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LCC Menorca Sea Kayak
Expedition 2014 |
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News items or reports on club activities
should be sent to website@liverpoolcanoeclub.co.uk |
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02/5/14 Menorca Sea Kayak Expedition 2014
Menorca is the easternmost island in the Balearics group, situated
slightly closer to the coast of Mediterranean Spain than it is to the north
coast of Africa.
It has a rich history and culture and,
for the sea paddler, holds many occasionally challenging but charming days
while circumnavigating its fabulous rocky coastline. The shortest
circumnavigation would take in some 140Km but it would be very easy to increase
this significantly depending on how many bays or caves you might be tempted
into.
Our group of eight Liverpool Canoe Club sea kayakers planned our
circumnavigation for early April, well before the normal start of the Menorcan
holiday season which kicks off in May. Our decision to go for an early attempt
worked in our favour as, although our first day on the water saw us paddling
through some quite marginal conditions in big swells, we enjoyed largely
cooperative and pleasant weather. This could just as easily have worked against
us as the weather is frequently mixed and even stormy so early in the year. As
it turned out, we had the place pretty much to ourselves and most of the
beaches were either empty as we arrived or soon emptied as the evening drew
close. The daytime temperatures were frequently in the 20’s and, although the
nights were reasonably warm, the mornings were often damp with a heavy dew. We
had one day of persistent fog that eventually cleared to warm sunshine by
mid-afternoon. The sea temperature was about 14 degrees C and so was warm
enough to take a refreshing dip but not so warm that any of us felt inclined to
wallow. As we made our way around the island in an anti-clockwise direction in
order to get the north coast done in favourable conditions, we found no
problems in getting fresh water from shops, bars or the occasional harbour tap.
Our main supplies were bought from a supermarket in Mahon before we
set out but there are other opportunities to restock, especially in the
ferry port of Ciutadella on the western end of the island.
Most of the smaller resorts around the island were more or less deserted with
the shops and bars boarded up awaiting the start of the season.
Menorca is known as the windy Balearic
as it lies in the path of the Tramontana wind which funnels out across the
Mediterranean from the Toulouse Gap, a low lying area between the Alps and
the Pyrenees. The coastline of Menorca is frequently rocky with
deep caves in unbroken high cliffs. On many stretches there is no opportunity
to escape until the next Cala (beach) is reached. Because of this,
circumnavigating the island is not a trip for beginners. We gave
ourselves nine days to complete our trip but a couple of adverse weather
forecasts meant that we had to complete two long days; one being approximately
30 Km and the other being approximately 34 Km. These enabled us to get on to
sheltered coasts but they also meant that we actually completed the
circumnavigation much earlier than expected. Rather than use this spare time to
wander around the island, we simply paddled on a bit more and chilled out on a
nice beach for a couple of days, fitting in a bit of swimming and sunbathing, a
couple of walks and a bit of kayak surfing.
Flights to Menorca are cheap and plentiful after the start of the season
in May but up until then, getting to Menorca is slightly more
difficult and more costly. We all flew from Manchester to Palma
Mallorca and the jumped on a short 25-minute domestic flight over
to Menorca. Since our connection meant that we would arrive too late to
get our boats sorted and our food bought for the trip, we all stayed the first
night in Hostel La Isla http://www.hostal-laisla.com/ which
is located in Mahon, the island’s main town and ferry port close to the airport.
This hostel was a reasonable place and we used it again for the night before we
got on our return flights back home.
We flew out our own tents and some communal safety gear. To save weight,
most of us formed ourselves into “cooking groups” so that we needed only a few
sets of pans and petrol stoves. Our kayaks, paddles, decks and buoyancy aids
were hired from Menorca en Kayak 
www.menorcaenkayak.com and,
although there are a couple of other kayak hire companies on the island,
Menorca en Kayak is by far the best outfit and has the best boats and kit.
