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.
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.
This is what remains of the old British naval base on the opposite side of the harbour.
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.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment