Beachy Keen, Jelly Bean
- Natalie Penry
- Oct 13, 2024
- 5 min read
Hola Hola Coca Colas! Here's your Fun Fact of the Day: the population of Menorca doubles
in the summer due to the number of tourists on the island. Tourism reports range from 800,00 - 1,500,00 visitors each year.
(Un)fortunately, we're at the tail end of vacation season here. The weather will stay nice & moderate through the winter (the record low is 37°F), but beach season is rapidly coming to a close. The official start of winter hibernation is November 1st, meaning I've only got a few weeks to squeeze all the warm weather activities into the dying days of summer.
Since three of my roommates are also English Language Assistants who want to capitalize on island life, we decided to rent a car and hit up some of the beaches last weekend! Now that I've had a few days to reflect & recover from one of the worst sunburns in my life, I've put together a few thoughts & stories from three of my favorite beaches. Enjoy!
Mermaid Lessons in Cala Rafalet
Cala Rafalet was a spur of the moment decision. After school last Wednesday, my roommates Claire & Zoe and I hopped on the bus and headed out to the town of S'Algar. It's more of a cove than a beach, complete with a literal "off the beaten path" trail from the side of the road to the water.
In fact, Claire, Zoe & I got momentarily lost trying to follow a not-very-established path that culminated in us on the side of cliff hollering down to people in the cove for better directions. I'm talking complete off-roading kind of hiking back to the actual trail, like untrained-rock-climbing vibes. The silver lining was an absolutely gorgeous viewpoint amidst the not-trail-path that we mistakenly followed. Worth the detour, in my opinion :)
When we finally got down to the water, it was like a real-life Little Mermaid. You round the bend of a rock face and enter this secluded, cozy cove with incredibly clear water. The first plunge in the water was *brisk* but so cathartic. It's that sensation when you've just totally submerged and you can feel the water rushing around you, even in your ears, and you know you'll feel cold in a moment, but just for a second it's an underwater cocoon - I've missed that, dearly.
Claire & I eventually swam out to the edge of the cove to check out a shallow cave in the cliff face and saw the coolest change in water color. It went from a dark navy blue, almost like painted pool tiles, to a neon blue inside the cave. It must have been thirty feet down at least, but the water was so clear, I almost felt like I could brush the tops of the rocks below with my feet. I wish I had a waterproof camera or something, but I suspect that a photo wouldn't do it justice. You'll simply have to come visit to see...
Final Verdict: Cala Rafalet is a local favorite and I totally see why. It's absolutely gorgeous, away from the hustle and bustle of more-frequented beaches & definitely a spot I'll be returning to.
The Concrete Jungle of Cala Morell
After a successful venture to Cala Rafalet, my roommates and I were inspired to rent a car for the weekend and visit more beaches further away from Mahón. Cala Morell is on the opposite side of the island, closer to Ciutadella, and surprised me in several ways.
First, Cala Morell is almost a concrete beach. There's a small sandy section, but most visitors lay out on these concrete slabs connected by mini-bridges over the water. It's far from industrial, but there's still a sense of dissonance in that it's an incredibly beautiful slice of paradise with elements of urban development. Across the inlet, there was a mix of white beach houses (it was giving Santorini) nestled amidst greenery and stone steps leading to the water. Behind our slab was some small rocky hills in red tones, complete with a few hiking trails that wound in and out of the inlet. I kept turning my head back and forth, just loving the contrast in color.
We spent the day lounging on concrete slabs and cooling off in the water. In true Natalie fashion, I brought multiple books to the beach to read in the shade, reapplied copious amounts of sunscreen, and still managed to walk away more sunburned than all of my roommates. What's worse? Being blindingly pale or aggressively red? This should be an interesting few months here in the Mediterranean, land of the eternal summer...
Final Verdict: A more popular beach, undeniably gorgeous, and a little more civilization than Cala Rafalet. Since it's across the island, I probably won't venture back here as much, but it's worth a visit! If you also identify as a Chronically Pale Person, I'd recommend bringing an umbrella for the sake of your skin.
We All Scream for Cala San Mesquida
Despite the aforementioned sunburn from Saturday's outing, we still had our rental car until Sunday evening and decided to visit a few more beaches while they were more easily accessible. So, we all piled into the Mercedes-Benz van (with another aux friend joining!) and hit the road. We ended up going to three on Sunday, but I've chosen Cala San Mesquida as my favorite of the three.
San Mesquida would be the most family-friendly of the three beaches in this post. We saw a lot of families hanging out, and there's even a homemade gelato truck for snacks (of course I had to get a cone; the mango/coconut combination was delicious). On one side of the beach, there's an English coastal defense tower from the 17th century, a remnant from when the English controlled Menorca. Across from that, there's a door built into the side of hill - the rumor is that it was home to some Roma people years ago, but I'm not convinced that's not a story they feed to nosy Americans asking questions ;)
The general vibe of the beach was so chill, with a sandy beachfront and a relatively clean shoreline. You can tell this is a place that is well-loved by many people, that there's generally a lot of love from both out-of-towners and locals alike. And maybe it's the difference between Florida sun and a Mediterranean coast, but everything felt so calm, like everyone was happy to unplug and be present. It was like the ultimate poster for "Be Here Now."
San Mesquida also had the funniest beach culture shock for me: at a public beach in the US, maybe somewhere in Siesta Key, you don't really expect to see Golden Oldies in their birthday suits. But here in Menorca, this is the norm, and several cute old couples were perfectly content to beach au naturale. Good for them...not my style!
Final Verdict: Since this was the last beach we visited Sunday, we were all fairly tired from a weekend of sun and salt water and only stayed for a bit, but it was enough to guarantee that I'll be back. This was absolutely the kind of beach where I could stay for a day, and since it's relatively close to Mahón, I cannot wait for another visit soon!
It's worth noting that Menorca has over 200 beaches; I've been to ~5 so far. My Recommendation List to Time Left ratio is already alarming...You know what they say, the hardest battles go to the strongest warriors ;)
Also, if you were at all curious, today's title references one of my all time favorite movies Grease! I have such a strong memory (augmented by watching old home movies) of Paige running around on an Easter Sunday, saying "Peachy keen, jelly bean!" as she found various types of candy in the hidden eggs. It's funny, isn't it? The things that stay with you?
With my first full week as an Auxiliar wrapping up, I'm settling in nicely and very much looking forward to the rest of the school year. There are, of course, many plot developments each week, but things are generally "happy flowers," as my coworker likes to say.
Adiós from Mahón!
Hello sweetheart, how are you? I hope you’re doing fine. It sounds like you are and that you’re having a wonderful time. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself as well as working hard. Keep up the good work. I love you and can’t wait to hear your next blab. Hugs and kisses grandma.