I along with 5 other club members have just returned from a fabulous trip to Menorca where we completed a circumnavigation of the smaller Balearic island covering 166km over 7 full days of paddling.
Fiona McLay’s idea for a ‘paddle in the sun’ was taken up by Catherine Francis, Graham Bailey, Pat Smith, Rob Burgess and myself Clare Eadie. Fiona’s pre-trip planning and liaison with Menorca En Kayak, a local kayak hire company ensured we arrived to boats, kit, a good briefing and a great map marked with overnight camp sites, restaurants and supermarkets. Wild camping is illegal on the island but using a tarp is ok on secluded beaches between sunset and sunrise so we all brought tarps with us.
We flew directly to Mahon and next day after a visit to the local supermarket for provisions got taxis to Es Grau, 10km north where the hire company are based. It took a fair bit of time to get briefed, kitted out and packed up but the forecast was for thunder and lightning till midafternoon so we set off about 3pm with laden but comfortable boats. The F4 south winds forecast indicated we should be planning an anticlockwise circumnavigation and since we couldn’t have got round the first headland of Cap de Favaritx that day we went across the bay to a lovely sandy beach on the north west side of the nearby island, Illa de Colom. It didn’t take long for us to have our first swim in the beautifully warm and clear turquoise waters watched over by circling kites before getting the tarps up and settling down to a fine curry cooked up by Pat and Graham and washed down with a carton of Don Simon Vino Tinto which is ideal for the undiscerning wine drinking paddler with more of an interest in transporting wine rather than its actual bouquet!
Day 1 saw us setting of in a southerly F4 wind and a 1.5m swell which got bigger as we neared and rounded Cap Favaritx and turned west keeping a good distance away from the rugged coast line where the swell was breaking heavily. We were all ready for a stop by the time we got to the calmer waters of Addala and Graham got his jet boil for a very welcome coffee before we headed north back out into the watery troughs and peaks to round Punta Gross then west across the bay of Arenal D’en Castell and the golf resort of Son Parc to Cala Pudent where we had another swim along with lots of other Spanish sun seekers. We’d paddled about 20km by now and weren’t sure what the swell would be like going round the next and more exposed headland but decided to give it a go with the option of returning here for the night if it was going to be too much. In fact the swell was steady or maybe we were just becoming more immune to it and we found our next camp at the head of an inlet opposite the pretty town of Fornells pleased with how we’d coped (or maybe that was just me!) Another night, another tarp, a lovely sunset over Fornells and vegetable and chickpea tagine cooked up by Fiona. Strangely, the Don Simon seemed to evaporate that night (all that bobbing up and down in the swell I think!)
Never fear, Fornells was near so Day 2 saw us heading over next morning to have a second breakfast and stock up on provisions. By midday we were back on the water with Cap De Cavalleria, the most northerly point on Menorca in our sights, especially when we were on the top of a wave as the swell was still swell. The wind had dropped to F2-3 and the swell pushed us along as we stayed off the coast and headed west along the cliffs of the exposed northern coastline. We stopped for lunch and a swim at Cala Viola de Ponent then on to a lovely overnight stop at Cala Calderer where Catherine treated us to fantastic veggie wraps and pudding.
By next morning the water which had been churned up and opaque on our arrival had cleared and an early morning walk up the hill beside the beach showed calmer seas with wall to wall blue skies which we were now taking for granted. As we left we saw 2 walkers following the Cami de Cavalls( a 186km 10 day coastal pathway round Menorca ) crossing the beach weighed down with heavy rucksacks and appreciated the ease with which we could transport our gear in kayaks. Actually as this point I should say that said kayaks leaked (some more than others) but on the whole our selection of dry bags did the job and other than making the boats heavy for lifting out wasn’t too much of a problem.
Day 3’s plan was to get to Cala Morell the last camp site available before rounding the north western corner. With no swell and a northerly F2 we were now able to get into the coast and get a better view of the geology and coves as we paddled along. We didn’t seen much wild life on the trip but here we did see some big birds later identified as Egyptian vultures swooping about high above our heads. Later on in trip we saw cormorants and rarely shoals of tiny fish which leapt out then back into the water. We stopped on a rocky beach at Pia de Mar where we saw rangers picking up litter which they do twice a week and explained why every beach we saw was so clean. We paddled on till lunch and a swim/ snorkel Cala Algaiaren, a wide sandy beach which like most if the beaches has dried ‘ticker tape’ seaweed and brillo pad shaped husky balls which were good for washing up. A shorter day paddle saw us arriving at Cala Morell early enough for deliciously cold, salt free beers and we got news that Boris had been defeated in the courts (hooray) and that Thomas Cook had gone into receivership (boo) leaving Pat potentially paddling round Menorca for ever (not a bad prospect actually). Minor problems really (unless you’re Boris or Pat) and quickly forgotten with another round of beers and dinner in a restaurant overlooking the bay with very confusing toilet signs which caused some frustration for one other gentleman diner who eventually barged past me as I made the most of having access to a sink with soap and fresh water in the men’s loos!
Fed and watered (and in my case a bit less salty) we paddled in the failing light away from the public beach at the head of the inlet to the recommended and more secluded beach we’d seen on the left as we paddled in. Unfortunately a few locals and their dog were still occupying the small sandy beach and we didn’t feel we could ask them to shift so we pitched 2 tarps (we usually had 5 between us) on a tiny stone platform at the edge of the beach after which Fiona reported her best night sleep thus far!
