The Menorca of the Menorcans
The quietest island in the Mediterranean it still has hidden corners, coves where you want to reserve a piece on the shore and places to wish it was summer all year round. You just had to meet a Menorcan to have the best roadmap.
is to put the feet in Minorca Y knowing that you are in paradise. And because summer on this Balearic island is the Mediterraneanly more literal. Little has to do with the older sister Majorca , much less with the farthest Ibiza , the rebellious sister and mainstream.
Menorca is calm from minute one and melancholy from the minute you leave , because you will already want to return. In the summer months is when its waters are more crystalline but they are also the months in which to find a haven of peace is third complicated. But it is enough to take paper and pencil to realize that escaping from the ruckus is possible.
This is all about finding the perfect relaxation spot
Citadel is the popular Menorca in San Juan , while Mahon , in the distance of its 45 kilometers of difference, it will be closing the summer season in September with the last racket. Or so those who come from outside think, because Menorcans know that their best corners are still almost inhospitable.
AT SOME TIME YOU HAVE TO SLEEP
To sleep, any man from Mahón will tell you that it is better to stay in one of the boutique hotels that we find in the center of the capital of the island or its surroundings. Many dot different streets of the historic center, and due to their location and careful decoration, they make you want to return in autumn or spring, when the island is only for a few.
** Jardí de ses Bruixes –** and its marvelous patio-, ** Casa Ládico ** or Syndic Hotel are some examples. Many of these buildings are listed for their architectural value , so it is worth covering yourself with the sheets of one of these small hotels.
Citadel, or the unstoppable life
Casa Ládico, for example, dates from the mid-19th century and it was there that the f Ladic Greek amilia , who arrived on the island in 1753. If the Italians are from Ibiza, the Greeks are from Menorca. Another example is the Garden of ses Bruixes, whose land belonged to the Church and that, due to consequences of life, ended up in the hands of the cousin of Don Francesc Femenias Fabregues . Any lifelong Menorcan will tell you that he is the first architect of Menorca.
Precisely Femenías Fábregues was the author of the markets of Mahon and Citadel , and in Mahón – with views of one of the largest ports in Europe- Menorcans gather every Saturday.
Its wonderful interior patio and the style of its rooms make it all
OF PINCHOS AND PARTY NON STOP LIKE A LOCAL
In the Mercat d'es fish life is celebrated with ointment -local gin, the Xoriguer, with lemonade-, skewers, and whatever delicious morsels lie ahead. Of course the Mahon cheese and sobrassada they cannot miss.
If you thought that there was an atmosphere at the Mercado de la Cebada in Madrid, It is because you have not been to this Menorcan market where music and drink are distilled in equal parts. There is no plan more Mahonese than enjoying a Saturday in this corner.
and continue it on Sa Winery . If you had island parents they would tell you: Seny que de cervell en venen! before a plan of this caliber. although for fuss -it is called that, literally-, its well-known summer parties that are spread every weekend through different locations on the island... And in its squares, popular music resounds while the horses walk and jump in them.
TO THE BEACH
Menorca is known for its Beaches , and beyond the classic ones – ** Cala Macarella and Macarelleta **, to give an example-, there are natural corners that are worth knowing. It is enough to take the car or a motorcycle to arrive in the blink of an eye to the Eden.
A few steps, literal, from the famous and busy Binibeca we find the small town of Binissafua . and at the feet, Ses Olles , pot-shaped rocks that overlook the sea, where many Menorcans have embraced the sea for the first time.
Sitting on its rock steps, jumping into the water, and watching the path of white houses that runs along the coast while the sun sets, is a pleasure that only a few experience.
A few steps from Ses Olles is the Binisafua Maritime Club , which with its instagrammable doors in different shades of blue, becomes a perfect setting not only to take a picture, but also to enjoy any snack while listening to your neighbors at the table speak in Menorcan. Or as Joan Pons sings: "escort is vent that from Menorca t'arriba...".
EAT LIKE A MENORQUIN
After bathing and sleeping, it's time to fill the stomach . soak up the hippie spirit that breathes Ibiza is possible in the Paput , possibly the best known hamburgers in this area of Menorca . A hippy kiosk where from time to time there are parties, and where it is possible to eat and also have a drink.
Full of saltpeter, devour a hamburger and a cold beer it becomes the best pleasure in the world. This is enjoyed with views of the port of Mahón.
Paput: saltpeter, beer and hamburger
If you want a table and tablecloth, a Menorcan will tell you to stop by The Raises , from the owners of Ses Forquilles (also an option) . The best? Its views and ordering rice for one here is possible.
The pleasure of enjoying a paella pan will be one of your Menorcan experiences . If you prefer to eat in the middle of the countryside, take note of the ** Pan y Vino ** kitchen, Sa Pedrera d'es Pujol Y The Caraba . To end the day, an alternative night plan to the already hackneyed Cova d'en Xoroi ? The concerts at Sa Terrassa des Claustre, which Love of Lesbian or Juanito Makandé have attended. This year they will step on it Iván Ferreiro or the jazz pianist from Mahon Marco Mezquida.
Cova d'en Xoroi
MORE BEACHES
Another of these essential experiences is get lost on its beaches . A thought that you put first in the suitcase. Forget the most classic. Menorca is lucky to be an island of contrasts, and has corners wet by the sea where you can breathe silence. Cala Tortuga, near the Favaritx Lighthouse , requires a short journey with views that take your breath away.
Cala Tortuga, Menorca
A few kilometers from Mahón, Menorcans bathe in Sa Mesquida –Ojito, they rest the saltpeter in the kitchen of Cap Roig or in Ca'n Bernat des Grau- … And if a native wants to surprise you, he will tell you to go see the sunset at Cala Cavalleria . It will be like being on Mars and in paradise at the same time.
Sa Mesquida, Menorca
If we want more examples of where to place the towel, they are La Vall, Cala Pilar, Cala Pregonda. Another option? A good excursion along Camí de Cavalls to Cala Escorxada from the virgin beach of Binigauss… To complete the list of corners on the map for the next visit.
Cala Escorxada
And when you come back, leave a hole in your suitcase to fill it not only with local products ( cheese, sobrassada, sweet potato, carnixua, ensaimadas… ), also clothes and decoration from some of the shops in the capital of the island. Aim ** La Cerería ** or Kalla , to get carried away by that boho and relaxed style that is breathed in this corner of the Balearic Islands. L Thus, sandals as footwear -not Menorcans- are taken for granted.
That of "When in Rome, do as the Romans" – was pronounced in Rome the first time and it was something like Cum Romae fueritis, Romano vivite more - It should be pronounced, yes, in Menorcan, once you set foot on the island and notice the moisture on your skin. Swimming against the current, in the most literal way. It will make you soak up the spirit of the island and want to come back when no one is around. Gone.
Cala Macarelleta