Sunset at Es Grau

Picture by Mara Spreafico

July. Some Guests.

 

Mr. & Mrs. Gregory

 Ms. Bevan & Ms. Pollock. Winners of our Quiz Game 2013

Mr. & Mrs. Healey

A unicorn gargoyle at the Menorca Cathedral.

A French legend that sprang up around the name of St. Romanus ("Romain") (AD 631–641), the former chancellor of the Merovigian king Clotaire II who was made Bishop of Rouen, relates how he delivered the country around Rouen from a monster called Gargouille. La Gargouille is said to have been the typical dragon with batlike wings, a long neck, and the ability to breathe fire from its mouth. There are multiple versions of the story, either that St. Romanus subdued the creature with a crucifix, or he captured the creature with the help of the only volunteer, a condemned man. In each, the monster is led back to Rouen  and burned, but its head and neck would not burn due to being tempered by its own fire breath. The head was then mounted on the walls of the newly built church to scare off evil spirits, and used for protection.

But to be fair, a gargoyle is in Architecture a carved or formed grotesque figure with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between. 

Many medieval cathedrals included gargoyles. Architects often used multiple gargoyles on buildings to divide the flow of rainwater off the roof to minimize the potential damage from a rainstorm. A trough is cut in the back of the gargoyle and rainwater typically exits through the open mouth. Gargoyles are usually an elongated fantastic animal because the length of the gargoyle determines how far water is thrown from the wall.

"Llavor de Falguera"

In many of the old stories and tales of the island, it refers to "Llavor de Falguera" which is the seed of this plant as something very hard to find.

And so in some legends it is said that this seed has to be collected on a particular night of the year, June 24th, the night of Sant Joan, the Summer solstice or wearing special clothing.

It is said also that those are used to make magical ointments and balms, extraordinary potions that provide  whoever drinks an enormous force, the abbility of seeing without being seen or even to be entitled to get a couple of little demons working for the protagonist of the tale in the pursuit of his also fantastic targets.

Could it be that all that was true if someone were able to find the precious seed of this plant. But being Pteridium Aquilinum that reproduces by spores and does not produce any seeds all that remain in the imagination like in a book writen by  Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Cala Pilar

A sample of the differences between the northern and southern Cala Pilar is one of the less accessible pristine beaches throughout Menorca.

To get there, take a detour on the road, between Ciutadella and Ferreries, which reaches a few kilometers from the beach. Then there is a walk of about an hour, first among century old oaks and the final without any shade.

The sand is golden and the water sparkling. There are no trees and hardly any shade, so you should take umbrella.

Before organizing the visit to Cala Pilar, it is sure to avoid disappointment after the walk, that sea conditions are good in the north of the island as this beach will greatly affect the wind from the north.

It is included in the zone of greater protection of the marine reserve, so it is prohibited to fish, and marine life, simply equipped with snorkel gear, is spectacular.