In the Balearics Menorca is a bit of an outcast. During the civil war they annoyed Franco so much that he made it virtually impossible for the island to develop itself as a tourist destination by putting strict building regulations in place and as a result we found it to be a wonderful change from Mallorca!
The island itself is less treed and certainly more bleak and
windswept than the others but this is more than balanced by the more subtle
development and abundance of wild spaces.
We thoroughly enjoyed being able to walk every night on the Cami de Cavalls
(an 18th century defensive horse track that circles nearly the
entire island) and it also turned out to be the most interesting of the islands
historically, with bronze age burial caves and strange stone towers (talayot)
dotted about.
We make landfall at Cala Morells and long line to avoid
encroaching on the swimming buoys and mooring field (yep even here we can’t
away from the desire to block up the bay!)
Still it’s a really nice spot and there is a distinct lack of people
even though we are now in July.
Determined to see some the historic sights we take a 15km walk up the
moonscape of a coast. As hot it was we
thoroughly enjoy ourselves, even if we were slightly underwhelmed by the use of
the old defensive pillboxes as latrines! Just to complete the day we are buzzed
by sea eagles. Bramble is unamused but then
I think I would have been as well, size for size!
We drop in briefly at Fornells. Once again we are foiled by the placement of
paying buoys but we join 10 or so other boats crowded into the last anchoring
spot in the bay. Holding is absolute
crap due to repeated ploughing but at least it is free while your stock up on
groceries! Never ones to follow the
pilot book exactly we trip back out and recce the bay on the other side of the
headland… a real ripper! More protected than
Fornells with a wonderful sandy bottom and loads of space (at night we are the
only boat in there) we make ourselves at home for a couple of days. Best of all it is just a five minute walk
over the hill to Fornells itself… which we have to say was really cute and very
much like a Greek village with excellent Christmas shopping options with its
arty little shops. We can only think
they have made a (deliberate!?) mistake in the pilot book by not mentioning said
bay. Needless to say we didn’t broadcast
its details while we were there for fear of the “buoy fairy”! The landscape around here reminds us all of
Wanaka and even Bramble reverts to Central Otago hunting mode in response and
flushes a hare. The flushing a water
snake the next day wasn’t quite as welcome and nearly resulted in new knickers
required by Murray but at least she didn’t chase it!
Bramble also has a local encounter of some sort which
results in sneezing, wheezing, vomiting, speed drinking and grass consumption
that would befit a dairy cow. Narrowing
down the possibilities we decide on either beetle attack or ant acid. After some antihistamines it settles down…
dangerous business this travelling!
Greece cut another 4000 public sector jobs today and another
25000 have to take 25% pay cut and will
be given 8 months to find a new job before being made redundant. The government has admitted that 70% of
unpaid taxes are unrecoverable (a mere 48billion euros worth). Mind you they are keeping interesting company
with the City of Detroit declaring bankruptcy to the tune of US$ 14.8 billion
. What a mess.
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| The "illegal" anchorage at Mahon |
I have told Murray that my finally straw for the Balearics
will be if we get told we can’t anchor in Mahon. Recent information has prepared us for the
possibility of this but we are ever the optimists! As it is we cruise up the channel we are
relieved to see the bay full of boats so we join the throng. It’s a fabulous bay and completely protected
from any wind direct a real plus on this coast and we are looking forward to
seeing town. The next day we head off
bright and early by dingy for town dutifully ignoring a man in a rib going
round the boats handing out pieces of paper.
(I used to be such a goodie two shoes!!)
Mahon is a cool spot with the old town perched above the main
harbour. We have a lovely morning
tripping about seeing the sights and checking out the shops. We are also trying to get a hook up for the
internet because as usual no-ones café internet works. We soon discover that the island system is
overwhelmed in the summer and as a result the companies don’t allow anymore
sims to be sold at certain times… most frustrating… every single company; orange,
vodofone etc, did wonderful job of
selling us on their marvellous deals only to turn us down when we actually
wanted to buy something… more Spanish logic!
We come away with an international phone card instead!
