Fun & Games & Carnaval
- Natalie Penry
- Mar 12
- 10 min read
Welcome back! Spring has just about sprung here - it's getting lighter earlier and the pop-up showers are beginning to dissipate. Really though, the main sign of winter's departure happened around two weeks ago with the celebration of the all-famous Carnaval. I would be remiss if I didn't fill you in on the festivities that ran through Menorca, from parades to parties and everything in between. Perhaps you can live vicariously through these stories, as my poor roommate had to (RIP Claire, illness comes for all those who work with children)
Jokes aside, this was definitely one of the most memorable weekends I've had in Menorca and an experience truly unique to anything we have in the States. Without further ado, let's dive into Carnaval!
Carnaval vs. Carnival
Let's start with a little clarification...yes, 'Carnival' is the English translation of 'Carnaval,' but truly, the celebration here bears little resemblance to the carnivals or fun fairs you might find at home. Even Mardi Gras, the closest Carnaval celebration in the US, is markedly different from the festivities in Spain, especially in the Balearics.
Carnival - Latin for "farewell to meat" - marks the beginning of Lent, a time to celebrate and be merry before forty days of piety. In Menorca, the Carnaval Fiestas last from Friday to Tuesday, with everyone going back to work/school on Ash Wednesday. It is, to put it simply, five days of revelry. Each of the major cities has their own festival on a different day, so people really make a weekend of it: Ciutadella on Friday, Ferreries on Saturday, Alaior on Monday, etc. There are typically small parades held in each city, though parades here on typically tamer than what we imagine in the US, and locals take the costume contests very seriously. I personally got to witness my school's contest on the Thursday before break - the winning costume was a homemade xylophone outfit! Mega points for creativity 😊
Like any major holiday, some families abstain from celebrating, choosing to take advantage of the vacation to travel or visit family. This year, the beginning of Ramadan fell during Carnaval, and since Menorca has a significant population of Muslims, many of them opted to stay home to break the fast instead of heading towards the fiestas. As an guiri myself, I didn't participate in every Carnaval event but tried valiantly to experience as much as I could of this iconic festival.
Medieval (K)nights
To start our Very Festive Weekend off right, I made my way to the other end of the island for a Fun Friday. Owing to some logistics, I didn't plan on going Out Out on Friday, but I still wanted to see what Menorca's biggest city cooked up for Carnaval. Aux Friend Rachel happens to live in Ciutadella (woo Rachel) and was so kind as to spend the afternoon strolling about, looking at the Medieval Decor (this year's overarching Carnaval theme in Ciutadella) and grabbing some drinks here and there.
As I said, in some ways, Carnaval is to Spain what Halloween is to the US - it's simply a big deal. There were super cutesy decorations all over Ciutadella's Old Town, including this simulated Medieval Market. On Thursday, there was even a parade full of primary school students, all dressed to the nines following the designated theme. It's never not fun to see a city fully commit to a theme, and Ciutadella gets a 10/10 for Carnaval decorations.
Back at Rachel's apartment, Liv joined us in getting costumes on. I had opted for a more casual look, knowing that I'd be ending the night early in Mahón, and dressed as a fortune teller/Fleetwood Mac-esque hippie. Liv & Rach went as princesses (true even without the corsets!), but the real winner for costumes was Rachel's landlord, who went all out with her friends as elves! Not like Santa's elves, but more along the lines of Lord of the Rings, with pointy ears and flowy maiden costumes. You love to see it! Commit to the Bit!
We made our way to Aux Friend Molly's apartment (also a princess, slay) for the last stop before going Out Out - it was here, I said my goodbyes and headed to the bus station. A chiller night, for sure, but it still consisted of me getting home at midnight, absolutely exhausted. No regrets over the quiet night, since Saturday turned out to have more in store than I thought...
State Fair-eries
Saturday was our Mega Carnaval Celebration Day! For some reason, the typically sleepy village of Ferreries (pronounced fair-er-ee-as) is the place to be during Carnaval. All of the locals had pressed this point in the days leading up to Carnaval, and boy am I glad that we listened. I started my evening back in Ciutadella, meeting back up with Rach & Liv. The Medieval theme really only applied to Friday night, so our costumes were more varied. In fact, our Cowgirl + Cowgirl + 60s Hippie outfits unintentionally created a Pink Pony Club trio that is simply unmatched. Molly (ninja!) joined us on the way to the bus, and we were off to Ferreries at the shockingly early hour of 8:00 pm.