Being sea kayak enthusiast themselves, they are well set up to cater for
visiting sea kayakers and have a well-stocked shop selling paddling gear. They
also have a mountain bike hire company should you arrive during a spell of
stormy weather and find yourself unable to get on the water right away. Maria
and Carlos are the very friendly owners and they had a minibus to do the
airport run and to ferry us around getting food, drink and petrol prior to our
trip. They also have a trailer and, if need be, can rescue you (and their
boats) from any road head should bad weather prevent onward progress.
Everyone enjoyed the trip and, although we completed the
circumnavigation successfully, we actually missed out enough interesting
possibilities to make it worth a second visit sometime.
Day 1 Sunday 6th April. Es Grau North around
Cap Favaritx to Cala Prudent
Maria and Carlos kindly took us to a supermarket on the way from the
Hostel to their shop and rental facilities in Es Grau. We loaded the
kayaks with our provisions for 8 days and enough water for at least 4 days
(some of us managed to load the boats with enough water for all eight days
worth).
The forecast was a NEly 3-4 but there was a large northerly swell
running. A last study of the weather forecast and we opted to take
prediction of good weather for day 2 & 3 to navigate the relatively exposed
north coast. Day 4 predicted a very strong northerly wind, the
Tramontana…. We would plan to take a day off while
this force 7 wind blew itself out.
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strong Tramontana wind is a fairly regular feature of the region in all
seasons except summer. This variant of the French Mistral wind blows NE-SW
across the landscape for 3-12 days at a time, and can be bitter when
the Pyrenees are covered in snow and ice. Taking shelter indoors
avoids the icy blast, but not the shrill moan as the wind swirls around corners
and down chimneys to make fireplace flames flicker and die. The English
proverb “red sky at night – shepherds’ delight; red sky in the morning –
sailors’ warning” is reversed in the Ampurdan; glorious sunsets signal
the imminence of the Tramontana, whereas beautiful dawns are the norm. The
influence of the Tramontana can be seen in the rural landscape and
architecture, with walls and lines of beech (sic) trees designed as
windbreaks, and open arches at the top level of old farmhouses to dry stored
crops. The Tramontana
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With the prospect of good weather we
set out from the white walled Mediterranean style fishing village of Es Grau
and headed between the mainland and the island of Illa d`en
Colom. The waves were building and the group naturally grouped
together. We were all wondering whether this was a good
idea. The rocky coastline had the occasional glimpse of white
sand. I tried to memorise these should we need to run
downwind to the only possible landing. Large waves were crashing on
the rocky coastline and it was clear a landing would be impossible except on
the small Cala`s or Beaches hidden between the miles of black rock.
In the distance was lighthouse of Cap
de Favoritix. We appointed a lead kayak (Carole) who set an ideal
route and pace. As we rounded this headland the seas were enormous
with kayaks often out of sight in the troughs. Fortunately the head
wind was light and waves were head on. As we rounded the corner only
a few boomers (large breaking waves) caught the unwary. We soon got
used to these and the seas seemed to be easing.
After 5 kms paddling parallel to the coast we came across three off
lying islands. We paddled through them and found sheltered water and perfect
circular bay. Andy insisted on a stop and some fresh air.
Refreshed and refuelled we paddled on round the impressive headland of
Punta Grossa (a shear black cliff face some 500m wide). Two Calas
(sandy beaches) beckoned but as they were overlooked by hotels and villas we
pressed on to our suggested campsite of Cala Prudent. This was in a
very sheltered inlet with fantastic white sand. Brews were soon put
on, dining shelter erected and camp spots selected. Wow, what a
first day.
Keith Steer More photos…..
Day 2 Monday 7th April. Cala
Prudent – Fornells – Cala d`Algaiarens (Es Bot)
After our night’s sleep on Cala Prudent, our first Menorcan camping
beach, we were woken early by birdsong and discovered that the heavy
groundswell of yesterday’s paddle had died away to nothing and this change in
conditions brought with it a surprisingly foggy morning.
