Initially we were discombobulated. What… we walk out of the apartment, traverse a whole twenty metres, hail a cab, virtually immediately and twenty minutes later we are at the airport? And just four hours early!!!!! We are getting old!
On arrival in Menorca, we had organised a car. I hadn’t read the voucher and in size 4 font it said ‘Off Airport- Shuttle Service”. It was a Ryanair special. The queue in the carpark waiting for the shuttle hinted it was cheap. It was a ‘take-a-number’ moment which repeated at the shipping container ClickRent used as an office just twenty minutes drive away. Of course the directions on the automated ticket machine were in Spanish and it wasn’t immediately apparent that we needed said ticket. John acquired ticket CPR234…wrong ticket …we needed a CRP…ticket. We pushed all buttons and armed with all four, asked..so what to we do? “Wait!” (There was a contemptuous hint of …’Well suffer. Learn Spanish!!!’ – which I think might reflect badly on many monolingual Australians so I sucked it up!!!)
After agreeing to pay the extra insurance we sought out our car. OMG I am so pleased I took the comprehensive cover. Although all minor, I needed 100 photos to cover all the external damage however the Swift ran like a dream. We were off.
Villa Miel … three bedroom with a pool. I had to laugh. What was John thinking? I know the ardour has cooled but we are not at the stage of separate bedrooms yet. The Autentica Verdejo Rueda the host had left was truly wonderful and seriously, I do not normally like white wines.
We are at Cala Galdana…a little beach resort. It’s moments down the hill. Swim time! Finding a park…we drove up and down, round and round..over and over…to no avail. Lidl is open Sundays at Ciutadella…we stock up. We do have a pool at the villa, John… We acquiesce. I swim and read an awful book by Sophie Kinsella. Regardless …we chill.
Next day. Repeat!!!! WTF!!! The parking here is manic!!!!! I finish the book.
Day four….what are we doing??? John decides he knows the track to Cala Macarella and then we’ll walk to Macareletta. OK… Well buggar me what mission.
According to John’s research the track began just metres from our villa. Ummmm looking good John. Then a fork in the road and of course we took the wrong track. The 32 minute walk turned into ….a lot longer!!!! In fact, about 2 hours longer. Virtually everyone we met was guessing …as we were, but all were a LOT younger than us! Eeeeeeeeventually we arrived at Macarella. Nice. Let’s stay here. Oh no…says John. Macareletta is soooo much nicer. (Really???? It’s a beach!!) We head off. And only 10 minutes!!! Ha he was in for a real treat. Worn sandstone ‘steps’, twisted vines, rocks, slippery slopes, sand smothered surfaces threatening the aged…it was all there…in front of us. He huffed and puffed but would not give in. The wolf was determined. We arrived, along with the other hundreds and had our ‘day in the sun’, swimming in the clear blue water with the fish and the frenzied.
We had to return to Macarella. Both of us had noticed the sign…’Boat Return to Cala Galdana’. Complete agreement. Lunch at Cafeteria Susy – John had prawns and I had a fabuoous Menorcan salad, and it’s on the boat- a tiny rubber duckie with driver and just three of us. We happily paid our 22 Euro for the 6 or 7 minutes of bliss compared to the camino walk we had done earlier.
Just to highlight our exhaustion John decided to get a taxi to our villa which according to Google was an 8 minute walk away. (Yeah Right!) What Google failed to explain was that it was like a vertical climb. We almost needed a ladder! We chose the taxi.