Binigemor.

The beautiful estate called Binigemor under a sky that portends a threatening storm.

Illa del Rei. December 30th.

The last light of the day over the British Navy Hospital old building at the little islet in the middle of the harbor.

 Such a small piece of land and so much history in it.

...a little late, maybe, but

Happy Christmas and Best wishes to everybody

Bellamirada de Baix and Binibeca Beach.

Bellamirada de baix, in our language: Beautiful view, and the obvious reason of its name.

Binibeca in a sunny but cold December day.

Porch at "El Roser". Ciutadella.

The church of “el Roser” was the work of Joan Amorós (1664-1707) and was concluded in 1705 following the guidelines of an architectural style loosely connected to the Baroque. It was constructed on a site previously occupied by a small church of the same name. The building has a single nave, rib vault roof, with three chapels on each side, a dome covered transept and a semicircular apse. Its facade is particularly outstanding including a richly ornamented porch area, the upper region of the structure in no longer featuring the image of the “Mare de Déu del Roser” which is being restaured.

Wild mushrooms season. Biniac.

There are 400 or more kinds of wild mushrooms in Menorca. Some are poisonous and some are edible and delicious when properly prepared. The edibility of the majority is either not known or they are not considered for food because of their small size or poor flavor or texture.

 Biniac

Megalithic chamber tomb, where collective burials were made in the late PreTalayotic and talaiotic initial (from 1750 BCE)
 
The structure of this circular building is halfway between the shuttles and Megalithic tombs elongated as more evolved. No cover localized corridor that leads to a chamber with a perforated slab recess fit on the door.

It is a bit trashed, the roof has gone and its chamber is open. Still well worth a look.

Es Vergeret. 1926, and Smilax Aspera

This year November has been particullarly wet. It's our 11th. consecutive rainy day at looks like it could be some more. However I walked to Es Vergeret, in Llucmasanes this morning.

 Es Vergeret. Built in 1926.

Smilax aspera is a perennial evergreen shrub with a flexible and delicate stem, with sharp thorns. The climbing stem is 1–4 metres (3 ft 3 in–13 ft 1 in) long.The leaves are 8–10 centimetres (3.1–3.9 in) long,petiolated, alternate, tough and leathery, heart-shaped, with toothed and spiny margins. Also the midrib of the underside of the leaves are provided with spines. The flowers, very fragrant, are small, yellowish or greenish, gathered in axillary racemes. The flowering period in Mediterranean regions extends from September to November. The fruits are globose berries, gathered in clusters, which ripen in Autumn. They are initially red, later turn black. They have a diameter of 8–10 millimetres (0.31–0.39 in)and contain one to three tiny and round seeds. Insipid and unpalatable to humans, they are a source of nourishment for many species of birds.

Es Pla Gran

An old farmhouse in the North of Mahon.

  

The wasteland of summer seem fertile six weeks later.

Mussel farming at Port Mahon

Mussel farming has been developed for centuries in the harbour of Mahon and still continues using traditional methods, such as rafts made ​​of reeds and planks.

Formerly mussels were only consumed by the more modest classes, but today are highly prized and many establishments have included in their menus.

Storm approaching

Barbary Fig

The plants flower in three distinct colors: white, yellow and red. The flowers first appear in early May through the early summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and the fruit ripen from August through October. The fruit are typically eaten, minus the thick outer skin, after chilling in a refrigerator for a few hours. They have a taste similar to a juicy, extra sweet watermelon. The bright red/purple or white/yellowish flesh contains many tiny hard seeds that are usually swallowed, but should be avoided by those who have problems digesting seeds.

Dittrichia viscosa. Estancia d'es Prat.

My initial idea of photographing  flowering Spiranthes Spiralis, which is one of the few orchids that bloom in autumn in Menorca, was ruined when I realized the dryness of the grounds.

Anyway, a stroll through the north of Es Mercadal finds always some small reward.

Dittrichia viscosa, also known as False Yellowhead, Sticky Fleabane, Woody Fleabane and Yellow Fleabane, is a flowering plant in the daisy family.

This perennial plant is common throughout the Mediterranean Basin. Originally it was found mainly in dry riverbeds and abandoned fields up to a height of 1.500 m. Nowadays it is quite common in roadsides and ruderal habitats, even in urban areas. It is considered an invasive species in Australia. The False Yellowhead is a tough plant, very resistant to adverse conditions and degraded environments. It is important as food for the caterpillars of certain butterflies and moths, like Ioana iolas.

Despite the fresh-looking green color of its leaves and its attractive inflorescence,  this plant is sticky and has a certain smell that most people find unpleasant. It contains an essential oil and has been used in traditional medicine since ancient times, especially in the Levant, as an astringent.

It is an important plant in Catalan tradition, often mentioned in adages and proverbs. One adage says that: "els raïms són madurs quan floreixen les olivardes.", the grapes are ripe when the Yellow Fleabane blooms.

