I picked up my means of transport. It was hot, a damned hot Ibiza day, but I was on a mission to discover all there was to discover on the Orbea Optima electric bicycle.
Oscar, at Kandani showed me its features one by one and handed me a helmet. I asked him about the charging element. “I’m a bit worried, Oscar, what if I’m half way to Santa Inés and I run out of juice?”
He paused, midway through adjusting the seat, raised his head and looked at me incredulously: “Nobody empty the battery in one day. Nobody.”
Feeling chastised but comforted at the same time, I smiled, sat on the comfy padded seat and waved goodbye. “Are you sure I don’t need the off-road model?” I called out to him.
“No, this is enough for you. Make sure you start off on ‘Tour’ and then move up to Turbo as you go. Don’t start on Turbo or you will take off very quickly and that could be dangerous!”
Heading towards San Carles I felt the joy of minimal peddling and maximum speed. Despite the heat, the teeniest breeze generated by the motion felt cool on my face. I smiled from sheer joy. Past heat-baked fields of ripening tomatoes, sprinklers freshened them and me as I motored by. Further on the scent of pines cut through dusty air, and the faint aroma of fig as I passed a tree laden with this sumptuous fruit waiting for its moment to drop.
How far would I go? How far did I want to go? Would I climb the Sierra De La Malacosta or would I simply go to the beach?
The first thing that struck me was the dogs. They were everywhere.
Conversations with Strangers 