Noelle (devil!) joined us in Ferreries, where we were immediately flabbergasted the sheer volume of people flooding the main square. I feel like a broken record whenever I explain this to friends and family back home, but I cannot impress upon you enough how jarring it is to see a relative ghost town brimming with locals. Where are they every other day of the year? Where did they all come from? It's like the scene in Ratatouille when the old lady shoots the ceiling and suddenly realizes her house is more rat than human - I am, of course, not suggesting that anyone in Menorca resembles a rat. I am simply amazed at their collective ability to appear for the party and disappear into thin air the moment the sun rises.
Since it was still early in the night, the DJ was mainly rocking for the little ones. This led to some adorable people watching and a general appreciation for Menorcan kids' mosh pit skills. We don't learn how to vibe like that until college, I fear. We managed to snag a table at a bar in the square, really taking in the ambience over a drink or two. Eventually, dinner became a necessity, and we stumbled upon an Asian restaurant a few blocks away from the party. Like every Midwesterner at the China Buffet, I was delighted to find french fries with salt - it's the little things in life, you know? Joking aside, that really was one of the best spring rolls I've ever had...
Properly fortified, it was time to rejoin the festivities. Back at the main square, we found a different bar to make a home base at, music and drinks aplenty! Since most of the kids had gone home for the night, we were seeing a lot more grown-ups with ultra-creative costumes - my personal favorite was the friend group who dressed up as the Spanish Lottery workers, complete with the classical spherical cage. For $0.50, you could buy your own lottery ticket for the 2:00 drawing they were going to do! Naturally, I bought the ticket; unfortunately, by the time they did the drawing, I was already lost to the dance floor and I'm completely unaware if I had the lucky number...
The center of the square was converted to an open-air disco, with only a celebration tent covering up to keep out any rain. Honestly, big fan of this set-up - you're a lot less likely to smell someone's BO if there's a natural breeze and no damp walls holding all those lovely scents in. I quite literally danced the night away with my friends, language barriers completely forgotten.
In a humbling reminder of just how small small towns can be, I did see several of my students - worse, several of my students saw me...I'm still never sure how to react in those situations, since it's not uncommon for me to see a student at a bar or a club here. Funnily enough, they didn't cover that during orientation! I tend to go by sorority rules - I don't see you if you don't see me, and that way no one gets in trouble for being in a bar underage or for seeing your student in a bar...ethical? maybe not. effective? mostly. Anyways, that idea was kind of out the window for Carnaval since it's an all-ages, open party in the town square. Ergo, I saw many, many students. In a funny twist, my favorite picture of the night is actually with three of my students from the upper levels - I won't post it for privacy reasons, but it really gives me the giggles to look at!
All good parties must come to an end, and by 4:00 am, Noelle and I decided to face our fears and get on the Night Bus home. Normally, the early-morning Night Bus is rather empty, a couple of stragglers without cars or places to crash; on Carnaval, the Night Bus overflows with not-so-sober teenagers. Noelle and I sat in the front two seats (the only ones available) and felt absolutely ancient as all the children (teenagers) chattered away - it was all I could do to keep my eyes open. At least we avoided awkward eye contact with anyone that way...It was a crisp 4:30 when we finally made it home. I think I ended up sitting on my bed for another half hour before I could bring myself to stand up again and actually get ready for bed. In another display of aging, my feet and hips hurt so bad from jumping up and down and dancing for hours...I literally needed to hype myself up to be vertical again. No regrets, though! Ferreries Carnaval remains unbeaten.
