Resetting to Zero
Spain
01 CHAPTER
MENORCA
Menorca belongs to the archipelago of the Balearic Islands, located in the Mediterranean Sea, and is a province of Spain. This natural area is a biosphere reserve and is protected by UNESCO. Economic activities only slightly modify the island, but you can certainly sense the unique harmony between nature and man.
When I think of an abstract island in the Mediterranean Sea, I always imagine it to be super tiny. It only takes a matter of seconds to walk my entire imaginary island, or even swim around it. But in reality, it turns out that the islands of the Mediterranean Sea are quite large, and not only would it take days, to walk around some of them, but even by car, it might take hours to explore. The island of Menorca, despite its miniature size in comparison to the older brother of Mallorca, is still huge. If you, like Robinson Crusoe, will not get stuck on the island for a long time, then you must rent a car. Since there are many things to see on Menorca, it will not be possible to get to some unique historical monuments or beautiful beaches by foot!
Locals say Menorca can be reduced to three words: water, fire, and stone, but I would just keep the two definitions: water and stone. As they say, "constant water dripping wears away a stone," and here, water dripping creates such natural masterpieces. I had a strong urge to collect some of the stone samples and exhibit them in a museum.
The island has adequate living conditions, so you don’t feel like you are on an uninhabited island, but at the same time, it feels wild enough to imagine yourself among the first explorers. Since I arrived at Menorca during the low season, it was quite deserted, especially in that part of the island where we were staying. We stayed at Son Park, a small holiday resort on the north coast of Menorca. All restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues were closed, and the windows covered with shutters. There was such а tingling silence on the streets that I involuntarily began to listen to the beating of my own heart and plunged into new sensations. The nearest town was about a 20-minute drive from us. On our way to the town, we were driving on forest winding roads, and then returning to Son Parc at total darkness. My eyes were almost rolling out, as I was stressing out when driving on a rented car almost by touch in complete darkness. I liked what I’ve experienced so far! The silence, the wilderness, a long, covered with fine-grained, pinkish sand, and not a single soul around!
What astounds me most is that even though you study all the information about a place on the island in advance, you are always pleasantly surprised. First, you are amazed by the ways you have to get to a specific area, and then you become shocked by what you end up seeing. The places I saw always exceeded all my expectations.
My Universe is helping me!
Here I strongly felt that the Universe helped me in every way. Each time there was a dead-end, and the path was blocked by closed gates, private or unpaved roads, mountain paths that suddenly cut off, the Universe immediately resolved it. Whether in the form of single travelers or mountain cyclists who gave directions, the closed gates that would unexpectedly open, and even the weather that would suddenly improve while we went down the slippery slopes. The Universe tried its best to take us to the restless bays hidden behind steep cliffs, fabulous lighthouses, squads of snow-white villas hanging from the cliffs, and white sand beaches.
Cala Pregonda.
A funny story happened when we tried to find a beach called Cala Pregonda. Having completely lost our way in the labyrinths of winding roads, we ended up at a dead end. There was no further passage. And getting to the beach was an impossible task. But I wouldn’t be me if I hadn’t tried to find an alternative way. My instinct told me that somewhere there must be a road that will lead us in the right direction. It was necessary to only move parallel to the sea. And it turned out to be correct. In the most unexpected place, an exit from the main road appeared, which, judging by the trajectory, led directly to the sea. But the problem was that the road looked as if no one ever traveled on it. We were in a deadlock, and there were no signs of life around. I also started doubting that the road headed to the beach. After a short drive, we stopped and thought about whether we should go any further. What if we get stuck somewhere in the middle of the road, and nobody will ever find us? The question was spinning in my head: what do we do next? There should be a solution!
Suddenly, when we were utterly desperate, a timeworn car appeared from around the corner and was slowly moving towards us. I immediately jumped out onto the road and waved my hands at it. The car stopped. Peaking inside the car, I saw a very charming, old couple of sweetness and light! Since I do not know Spanish, and obviously, they did not understand English, I had to express myself in sign language. By repeating one single Spanish word, I knew: “la playa,” while pointing my hand towards the direction of the alleged beach, turned out to be quite enough for them to understand me and give the go-ahead. Miraculously, the off-road test drive was successfully passed, and we got to the beach! To say more precisely, to the nearest parking lot from the beach, because then we had to walk for quite a while through amazingly beautiful dunes surrounded by natural breakwaters, in the form of small islands, and lush vegetation.
A few words about lighthouses: In Menorca, there are seven of them, and all are located in the most picturesque parts of the island. Visiting one of the Lighthouses is an adventure on its own.
