 Hi there, Another question about walking the GR221 - sorry. I will arrive in Palma on a Saturday night. It will probably be about 19.00 hrs before I get into town. I will need to try and buy some meths so I can get started on the following day, Sunday. I need to try and find a late supermarket or pharmacy (Surgical Spirits would be okay as a last resort). Thanks for any ideas. David
|
 |
 Look for "alcohol de quemar" (denatured alcohol). Paddy Dillon found this to be a very nice fuel in Gran Canaria & Menorca: <quote> Anyway... one of my priorities was to obtain a litre of meths for the SBS. I was on the lookout for a hardware store, but found a bottle in a small grocery next to a park used by down-and-outs in Las Palmas. The label said 'Alcohol de Quemar', and also noted that it was flammable, but didn't actually state what the chemical content of the bottle was. Now, I know what meths is supposed to smell like, but this stuff actually smelled more like acetone, though I'm sure it wasn't.
A whole litre later, cooking indoors and outdoors, there wasn't even the slightest trace of soot on either the SBS or my pans. So, I'm mystified as to what the stuff was, but if I could get my hands on it anywhere else, I'd be delighted! </quote> Of course, I'd imagine that not all alcohol de quemar is the same...
|
|
Hi there, Thanks for the answer. It is more the case of the time being difficult! Late on Saturday and then hoping to walk on Sunday, when most things are going to be closed! I need a late supermarket really that is close to the centre; smaller convenience stores are less likely to stock fuel. I have used Surgical Spirits before and could get by with that if there was a late pharmacy (in Oman where no alcohol is allowed). If it is like the UK, the late pharmacy is on a rota so hard to find out where will be open! Thanks David
|
|
 Starting from where on Sunday? Ask the Hotel (?) you are staying at Saturday night to get you some Alcohol de Quemar perhaps; it is good stuff. Why you think smaller convenience stores will not stock it..? If not...shops stay open later than you might expect....this is Spain; if one shop does not have it, ask - someone will...
|
| Edited: 25/08/11 23:38 |
.jpg) There is a Decathlon in Palma.If you do a google search it will come up .The site gives telephone numbers so you can ring to see their opening times.It is on the mainstreet not far down from the main bus station
|
| Edited: 26/08/11 13:57 |
Hi Restless, Past experience I guess trying to buy fuel late on a Saturday after arriving in Santa Cruz de La Palma, La Gomera and Grenada and then struggling on a Sunday. Hopefully Palma will be different...
|
|
I've always used gas on Mallorca, as there is an Intersport (which sells MSR type canisters) about 5 minutes walk from where the square where the airport bus stops....
|
| Edited: 29/08/11 06:10 |
 Trying to get ANYTHING urgently at 1900 on a Sunday night is going to be a problem. Where is your actual starting point... Port d'Andratx or Pollença? If you can hold off starting walking until the shops open in those places on Monday morning, then you might stand a better chance. Alcohol de Quemar is easiest to find in hardward stores (ferreteria) than it is in supermarkets or outdoor shops.
|
|
 you can get surgical spirit (alcool de 96 - or alcohol de 96) which is denatured alcohol. it's available in supermarkets and chemists.
|
|
Parky... once, when I'd run myself ragged around supermarkets and outdoor stores trying to find the local equivalent of meths (not in Spain, by the way), I tried approaching a chemists. The woman at the counter went into the back room to discuss with the pharmacist, and the pharmacist explained to me that while he had the medically pure stuff in stock, it would be horrendously expensive to buy. He recommended that I try the filling station across the road... and that was the essential piece of information that no-one else had bothered to tell me... that I'd been looking in the wrong places all that time. Five minutes later I had my meths!
|
|
lol. the 250mls bottles i speak of are 1 euro or a bit more now. they're with the first aid stuff. stuff burns just fine. always nice to know if you can't track down meths. the spanish, bless them, consider that if you want to drink the surgical spirit please go ahead and do so because you know it will kill you and you're stupid if you do. so they don't put castor oil in it to deter people drinking the stuff.
|
|
Hi there, Thanks for all the ideas. I will arrive in Palma about 19.00 on the Saturday and plan to leave early Sunday for Port d'And. I have used Surgical SPirits before and other than the gunk at the bottom you have to wipe out (castor oil), it actually burns fine. Good to know I have some options with gas and meths maybe at that time! David
|
|
