A week in sunny MENORCA


DAY ONE - Arrival day, Friday 16th .............................................................................. (All pictures are numbered for reference)
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1	These were our first sightings of the Balearic Islands as the 'plane made its approach to Mahon airport. Below the eastern tip of Menorca with the Illa de L'Aire and its lighthouse are clearly visible. During the holiday a walk from Sant LLuis to Punta Prima, took us along this part of the coast and I was able to take a photo of the lighthouse from the ground.

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We were originally booked into a three star hotel at Punta Prima but as that closed early due to reduced bookings we were transferred to the Hotel Sol Gavilanes at Cala Galdana	The view from our balcony

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A spectacular sunset that evening welcomed us to Menorca

DAY TWO - Saturday 17th ............... Today we took the bus to Cuitadella. The morning was spent looking around the old town and in the afternoon we got taxies to a nearby hermitage from where we walked the 7 miles back to Cala Galdano.
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Arrival in Cuitadella.		Our first stop was the cathedral

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The inside of the cathedral. The patterns made by the sun from the opposite widows can be seen in the photo on the right.


Because I like doors and knockers
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If you like doors and knockers (can't be many more like me) then you'll find lots more on the web page of our Tuscan holiday at www.redhill-reigate-history.co.uk/aholiday.htm

From Ciutadella we took taxis to the beginning of our walk

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The Hermitage	A little info from Bob

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Then we were on our way.	A little uncertainty about the route meant some wall climbing . . .

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. . . and a little trespassing in the grounds of the house where the Russian girl with the long legs lived.

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A path eventually led to a small bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .where we saw James Bond emerge from the sea - or was it Tony?


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After a short stay we tackled the 241 steps that took us up to the clifftop for a final look down at the bay . . . .

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. . . . . passing a tree growing out of a rock . . . . . .	. . . . .before our hotel came into sight .

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. . .and we could enjoy a drink on the balcony and watch the sun go down

DAY THREE - Sunday 18th ............... A bus to Ferreries and then a walk to the prehistoric village of Son Mercer
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We had left Ferreries and were well on our way when we got this view back to the town	Below us the modern road over an old widened bridge

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A cattle shed from times past	A gate made from split olive woodat a farm we passed through

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A caterpillar we found on the road. The 1Euro coin shows its size.	Exploring part of the prehistoric village

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Looking down into the adjacent gorge	A contented but slightly pink pig at a farm

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The return toute	A praying mantis seen on the track

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Menorca was very green, no more so that at this elegant pastoral scene.	Standing stnes alongside out route back to Ferreries

76	The Vimpy Bar - yes, that's what it was called - at Ferreries, where we stopped several times in the week to change buses.

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Another lovely sunset that evening with Majorca visible on the horizon


DAY FOUR - Monday 19th
Sunrise on another splendid day when wecaught buses to Ferreries, then Mahon and finally to Sant Lluis for a 7 mile walk to Punta Prima 78

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The start of the walk took us through a semi-rural area of houses and small holdings where we saw a pomegranite tree and a man repairing a wall.

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The horse spotted the camera and posed nicely	Plenty of flowering buses on view

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We stopped at Trebaluger Talayot, a conical shaped scructure dating from 1500-1000BC

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Is this house named 'The Toilet' or is it a play on words for C'est La Vie'?	More flowers to admire


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There was a padlocked gate across the track leading to this farmhouse so once again we had to do a bit of wall climbing. We took it easy past the house just in case we weren't welcome but saw no-one	A mile or so further on we went down to this inlet for lunch

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Tony went for a swim, that's him just below centre of picture	And this is some of the rest of us keeping our feet dry

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After our lunch stop the rest of the walk to Punta Prima was along the coast

We were able to see the island and lighthouse seen from the 'plane on arrival 101	Some of the paths were waymarked. On the coastal path above we came across men installing new markers 102.


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Slaking our thirst on arrival in Punta Prima	To our surprise John had a cup of coffee.

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Waiting for the bus in Punta Prima. Note the reflections in the glass in the right hand photo

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DAY FIVE - Tuesday 20th The 10.20 bus from Cala Galdana took us to Mahon from where we did a 4 mile walk to see the monuments of Trepuco. The walk finished at Mahon waterfront from where we had a boat tour of the harbour. After that we made our way back through the old town to the bus station to return to base. Right - Hillside farming seen from the bus just outside Ferreries 107
A few doors and knockers I couldn't resist photographing in Mahon

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A church in Mahon and the cemtery on the edge of town

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Above - plan of the whole site and the standing stone	Typical tourists	Bob and Leslie in their official garb as leader and back marker

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From the site we continued on roads to get our first site of part of Mahon Harbour	Close-up of the central part of the photo on the left showing the house where nelson is said to have stayed

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Walking alnog the harbour front there was plenty to see, including this brightly coloured camper van	And lots of expensive boats

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More than you could shake a stick at	Plus the Sir Robert Baden Powell, the boat we saw on day 2 (see photo 57)

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Before we went on our boat trip there was time for a bevarage at a small cafe. The plaque on the shelf at the back took my eye.


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A view of Mahon on the cliffs above the harbour	Waterside homes viewed from our boat

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	According to the boat commentary this is where Richard Branson stays when he comes to Menorca. It seemeed to us that one of the other places pictured here would be much preferable.

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Es Castell

We all enjoyed an excellent boat trip. The weather was perfect and there were many more photos but the ones here give a good idea of what it was like 137


Images of Mahon Town
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We left the harbour and headed into the old town

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A close up of the window on the orange building far left of photo 140 shows not an old date but a new one of 2007

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A view back to the harbour

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DAY SIX - Wednesday 21st ..........	A day off for Muriel and I. After a leisurely start we took ourselves off for a walk in the gorge near to the hotel.

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It was a bit of a nature trail. We saw a booted eagle (above), two egyptian vultures, a solitary chicken, a donkey, a couple of herons, and several black horses that we had to push past as they nsisted on occupying the path. (When we got to the end of the gorge there was a man bird watching who told us what they were.)

DAY SEVEN - Thursday 22nd ..........	Today there was an alternative walk to the programmed walk which took thirteen of us eastwards along the coastal path.

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The route led us eventually to a part that was difficult to manouvre. Most of us went back bu Tony and John went on and walked all the way to San Thomas from where they got the bus back, at Ferreries meeting the other group returning from their walk.


DAY EIGHT Friday 23rd .......... Departuure day, the day no-one want to arrive. Pick-up was at 1pm from the hotel so we had time for ourselves in the morning. ................... Below are a final few images of Cal Galdana, our base for a memorable holiday.
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Finally The bay in 1965 - no hotel, no bridges, no island cafe, no boats in the inlet, no villas on the clifftop. 175

If anyone who was on this holiday has any pictures they would like included on this page please click here to email author. This could apply to walks that Muriel and I didn't go on as well as any others taken on this holiday..
If you spot any errors in the above please let me know. All pictures are numbered for reference

This is a page on Alan Moore's website www.redhill-reigate-history.co.uk

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Menorcan dog kennel	This was on the boards bearing the street names	And this was on the wall of a house

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More sights of the town

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		Sigtseeing is thirsty work


157	Some of us back at the cafe on the island opposite the hotel after the walk

Sights in Ciutadella
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