Getting breakfast going and
repacking our boats proved to be damp and sandy activities but we were soon
underway and ready to take on quite a big day in order to paddle a good chunk
of the north coast before the predicted high northerly winds had us trapped on
this exposed coastline.
Although the fog was lifting occasionally and permitting us hazy views
of our surroundings, for the most part visibility was poor enough to make
navigation difficult. You might think that all we had to do was keep the land
on our left during our ant-clockwise circumnavigation but there were enough
outlying rocks, islets and false bays to keep us on our toes. Turning on the
GPS made life much easier and helped to dispel any doubts as to exactly where
we were. Even with the GPS to help us, the sounds of nearby small fishing boats
made us wary of straying too far away from the protection of shallow water.
Rounding a number of barely
visible headlands, we eventually arrived at the large protected inlet where
the village of Fornells is located. Inside this inlet, the
fog cleared completely as we made our way to the small harbour which promised a
replenishment of our fresh water stocks and, since by now it was close to
11-o-clock, it was a good place to take a break, have a brew and soak up the
sun. Fornells is a very pleasant but small and quite place and, although we
were forewarned to find it almost completely shut up awaiting the start of the
season in May, we found it to be busy getting itself ready and, as far as we
could tell, at least a few of the usual bars and shops appeared to be open.
After we were fed and watered we paddled out of the harbour towards the
next headland and once again into a thick fog bank. Following the GPS again, we
eventually arrived at the Faro de Cavalleria which is the most northerly
of Menorca’s collection of lighthouses. We were so close under the steep
and high cliffs that we paddled by without seeing the lighthouse at all and
found our way through a small gap in the off-lying rocks called Pas Cambrol.
Still very foggy, we followed a compass bearing across an open water passage
towards Illa Bledes and, even though every now and again the fog thinned
slightly, sight of this small island eluded us most of the time apart from some
tantalisingly vague sightings.
By the time we got close to the island, we spotted a small private beach
underneath an isolated and very smart looking villa. By now it was time for
lunch so we landed here carefully so as not to give the owners of the place
cause to shoo us off back into the fog. Another very pleasant place, we found
out afterwards that this beach is called Calo Fred; owned by a benevolent Brit
perhaps? Thankfully, by the time we finished our lunch, the fog had completely
lifted but not before giving us a view of the lighthouse we passed earlier,
seemingly floating in the sky above the cloud of fog.
With good visibility at last, we
spent the afternoon playing in the many caves as we picked our way towards our
next camp spot. After a longish day of about 30 Km., it was beginning to get a
bit late by the time we arrived at Cala d’ Algaiarens and, shortly after
landing, Keith managed to find a perfect bivi spot in what is probably a
very nice rustic bar during the summer months. It was small but had a roof
above a veranda, which was Keith’s bed for the night.
The rest of us pitched our tents and got a meal going and Nicky got on
with her daily tasks of downloading forecasts from Maria, who owns Menorca en
Kayak and also from Steve Gille who, back in the UK with
access to a range of forecasts, was watching our backs for any strong winds or
big seas. Before turning in we had time to explore some of the area behind the
beach and, for future reference, there were many flat and grassy places to camp
in shady woodland. Having visited many of the callas
around Menorca on previous occasions, I made up my mind that this was
likely to be one of the best five star camp spots we were likely to find
throughout the whole trip. As I dropped off to sleep under a fantastically
clear and starry sky and bright waxing moon, I listen to the din of what was
probably a gazillion frogs trying to attract mates.
A good night’s sleep found us waking once more to early birdsong and
damp, dewy conditions. Keith looked so relaxed in his little palace that, I’ll
always remember the beach as Calla Keith. A yacht had silently anchored in the
bay during the night but we saw nobody awake as we paddled by quietly to take
on the remaining North Coast.
Pete Thomas More Photos……
Day 3 Tuesday 8th April. Cala
d`Algaiarens (Es Bot) – Punta Nati - Calespiques
Report to follow…..
