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.