Cavalleria

 

Undoubtedly, the times we are living are uncertain, but that gives us the opportunity to revisit some places that I wanted to see after some time.

The initial idea was to walk from Cala Pregonda to Cala Viola, in the Cavalleria area, trying to find in the rocks of the coast a deposit of cephalopod fossils that I had heard of.

But the area well worth a visit. 

 

 The beach at Cavalleria, also known as Cala Viola de Llevant.  A beautiful and lonely beach in these first days of November.

Although it was not what I was looking I found this set of fossils of plant appearance.

In practically the entire coastal contour of the island there are military structures that were built before the Spanish Civil War. Most of them belong to the state because they are located within the maritime-terrestrial domain zone.

 
However, in many of them, some locals have turned them into fishing warehouses or even places to spend the weekend .It's not the right thing to do, but at least they take care of the buildings and prevent their deterioration.

Camí de Cavalls. Binigaus, Cala Escorxada.

In a splendid morning of January we have completed the stage of the coastal path that goes from Santo Tomás to Cala Escorxada.

The route always passes near the sea, through pine groves, rocky trails and cliffs. It is not difficult and in just over an hour and a half we have reached our goal that was Cala Escorxada -very lonely at this time of year- and found a paleontological site of what I had read, but I had never seen before.

 Cala Escorxada

Binigaus

 Gastropod fossil on the rocks near Escorxada.

What is this I found on the beach? is it a mermaid's purse?

The enchantingly named structures are the egg cases of skates and some sharks. This is why they are also known as skate cases.

While some sharks bear live young, some sharks (and all skates) release their embryos in leathery egg cases that have horns and sometimes long tendrils at each corner.

The tendrils allow them to anchor to seaweeds or other substrates. Each egg case contains one embryo. The case is made up of a material that is a combination of collagen and keratin, so a dried egg case feels similar to a fingernail.

Leopoldia Comosa at Rafal Vell.

I've been fruitlessly trying to find a deposit of fossil echinoids. I read a while ago it was near a farm called Rafal Vell. But I couldn't found a trace of it. No matter. It was a nice walk and I found many specimens of this pretty flower instead.

Acording to Wikipedia, Leopoldia comosa (syn. Muscari comosum) is a perennial bulbous plant. Usually called the Tassel Hyacinth, it is one of a number of species and genera also known as Grape Hyacinths. It is found in rocky ground and cultivated areas, such as cornfields and vineyards, in south-east Europe to Turkey and Iran^, but has naturalized elsewhere. Other common names include Tufted Grape Hyacinth, Hairy Muscari and Edible Muscari.  

Described by Polunin as "a striking plant", it has a tuft of bright blue to violet-blue sterile flowers above brownish-green fertile flowers, which open from dark blue buds. It is this tuft which gives rise to the name "Tassel Hyacinth". The flower stem is 20–60 cm tall; individual flowers are borne on long stalks, purple in the case of the sterile upper flowers. Mature fertile flowers are 5–10 mm long with stalks of this length or more and are bell-shaped, opening at the mouth, where there are paler lobes. The linear leaves are 5–15 mm wide, with a central channel.

 

Illustration by Jacob Sturm. (1771-1848)

L. comosa naturalizes easily and may become invasive. It has spread northwards from its original distribution, for example appearing in the British Isles in the sixteenth century. The edible bulb is eaten in some Mediterranean countries, and under the name lampascioni inApulia and Basilicata, where it is grown for this purpose. In Greece and especially on Crete it is considered a real delicacy and collected in the wild. The cleaned bulbs are boiled several times, pickled and then kept in olive oil. I've never heard that anybody eat those bulbs in Menorca, but might try it one day.