Brian Green More Photos……
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Day 4 Wednesday 9th April. Calespiques
– Cala en Bosh – Cala des Talaier
It was rather a leisurely start to the
morning, a few of us had time to give our tents and sleeping bags a quick dry
on the rocks as we ate our staple breakfast, porridge. We were packed up and on
the water before 10am and eased our way out of the bay gently. After 2 km we
came upon the port of Ciutadella which was rather large. It
was decided where we were heading for and off we went, supposedly keeping close
together, but my absence of a functional skeg meant I was drifting and working
quite hard to keep on course. Luckily no big boats were heading across our path
so with a decent pace, we crossed the port’s entrance to the dock wall.
And relax… paddling pace slowing – as it should, we were on holiday
after all (Brian!!!!).
We passed a few small bays and some had some giant kinder egg surprises
at their entrance. Pete the Pirate said the massive yellow buoys were to stop
boats entering the bays, but some of us knew that giant kids lived in each bay
and after eating kinder eggs they would throw the plastic insides out into the
sea in anger if they didn’t get the toy they wanted. He had a lot to learn
about Menorcan folklore that Pete……..
If that wasn’t interesting enough,
splash, we all saw it – tuna, jumping out of the sea. Well we all saw ‘it’ but
a few of us immediately thought it was a dolphin. We immediately stopped
paddling and stared waiting for ‘it’ to surface again, but after a few splashes
‘it’ was gone. Probably too scared to swim into the bays where the giant kids
live.
Again the coast line was stunning and we paddled quite close. Lots of
big plush villas along the coast line which all had amazing back gardens
leading to the sea. It was time for elevenses, so we stopped at Cala Blanca
which was stunning, but unfortunately had rather a large amount of seaweed on
the beach. We had unloaded our tea making kits and snacks and were sat on a
wall catching the sun and drinking tea when we realised that workers were
waiting to clear the seaweed off the beach. The arrival of our kayaks
spread along the beach was stopping them. 
Naturally we hurried back to our kayaks
and moved out of their way…… well sort of, after we had finished eating and
drinking. It had been a tough couple of hours since we had set off this
morning. All that chatting and laughing takes it out of you.
We had left the West coast and were now on the South coast heading
towards our next camp spot. But hold on – surely it was dinner time. We paddled
into Cala en Bosc, a lovely little village with a harbour and it seemed to be
quite busy. Some supplies were needed, mainly water, but Brian needed crackers
for his cheese board. There were many shops and bars, but most of them were
shut apart from a tapas bar. Well it would be rude to go to Spain and
not eat tapas and accompany it with some Spanish beer. It was nice to sit in
the sun and chat and be served some nice hot food and ice cold drinks, but I
also felt as though we were cheating slightly. Brian’s constant reminder that
we were on an ‘expedition’ had made me feel guilty about eating tapas, but not
guilty enough that I didn’t eat them!!! Expeditions don’t half make you hungry.
Off again to find our beach for the evening – we had chosen Cala des
Talaier, and didn’t we choose well? It was gorgeous, these camp spots were just
getting better and better. The few naked men that were on the beach as we
arrived soon got dressed and left the entire beach to us. I got in Brian’s bath
water after he had washed, while the others played Frisbee and Andy fell asleep
on the rocks. I hoped he had factor 50 on because it was hot, hot, hot. The
guys lay about soaking up the sun, Caz and Kath did some more yoga and I don’t
remember doing anything! Bliss. We had tea and sat around again laughing at
some of Brian’s awful jokes, Caz being snatched by an over sized seagull and
the mess Kath made attending to the graze on my knee. Another great day and I
went to bed smiling because we still had lots more of these days to go.
Nicola Corbett More photos…..
