MAHON, Spain (dpa) – The surging waves set the “Don Pancho” dancing and the pleasure boat sways from one side to the other in the azure blue water.
Now that the wind has turned rougher and the current a little more unpredictable, Captain Canet Bia has decided to steer the ship further off Minorca’s south-west coast.Then, out of nowhere beyond the next projecting cliff, a small bay and a narrow strip of sand appears: it’s Cala en Turqueta, one of the island’s many hidden bathing spots. For people curious about Minorca’s characteristic locations, the boat tour on the “Don Pancho” from Cala’n Bosch is perfect.The island at the north-western extreme of the Balearic Islands is completely different from its “big sister” Majorca, which can be sighted on a clear day from Cap d’Artrutx on its south-western tip.Expansive beaches and wide roads are few and far between as are hire cars for tourists. Indeed, many of the island’s attractions are well hidden.Minorca’s backbone is formed by the country road connecting the political and economic centre Mahon with the airport in the east and the old episcopal see at Ciutadella in the west. As the crow flies, barely 50 kilometres separate the island’s two biggest centres.Meanwhile, the “Don Pancho” has dropped anchor besides the sailing ships at Cala Macarella – an idyllic bay with a fine, sandy beach. Sun-worshippers lounge around on towels or down drinks at the beach bar.Here and in neighbouring Cala Macarelleta tourists camp too. Cala Macarella can be reached on foot from Cala Galdana, further east, as well. The one-hour march along a sandy path is well worth the effort and offers incredible views from the tops of the sheer cliffs.Back on the “Don Poncho”, Captain Canet Bia has now positioned the ship to face the surge and reduced power.“Look up there,” says the skipper: “There are hippies living in the caves.” A family with two children moved into the cliff recesses at Cala Macarella seven years ago. They produce craft items that they sell to the tourists in Ciutadella.But Minorca isn’t just a little island for nonconformists and backpackers: the atmosphere in some places is similar to that on Majorca. Although only Son Bou in Minorca’s south has big hotels, the tourist infrastructure is highly developed.Altogether 1.13 million tourists stayed on the island in 2002, a respectable seventh of Majorca’s visitor numbers. In contrast to the bigger island, though, Minorca has far more British visitors: 674,000 U.K. citizens came here last year. The island was under British occupation from 1708 to 1802, with interruptions.That history is still evident today. In Cala’n Bosch, for example, where the “Don Pancho” begins its tour, “The Britannia” pub is among the harbour district’s liveliest spots.But the sort of atmosphere regularly experienced in and around Majorca’s “Ballermann” bar is the exception rather than the rule here as family hotels in ever-expanding Cala’n Bosch continue to dominate the pace of life.The Spanish Tourist Office in Frankfurt ranks German Minorca holidaymakers in place three, behind visitors from mainland Spain: 149,000 Germans travelled to the island in 2002, 9.3 per cent less than the previous year.Still, German is heard everywhere in the narrow streets of Ciutadella’s old town and in the excellent fish restaurants at the harbour. Their menus are often printed in German and English versions.The island’s highest point is El Toro, whose summit boasts marvellous views in all directions. For instance, to the north is the natural harbour at Fornells, where Spain’s King Juan Carlos often comes to eat lobster, and wind-buffeted Cap de Cavalleria. The nunnery and its small church on the summit are also worth a visit.Walkers will also appreciate Minorca’s narrow gorges in the south. One of them, the Barranc de Binigaus, leads from Santo Tomas to the impressive Coloms caves. This cavernous hall is concealed behind thick bushes on the cliff face and is not easy to discover after the hour-plus walk to get there.Another Minorcan speciality are the mysterious stone carvings all over the island. Towers from the pre-Christian era, graves from the Bronze Age and “taulas” are everywhere. Researchers are still puzzling over the purpose of the last, overdimensional stone slabs on supports in the form of a T.The “Don Pancho” has now turned back on the return leg to Cala’n Bosch. While the ship moves slowly towards the setting sun, the mountains of Majorca appear on the horizon on that other Balearic island – so very close but so very different.
