Son Bou, Cala en Porter and Fort Marlborough

The wind was cold outside my window. I wondered whether to take along a cossie in case I found a beach with decent weather. I did, just in case.

The first stop was Talatí de Dalt, a prehistoric Menorcan site. It was not open despite the claimed hours. Nobody else was there. I guess they had called it a season. As I was leaving, a hopeful couple in a car arrived.

I drove to Son Bou where the road passes under a natural arch. It's a standard package holiday resort, though a bit more tasteful than previous ones. There were the usual rows of restaurants and shops selling tourist needs. I parked my car in the big lot near the dunes. A flock of ducks saw me and fearlessly advanced towards me.  I dodged. They pursued. Aieee! Now I know what these ducks eat. They eat foolish visitors unprepared with handouts. I could visualise the headline: Tourist quacked to death by ducks. I threw them bits of a chocolate coated palmier and escaped while they were occupied.

Around the corner, another posse of ducks ambushed me. They were in their home territory, a band of wetland behind the beach. At least I was being held up by better looking species of ducks and moorhens here. I gave them the rest of my palmier.

Son Bou's beach was the longest and best that I had seen in Menorca but was deserted due to the poor weather and end of season. There were some families there but for the exercise and the air, not to swim.

A family of feral chickens disappeared into the dunes before I could get more pictures of them.

The rain came down intermittently. I had to vary the wiper speed constantly.  By the time I got to Cala en Porter, it was starting up again so I ducked (sorry) into a shop for a café cortado and to use their toilet.  It started raining ducks and chickens, sorry I mean cats and dogs, and the owner had to poke the awnings with a broom every so often to drain the rainwater that had pooled on them.

When the weather cleared, I took some photos of the beach.  It was actually quite decent, but nobody wanted to be rained on.  So I never got to use my cossies in Menorca. Oh well, at least the weather forecast looked reasonable for the next week.

I drove to Fort Marlborough, to the south of Maó. The fort itself was closed for renovations but the sun was out for this charming little cove which could be mistaken for somewhere in Italy or Greece.

I decided to call it a day as it was late in the afternoon and the diesel was running low. I didn't want to have to fill up to make it to the airport.  When I first started driving in Maó, I wasted a lot of time on the one-way streets, especially near the hostal. After parking I walked around the corner and verified that to reach the short block the hostal was located on, I was forced to either ignore a no entry sign or a no right-turn sign, it was simply impossible to reach there otherwise. I think nobody in town planning realised the quandry they had created.

Maó 2

Here are a few shots of Maó buildings by night that don't belong anywhere else. This is the Església de Santa Maria. A banner shows that it's used for concerts also.

This is the ajuntament (goverment offices) next to the church.

I think part of the pleasure of exploring old cities is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle except that you are inside the puzzle. You have moments of ah, so that's where that path goes.

A popular social spot just opposite the church.

This is a combination of two plaças, Plaça Carme just in front of the former convent where the photo was taken and Plaça Espanya further down. The Fish Market is to the right.

One of the pedestrian streets.

This is the Café Ars (as in art) which had some interesting menu offerings, but I never got to try it.

Down at the harbour there was a full moon over the scene.

Looking up at the old city from the harbour.

El Toro and Northeast Menorca

When you tell people you are renting a car overseas they tell you to be careful with driving on the right hand side of the road. Well let me tell you that's not the hard adaptation. When you are on the road, you get your cues from the other traffic. The hardest part is the different controls and feel. The handling was ok, but the diesel engine had insufficient torque at low revs which mean that I couldn't use a gear at a lower speed even with the trick of feathering the clutch; I had to shift down.

But the worst thing was that software engineers have now been allowed to design car controls. For example you nudge the wiper lever up for faster and down for slower. In other words, plus and minus buttons. What's wrong with that, you ask? Well firstly the scheme is not obvious by trying the lever, even with logos on it, and secondly you can't tell what speed you are at by the attitude of the lever, you have to watch the wipers for a while. All this to save a multi-position switch. The sound system controls were a disaster. I wasted 15 minutes before I figured out how to connect my MP3 player to the auxiliary input. Alright, enough ranting. BTW it's the nearest car in the photo, an Opel Corsa diesel hatchback.