 Estancia d'es Prat.

Favaritx

Cap de Favàritx stands 47 metres above sea level with a height of 21 metres. Its light has a range of 16 nautical miles and the light flashes every 15 seconds in a pattern of 2+1.

The development of this lighthouse was a milestone in the history of the island’s coastline along with the other two northern lighthouses of Punta Nati and Cap de Cavalleria.

Numerous shipwrecks particularly in the early 1900s due to the rocky northerly coast and the punishing Tramuntana  winds lead to the development of the lighthouse to prevent such occurances in the future.

The shipwrecks of the “Isaac Pereyre” in 1906 and the “General Chanzy” in 1910 were particularly notorious. The first was a steam packet covering the route between Marseille and Algiers and was wrecked in the same spot where the “Ville de Rome” also owned by the French Compagnie Generale Transatlantique, had foundered in March 1898.

It was designed by Mauro Serret but modified by Miguel Massanet. Work began in July in 1917 but the lack of funding and the protests of the owner of the site for not having received compensation paralysed the works and the lighthouse was not completed until 1922, entering service on the 22nd September.. The light used a catadioptric lens manufactured by BBT with two 85mm Chance lamps producing a light pattern of 2+1 every 10 seconds. This lens is now on display at the Portopi museum in Mallorca. The tower, with a height of 33m was the first to be built completely of concrete in the Balearic Islands. The lantern, which had a diameter of 3m was manufactured by La Maquinista Valenciana.

The melancholic poetry of abandoned places

The progressive decline in agricultural commodity prices led to the abandonment of farms.

It happened everywhere and in Menorca too.

A threshing floor close to Sant Climent.

Rural cemetery in the center of the island. Decades ago it was sealed.

Stone Curlews and Torre Vella

I saw some stone curlews in the fields close to the Hotel yesterday morning.

The stone-curlew is a crow-sized bird with a large head, long yellow legs and relatively long wings and tail. Active at night, and its large yellow eyes (which give it a "reptilian", or "goggle-eyed" appearance) enable it to locate food when it is dark.

In Menorca is a common bird and in the Summer it is easy to see individuals. They join in small groups in the winter.  Should this meant that it approaches the end of summer already? I hope not as many customers are booked for October.

Despite that, the fields in the island are very dry. And the few storms we have had this summer are not enough to cover Menorca needs of water.

Some barren fields at Torre Vea. Beside Saint Phillipe castle.

Art Evening on Mahon

A large part of the group of artists who live or have chosen Menorca to create their works showed his talent on the streets of Mahon last week.

Ladies v. Men Boules Competition 2013

After nice days of very intense and passionate (there were a few cross words!) competition, both the Ladies and the Men ended up having won 49 Games -the first time in 18 years that we had such an outcome. The Men, however, did secure a higher number of both Ends and Shots. as such, they were technically the winners.

However in the true spirit of British sportsmanship, and recognizing that for an unfortunate injury to one of the Ladies they would have been soundly thrashed, the Men have agreed that the only honourable course of action is to declare the result a DRAW.

Torelló under the red sky

...that presaged the storm we have had this morning

Figs

The fig tree is one of the most characteristic trees in the island’s rural landscape. You can see it alone or in fig tree groves, in the middle of a crop field or near trails, harbouring under its branches a stray sheep or goat looking for shade in the hot, humid summer afternoons. 

Fig tree in the Hotel fields

 

The edible fig is one of the first plants that was cultivated by humans. The fig tree (Ficus carica) originated in the southeast zone of Europe, was introduced into Western Mediterranean lands at some unknown time in the past.

Yellow Figs, Paretjals

The Book of Deuteronomy specifies the fig as one of The Seven Species This is a set of seven plants indigenous to the Middle East that together can provide food all year round.

 Purple fig. Negrete.

The traditional gastronomy of Minorca has used the succulent fruits of this tree by incorporating it Mediterranean as a local ingredient many dishes, salads and soups.

 The fleshy pulp of an open fruit. 

The vast variety of names for figs proves the islanders’ love for a fruit that has nourished generations. However, the cultivation of figs started to wane as labour got more expensive and tourism arrived to the islands, the problem being that figs have to be harvested in the summertime. Even today the island landscape and culture evince the influence of this old benefactor tree.

Es Molí d'es Recó. Traditional Menorcan Cooking.

Green olives. bitter and tasty.

 "Sopes Mallorquines" Vegetable soup.

Snails. Not everyone's like them.

The Restaurant.

What those who have eaten here say...

More of the Panerai Trophy

The pictures say it all...

The Panerai Trophy 2013

Over fifty yachts built between 1903 and 1975, representing 12 countries, are compiting at race areas of Mahón from agust 29th untill agust 31st. The Panerai Thophy is without a doubt the most important encounter of the classic yachts circuit in Spain and one of the top regattas in the international calendar.