To get to Faro de Favartix, for example, we were driving super slowly, afraid to breathe, because the road was so narrow and elaborate that we barely parted with approaching cars. From all sides, we were surrounded by rocky cliffs showcasing the restless sea.
Down the road, we bumped into an obstacle in the form of a stone gate with a sign that said: “Private property,” which didn’t seem unusual at this point. It was confusing, though. Inside the gated territory, the road to the lighthouse narrowed down even more but clearly led directly to our final destination. Not daring to enter the private property, we parked in front of this gate and then traveled by foot. But before we even had a chance to walk five minutes, I noticed cyclists moving right towards us. This noisy crowd was returning from a ride, and I joyfully rushed to approach them with questions. It turned out that the sign, which was informing us that this was a private territory, “was not a problem!”, as the cyclists put it, and we rushed back into our car to continue driving. As we learned, during the season, the number of vehicles trying to get to the lighthouse is strictly limited due to the enormous amount of traffic. While during the off-pick season - the road is open to anyone!
Surrounded by lunar-like landscapes, belted by the white and black spiral band, the lighthouse is truly magnificent. It stands on a rocky peninsula. Covered with winding boulders of bizarre shapes and completely corroded by crevasses - the cape is somewhat reminiscent of a lunar landscape. Here I realized where Gaudi got his inspirations from when he worked on the creation of the Sagrada de Familia. After all, if you take a closer look, you can see that nature created all the masterpieces long before we did, and they have no comparisons!
Walking near the lighthouse and looking at the bizarre shapes of stones against the blue backdrop of the sea, I thought that busyness does not equal happiness. Sometimes you just need to silently look at the sea, study the funky shapes of the stones, and slow down for a while to breathe in the joy of life. Gradually dive into your impressions, and you will realize that life consists of moments and details, and it is crucial to pay your wandering attention to those.
Local legend has it that the lighthouse is a source of supernatural powers, so some people are intentionally walking in the puddles that surround this structure. The legend says that those who walk in the puddles during a full moon will be granted exceptional fertility, strength and energy from both the moon and the sea.
Punta Nati – The Lighthouse Keeper
The lighthouses have always attracted me by being so mysterious. In a place like this, you feel connected to the sea, and involuntarily begin to imagine yourself in the role of a Lighthouse keeper. What is it like to contemplate the sea horizon every day, until the sun sets down and the stars - those celestial lighthouses, begin to shine? The role of turning a Lighthouse on – is so meaningful. It is also such a responsibility to ensure that it keeps illuminating the path to the lost ships from dusk to dawn. Like a guiding star, it gives hope to those moving in the dark, and maybe to those seeking the purpose of life?
The Punta Nati Lighthouse was built in 1912 to prevent frequent shipwrecks off the northern coast of Ciutadella, the cultural capital of Menorca. Blown by all the winds, the Lighthouse stands in the middle of a flat rocky landscape known as dry Menorca. It is truly magical and is a must-see!
Punta Nati is surrounded by long lines of dry-stone walls built with stones piled onto others without using any other material except dry earth. Behind those dry-stone walls, there are stone huts (ponts de bens), which appear now and then throughout. These huts look like prehistoric tombs. In them, in case of bad weather, sheep herds take shelter. This construction technique is unique and indicates that in prehistoric times there were harmonious relationships between people and nature.
Here, I involuntarily began to feel like a pioneer-explorer. Or even a sailor who landed on an uninhabited island. All, thanks to a lighthouse that illuminated my path during a deadly storm. And now, I'm standing here and waiting for a tailwind so I can choose the right course and relentlessly follow it, hoping for a happy outcome of my journey through life.
El Toro – High above the earth.
To fully appreciate the scale of Menorca, we went up the tallest mountain, located in the center of the island. Its height is 342 m (1,122 ft), and you can enjoy the stunning panoramic views of the entire island from its peak. The peak can be accessed by both car and foot. For us, the trip was quite extreme, as we continuously drove up the narrow winding road. It was scary. I felt like our car was about to roll down backward if we accidentally miscalculated the trajectory of snaky turns. Many believe that Monte Toro pinpoints the spiritual center of Menorca, where there has been a shrine and place of pilgrimage since the 13th century.
Paradise island - how do you imagine it? My Paradise Island turned out to be а semi-wild tract of land lost somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. Lushly covered by all sorts of vegetation and dotted with cliffs and rocky hills, which hide truly divine turquoise bays, the island of Menorca turned my picture of the world into a single puzzle. Almost untouched by human nature and a total silence had some magical effect on me. I had the luxury of relaxing.