Day 5 Thursday 10th April. Cala des Talaier – Macarellata –
Trebaluger - Cala Escorxada
The day began much like those that had
preceded it. I arose at 10:30am and strolled along the beach to where
Keith had prepared breakfast, laid out on trestle tables. I noticed that
the white table cloths were rather creased, but I forgave him this fault as he
had most likely been up many hours before dawn preparing the repast spread
before me. I decided not to indulge too much, so after the mango juice
and yoghurt I skipped the kedgeree and went straight to the full English
fry. Suitably replete, I retired to the solar shower to refresh myself
for the day ahead while Keith packed my boat.
Oh, hang on. I think that might have been a dream. Let me
check. Yes, it was a dream. Let’s start again.
The day began much like those that had preceded it. I arose at
6:30am and stumbled to the rock that I called my kitchen. Breakfast
consisted of a wee, a cough, and a luke-warm mix of coffee, sand and scraps of
last night’s dinner that I found floating in my billy. Keith was asleep.
The rest of the camp started to rise and go about their early morning
business. I watched Don walk to his boat to fetch an item he needed for
breakfast. Once there, a confused look came across his face. He
walked back to remind himself of what it was that he was meant to fetch, but
still seemed no wiser. Now slightly more awake, he decided that whatever
it was that he was after wasn’t worth the effort. He got Brian to make
him breakfast instead. Keith was asleep.
Kathy, Nicky and Carole were down by
the water’s edge, doing their early morning session of taekwondo / feng shui /
origami or whatever that stretching exercise is called. Pete was checking
that his wooden Greenland paddle hadn’t grown roots overnight.
Keith was asleep.
The sun had risen a fair way above the horizon before we were dressed,
packed and on the water. The day was warm, the sky was blue, the sea was
calm and everything was good in the world. We had no great ambitions for
the day other than to have fun, so we sauntered away from our camp at Cala des
Talaier and started to explore the enticing shoreline that led us east towards
our final goal. Keith was…awake!
The cliffs that lined our route had caves - lots of them - loads of
them. There were more caves than you could shake a stick at.
Believe me, I shook my stick until I could shake it 
no more but still there were caves that
had not been shaken at. We took every opportunity to explore as many as
we could. I perhaps did not explore as many as some others, but then
again my arms were sore from all that stick shaking.
We took a break from caving at the tiny cove of Macarellata, which we
shared with a school party and an unfortunate couple who appeared to have lost
all their cloths. How careless. We did not stop long. There were
more caves to explore, which we did with vigour and aplomb. Brian was
particularly vigorous in his explorations, and his aplomb was a sight to
behold. In fact, there was hardly a cave along the whole of the coast
that did not experience a visit from Brian. The man was on a quest.
We stopped late afternoon at the idyllic bay of Cala
Escorxada, after a less than exhausting day of 10km. Here, we once again
stumbled upon a group of absent minded un-clad people.
We lazed in the sun, brewed brews and idly chatted the afternoon
away. Once the heat of the day had departed we put up the tents, or
prepared bivvy gear, and then sat and shared a bottle of Scottish medicine
while yarning about the events of a wonderful day.
Keith was asleep.
Andrew Garland More Photos…..
Day 6 Friday 11th April. Trebaluger – St
Tomas – Inside Illa de L`Aire to Calo des Rafalet
The sun gently rose warming the tent and burning off the morning
dew. You could hear the gentle lap of the waves on the golden sand
with the birds in the background gently tweeting then rudely interrupted by the
distinctive sound MSR stove. Okay, I guess it's time to
get up then! A few people are starting their daily routine packing
gear away and most people eating porridge which seem to be the favourite
morning breakfast. Sitting around having a few brews and
collecting items that seem to be spread around the beach as we did move from
the evening Sunnyside to the morning Sunnyside trying to get every ounce of
that beautiful warm sun feeling.
Everybody had packed and was sitting in the kayaks with spray decks and
buoyancy aids on when we all realised that Keith was still stretched out
sunbathing. Yes sunbathing with his headphones in and in another
world. After a little gentle persuasion, Keith finally got his kit
on.