Day 4 was a great day: in the morning we gave ourselves lots of time to explore the caves along this corner of the island before stopping for lunch at Calespiques where we met up with some relatives of Catherine who were living in Ciutadella. On this beach we also met a couple who’d completed their circumnavigation the week before and the 2 walkers we’d seen crossing the beach at Cala Calderer. After lunch the coast became more urbanised with housing visible all along the top of the cliffs from Cala Forcat to Cala Blanca. We crossed the traffic free shipping lanes of the port of Ciutadella and turned south to paddle down the west coast in a northerly F3 to Cap D’Artrutx then hung a left (we only ever turned left at the corners) and arrived at Platja Son Xoriguer for a welcome stop with refreshments and reprovisioning. Our camp that night was at Platja Son Saurer, a lovely broad bay with a boardwalk to protect the dunes and the finest grade of sand known to man which got everywhere. Our tarps collected a lot of condensation every morning and this sand adhered to both sides of our tarps when we took them down next day. Fiona cooked up a quick pasta and pesto meal which we ate as ever with darkness falling and the stars coming out as they had every night. It had been a day of great progress which saw us now on the south coast and on track to complete our circumnavigation.
Day 5 and by now we were well practised at getting ourselves up and breakfasted, tarps down, all gear packed up and boats carried to the water’s edge. This always took us at least 2 hours. As soon as we set off it was obvious that the south coast was much busier: more yachts, motor boats and people appearing from resorts on sit on tops and even pedalos near Cala Galdana. More caves too, so that was great fun even if there were more people in them. Lunch stop and swim at Cala Trebaluger where Fiona and Pat got minor jelly fish stings while fish watching in the clear waters then a short jaunt up the river (!) before setting off again past the wide sandy beach resort of Sant Thomas to Son Bou for some afternoon resuscitation with coffee and ice cream. From here the plan had been to paddle round the corner to Lluc al Lari which turned out to be pebbly beach in the shade so there ensued a minor mutiny following which we paddled on in the beautiful evening sunlight to Calescoves, a very secluded little cove which was obviously a popular anchorage. This beach had no pebbles but instead a metre of mushy seaweed and brillo pads at water’s edge which we had to wade through before finding solid ground and by this time it too was in the shade! It was my turn to cook that night after which Pat treated us to pan fried banana wraps with nutella which, washed down with some of the lovely Don Simon was delicious.
Day 6 dawned and we set off in the knowledge that tonight would be our last night under a tarp (forever?). The wind was light and from the south and we explored more caves as we worked our way eastwards in continuing sunshine and blue skies slathered in sun cream as we had been every day. Towards Binisafuller we could see and hear planes as they took off from the runway at Mahon airport only a few km inland to the north, another sign that we were getting closer to our starting point. We stopped there for a coffee in a very nice restaurant where we totally annoyed the owner by walking in and out to the toilets in wet squelchy bootees (health and safety hazard she ranted in Spanish and Catherine translated!) We didn’t stay long and had lunch back on the slipway where we’d left the boats and got a bit of drying done too. On departure Rob confirmed that the slip way truly was slippery and sustained a minor head injury but we thought no lasting damage (?) We continued east and round the bottom corner passing Isla del Aire on our right and then stopped at Punta Prima for Graham to get the shopping done for his meal that night and the rest of us to cool ourselves with beers or ice cream. Our last night’s stop was a tiny cove at Alcalfar, a lovely picturesque little village. There was just enough room to bring a boat through the small gap at the head of the inlet and our 6 boats took up all the available space so our tarp constructions had to take on a different design as we couldn’t use the boats to tether the guy ropes onto as we had been doing previously. Undeterred by this we set up our last camp, had a swim and watched the sunset reflect it’s glow on the Torre d’Alcalfar Vell, one on the many Martello towers built by the British as defences all around the Menorcan coastline in the early 19th century. Graham produced a wee bottle of gin he’d been keeping for a last night tipple and mixed us up a cheeky little G&T. At our last supermarket stop we’d been unable to source any more Don Simon and had gone upmarket with a bottle (not carton) of real red wine so Graham’s last supper of lentil and tomato linguine was a fine feast. Cooking together had been a great way to share the chore and we enjoyed great banter every night as we ate in the dark by head torch as fires were prohibited.
Day 7 and lots of local runners and walker seemed surprised to see 6 salty Scottish paddlers in ‘their’ tiny cove as we had breakfast and packed up One couple who looked like they came here every day for a swim had a good old wait till we all got launched. Then, north we paddled, towards Castell de Sant Filip at the mouth of Mahon harbour where we’d taken a walk on the evening of our arrival the week before. A short while the yellow glass-bottomed boat passed by then over the shipping lane and round fortress on the La Mola peninsula on the northern bank where we promptly met the glass-bottomed boat again! It was getting hot now, no wind and flat calm, we were glad we’d had a breeze to keep us comfortable in the previous days: doing this trip in the height of the summer would be tough. As we approached Cala Mesquita the sight of an ice cream van was most welcome and we paddled in for lunch and a cone for dessert. Our last launching saw us paddling quietly northwards back to Es Grau. In the distance we could see the lighthouse at Cap de Favaritx with its barber style swirly lines, it had been the first of 7 light houses we’d passed on our journey. As it went out of sight we reached the bay and paddled back to the shore we’d set off from 8 days earlier and were met by the hire company team who welcomed us back and took a group photo. Fast forward to celebratory beers after we’d unpacked the boats, dried off the wet gear, repacked our suitcases and been awarded Finisher t-shirts by Menorca En Kayak. Then, after taxis back to our hostel in Mahon and glorious showers, we celebrated our achievement further with tapas in one of the many restaurants down by the harbour. Fiona had done us proud: she managed to take photos when no one else dared (remember that swell) and checked in with us to make sure we were coping. Rob had kept a close eye on the weather forecast and we all had the opportunity to feed into our daily briefings. We’d worked well as a team and had had a truly fantastic trip. Thanks to one and all.
For more details of the planning/logistics, see LSKC Menorca Trip Details.