Monday, September 24, 2007

The Beautiful Dry Stone Walls of Menorca


Last week I returned for the fourth time to the lovely island of Menorca for a well earned week long holiday, and was I ready for a break! Should have taken two weeks as a week was too short!

I stayed in an apartment in Es Castel just south of Mahon. Linda and John, owners of the apartment made us feel really welcome and are smashing people. They run 'f1rstcall' property management looking after villas and apartments on the island. They're the only folk I've come across who's washing machine is used more than ours!

Out and about we visited old familiar places and some new ones. The fishing harbour of Calas Fons in Es Castel was a great setting for dining out with some great restaurants and bars. All the restaurants we dined in were good, especially Trebol who's fish dishes were superb and staff really helpful and friendly. The only restaurant we had any complaints about was La Capriciosa who's staff were surly and rude. My grilled sea bass was overcooked, vegetables cold and to top it off they overcharged. So if you're heading to Calas Fons I'd avoid that particular establishment.

There were some fantastic examples of Menorcan dry stone walling. Scattered around the island, especially in the north, were little 'huts' and structures made from dry stone and several which had been made with dry stone techniques but were cemented. One of my better finds was a section of wall just off the Cami d'en Kane where there was a lunkey (which is a hole through the wall for sheep to squeeze through into the next field) a stile and some kind of flue all in 5 metres of wall! I wonder if this is the testing centre for the local dry stone walling organisation as it's most unusual to find those kind of features so close together?!

Here are a few examples of the fantastic walls of Menorca. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did.


































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