It seems that fall has officially arrived in Bizkaia. Unfortunately, this means that the weather (☔️) isn’t conducive to my desired weekend activities (🥾/🏝️). As I listen to the zirimiri (light, but incessant, rain) on the windows, I decided to warm myself up by writing about our recent trip to Menorca.
Menorca is located in the Mediterranean Sea and is part of the Balearic Islands. This archipelago is composed of four larger islands and more than a dozen smaller islands/islets. Of the major islands, Menorca is on the quiet side, with Ibiza being a well-known party destination and Mallorca having developed into a tourist hub.
We booked this trip in early-September, after returning from a delightful weekend in Mundaka, hoping to take advantage of summer’s final days white also exploring another of Spain’s Autonomous Communities. [We’ve now visited 13 of 17!]
While it is still warm on the islands in October, with school back in session it is considered the off-season. This made Menorca even quieter during our visit. The cuadrilla told us that we should rent a car to fully explore the island. However, for once we didn’t take their advice. [As residents we cannot drive in Spain until we acquire Spanish Driver’s Licenses and I am prohibited from driving for the time being.]
As a result, this was the most chill trip, and first real vacation, that we’ve taken since we left DC. After my time in the hospital, we both needed to decompress. Therefore, we spent most of our time on this trip laying by the pool or on the beach, or relaxing on our balcony.
And it was glorious!
Of course, we still hiked!
Menorca is home to a hiking route known as the Camí de Cavalls that circumnavigates the island. The route, which is divided into 20 segments, follows the paths used by knights patrolling the coast on horseback centuries ago. While it’s not nearly as famous as el Camino de Santiago, there are travelers who visit the island exclusively to complete this journey.
Two segments of the Cami were accessible from our hotel. Of course we took advantage of this and hiked part of each. Given how dry Menorica is in the summer, the scenery was not nearly as lush as what we’re accustomed to in Euskadi. [At times it felt like we might be on Mars.] But we still enjoyed exploring that corner of the island more deeply.
Day Trip to Mahón
On our last full day we took the bus to the capital to explore beyond the beaches. Mahón is small, with only 30,000 inhabitants, and became the capital of Menorca in 1713. [Prior to this Ciutdadella, another small city on the western coast, was the capital.] While the mercat de peix [fish market] was not open that day, as it operates on limited hours in the off-season, we did grab some pintxos on the bar/restaurant side before wandering and exploring the city.
Returning to the Balearic Islands?
As soon as our flight landed in Menorca, I learned that Rafael Nadal, whom I adore and is from Mallorca, had announced his retirement. While we chose Menorca over Mallorca to avoid the crowds, I realized that, should we return to the Balearic Islands, I will need to go to Mallorca to visit Rafa’s museum. [Though, we will never be making a trip to Ibiza!]
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