My first destination was the summit in the centre of the island, El Toro, which is just outside El Mercadal. Yes, it means the bull, but it seems that the sound of its name predates the arrival of the Europeans. At the top of the hill is a fort, and a church. There is also this statue of Christ which is a bit reminiscent of Cristo Redentor on Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro. Well I suppose it's natural for him to have outstretched arms. There is no chance that you will find a statue where he has his hands in his pockets or behind his back.

There were great views to the north of Menorca, in particular Cap de Cavalleria and Fornells. Ciutadella and Maó were obscured by intervening land. I was lucky that the weather was relatively good. There was a tornado crossing the Mediterranean which had wrought havoc in Valencia, toppling a ferris wheel, among other damage. Those unlucky people had forest fires earlier in the year and now they had floods.

Es Mercadal is in the valley below and you can see highway ME1, the spine of the island's road system, running past it.

I went back to the pasteleria that was closed yesterday. (Actually I left just as the shop assistant was reopening it after siesta, at 1700. Too late, I had a gelato already.) I ordered a coffee and an ensaïmada. According to the menu, the shop was founded in 1884. The young shop assistant, perhaps the daughter of the proprietress, replied in English, even though I had placed my order in Spanish, perhaps for the practice, as the tourism industry requires knowledge of at least basic phrases.

From there I drove up to Cap de Cavalleria, which sticks out like a spike from Menorca. There is a lighthouse there of course, which was put in place after a few ships had come to grief on Menorcan rocks. Driving to these extreme points is an adventure in itself since the access roads are narrow and flanked by stone walls which means you have to drive slowly and be alert to opposing traffic. When you encounter one you have to pull over where the road is wider so that both can pass. Everybody is courteous and there is usually a wave of thanks by both parties.

The coastal views are dramatic, of course.

On the way out I came across a doe and her kid. They were not afraid of the people around so I think visitors have been indulging it. It was heading for me when I took this photo, after failing to get anything from the others. (I didn't have anything for it either.)

Then I backtracked a little to the Platge de Cavalleria. A short climb takes you to a vantage point where you can see the aforementioned beach. Pretty but not so good for swimming.

But the beach on the other side of the view, Platge de Ferragut, was suitable and had orange sand.

Time for lunch. I went to Fornells, as planned. It's a fishing village that has become a holiday resort, but still hasn't been turned into a tasteless town. All the guides say to try the caldereta llagosta (lobster stew), but at 50-70€ per person, minimum two, this was out of my range. I settled on the menu del dia at the Bar S'Algaret with mejilliones de roca a la plancha (grilled mussels) followed by lenguado a la plancha (grilled sole), accompanied by a glass of dry white and finished with a café cortado (short black). All for a very reasonable 16€.

It started pouring while I was lunching, then stopped so I took the chance to take some pictures from the breakwater. On the way a couple was looking at something in the water. Pulpo, said the man. Ah yes octopus, I replied, guessing that they were British. We could see something white scuttling away at the bottom of the water. Not sure how long he'll last there, they'll fish him up and serve him, I said. Unless he starts predicting football matches.

North of the town is the Torre de Fornells which is at the end of the land. From there you can see the cove that Fornells is situated in. It looked like a bit of Scotland. I think the gloomy weather contributed to the impression.

Then on to the last spectacle for the day, Cap de Favàritx. This is a finger of rock that extends northeast from Menorca. The weather there is so horrid that even succulents are absent from the last stretch of rock.

And of course a lighthouse, candy striped this time.

Quite a full day wasn't it?

Cap d'Artrutx, Cala Turqueta and Cala Morell

My rental car was to be delivered around 1000. After breakfast I had some time to spare so I went to the municipal markets, just around the corner from my hostal. The convent was seized by the state in a wave of secularism back in the 19th century. Today it houses stalls selling produce, meat, baked goods and artisan products. Downstairs is a supermarket. The open air central space is used for concerts and similar events. It's not very big though and it took less than 10 minutes to walk past all the stalls.

Just around the corner is a serpentine road that descends from the old city, built on cliffs, to sea level at the docks, where I had joined the cruise yesterday.

