June - Festivals, heat and 'Gentleman's Tours'

I’m writing this on 9th July – its taken a while to get to it as June will be known as the month when it got HOT! Everyday is in the 30s now – it saps all your energy, both physical and mental – everything takes longer – anyway….

June started with visitors, first Marty for a few days and then Julia for just over a week. Lovely to have them both here and to act as a tourist for a bit – I even had a day off! Also, an excuse for a few sunset trips to The Minibar to watch the sun go down over a giant G&T. Julia and I took a day charter (shared) on Bonnie Lass – hence the day off. An idyllic day of relaxing on board and swimming / jumping / paddle boarding in the sea before a lunch at the restaurant at Cala Twent. Pricey but a great way to relax under the trees over lunch before cruising home. We had a fantastic electrical storm while Julia was here which we watched from the balcony. Julia was a bit disappointed to have some cloudy days but did a lot of walking and exploring which would have been hard in the heat.

At work – the mad rush came to a halt at the beginning of the month which changed the attitude in the shop immediately. Still busy but with a much less tense atmosphere and a chance to get out and do some other stuff. I took some bikes over to the Estate Manager at one of Richard Branson’s places to pitch our services for a couple of hours and the following day collected bikes from La Residencia in Deia which used to be another of Branson’s – seeing how the other half live!

We had our first works social. Now, these have to be after closing time to get us all together – so 8 of us went out from Bunyola on an eMTB Night Ride. Lunacy!! Both terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure. I got home at 11:00 but the adrenalin was still pumping hours after.

By the middle of the month the temperature has ramped up into the 30s and its constantly hot – amazingly there are still people prepared to ride.

I got the chance to do a couple of private guided road rides. We call them ‘Gentleman’s Tours’ to set the expectation that they will be at a more relaxed pace. The first guy Ed enjoyed his so much he came back for more the following day. Very positive feedback from both customers – so that’s good. Can’t believe I’m being paid to ride my bike! Its good to get out too – still not finding the time to cycle enough – and with the heat its only really a good idea before 10:00 or after 19:00.

More festivals in the Port:

June 23rd – Festival of St Joan marks the start of summer and is marked by fires and family parties on the beach. Amazing atmosphere just walking along the front – peaceful and happy people everywhere.

June 29th and for the whole weekend – Festival of San Pedro – the patron saint of fishermen. This is a big one. A huge stage erected in the Marina (not far from me) with entertainment, bands, and DJs going on until 4:45AM both Friday and Saturday. Combine that with the heat and it meant virtually no sleep for 2 days! A great event – but not one to live in front of!

Richard and Tracy are out at the start of next month (July) and its expected to get hotter. There’s a chance I may just melt.