A day off in Mahon

I decided that today that we’d spend it wandering around on our own, basically a day off for the crew.

Tomorrow we were setting off for an overnight voyage to Cala Pi in south east Majorca and I didn’t want any cabin fever building up onboard.
Sometimes if a group of people are cooped up aboard for a length of time, things can sometimes get heated and tempers short even among the best of crews and I have found that leaving people to do their own thing for a few hours every few days can take all the pressure out of things.
While the crew hadn’t been together long enough for that to happen and there was no signs of it anyway, I still thought it would be a good idea to let them be tourists, however that meant I ended up on my own.
Maybe that was good for the crew?

Paul and Laura headed off in one direction and Chris and Máirín in another.
I closed up the boat and headed off with my camera and Phil’s backpack.
Phil my mother in law had given me a backpack one Christmas. It has been one of the best presents I have ever got. It goes most places with me, sailing, trips to the shops, library etc etc. Thank you Phil.

I had found out that the British had occupied the island between 1708 and 1802 following the war of Spanish Succession and used the harbour as an anchorage for the British fleet, even Nelson was stationed there at one time.
As a result some British influences in architecture are still seen today such as bow and sash windows that you find nowhere else in Spain.

Most of the town is high above the harbour so there is a bit of a climb to get to the main sights.
There were good views of the harbour and Eureka from the top.
Menorca is known for its gin, again a British influence, so I bought a bottle and when I arrived back at the boat I was presented with a second larger bottle by Laura and Paul.

Paul and Laura had taken a boat trip around the harbour and were able to give us chapter and verse of the various buildings and their histories, that we had sailed around the previous day.

Máirín and Chris did their own thing and whatever that was, they weren’t telling!

Máirín had picked up a bug probably on the plane and or while swimming yesterday and was beginning to feel unwell so she and Chris ate onboard that night while the rest of us eat ashore.

Tomorrow I was looking forward to heading back to sea and the next leg, shortening the voyage home.Read more