We set off pretty relaxed as flat seas
enabled us to visit every nook, cranny and cave. We were not
rushing and generally just having a beautiful day. We did not
set off till 1040 thinking can we really stop for elevenses so soon? We
decided to have a slightly earlier lunch and we would call into Son Bou which
was pretty much a deserted tourist resort, except for one crazy German marching
up and down the beach. He did the full-length there and back and
back again and again and again. People started looking for a
supermarket for a few luxuries of the alcoholic type but sadly they were all
closed. The only people around were maintenance people starting to
get the resort ready for the summer.
Nikki, in the meantime, had switched her mobile on to get an up-to-date
weather report. We had two sources; one from the people we hired the
boat from and in the UK shore base was Steve
G. I watch Nikki's face as she read the weather report and her
face definitely changed. Raising a hand with the mobile phone
in shaking it saying guys I think you need to all read this
!!!!! Yes you guessed it, high winds due in two days, 4-6
northerly. Would we be able to finish against such a head
wind?
We decided we had to get near to Mao today to take into account possible
Sunday’s bad weather. This came as a bit of a shock especially when
I looked up the distance to be paddled. The tempo went up a few pegs
and people started throwing food down their necks as we would not stop for
some considerable time and distance.
We set off from Son Bou at about 13:00 hours; we had only paddle 7 Km in
the morning believing we still had 4 days to cover the remaining distance.
The winds were filling in slightly so the rock hopping and
cave visiting had to stop. With determination we paddled on and on and
on. People were asking for rest stop and others saying just
around the next headland. That's the disadvantage of having a
map on your deck as you know that it might be a fib. So we raftered it up
eating various sweets jelly beans. All the wine gums have gone and
taking on liquid.
Soon after that we entered a beautiful cove (Cales Coves) which I had
the privilege of visiting in Peters and Carol's boat in the summer of
2012. It brought back some nice memories that lifted my
spirits. The cove has a small hostelry on it with a couple of small boats
which supply fresh fish every day With evidence of caves carved out from the
soft sandstone high above and all us around in the cove.
No sooner had we arrived it was time to leave. It is just
paddle, paddle and more paddling. More jellybeans just round the next
corner and just looking up at high cliffs knowing we just have to keep moving
forward.
Eventually the welcome sight of the large Lighthouse of Cap de Llevant that
stood on a off-lying island. The seas were getting 
more choppy on this headland with
the Lighthouse seemingly getting no closer. There was a plan to try and camp on
this island but after some careful consideration (we could get trapped on it
because of the weather) you've guessed it; we just kept on paddling.
Finally we turned the corner heading into land or should I say sheer
cliff. Faces still popping jellybeans and a heart sinking feeling
that can't be a camp site here! Andy disappeared into what I can
only describe as a slit in the rock. To everybody's
delight we were prove wrong and we found a small rocky beach, no wider
than the length of a sea kayak with a small boat house with a flat
roof. We all remained sitting on the water, saying there is no room
here but Keith pointed out you can get a tent on the flat roof !!!
It was a struggle to get eight boats on the shore. We had to
tie them together to stop them floating off to sea during the possible
storm. Another concern was torrent water rushing down the gully as
the skies were now looking quite threatening.
People literally fell out of the boats obviously somewhat tired after
34KM touching land about 1910 pm. We got organised with a meal and a
set of dry warm clothing Thanks to Kathy's jet boil a nice hot drink was soon
taking effect and enabled me to gather enough energy to put my tent
up.
Walking back to the cave where we were brewing up I realised I was
somewhat wobbly after that long day on the sea. Thankfully Brian
made that evening's meal - thanks mate. So crawling into my tent
that was on a small sandy floor to the deep ravine behind the
boathouse. This gully had trees everywhere which quite frankly made
it look like the fairy Glen. Definitely time for bed early in
the hope to recharge my batteries for the next day.
