Adios Mallorca

27 Sept 2024 - somewhere above the Mediterranean

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I last visited Mallorca in 2019 where I managed what is still my longest bikeride and visited Sóller and the Castle de Bellver where I took the picture I've been using on LinkedIn since then. But is was on the last day of that trip where I visited Bierkönig that things took a turn for the worst as I was pickpocketed outside then had to figure out how to get home with just a few euros and no phone. It was my first experience with having my wallet stolen, so I lost the baby photos of my kids and my miniature GA Tech degrees as well as my money, driver's license, credit card and bank card. At the time I only had one of each card so I didn't have a backup at home either. Ergo I had to do a bank transfer to a friend in the US who then returned it to me in cash form via Western Union. This was useful and allowed me to travel to Berlin the next week to get a half marathon PR which is also still my best and rent a car to vist the Schlag roots in Preißnitz, Saxony and the church Martin Luther nailed his 99 theses to in Wittenberg. Fortunately I had a backup driver's license at home or none of that would have been possible.

So this trip I vowed to be more careful, but I still wanted to go to Bierkönig. Mallorca is swamped with German tourists and this is the heart, with live music, dancing and sing-a-longs. The beer is too expensive, but it comes with a free t-shirt you see many people wearing on the street. So Sunday night after enjoying two days on the beach I went and enjoyed it just as much as I knew I would. I also took very little cash and had a backup credit card that I left in the room. Still, I was determined not to get robbed again and I think that's why things played out afterward as they did. Instead of a pickpocket I got suckerpunched in the face as he demanded money. I went down hard and hit my back on something, probably the chair I grabbed as I bounced back up and ran at him with it legs first in my best Jackie Chan impression (he always seems to be using chairs to fight). The guy ran off, realizing that his window to rob me had passed as the scuffle attracted attention. And once again the security guys I asked for help were not that helpful, shrugging with a look of well that just happens here. Maybe travelling alone makes me look like an easy target. Maybe my long hair makes me look weak. Who knows?

Ergo instead of the running I had planned for my mornings before the workday I ended up convalescing. The evenings I also took it easy, laying in the sunset reading. I did try running on Tuesday, but it was a disaster and I couldn't even make it a kilometer. The rest of España has been so good to me, from the beaches of Malaga, Barcelona and A Coruña to the 800 km Camino de Santiago. I don't know why this little island has it out for me but I should probably not come back.