Fonts de Soller

My legs are still aching after my football exploits at the beginning of the week. I thought, kill or cure, I would go for a walk after the usual Friday lunchtime invasion. There is a path that follows the torrent up to the Soller Coll. I've always wanted to go up there, but I knew I would probably find a dead end in someones garden.

I was on an adventure. I hopped across stepping stones, marvelled at the oranginess and lemoniness of the trees and gasped as wrens and dippers scooted out of my way. In one part where the torrent has been diverted, I saw some intriguing hydraulic engineering where two channels, apparently at the same level, flowed in opposite directions.

And then I saw the end of the path. At first I thought it was just a gated wire fence. As I approached, the path stopped at three cave entrances. Ah! I'd heard of these caves, where some years ago some local youths had tragically ventured but never returned. A covered channel emerged from the lower cave. Two wheels, chained together were obviously used to control the flow in this channel. And then I saw a red camping stool, with a makeshift raincover next to a trapdoor, also locked. And mysteriously, a single yale key on the ground.
I looked at the key for a while and then... tried it in the various padlocks. (Well, I would, wouldn't I?) It didn't fit, so I felt quite relieved and dropped it on the chair.

Then I heard voices coming from inside the caves. No, surely not? But then who had left all this stuff? I decided, laughing to myself, that the voices were probably just the sounds of water swirling below the ground.

I turned to leave, a little bit spooked and was confronted by two smiling policemen! I asked them what was going on. "That's what we're here to find out" they replied. I explained myself quickly. Maybe someone had seen me go up the path and called the police. It seemed not, it was just a coincidence that I was there. They opened one lock and went through the fence. I told them maybe I'd heard voices, but it was probably just the water. They said, no, I was probably right! Also that this area would have been six feet under a few days ago. There was a big cave that completely filled with water after rain. I was very spooked by then and decided to go, followed by the police ten minutes later.

The whole escapade was more like being in a computer game (like Riven if you know it) rather than a ghost story. Random objects asking to be investigated. Police appearing from nowhere. An abandoned key that doesn't fit a lock. What a strange town this is sometimes. Full of secrets.

Have a great weekend everyone.