AROUND MENORCA BY SCOOTER

My husband Roberto and I visited Menorca in August 2005 almost by chance, because our original destination was supposed to be Sharm, and then with the attack that happened just a few days before our departure we had to change destination and our agency "diverted" us to Menorca; so we experienced it almost as a fallback, but we soon realised it was no fallback at all, because Menorca was a splendid surprise. Menorca is a wild island still far from the invasive tourism of its cousins Ibiza, Formentera and Majorca, and it has coves that are still untouched, all waiting to be discovered. It is the second largest island of the Balearic archipelago, bathed by the Mediterranean, about 48 km long and with a maximum width of 16 km. The island has been declared a biosphere reserve by Unesco. We rented a car for a day and visited the places furthest from our residence in Cala en Bosh.

For the rest of the days we rented a scooter and covered a lot of kilometres on our two wheels. Finding the scooter was hard work, because in August demand is high and also because there aren't that many scooter-rental places; besides, the island is big and doing it all by scooter is tough! The rental place we used is Pepe's moto, in Cala en Bosh. We spent 2 weeks on this beautiful island and they are barely enough to see it all. There are many famous beaches, among them Cala Macarella and Macarelleta, Cala En Turqueta, Cala Pregonda, Cala Mitjana and Mitjaneta, Es Talaier etc., some reachable only after walks of varying length along dirt tracks. Another famous beach and personally my favourite is Cala Pregonda, in the northern part of the island.

A masterpiece of nature, golden Egypt-style sand bathed by the turquoise waters that only Menorca can offer...our thought was...well, in the end we found Egypt here in Menorca too!!! The beach is reachable after a 20-minute walk under the blazing sun along a dirt track, but the small effort is repaid by the beauty of the place. Another beach popular with tourists is Cala Galdana, very pretty in my view, flanked by a hill with a lovely path from which to enjoy the view of the bay from above. The water is crystal clear. The beach is equipped with umbrellas, sun loungers, pedal boats and all around there are little shops where you can buy souvenirs.

The only flaw of this beach is that behind it a monstrous hotel with hundreds of rooms has been built, which spoils the idyllic scenery a little, but you just have to not look at it............!!!! Don't let this put you off though; the beach is still well worth a visit. Algaiarens is a magnificent protected beach and a biosphere reserve. To get in you pay about 1 or 2 € depending on whether you come by car or scooter, and then, after a stretch on the bike, the rest is on foot, but it's worth it. On the beach there are many nudists, all covered in clay which they say is very good for the skin.

You can find the clay near the rocks: just scrape it with a stone, mix it with a little water and the paste is ready! We tried it and afterwards the skin felt very soft! The ritual photos of everyone covered in it are fun! Another beach we visited is Cala en Porter, famous for its beach but above all for the "Cova d'en Xoroi", a cave perched over the sea in which a nightclub, one of the most famous in Europe, has been created. You can visit it in the daytime too and it's a great spot for an aperitif, where at sunset it offers a truly unforgettable view!! Really worth including in your trip. Not far from here and absolutely UNMISSABLE is the little town of Binibequer, near the capital Mahon and an old fishing village. The village is stunning and nicknamed the town of cream and chocolate because it is characterised by very white little houses with brown roofs.

These houses are all built right up against one another and inside it's an interweaving of very narrow alleys and little arches. You'll be left speechless, exactly as we were. Son Bou is instead another Beach (with a capital B), because it's a 4-km stretch of very white sand and is different from the usual coves that characterise the island. It's in the south of Menorca, about 20 km from Mahon. Very similar is San Thomas too. A visit to Ciutadella should not be missed: its old town and the port area, where in the evening a pretty little market gathers and you can dine in the many places lining the port. Ciutadella is one of the few evening spots along with Cala en Bosh, which also offers a great many places to have lunch or dinner on the quay and lots of very distinctive clothes and souvenir shops.

We were right in Cala en Bosh, at the Marinda Garden, a very nice residence that we ended up in with the roulette formula and which, we must say, met with our great approval. The rooms, ours was a bungalow, are spacious and even have a kitchenette. There's a large pool where they organise the usual resort activities such as water polo, aqua gym etc. etc., a restaurant where we never ate because we were always out, and a little theatre where they put on evening shows. All set in a lovely, very well-kept garden. A very good verdict. Recommended restaurants: ES MOLI' DES RACO' in Es Mercadal (address: c/Major 53 Tel. 971 37 53 92). Opening hours 13.00-16.00 and 19.00-23.00. The restaurant is an old restored mill and serves typical Menorcan dishes and truly out-of-this-world paellas. The atmosphere is evocative.

To conclude, Menorca was a beautiful and unexpected experience that I recommend to anyone who fancies a beach holiday but doesn't mind a bit of effort to find the most beautiful coves and enjoy the spectacle nature offers. Annalisa