Wednesday 5 June 2019

It’s been a lovely day. What we have seen of Menorca, so far, is beautiful. Cuidadella is a gem of a place. The harbour area is so pretty. it has been used since prehistoric times, long before the Phoenicians settled in 1600-1200bc and gave it its first name Yama, meaning western or west town. The Greeks and Romans followed. Then came Arabs, who were expelled by the Argonese, who gave it the name Cuidadella, meaning "little city". It suffered repeated attacks by pirates and Corsairs, the most notorious by the Turkish pirate, Barbarossa, who, in 1558 laid siege to the town and, when it fell, destroyed buildings and took many of the inhabitants away as slaves. Cuidadella remained the capital of Menorca until 1722, when the British transferred the administration to Mahon, a more natural harbour.

The old town is unspoilt with a contrast between the palaces of the old families fronting the open squares and the tiny houses of artisans, packed apparently at random (intended, it is said, to confuse the all too frequent intruders with a succession of blind alleys and unexpected turns). The 14th century cathedral joins all this in oozing interest.

We feel lucky to have timed our visit now. In two weeks, the build up to the fiesta of San Juan begins. The main fiesta is 23-24 June, when there are daring equestrian displays. The city parties big time.

Menorca is also famed for it’s shoe making, so I have bought a pair of their traditional sandals.

The old market square has a fish market at its centre, surrounded by several butchers shops in the arches along side the square. These are joined by local cheese makers, and vegetable growers, selling their produce. It was a delight to shop for our larder this morning.

Menorca has a coastal path around the whole island. We cycled a small part this afternoon and viewed two of the small calas south of Cuidadella. It is just the sort of place I could happily take a land based holiday, with small hotels at the back of a beach, close to places of interest to visit.

The day was rounded off with a lovely dinner in one of the town centre restaurants, as it is Steve’s birthday tomorrow.

Distance covered today	0	nautical miles
Trip distance covered	791	nautical miles
Distance covered 2019	791	nautical miles
Tricia (and Steve)