Sant Joan d'es Vergers.

According to the Menorcan Chronicle, King Alfonso III, after a bloody battle against the Muslims, let his army to rest in a place called Pla des Vergers, only a few miles from the Hotel, and ordered two masses to be sung: one in honor of the Virgin Mary as symbol of the new era begins for the island within the Christianity and the other one for the souls of the killed in battle. Over time, a chapel to San Juan Bautista would be built in this place. This was built in the 14th or 15th centuries, since the construction system corresponds to the Levantine Gothic. 

 

 In the middle of the 16th century there was a brotherhood of San Juan in Mahón that annually organized a parade to the chapel to celebrate the Baptist festival. This was held until well into the 19th century.

The little church has undergone many reforms throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. According to Archduke Lluís Salvador, the current church is the result of a restoration in 1712. It is a small building, with a single nave covered with a simple ribbed vault and divided into two sections by an ogival arch. It does not have side chapels and the vault discharges on two exterior buttresses. The interior decoration is very sober. The 19th century façade is a body added to the nave with a slightly pointed arch that gives access to a small portico covered with a pointed vault. This is topped with a belfry. On the access portal there is a small window with the openwork Maltese cross.

I hope this could also be the beginning of something new and the end of this pandemic that would be left behind.

Favaritx, the Light in the Darkness

 

 

 

 

I hope this finds you, your family and friends, safe and well.

May the Joy of Christmas give you Light to dispel any darkness.

Picture: Favaritx, by José Orfila.

Cala d'es Pou d'en Caldes

 

 

One of the sections of Cami de Cavalls that best define the rich and varied environments that make up the island’s north coast. The itinerary starts at Cap de Favàritx, a space that is well known for its dark rocks and the scarcity of vegetation.

The course passes through typical Minorcan agricultural surroundings, formed of ploughed fields, fields for livestock to graze in and areas with Mediterranean bushes. As the path approaches the coast again, it reaches Pou d’en Caldes, a space with dense concentration of endemic plants.

 

 Arenal de Mongofre

Pou d'en Caldes

Mongofre Vell
 

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.