40 95.9 N 004 03.7 E Cala Fornells, Menorca, Thursday 9th September

Well that was a good one! We had a fast and furious sail from Pollenca to Menorca. Again, forecasts less than reliable, what should have been a F4-5 was a steady F6 gusting F7. A beam reach though so just tanking. The sea state here does seem to chop up quickly. We were heading for Ciutadella, previous old capital of Menorca before Mahon (or Mao in local speak). It did say in the pilot book that in strong W/SW winds the entrance is untenable. We went to within a mile for a look anyway. Rollercoaster, so decided against, but where - southabouts or northabouts? North was better then, but the forecast was for wind to go NW-NE in the night, so south would be better later.

A mile off Ciutadella we bore away and headed north, round a couple of capes, to Cala Algaiarens, fairly sheltered, a couple of other boats there. From seaward that north coast is unbelievably bleak looking - bare ground and rock, hardly any vegetation. Algaiarens had 2 little beaches and was greener with wooded cliffs - we sort of tucked behind a hummock. A great evening with the binoculars and great excitement. Up on the cliffs were about 6 wild mountain goats - their agility as they leapt and scrambled and negotiated their way over the rocks with sheer drops below them was breathtaking. I could still hear their bleating when it got dark, was just worried that they might not be so nimble in the blackness. The other excitement was seeing a (we're pretty sure having got the books out) gryphon vulture - huge wingspan with fingers at their tips. At first thought it might be an eagle, but this was just as good. A terrific spot - the wind did turn and it got a bit lumpy, but not unmanageably so.

Texts from Silent Wings, a Malo 37 we have kept in contact with since before Gibraltar. So yesterday carried on round the north coast to Cala Fornells, a small gap of an entrance that then opens out into quite a wide Cala. True to form, we had a sporty sail, not so much the wind as the chop and swell. Approaching the cala with its rocks either side was a bit daunting as we slewed around. Strange how it doesn't look anything like as bad from the inside - it is so obvious from there. So we surfed in to find calm waters inside, nice free Posidonia buoys and Silent Wings offering us dinner that evening. Result! A good evening comparing notes and working on game plans for getting to Sardinia. They will head off before us as they have been here before and are anxious to get that 200nm journey under their belts.

So a rest for us today. We had an explore of Fornells, which is an attractive, fairly low key resort. Then we took the local bus to Mahon for a look as we may not take the boat there (reputation of being extremely expensive and now strangled by a cartel of marinas to prevent anchoring in the calas). The bus wound in and out of the little calas on the way so we enjoyed the journey as much as the arrival. Mahon itself is more spread out than I imagined, the waterway is large and the Moli with its citadel overlooking the entrance was miles away it seemed. Unbelievably all of the tourist information offices in Mahon were closed - for the holidays!! Actually everything else in Mahon was closed until about 5pm by which time we were on the return bus. But worth a visit… I think though we shall enjoy the older town of Ciutadella more. So we are off there tomorrow - again by bus. It gives us a chance to see a bit of the inside of the island, like we did on Mallorca.

There are apparently over 4000 prehistoric sites from 3000 BC to 150ish - not dolmen or menhirs as in France, but navets (dwellings that look like upside down boats) and Talyoats (huge T-shaped rock formations, prob dwellings) There are also night markets all over Menorca. Apparently they start at 8pm and carry on until 2am the following morning. So, Margaret, these are markets you would miss even if you were here - past your bedtime! So much to do, too little time. And hundreds of wonderful little calas.

Will stop for now, R is getting hungry and is making a start on dinner for a change - is he trying to tell me something? Ciao for now.