Excursions (August 15) and the Festival of San Juan (August 16)

Friday was our day of excursions. We left Ciutadilla around 9 in the morning. The first place we went was a HUGE Talaiotic site. Check out my pictures, since among them are the signs that explain the various kinds of buildings. Also see my blog on the Talaiotic culture, which explains what Menorca's first culture was like.

From there we went to Son Bou. It's the longest beach on Menorca. There is a Christian Basilica there. It wasn't in the best of condition, but you can see how the Christians took over the building from the previous religion. There are even Moorish graves outside of it.

We walked down to the beach from the basilica and tanned for a while. It was a nice beach, but it was really windy and cold that day. The beaches are all really crowded here, but the water is absolutely beautiful.

On Saturday, the entire group hopped the bus to go sightseeing. First we went to Mahon to see a gin distillery. The Menorcans have manufactured gin ever since the British occupation. I was disappointed since they didn't offer tours.

After lunch, we went to Punta Prima, a beach at the southeastern corner of the island. I improved my tan for a couple of hours before heading back to the bus station.

From there, we went to the Festival of San Juan in San Climente, a very tiny town not far from Mahon. The carnival part was very American looking, though they had some Spanish food that I tried. It was quite small, but the girls rode bumper cars that were way too small for our legs to fit into. There was a parade (I'm working on getting the video uploaded, but it needs editing.) with people dancing in giant puppet costumes with big heads. Then they brought the horses out in processional. The horses are the main attraction at the festival of San Juan. Unfortunately we had to leave before the main event--where people from the crowd actually life the horses up--in order to catch the last bus back to Ciutadilla.

Everyone was really exhausted by the end of it all, so we all had a day of rest on Sunday. It was REALLY nice to sleep in.