schwendinger defined him, had opted for the sea route to visit this town in the Tramuntana mountain range. He disembarked at the coast of Son Ferrandell, at the coastal spot known as Hort de la Cova d’en Claret. A place that the people of Valldemossa remember, above all, because three centuries earlier, on October 1, 1552, when precisely the Clarets owned what was later known as Son Ferrandell, which at that time also included Son Olesa and Vistamar, a fleet of 400 pirates disembarked there with the intention of sacking the town and capturing people to sell them as slaves or obtain a ransom.

From his childhood are the memories of the youth years of P. Rafel Ginard i Bauçà (Sant Joan, 1899-Artà, 1976), a gem of Majorcan literature from the first half of the 20th century, first published in November 2003. Through the work, we get in touch with the daily life of Majorcan rural life in an exquisite way, with an authentic and passionate language. It is not possible to pass through the Sant Joan domains in Pla de Mallorca without evoking the spirit of a soul attached to the rocks of tradition. About 'the Sant Joan landscape', Father Ginard says, “it is the triumph of humility. It is not a showy and magnificent land, but it is fertile. Other places will be a garden, my town is a granary. Land without daring; the hills barely dare to raise their heads, afraid of breaking the rhythm, monotonous and solemn, with arrogant postures. Very smooth hills that, from below, raising your hand, you already reach the summit.”

The hill of Banya is a spur of 598 meters in height of the Teix massif. At the Tramuntana end, we find the Rocafort rock, our objective, a natural viewpoint from which we can contemplate all the charms of the Sóller valley. At its foot, there is a small viewpoint located at one of the stops of the Sóller train, which offers good views over the Sóller valley. All in all, an intense trek through the interior slopes of the Teix massif, via the Metro path and the Pi pass, which allows us to reflect on the description transmitted to us by the Catalan journalist and writer Josep Pla nearly sixty years ago. “The Sóller valley has all the charms that can be desired in this life: tranquility, silence, a mild climate, a warm and sweet air like a feather pillow.” (Les illes. Josep Pla i Casadevall. 1970, Edicions Destino).

On this long and demanding route, we aim for the Puig del Sementer Gran (1,013 m), in the municipality of Escorca, bordering Bunyola and Sóller. A summit that often goes unnoticed, discreet, but which becomes a monumental balcony over the Lofra valley and a natural viewpoint towards the central sector of the Tramuntana mountain range. A pleasure for the senses and a real torment for the legs; nevertheless, the effort is worth it. We start from the Cúber barrier, located near milestone 34 of the Ma-10 road (Pollença-Andratx). Very close by, at the height of the recreational area of the Font del Noguer, the bus of line 354 of Mallorca's interurban public transport stops. On the website tib.org you will find all the information on timetables and availability of all lines.

In this route, we explore one of the most genuine environments of Ibiza, between the terms of Santa Eulalia del Río and San Juan de Labritja. It is a set of mountain ranges and ravines located north of the Morna plain, the continuation towards the northeast of the Amunts. One of these small mountain ranges is Mala Costa or Sierra de Morna, although on the route we also cross the Sierras de San Vicente and San Carlos.

“Galilea was known in the early 16th century as the mola of Cortei, a quite revealing toponym”. Tomàs Vibot and Just Hernàndez make this clear in the book Son Cortei, Conques i Galilea, published in 2009 by the Puigpunyent Town Hall: the establishment process of this nucleus is “a slow process motivated by inheritance policies” that led around 1586 to the segregation of an old farmstead of Bartomeu Cortei and the creation of small plots for the new settlers of the area.

On this route we explore a part of the natural heritage that surrounds the sanctuary of Lluc. We are in the municipality of Escorca, one of the most extensive and at the same time least populated in Mallorca. It is home to the highest and also the most important and visited mountains on the island: Puig Major de Son Torrella (1436 m), Maçanella (1365 m), Puig Tomir (1104 m), Tossals Verds (1099 m), Puig de l’Ofra (1091 m) and Puig Roig (1003 m), among many others. The repopulation church of Sant Pere d’Escorca and the sanctuary of Lluc are the most important landmarks of the cultural landscape of the term. However, as a whole, from Andratx to Pollença, the Serra de Tramuntana must be understood as a mountain system of great geomorphological interest, declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in the category of cultural landscape. It is a complex limestone relief, dominated by karst modeling, with strong contrasts between mountain and coast, and with an erosive dynamic marked by irregular water and Mediterranean processes.

On this route, we explore a part of the natural heritage surrounding the Lluc sanctuary. We are in the municipality of Escorca, one of the most extensive and at the same time least populated in Mallorca. The island's highest and also most important and visited mountains are concentrated here: Puig Major de Son Torrella (1436 m), Maçanella (1365 m), Puig Tomir (1104 m), Tossals Verds (1099 m), Puig de l'Ofra (1091 m), and Puig Roig (1003 m), among many others. The repopulation church of Sant Pere d'Escorca and the Lluc sanctuary are the most important landmarks of the cultural landscape of the term. But, as a whole, from Andratx to Pollença, the Serra de Tramuntana should be understood as a mountain system of great geomorphological interest, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the category of cultural landscape. It is a complex calcareous relief, dominated by karst modeling, with strong contrasts between mountain and coast, and with an erosive dynamic marked by irregular water and Mediterranean processes.

The following itinerary proposes the ascent to the moleta of Son Cabaspre, following a section of the GR 221 between Esporles and Valldemossa via the mola of Son Pacs. We cross lands and historical possessions such as Son Dameto and Son Cabaspre, which reveal the extensive and deep human footprint on the territory. A walk for the pace and the gaze to feel the aromas and smell the territory. The moleta of Son Cabaspre allows us to survey the hills and slopes surrounding Esporles and, also, to contemplate the mountains that make up the western sector of the Tramuntana mountain range-World Heritage. Consider that we have public transport to get us to the starting and ending point of our itinerary. The line 202 that connects Estellencs and Palma stops at the central promenade of Esporles. You can go to the website tib.org for any consultation of timetables and availability of the routes.

The center of Mallorca is located in Lloret de Vistalegre, within its municipal boundaries. We won't argue with that. But the true heart of Mallorca lies in the fertile plains within the magical circle formed by Sineu, Sant Joan, Montuïri, Lloret, Sencelles, and Costitx. Our route begins at the true 'geographical center of Mallorca,' certified by the National Geographic Institute, and heads towards the edge of this imagined circle, marked by one of its most legendary points: the Llorac well. All of this is a pleasant stroll along paths that gently caress the landscape's subtle nuances.

The Swiss writer Robert Walser (1878-1956), who wrote in German, said that every walk should be accompanied by the contemplation of nature. The proposal we want to share with you all embraces this from two perspectives: the natural, the Santa Eulària River; and the historical, the fortified church on Mount Misa. All of this in a short but intense itinerary. Because climbing to the top of Mount Misa in Santa Eulalia del Río is to enter the white light that Villangómez so aptly described: a vertical, vigilant, and silent Ibiza, where the church is both the house of God and the wall of the people. "From here, what you yearn for, beauty, / is offered to you, extended and expansive. / A thick forest that rises and falls slips down. / The field is sanded with green and ochre. / The orchard ends there and the sea begins. / White above blue, foam, ship in the (Santa Eulalia del Río. Mariano Villangómez Llobet. Mediterranean Poems –1943-1944–).

A comellar is a wide, deep expanse of land with a sloping floor due to the depression in the terrain, situated between higher ground. This is the most orthodox definition offered by the Alcover-Moll Dictionary (DCVB), which allows us to understand some of the toponymy of the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range. The route we propose is a hike through the Comuna de Bunyola (Buniola Commune), beginning at the emblematic Cocons estate and venturing into the heart of this immense communal space—the most important in the Balearic Islands—through the Comellar de la Cocina (Kitchen Basin). This toponym also refers to a large cave, which we will visit during the hike, and which in the past served as a refuge and meeting point for those who worked in the Commune. This natural area represents one of the largest forests in Mallorca, covering 716 hectares, which is 8.5% of the total area of ​​the municipality of Bunyola.

The Cingles path and the Bini Gran and Bini Petit estates form a unique section of the Tramuntana mountain range's cultural landscape. We find ourselves between the Sóller valley and the rugged, precipitous slopes of Puig Major de Son Torrella. Here, we discover a high plateau above Tuent, with fertile farmland, well-irrigated by numerous springs and two spectacular streams: the Al·lot Mort and the Gorg dels Diners. Our proposal is a hike in search of the human imprint on the land, its paths and estates. One cannot be understood without the other, and the other would be meaningless without the others. The memory of our journeys, the paths themselves, explain how we have related to the geographical space and how we have shaped it to our needs. All of this forms a complex cosmos, with the Lluc sanctuary at its center. Thus, the Bini or Cingles path, a name that refers to the pronounced cliffs of the Pelut headland and Puig Major, as it passes close to them, is the old royal road used by the inhabitants of Fornalutx to go to Lluc and Pollença.

Although the route we describe this week begins and ends in Santa Margalida, the town, it actually passes through four municipalities, including Muro, Llubí, and Maria de la Salut. In fact, the route's main focus is the Muro mountain range and the estates of Castellet, Tanca, and Son Tovell. Beyond municipal and property boundaries, we visit a territory marked by the long and dark shadow of the past: that of Count Mal. Ramon Burgues Safortesa Pax-Fuster de Villalonga y Nieto, the second Count of Santa María de Formiguera, waged a bitter and violent legal battle during the 17th century, with tragic consequences, against the town of Santa Margalida, its university, and its people. The lawsuits centered primarily on the nobleman and his family's interest in direct control and the collection of tithes from the common lands, as well as their claim to exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction over the inhabitants of his estates. "Because of the misdeeds he committed in life, his soul found no rest and he was condemned to wander the lands he ruled in life, from Santa Margalida to Galatzó" (source: Count Evil: Between History and LegendCatalina Valriu and Tomàs Vibot. El Gallo Editor, 2013). And before starting the route, a very special thanks to the historians Antoni Mas Forners, from Villa, and Pau Mateu Vives, from Muro, for all the historical and toponymic information collected on this route.

The Barca mountain range might be described as unassuming, but it must be added, in its favor, that it is extremely effective. Easy to climb, its crags offer a splendid view of the Granja plateau and the Planícia plateau, above the Les Rotasses valley. The route we offer traces a different path through the highlands of the municipality of Banyalbufar, between the estates of Son Valentí, Ses Mosqueras, and Sa Granja. A feast for the senses, a true test for the legs.