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| Sailing into Minorca |
About all we had known about Minorca was that it is a
favorite vacation spot but weren’t prepared for the beauty that met our eyes as
we began our sail in to Mahón (pronounced as though the “h” wasn’t in the
word), on the island of Minorca. Minorca
and the other islands of the Balearic chain are an integral part of Spain much
the same way the Canary Islands are.
These islands are located in the Mediterranean Sea southeast of Barcelona.
With a population of just under 35,000 people in Minorca’s 90,000 some total
population, Mahón is its largest city.
As we quietly sailed in, both sides of the ship were treated
to superb view of the bay. Beautiful
white homes with flowers adorning the homes and property were abundant. Many had boats or yachts in the water
adjoining the homes. There were several islands including, one of which
contained what seemed to be an abandoned building that had been an institution
of some kind at one time. Despite the
fact that it was clearly abandoned, there was a certain amount of charm about
the island that actually added to the beauty of the region. Another place looked like an attractive
military institution with a bell tower on the top. As we glided into our port, it appeared that
for once, both sides of the ship had attractive views. This time we had the dock side of the ship
and could observe the street with its shops, cafes, and restaurants. There was a set of steps up to a higher level
as well as a street that climbed the hill toward the town with more stores and
businesses.
Our excursion, called Discover
Ciudadela included a drive around this beautiful island with stops in three
lovely villages as well as the highest point in Minorca. While we got from village to village in a
matter of minutes, our guide told us that until as recently as about 70 years
ago, most people grew up in one village and hardly ever traveled at all. Most ventured no more than about five miles
from home throughout their lives. For
that reason, today people can tell where other Minorcans live by their unique
accents and word usage. Even within a
few miles, the meaning of words change depending on the dialect in the
community. A trip of five to ten miles
might be a once in a lifetime trip! It’s
hard for us who travel the world to comprehend people being confined to one
local area as recently as three quarters of a century ago!
As we left our port, we drove over gently rolling terrain
and then up the highest mountain in Minorca, Mount Toro. The climb began in the small town of Mercadal
and zigzagged back and forth up the hillside. Minorca is not nearly as
mountainous as some of the islands we have visited, and the mountains, unlike
virtually all the others so far on our trip, are not volcanic. When we reached the summit we saw a large
statue of Christ outside the17th century Augustine Order’s Santuario de Nuestra
Senora de El Toro. We admired the statue,
outstanding views of much of the small island in all directions, and an inside
visit to the chapel itself.
The rest of our tour included stops in three beautiful
villages each with their own special beauty.
Our first stop was in the village of Ciudadela that gave its name to our
tour. We spent an hour in this village,
with our guide taking us on a walking tour of the village. Before getting off the bus, we had passed a
small college with many of the students outside and then as soon as we began
walking in Ciudadela, we obviously were walking past an elementary school. Large cut out children’s masterpieces were
displayed in the windows; one of the teachers was putting one of her student’s
artwork on display for all to admire.
Next to the school was the Town Hall which is the oldest building on the
entire island and was built in Moorish style and reflected the island’s
history. We passed an overlook to the
coast below with the houses and boats making an attractive scene. We walked quickly through the weekly market
in the main square as the guide pointed out the elegant old homes built by
wealthy owners a century and more ago.
They are still occupied on the upper floors but owners rent the ground
floor for offices and stores. Our guide,
Santi (nickname for Santiago), told us there were 12 churches and one cathedral
in Ciudadela. Beyond the cathedral were
the living quarters of the cathedral clergy and religious orders. The guide
told us that Ciudadela has an annual festival at Eastertime as well as another
on July 9 to commemorate the worst day in the long history of Minorca. It was the day in 1558 (if I recall the year
correctly) when the Turks destroyed Ciudadela, killed many citizens, and sold
others into lifetime slavery.
Upon leaving beautiful Ciudadela, we drove to another part
of the small island and went to the seaside community of Fornells located at
the mouth of a deep inlet. It is mostly
a fishing village but has a number of seaside stores and cafes. We had about twenty minutes for picture
taking and quick shopping for those who were interested. Our final stop was at Addaia where we once
again had an opportunity to see more beautiful homes.
Our guide told us that this would be a good time to buy real
estate in Minorca. He pointed out some
very attractive homes and said they could now be purchased for about 200,000
Euros (or approximately $275,000).
Minorca is clearly an upscale island, probably upper middle to upper
class residents; while I wasn’t watching for it, toward the end of the tour, I
began to realize I had seen virtually no graffiti which is far more prevalent
in Europe than in the US.
We had an early departure today: 4 PM, with an all aboard time at 3:30. Most people don’t cut it that close and are
on board at least a half to a quarter hour before the all aboard. About 3:25, the ship horn sounded loudly.
When in port, it usually means there is someone not on board yet and they need
to hurry to get on before the gangway is lifted. An announcement went out for the guests in
Stateroom 481 to contact the front desk.
Another blast of the horn, followed by an announcement that Mr. and Mrs.
Lopez should contact the front desk.
Then the same request was repeated in Spanish. By now, a lot of people were on verandahs and
on the walkaround deck, speculating as to the whereabouts of “Mr. and Mrs.
Lopez”. A couple of ship’s officers got
off the, and I saw them talking to some people at the ship security location.
Another man, dressed in what we would call “smart casual” clothing went out to
the street and looked one direction and then the other. Clearly he was a local person as he made no
rush to get on the ship as the crew prepared to pull the gangway on board. I could see several ship officers standing
outside on the bridge along with Linda, the cruise director. Another blast of the horn but no one seemed
to be rushing to get on board. About
3:45, the gangway went up and the ship slowly pulled away from the dock. It
appeared that the guests were being left behind (albeit in a beautiful
port!). It is every cruiser’s nightmare
to have the ship leave without them. It
does happen, though rarely. This evening
I heard a lady tell someone else something about “the pilot boat picked them up
and they had to climb aboard the ship from the pilot”. So it sounds like they did get on board – but
barely. Perhaps they didn’t pay enough
attention to the sailing time as sailing is usually at 5 or 6 PM and sometimes
later.
An update on our friend Alice and others who are sick… Barb called Alice this morning since Alice
would be in her stateroom. She had been
quarantined because of her fever which I mentioned in the Barcelona blog. She
is feeling somewhat better but heard she was the 10th person from
the Marrakesh overland trip, all on the same bus, to become ill a few days
later. Before dinner, the Captain
announced that there had been an outbreak of gastro-intestinal illnesses and to
be very careful about handwashing, etc.
Alice is quite sure her illness is a result of something that happened
on the Marrakesh overland because her fever came so quickly and symptoms are
not consistent with the contagious viruses that tend to plague cruise
ships. We are hopeful she is right and
likewise, we hope whatever others are ill, that it doesn’t spread! Cruise ships tend to be quite secretive about
these kinds of things…
But in the meantime, we have ended our Spanish ports until
we return during the extension and once again sail the Mediterranean coast of
Spain but with all different ports. Tomorrow
it is on to the island of Sardinia which is part of Italy. Barb noted that today our Grand Voyage is
exactly half over but we will still have the fourteen day extension after most
people disembark in Rome in just under a month from now.
CT
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