Second trip into Mahon we anchor up again and head into Es
Castell and join the “jaleo” at the horse festival… very cool! About 50 stallions lolling about in the
streets, then revving up for a bit of rearing and tourist tramping. We pluck up the courage and slap a few
ourselves for luck. Unfortunately it
doesn’t pay off and the next day we are served a notice that says we have
anchored illegally and will have to move into one of the marinas if we want to
stay or risk being fined. The rules are
no anchoring unless all the marinas are full (never happens because they are
too expensive) and then you are only allowed to stay for three days. After a quick ring around we discover that a
boat our size will cost between 90€ plus tax and 170€ a night. We decline, up anchor and take our broken
straw with us!
Did you know that “sarcophagus” means “flesh eater”? Because they were mostly made of limestone
the body inside would be dissolved in 40 days, leaving nothing but the teeth!
The water temp is now in the early thirties so swimming is a
real treat unless it’s a hot day and you want to cool off. Most of the jellyfish have died and sunk to
the bottom which also is an improvement… now no need to stand jellyfish watch
while the other one swims! That being
said we can’t believe how much rubbish there is in the sea now that the height
of the tourist season is underway.
Little rubbish boats “sweep” the bays each day but they are barely
keeping up. Bramble does get a taste for
beach balls though and each evening destroys as many as she can get her teeth
on.
An amusing moment: While enjoying a beer in a café we see a
police car arrive and start ticketing all the cars parked in the bus stop… it
was like a Le Mons start with people rushing from everywhere and trying to get
their cars moved before they could be fined 200€. The funniest was a car load of spherical
elderly French ladies who insisted on packing the car first, swapping seats
when the driver couldn’t find reverse before rabbit hopping off down the one
way street the wrong way. The police
were very indulgent and waited patiently as they got sorted out and then just
calmly pointed them in the right direction.
So much for laws in this part of the world.
Having finally had enough of being mown down and swamped by
passing power boats we pen another tune to sing as they go by… sing it to any tune you feel fit (and don't forget to shake your fist in a threatening manner) and as a
tribute to my Dad I think we will call this one… “You F-ing Piss Artist”. (Needless to say dear old Dad was not keen on
50 foot launches cutting you up at 20knts either!)
I’ve only got a little
funseeker
So I had to buy this giant sunseeker
Chorus
Look at me cos my dick’s so wee
In my fast powerboat
So I had to buy this giant sunseeker
Chorus
Look at me cos my dick’s so wee
In my fast powerboat
If I looked better in the shower
I wouldn’t need all this horsepower
Chorus
It’s true I’ve got loads of money
But what I really can’t get is honey
But what I really can’t get is honey
Chorus
I’m trying hard to be cool
So I have to burn all this fuel
So I have to burn all this fuel
Sing it with me… look at me with my dick so wee, in my fast
powerboat!!
As you might have guessed we had, had enough of the Balearics by now and decide to vote with our boat and head for Sardinia… surely the hospitality will be more welcoming there?? So after a quick sail back to Mallorca to complete our circumnavigation of each island we returned to Menorca to await good weather for a crossing.
As you might have guessed we had, had enough of the Balearics by now and decide to vote with our boat and head for Sardinia… surely the hospitality will be more welcoming there?? So after a quick sail back to Mallorca to complete our circumnavigation of each island we returned to Menorca to await good weather for a crossing.
Another spots we enjoyed were:
Ciudadela: The
anchorage of Cala Degollador just outside was lovely amidst an old stone
quarry. Other than the ferry wash it was
a peaceful and cheaper alternative to town itself and we used it several times. Ciudadela harbour itself was really pretty
and with a bit of negotiation we managed to get a berth with the harbour office
instead of the marina and paid only 48€ a night. Again
it reminded us more of a Greek harbour, with the fish restaurants on the quay
and twisty narrow roads leading up the hill to the new town. Ahhh to be in Vathi now!
Cala de Algayerens: A
huge anchorage with great sand holding and loads of walking opportunities. Once we shared it with “Skat” a 71m military
style super yacht. 20 crew, only 5
cabins, helicopter and numerous water toys strung out the back… very stylish
and the outdoor cinema was a nice touch!
Later we pass “Radiant”, a very nice super yacht whose owner is worth a
cool 1.6 billion give a few cents…
Cala Trebeluja: A magic spot, particularly inland. We walk and then kayak into the valley behind
the bay… what a fabulous place!!
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