The Mola of Formentera, an isolated and imposing plateau

PalmaOn this route, we explore the east of the lesser Pitiusa island, through paths and trails that traverse dizzying cliffs, old quarries, and a lighthouse with a long history. All in all, an immense cultural landscape that we can only perceive in its fullness through our steps and our gaze. Formentera has a human dimension and a leisurely pace that can only be discovered when traveling on foot and without haste. This is how we discover that near the La Mola lighthouse, at an altitude of 118 meters facing the immense Mediterranean, a monument was erected in 1978 in honor of the French writer Jules Verne (1828-1905), on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his birth. We do not have his visit to the Balearic Islands documented, despite the strong friendship he maintained with Archduke Luis Salvador, whom he had met in the summer of 1884 in Venice. Be that as it may, The Mysterious Island (1875), Off on a Comet (1877), and The Lighthouse at the End of the World (1901) seem to have, as noted by Nicolás J. Moragues in his book Jules Verne and the Balearic Islands (Edicions Talaiots, 2015), a clear and direct inspiration in the geography and heritage of Formentera through the reading of the Archduke's Die Balearen.

The route

[00 min] Before starting the walk, from the same bus stop (L-2), which covers the line between the port of La Savina and the La Mola lighthouse, we can visit the church of El Pilar, from the 18th century. Built by the settlers of La Mola, it was dedicated to the Virgin of El Pilar by the first bishop of Ibiza, the Aragonese Manuel Abad y Lasierra, on May 11, 1784. Until then, all religious services were held in Sant Francesc Xavier.

Once the visit is finished, we exit onto the lighthouse road and turn right onto the Camí de l’Estufador, a straight first stretch, oriented towards the south and running between wide fields and two emblematic windmills: on the left, the Molí Vell de la Mola (1778) and, on the right, the Molí d’en Botigues (1893). [05 min] We arrive at a fork, where our path turns left. Immediately after, at the next bend to the right, we continue straight along a dirt path that connects with the Camí del Torrent Fondo [15 min], which we join from the right. Immediately after, we reach a new intersection where the signage indicates that we must turn right to continue, oriented towards the south, towards Punta Roja, skirting the houses of Torrent Fondo.

[25 min] At the next fork, we leave the Camí del Torrent Fondo, which turns to the right, and take the one on the left, perfectly signposted, in the direction of Punta Roja. A few minutes later, we find a new fork, now we turn right. We begin a gentle descent through a pine forest covered in thick scrubland until we bump into the gate of a villa [40 min]. To the left of the gate, a small path begins that goes around the fence and, oriented towards the southeast, leads us to Punta Roja [45 min]. We already have the La Mola lighthouse in sight and to the left of the point the path that leads there. We just have to follow it, always oriented towards the northeast and without losing sight of the cliff that we have on our right. Thus, we arrive in a little over half an hour [1 h 20 min].

When we speak of lighthouses, we implicitly refer to those people who, often from distant and isolated points away from all human contact, offered to be the ‘eyes of the night’ for those who sailed the sea. A small story, made of daily, silent, and disciplined work, which has transcended in the form of legends and very curious anecdotes. This is the case of one of the keepers of the La Mola lighthouse, active since 1861. It was the year 1944, at the end of the Second World War, when the lighthouse keeper rescued the pilot of a German plane that had crashed about two miles from the lighthouse. He gave him food, clothing, and shelter. The next day they took him to the seaplane base that then existed at Estany Pudent, from where he was repatriated. For these deeds, the German government of the time gave this lighthouse keeper a diploma and one thousand pesetas as a reward for his rescue work. (source: farsdebalears.com)

Behind the Jules Verne monument, which we have already mentioned in the introduction, begins the path that we must follow from now on. First of all, we go around Cocó Llarg, a small torrent that descends vertiginously to the sea. We continue the route along a stony plateau, without any problems, in the direction of la Xíndria and some old quarries, near the cova Grossa [1 h 50 min], on our right, accessible by a wide path that defies the cliff. The trail is unmistakable because it always advances above the crag. After the punta d’Estrips, the path turns inland to overcome a small ravine; immediately after, we return to the cliff and the initial orientation. We pass in front of a villa, to the left of the path, called Can Graziano and, shortly after [2 h 25 min], we come across a dry stone wall, at the height of the cova d’en Cavaller, where the path turns sharply to the left.

Torrents of Jai and the Fontanella

We now begin a long loop that will allow us to overcome the ravine we leave on our right, a confluence of two torrents, the d’en Jai and the Fontanella, considered the most prominent on the island both for their length and for the key role they play in the drainage network. [2 h 40 min] At the first fork, we leave the Monestir path for the track on the right, which we will follow until the next turning, where we will take the path on the left. [2 h 55 min] Upon reaching the head of the ravine, our track joins another that arrives from the left. We turn right, pass in front of a well, and emerge in front of the Can Pep Blai holiday rental houses.

The continuation of our route is to the right of the houses. A path between dry stone walls that heads towards the north. [3 h 05 min] We reach the coastal border again. To the right, we can contemplate the ravine from a perspective opposite to the previous one, before making the loop around Can Pep Blai. Now, however, heading west, we continue our walk along a trail that connects with a section of the Cala path. Thus we arrive at a gate [3 h 40 min], leaving on our right various small paths that descend towards the sea. We pass the barrier and take the path on the left, where we already find the descent towards Pilar de la Mola signposted along the Cala path. When we are almost at the end of the route, it is worth arriving via the Creus path [4 h 00 min], an ancient 18th-century Stations of the Cross, from when the parish church was built, recently restored by the Council of Formentera. Our walk ends at the Mola avenue, from where we started [4 h 10 min].

@Step_by_Step