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We loved it immediately and after having some lunch we were on the beach...
After a couple hours in the sun decided to get in the car and check out a few other beaches that we could see on the map just around the corner from the cove that our resort was in. Here is what we found...
We were in love with Menorca after just these two beaches but there were many more to come. At dinner that night Brian enjoyed a steak that turned out to be massive!
The next day was Monday July 7th, our 7 year Wedding Anniversary. This was a pretty exciting one since we got married on 7-7-07! During the day we found Cala en Porter Beach on the south side of the island. It was incredibly beautiful and ended up being in the top 2 of our favorite beaches on the whole trip. When we got there Brian wanted to try and find a cave bar he had read about that is nestled in the cliffs along the water. Turns out we ended up going on quite the hike up some steep stairs along the cliff side before finding it. We found out after the fact that we could have driven right to it...Oh well the views along the way were great even if we were pretty sweaty once we got there!
Part way up looking down at the unbelievable beach below...
We eventually made it and it was definitely unlike any other bar we've been to. Also it was cool inside so that was nice after the hot walk there!
After we left the cave bar we went to a place for lunch that we may have not known about if we hadn't taken the roundabout way up the cliff. The cliff curves back into the cove a bit and the restaurant was right on the tip so it felt like we were sitting in the middle of the water basically. Might be hard to top this lunch spot for future anniversary lunches! :)
After lunch we spend some time relaxing at the beach.
Our favorite thing about Menorca was that there were so many beaches to explore. Some of them required parking at the end of a tiny road and then hiking to the beach by trail. It was so fun not knowing what the beach was going to look like once you got there. So on this afternoon as we were deciding whether to head back to our resort or not we found a trail to Calla el Pilar Beach. We debated whether we should hike in or not since it was already about 5:00pm and the sign at the trail head said 45 minute walk. We decided we really didn't have much to rush back for especially since everyone eats dinner super late in Spain anyway. So we started the hike and since we walked pretty fast made it within about 30 mins. We ended up at this darker sand beach with red dirt mountains along side it. What is so cool about Menorca is how each beach is very different from each other yet they are all amazing.
Some things we had read talked about "naturalists" at certain beaches and at this beach we quickly found out found out what that meant. NUDE! Not completely everyone but the majority! You can see from the picture since it was late in the day there weren't to many people left thankfully. However the strangest thing at this beach was watching three girls dump a jug of water into the red dirt then proceed to take mud baths. Once they had their nude bodies covered in the dark red mud they jumped around on the beach while the one guy they were with (also fully nude) took their pictures. Eventually they splashed around in the waves like little kids and washed themselves off, this was definitely the funniest and strangest thing we had seen all day!!!
That night we celebrated our special anniversary and being very thankful to be traveling the world together with champagne and a very delicious seafood paella...
The next day we set out exploring again. Here we are on the way to Cala Pregonda Beach...
Here it is...This was the other beach in our top 2 favorites!
We relaxed here most of the day, soaking up the sun and swimming in the turquoise waters. There were even a few people selling things people actually wanted (other then the junk they sell on some beaches). There was a guy selling fresh watermelon and pineapple and another guy that would go in a boat between this beach and another near by selling beer. Although we had snacks and waters along we couldn't resist either of the two offers.
Then my favorite part came when we saw two girls and guy make a smooth area in the sand then dump out a whole bunch of clothes. They put a few items on hangers and the girls put a couple of the beach cover ups on. Then they made a couple passes down the beach showcasing their items and did a couple wardrobe changes. Before you knew it their "beach shop" was open as women and girls started flocking to check out the dresses, skirts, shorts, etc. I quickly convinced Brian I needed to go check it out since everything looked so cute! People had armfuls of stuff and were trying them on in the mirrors that the "shop owners" were holding up. Things were going very quickly so I had to decide on one of the first dresses that I liked. The guy showed me how it can be worn 3 ways and I was very excited about my beach shopping! (Picture of me wearing it on the next day later on)
Later in the afternoon we cleaned up and decided to head to the city of Mao(not really all that big) to take a look at the port. It was really fun to see the different sailboats, boats and yachts. Below is one we had to take a picture of that was from London...
We were so in awe that we found an outdoor bar just across the street to sit and have a drink and just stare at it. Everyone was taking pictures and it was funny because there was a bend in the road right near where it was parked, as the traffic would come around the corner people would all step on the brakes and take a look. Brian did some googling to see if he could find out who the owner was with no luck and I kept talking about all I wanted was to have a tour of it...We both just had to use our imaginations!
Later on we enjoyed another nice dinner. We really liked all the restaurants we ate at in Menorca!
On our last day we set out to relax at one more beach. Here is a picture of the tiny road we took to get there...
Later at our resort we did some walking out on the hill in front. Below is looking back at our place...
And notice I am wearing the dress one of the other ways the guy had shown me :)
We were not ready to leave this paradise yet... believe it or not we didn't see even close to all of the beaches there! Both of us agreed Menorca is one of our favorite places we've traveled so far in Europe, although it is so different from the rest. It's hard to beat a nice beach trip though!
We'd love to return to you someday beautiful Menorca!