The car was late. I called the renters once and they said it was on the way. I finally got it around 1100. After I had signed the agreement and paid for the rental, I panicked when I couldn't find my driving license. I was about to park the car in the hostal basement, where I had rented a space for 3 days, and go look for it in my backpack, when I finally remembered that I had taken it out and put it in my waist pouch days ago. Phew, not being able to legally drive a car would have upset a lot of my plans.

I headed out to Ciutadella again, not to visit the city but to reach Cap d'Artrutx (the tx is pronounced like ch, in case you are wondering), the southwest corner of the island,.which has a lighthouse. There is a small cafe where you can take refreshments or a meal. The breeze was nice but I didn't see the point of looking out to open sea. I think it serves the residents of the nearby holiday resort, providing a slightly more attractive alternative to the type of eatery seen in Cala Blanes a couple of days ago.

Next I headed for Cala en Turqueta, a cove on the south coast. To reach this you have to drive a few kilometres along a surfaced road with some potholes, which led to an unsurfaced road.This ended in a car park. Here I ate a rough and ready lunch of cheese with crispbread and an apple before walking several hundred metres to the beach. There were a pair of adjacent sandy beaches which were quite decent. The water was a pretty turquoise. It was much better than Cala Santandria, but of course not easily reached without one's own transport.

There was also a group of horse riders at the beach, resting their animals. There is a walking and riding trail that encircles the island, the Cami de Cavalls. Menorcans are crazy about horses; there is a breed that is indigenous to the island.

I visited a couple of nearby beaches, the Platges de Son Saura. The sand is quite fine but you have to walk to the next bay to avoid the rocks.

I drove to Cala Morell near the northwest corner of the island. There is an urbanisation there where the holiday homes are pueblo style and painted white. Makes sense in the hot climate I guess. The streets are named after constellations. The designs were of better taste than Cala Blanes. It would be handy to Ciutadella for dining out or concerts.

Nice to have a swimming pool in the front yard. It looked like many of the houses did. I wondered where they get the precious water from. Most of them looked empty. I guess the tourist season was over.

It was late in the afternoon by this time so I drove back to Maó. The island is small enough that one can drive east-west in just over an hour. I stopped at Es Mercadal for a coffee but it was still the siesta and the pasteleria was closed so I had a gelato instead. I noted that El Toro, the highest hill of the island, was just outside town so I would pass this way again the next day.

Maó 1

I was rather distressed yesterday when I found that my netbook's power pack had stopped working. Without it, no Internet unless I use an Internet cafe, no photo backup, no fresh music for the MP3 player, and so forth. I would have to buy a replacement. Its specs weren't that special but I had no idea where I could get a substitute in Ciutadella or Maó. Then I noticed that if I wiggled the power cord a little it would come on for a while. I saw sparking where the wire entered the plug. Ah, a broken wire. I cut off the plug and improvised a connection using an adaptor I had.That should keep the netbook going for the rest of the holiday.  Whew, that was a relief.

After breakfast, I visited the market before taking the bus to Maó. It was a small affair. Interesting to see what was available in this part of the island.

At the post office I sent off a postcard to surprise a friend. I was reminded why I don't write postcards any more. First of all I had to  find a card for sale. They don't exist any more in some places I've travelled in. Then I had to take a ticket and join the queue at the post office to buy a stamp. Maybe a blog is not as tangible, but it sure is a lot more convenient, you can see more pictures, and cheaper.

As it had started to rain I decided to take one service earlier than planned. Might as well have more time in Maó. The bus retraced the route I had taken on Monday. Again I got a bit lost looking for the hostal in the old city but it was all good in the end. The room was fairly modern and comfortable, with card key entry and central air conditioning.

I decided to take the harbour cruise in the afternoon while I still didn't have my rental car. Maó has the best deepwater harbour in the western Mediterranean and the English, French and Spanish have fought over possession of it. You probably knew about Maó (in Catalan, Mahon in Spanish) even before you heard of the name; it gave us mayonnaise (salsa mahonesa). There are various versions of the story but the main thing is that the recipe was taken to France and entered the culinary vocabulary there.

Two companies compete on this cruise route and they have ticket booths side by side. So I was wooed by the sales assistants of both companies. The one I didn't choose had a sailing 30 minutes later so I didn't feel bad about not selecting them; they would get their customers.