Closing Time for Carnaval
Carnaval is one of the island's biggest parties, but if there's one thing Spaniards know better than how to party hard, it's how to recover harder - why do you think Siestas are the norm here??? We were beyond lucky to have Monday & Tuesday off of work to catch up and sleep and actually see the sunlight. I, of course, did not rest on Sunday night, being the dedicated former film major I am - the Oscars are my most important Holy Day and it outweighs sleep every time. Thus, I (yet again) stayed up until 5 am watching Anora take home the lion's share of the Big 5. No worries, I did actually sleep Monday night! I had things to do on Tuesday ;)
In a very friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend situation, I ended up with plans to do lunch in Cala Galdana with my aux friend Rachel's coworker Sabrina. Cala Galdana is a resort village about 15 minutes south of Ferreries. In the summers, it's packed with tourists and the lux villas can go for as much as $7000/week. In the winters, it's sleepy and quiet and simply lovely. Sabrina was so kind as to pick Rachel & I up from the Ferreries bus stop (the summer buses don't start up for another few months) and take us to her home, where she and her family live during the winter. As I mentioned, Sabrina is an English teacher at primary school in Ferreries; her family opts to live in a small apartment in Ferreries during the summer so they can rent out their gorgeous home during peak tourist season. I can totally see why, since the house was exactly what you picture when you think Spanish Island Beach House Villa Vibe. Without even going into the house itself, the views, the pool, the pool house complete with two brick ovens - everything screams "this is a dream vacation spot."
Enough on the house! Apparently Tuesday was some sort "Día de Sobresada" (sobresada is a Menorca meat similar to a sausage, I think? not really the expert here...) so Sabrina & family had made a little barbecue-esque spread for us to pick at. It was really so lovely and nice to sit and chat in someone's actual house. Though I obviously live with several people in my apartment, there's something to be said for being in a family environment, three kids and a golden retriever and everything. Rachel & I even jumped on the trampoline with the kiddos, making me feel about 12 years old again 😊
After our lunch, Sabrina & the kids took us down to the prime Cala Galdana beach - Pretty the Golden Retriever led the way, off leash, looking more like a puppy than a 10-year-old. Wow. Just, wow. Absolutely gorgeous. I could totally see why this is one of Menorca's gems in the summer because even in the overcast, post-Carnaval gloom, the cove just radiated serenity and peace. In the more isolated-winter, the beach had a real "finding meaning at the edge of the Earth" feel, though it still felt very welcoming. Again, it was rather enlightening to be walking around with children and seeing them interact in this environment. Far from the cries of a Home Depot playset, the beach is their playground, and the kids wasted no time charging into the water and attempting to lift a fallen tree trunk onto the sand. Pretty contented herself by charging into the water, supervising the kiddos, and receiving love and admiration from anyone in the general vicinity.
While the kids were playing Beachfront Archeologists, Sabrina took Rachel & I to this beautiful lookout point. The wind wasn't doing me any favors in photos, but I think you can still get a sense of just how naturally wonder this place is. I was sad to leave, but the public bus system waits for no man. As we drove away, I remember thinking that this was just the most lovely way to spend the day.
In fact, the whole excursion reminded me deeply about my last weekend in Chile, all those years ago. My host mom Jime took all of us (her two daughters, my roommate & I) to Quintay, a small village near Viña del Mar, to reunite with some of her family friends & their families. My roommate and I spent the day in quiet reflection on the rocky beach, looking out at the Pacific and trying to reconcile the end of an adventure. That's what Cala Galdana reminded me of, a place where you can feel the significance of the present moment and what it'll mean to you once it passes. Such a privilege, such a treasure.
So that was Carnaval! To be honest, I don't know if I've completely recovered from my sleep debt yet, though it's not for lack of trying. Regardless, what a fun celebration to take part in. People had told me before that Carnaval is to Menorca what Halloween is to Anytown, USA - I was beyond happy to see the total commitment from all party-goers, to see the community come together in a moment of joy. When you live on an island like this, where isolation is a wintry default, simply being with a large group of people brought together by a common denominator can feel extremely cathartic.
We are quickly closing in on half a year on this little island of mine - I still can't quite comprehend how time moves here. Slowly, and yet all too fast upon reflection. I'm taking great pains to fill my weeks with activities and adventures (stay tuned for a special guest appearance coming soon!) and trying to soak up the everyday things before they wind down. For now, I'll keep sipping my café con leche from one of my favorite cafés in Ciutadella. Life could be so much worse, no?
¡Hasta luego!
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