Don Brooks More Photos….
Day 7 Saturday 12th April. Calo des Rafalet – Sa
Mesquida – Es Grau (Finish) then on to Cala Presili
After arriving late at our amazing hidden grotto-like campsite at Cala
Des Rafalet, a night’s sleep was disturbed by the only rain of the trip with a
couple of heavy downpours, which had mainly cleared away by the time the birds
were singing from 3.00am onwards, different varieties joining in as dawn
progressed. We also had our very own reliable dawn chorus, each day at around
6.30-7.00, the first cough and ciggie of the day was partaken by Andy and this
became my own alarm call that it was approaching time to get up and get going.
We were all up by around 7.00 and while
we breakfasted under the overhanging cliff, Keith followed a narrow path to the
top of the cliff to do a quick recci of the sea conditions, and the report was
good to go. The forecast was for Easterlies going north so it was decided to
complete the final leg of our circumnavigation back to our starting point at Es
Grau, in case the winds increased enough to prevent us finishing before we ran
out of time. Boats were packed with slightly wet tents and gear due to the rain
in the night and we set of somewhat sadly for our final leg.
We headed out to cross the entrance to Mahon, one of the largest
natural harbours in the Mediterranean. It was early and quiet but as we
were crossing a potentially busy shipping lane, we collected together as a more
compact group. On relaxed sections we often became spread out, but when
crossing any shipping lanes, harbour entrances, it is good seamanship and safer
to stay close to each other present a more compact and visible presence and
make it easier for any traffic to make a decision as to the best track to take.
Having crossed with no issues we paddled up around the headland and on
around the coast, looking at some of the fortifications to the north
of Mahon. Stopping for elevenses at a beach at Sa-Mesquida, which could be
a potential campsite for any future trips.
Arriving at Es Grau about 1.00pm., finishing our circumnavigation
of Menorca in 7 days, we had the compulsory group photo, but no one
was keen to end the trip there and then so it was decided that we would touch
base with Carlos and Maria, and then head out again to make the most of our 2
remaining paddling days.
We had lunch at a small quayside bar, where we planned to retrace our
steps out to Favatix lighthouse, and camp at Cala Prisilli, which would give us
shelter from the Northerly 4-5 winds forecast for Sunday and have a day or two
chilling on the beach and exploring our surroundings on foot.
As we paddled back out the conditions were very different from a week
ago when we had big swells. It was relatively calm in the sheltered waters as
we looked for Cala Prisili. The navigators located the correct beach and
settled in like a group of beach bums for 2 nights (the tents going up at dusk
and down at dawnish).
Kathy gave us another demonstration of her caring doctoring skills and
re dressed Dons ankles following sores from his brand new and previously
untried sandals. She also administered to Brian who had trodden on a spiky
patch of vegetation. Thanks to Kathy from all of us for looking after our
medical needs.
After our evening meal and some drinks, it was noticed items left out to
dry were becoming wetter rather than drier, this was the time to put the tents
up, after which we sat around the pretend campfire to drink, look at the stars
and the moon and talk until bedtime.
Carole Thomas More Photos…….
Day 8 Sunday 13th April. Cala Presili (Rest
Day)
After our gruelling journey, circumnavigating Menorca in 2 days less
than planned, we reported back to Menorca en Kayak, refuelled with some giant
sardines & tapas, picked up a cerveza or 2 and paddled on up to Cala
Presili for some (well earned ??) rest.
We quickly discovered that our practice at resting
throughout the journey had paid off, and even Andy was able to lie down and do
nothing for a while.
The tideless Med allows you to pitch pretty close
to the water (Tony Vaccaro would love it). As I listened to the noise of the
waves crashing seemingly a foot away from my tent, I remembered the wind
forecast and decided putting all my dry bags inside one big one for a quick
getaway would suffice, and resumed resting.