This is what remains of the old British naval base on the opposite side of the harbour.

That side of the harbour is now lined with holiday homes of the wealthy. This house may not look like much, but it is said to be Richard Branson's holiday home. No noise from the neighbours!

Closer to the mouth of the harbour there were the forts, prisons, hospitals and all the other vestiges of military use.

Where the harbour met the sea the catamaran stopped for us to look at the fish from the glass bottom of the boat. Unfortunately all we could see were plants. It was only a small part of the cruise anyway. The boat rocked a lot in the current and I was glad when we turned around to head back.

The southern shore of the harbour is more modern and serves pleasure craft. There are also hotels and housing developments.

And of course dining possibilities.

Back on land I came across this stray looking for a stroke. I can imagine the first cats to be domesticated coming down from the trees in Africa because they wanted a stroke. It's hard to take a picture when the cat keeps following you.

In the evening I failed to find a restaurant to my liking in the old town, so I gave up and had fast food but with salad instead of chips. It seems most of the good restaurants are down by the water. I'd have to walk down there. I suppose I could use the exercise. Anyway nearly everybody at an outside table was having drinks, not food. The choice in Maó was unusually small for the Spanish dining scene. Perhaps in these financially challenging times people are saving money by eating at home but won't give up on socialising around drinks.

Ciutadella 3

I'd decided to visit a beach to the north of Ciutadella for the last full day. I settled on Cala'n Forcat. As the city is between the bus stand and the north, the bus had to go around the city on the peripheral road. Cala'n Forcat is situated in a resort area called Cala Blanes. (Incidentally stupid Bing maps displayed Blanes in Catalunya when I searched for Cala Blanes.)

It's obvious from the shops and restaurants that Cala Blanes has a lot of British package tourists. There are "Irish pubs", restaurants serving British food, and so forth. Why do they try to recreate their homeland while on holiday so that except for the weather, it's like they never left home? Fear of the unfamiliar? To be fair, they are not the only nationality to do this. The Germans also have their enclaves in the Balearics.

The bus dropped me and a few other passengers outside a large package tourism hotel. The sky had become overcast and a strong wind was blowing in from the sea. I walked to the edge of the cliff to see the water being whipped up and crashed against the cliff. The spray thrown up was so strong that at first I thought it had started raining. Well, no use looking for the beach thereabouts.

It turned out that there was a footpath on the other side of the street leading down to the cove. At the bottom was a small beach with brown sand. Unfortunately the wild weather had also mingled leaf debris with the water so it was less than attractive. A couple of recliner chair renters on the beach were not getting any customers at all. In better weather this beach would be filled with guests from the ugly hotel.

The foul weather did demonstrate how coves in the Balearic islands protect beaches. You could see how wild the waves were around the bend at the mouth of the cove. Anybody or anything out there would have been dashed to bits against the rocks.

I spent some time exploring the arms of the cove and taking pictures of the wild water. When I got bored of that I thought I would walk back to Cala Blanes to look for lunch. I hoped that there would be something worthwhile after ignoring the British food (no the buffet Chinese restaurant didn't qualify), but nothing interested me so I decided to find lunch back in Ciutadella.

And what's wrong with Spanish bread anyway?

About this time I was soaked by a sudden shower while waiting for the bus and had to duck into a shop.

Back in Ciutadella I found a restaurant serving a menu del dia. I had steamed mussels with aioli followed by a couple of milanesa (veal in bread crumbs) with french fries. It was a bit expensive for the portion size. Then again, the amount was just about what I should be eating.

In the evening I joined the Menorcans for the evening paseo. This is a shop selling Menorcan specialities. Notice the hams on the wall.

Unfortunately the paella restaurant I had my eye on was not open for dinner, only for lunch. Another candidate was too popular; all the outside tables were taken, and the occupants were not leaving soon. I could have an inside table but it was too warm inside, perhaps due to the pizza oven. So at a nearby joint I had a Menorcan pizza which was sobrassada and cheese. There wasn't that much sobrassada on the pizza anyway. It was rather filling and the hour was late so I forewent the gelato and returned to the hotel.

Boy am I sleepy. Maybe I should have had water instead of beer with the pizza. I'll just nap a little...and...write...the...blog...afterwards...zzz...zzz.