The Comas de Andratx, one cold and one hot

PalmOn this route, we offer a cold one and a hot one. But this isn't a question of variability or irregularity. It's simply a strictly toponymic, and not at all capricious, reason that has to do with our perception of the surroundings. The Les Comes trail (Coma Calenta and Coma Freda) is a route that takes us through two small and very interesting valleys, both for their natural and cultural value. This route, signposted by the Andratx Town Council and the Consell de Mallorca, allows us to experience old cart paths, now paved, that in ancient times constituted important communication arteries with the estates and municipalities of the Serra.

We begin the hike in Andratx at the Casa de la Villa, located since 1991 in the monumental and remarkable Son Mas Castle, above the roundabout leading to the Tramuntana road (Ma-10) and the Capdellà road (Ma-1031). Public transport is available: lines 101, 121, 122, and 131 stop in the village of the writer Baltasar Porcel i Pujol. We set off, pushed by a fragment from one of his early works, Difuntos bajo los almendros en flor (Dead Under the Blossoming Almond Trees, Destino, 1970), where he makes this careful description of the surroundings: "The October winds were advancing up the valley, slightly cold now, subtle. They stirred the erect and ostentatious plumage of the hill, irritated and proud, screeching asprius. The branches swayed, beat slowly, the tall, very tall palm tree. Shine, vague splendor.

The route

[00 min] We set off opposite the houses of the remarkable and imposing Son Mas estate, located on a hill, which has housed the municipal offices for more than three decades. A castle that has never been one. Its appearance is the result of a major renovation carried out at the end of the 19th century by Antoni Mulet Ferragut, who had purchased the estate from the Marquises of la Torre. Documented since the 13th century, it was in 1232 when the Bishop of Barcelona ceded this old Muslim farmstead to Robert Seriol, which, from that moment on, would be known as Son Seriol. The name Son Mas did not appear until the 15th century, after a very conflictive period, marked by family tug-of-war for control of the property.

We leave Andratx along the Capdellà road (Ma-1031). First, we skirt the Son Juvera neighborhood, then those of Son Curt and La Coma, following the streets of Pere Seriol and La Estanyera. [05 min] Right at the height of the Coma torrent, where we find a public fountain—the Pozo de la Coma—we turn left along the path to the Bosc fountain, where the signs for the Camino de las Comes route begin. We won't leave them until we cross the Comellar and come out onto the Camino de las Peñas.

Let me digress from the route description to briefly discuss 'topophilia'. This is a concept coined in the 1970s by the Chinese-born geographer Yi-Fu Tuan (1930–2022), who sought to explore "people's perception and evaluation of the environment, as well as its impact on them, their emotions, and feelings." Attitudes and values would be the most direct consequence. And from there to toponymic topophilia, a concept derived from the above and aimed at studying place names derived from this particular emotional connection between the physical environment and human beings. We begin the hike at Coma Caliente and end at Coma Freda... Woman to think about, right? If you'd like to continue this thread, I recommend reading Topophilia: A Study of Perceptions, Attitudes, and Values About the Environment (Yi-Fu Tuan. Melusina Publishing, 2007).

We return to the reality of our itinerary, albeit with the previous reflection floating above our heads. Now fully immersed in the Coma Caliente, we travel through an anthropic landscape, characterized by small properties, vegetable gardens, and crops, irrigated by the Les Peñas stream (a subsidiary of the Les Comes stream), and the remains of a wonderful and complex hydraulic system. All of this is surrounded by mountain ranges that close off the space. On one side, we have those that separate the two comas, one cold and one hot, with Mount Cornador (295 m), the Son Ensenyat mountain range, and Mount de las Mujeres (371 m); on the other, those that separate us from Capdellà, with Mount Les Creus (424 m) and Mount de la Grúa (483 m); and finally, the buttresses of the Moleta de l'Esclop, mainly the Monte de les Avencs (515 m) and the Peñón de Rico (548 m).

Can Serra hydraulic mill

[40 min] The Coma Calenta trail crosses the stream and changes slope to the left. At this point, we find the Can Serra water mill. This type of infrastructure, of Muslim origin, is characterized by being found in geographical areas where there used to be a constant and abundant flow of water. Almost at the point of reaching the highest point of the route [1 h 00 min], we leave a dirt track to the right. If followed, it would take us to the Coma Clova pass and the Palmers climb, a beautiful and interesting route to access Peñón de Rico. We, however, follow the paved road that now accompanies us to the Collet, a point located between Puig dels Avencs, on the right, and Puig de les Dones, on the left, and which helps us change slopes.

We leave the Tramuntana road (Ma-10) [1 h 15 min], follow it for a few meters towards the Gramola pass and suddenly go off to the left to join the Coma Freda path. The novelty is that in addition to the previously described mountains we now add others such as the Peñón de n'Anglada, Mount Sentado or Mount Sona Vidala, all three with altitudes over 400 meters. With a much wider and more extensive perspective than that of the Coma Caliente, we begin the descent through the Coma Freda. [1 h 30 min] Being at the height of the Son Na Vidala path, it is worth stopping in for a moment to see the Can Toni Pau hydraulic mill. From here we only have to finish the path to the Andratx al Arracó road (Ma-1030) [2 h 00 min]. We leave the Font de la Vila a few meters away on the right and turn left, towards the church and the Town Hall, where the route ends [2 h 15 min].

@Fita_a_Fita