Early October one day the weather looked unsettled so we decided on a
nostalgia trip to Porto Cristo (mum & dad had last been there 37 years ago). Checked the bus times and the fares each way (no returns) seemed a bit pricey given that it's just down the coast however we went for it. Unfortunately it took over 2 hours to get there via Alcudia, C'an Picafort, Arta and half the Calas en route (hence the fare), by which time the sun had come out and we were beginning to regret leaving the beach in PP.
Porto Cristo was a lovely wee place with a sheltered sandy bay and smart marina and my folks were amazed at how much it had changed over the years. We noticed that the food and drinks were much more expensive here than in PP so a packed lunch would have been perfect. We had a lazy few hours on the beach and were almost tempted to go in for a dip in the sea to cool off but had not brought any towels and the thought of a soggy 2 hour bus trip back did not appeal.
We eventally returned to the bus station 30 mins before the 2nd last bus was due (to make sure we got a seat home) and discovered a huge queue for tickets and no guarantee of a seat. When the bus arrived, it was already nearly full of people from the Caves of Drach and, after some fierce jostling, many of us were still left at the kerb-side. We were beginning to panic by this time that the same would happen with the next (and last) bus but, thankfully, we managed to get a seat this time and the driver assured us he was headed back to PP.
However, when we got to C'an Picafort, the driver asked those of us heading to PP to raise our hands (there were only 3 of us) whereby he said that he was not taking the bus that far and asked us to alight in C'an Picafort to catch another bus back to PP. We explained that we had paid full fare back to PP but he said we could still catch any of the local buses that passed with this ticket. (Aye right, pull the other one!)
Needless to say, the driver of the next local bus disputed this and asked us to pay separately once again. He then stopped for a tea-break in Alcudia on the way home. We eventually got back to PP well after 7pm, having left just after 11am and spent nearly 5.5 hours on buses or queuing for buses. We could have flown to Glasgow and back in less time !
It was a costly day's excursion and, in retrospect, it would have been cheaper and more convenient to have hired a car. We could see no benefit in complaining and trying to recoup our return bus fare from Aumasa bus company and just put our 'adventure' down to experience.
The only saving grace was that the weather in PP had been like winter that day and at least we had warm sunshine in Porto Cristo.