Another beautiful sunrise announced the start of
another glorious day. Having peered out and taken 20 photos if various stages
of sunrise, I re-zipped my tent and snoozed on.
After a casual breakfast and breaking
camp lest the camp police arrive, we looked at the beautiful water. It was
vast, blue, still and salty, and we weren't getting on it. Today was all about
resting. Puzzled by this option, we looked around for something to do and or
eyes stumbled on the distant lighthouse. It was time for a land adventure and
we all set off for a leisurely stroll. Not quite all. Keith was
asleep (r Andy G).
The walking was gentle and we enjoyed chatting
about the week’s adventures of cave hopping, stick shaking, frisbee throwing
and paddling. Although quite a distance from the beach, Keith assured us he waved
frantically at us when we climbed up to the trig point near the lighthouse.....
Suspicious minds suggested he may have been asleep.
Dry bags were resited for elevenses and we each
tucked into 1/7th share of a Snickers, cereal bar and 2 tangerines.
Unsatisfied by our meagre elevenses we hastily
returned to camp for some Thomas pancakes. Half of us made tea, the Thomi
pancaked, Brian boiled salt water for a brew and was promptly sacked. After
producing 50 pancakes Pete hurried into his boat to hide his newly acquired
pancake knees...... Be warned: beach pancakes should only be made when wearing
SPF30 or above.
Keith went for his daily dip with the
jellyfish whilst Brian and Pete did a little light surfing and rolling. Caz and
I ventured in for a freezing dip whilst Nicky sat under the tarp wearing her
snorkel gear - keen to use it having brought it all that way!.
The trap had an outing and we continued to practice
lying down. I set up a foot clinic and demonstrated a complete inability to
bandage and an appealing bedside manner that should ensure no one bothers me
with medical queries when I'm busily trying to lie down.
After an afternoon gathering firewood, we decided
to respect at least one law of the land and simply admired our pile of wood
whilst settling in to another night of star gazing. Keith produced an app that
demonstrated that the Ancient Greeks may have been completely off their heads
on some sort of hallucinogens when naming the constellations. Under the stars
we gathered round our pile of wood, talked of nautical miles and latitude or is
it longitude? Reminisced about a brilliant week and polished off the beers,
sherry (Andy's wine), whiskey and hot chocolate wishing we could start again,
anti clockwise.
A brilliant week with a great group of folk. Thanks
to Pancake Pete for all his organisation and the rest of the crew for a
wonderful trip.
Kathy
Morton More Photos……
Day 9 Monday 14th April. Cala Presili back
to Es Grau
Day nine return to
base. People reluctantly packed their boats knowing this was the
last day and the end of the trip. Nikki, realising she had brought her
snorkel all this way and had not used it yet said is anyone going to use
it. Keith obliged. When he returned he declaring
the Mediterranean has no fish in it !!
We all clambered into the boats one by one. Carole and Kathy
were still sitting on the beach. “come on girls time to go back”.
So to make this final trip as long as possible we certainly did hug the
coast, entering the bay where we first set off that seemed such a long time
ago. We huddled together for the official team photograph
thanks to Keith. We touched base one by one. Soon the
boats where on the racks and I was rushing off to the shop where I knew
there was a shower but unfortunately I was beaten by the Norwegian couple who
had gone round the island and a double at the same time as us.
So with most others looking human
again, we went to the Taverna. Several of us could not wait for the
evening meal and had a massive fish platter. The second table
looking over massive dinnertime celebration but I thought I would save myself
to the evening
The minibus took us back to the hostel, which I must say was very good
and a reasonable price. Later we strolled out into the main port
where we dined in a place called 42° where we had an excellent meal for
an excellent trip.
Don Brooks More Photos….
Paddlers: Pete Thomas, Carole Thomas, Andy Garland, Kathy Morton, Nicola
Corbett, Brian Green, Don Brooks & Keith S All the photographs…….
Why not book a place on the club talk
about the expediton - “Paddling around Menorca” 14th June
2014