Issuu

ROQUETA

MAY 2024

WELCOME MAY 2024 - ROQUETA MAGAZINE Rain has been on our collective mind in Menorca this month. First it was the lack of rain making the headlines with major worries about drought. We have talked about replacing grass lawns with less thirsty alternatives, but this month Dr Judy is very keen to tell you why artificial grass is bad for your health and for the environment. Next month she will suggest alternatives such as drought resistant grasses and water saving strategies. When some rain did arrive it was red rain, the wrong type of rain, not the sort we wanted. The wind was from the south and the light rain carried with it a large amount of fine Saharan sand, depositing it on our cars and terraces, turning them a dirty reddish orange. To make matters worse it fell just as the second homeowners were arriving on the first direct flights of the year. Villa maintenance companies, pool cleaning, car and boat companies all went into full battle station mode to try and clean up the mess. The sand is notoriously difficult to remove, everyone having their own ideas on the best methods to use...brushes, hoses, pressure washers, washers with spinning attachments are all deployed. After hours of hard work, you sit back and watch it dry only to find it looks worse than when you started! If anyone knows the secret, please send me an article for the next issue, but I think it will involve a mop and bucket. Katherine Rowberry from The Fish Friendly Cleaning Company tells us how we can save water while cleaning and showering. On the weekend of the 14th April the temperature reached 25 degrees in the shade, and it felt just like a summer’s day. The terraces of the newly opened bars and restaurants were crowded with people enjoying the sun. Then, at last, the right sort of rain arrived, at least for one day. The wind was in the right direction, and it fell steadily, going some way towards washing down the streets and watering the thirsty fields and gardens. Boats have also been in the news this month. We have seen the first cruise ships arriving in the harbour, another sign that the season is starting up again. This rekindles the debate of what sort of ships are the right sort of ships. Too big and some argue that they cause damage to the harbour and put too much pressure on the island’s limited resources. The arrival of the Frigate Navarra as part of operation “Sea Guardian” caused more debate. An announcement in the press that NATO was to use the Port of Mahon as its third base in Spain led to local protests. The frigate was at first diverted to Malaga but then arrived on April 15th for a short “logistical stopover”. In reality the island has been used for exercises by NATO for many years. We owe so much of our island’s rich history to the fact that Mahon Harbour is of such strategic importance in the Mediterranean. In this issue Fernando Serrano Llabres recounts the history of El Castillo de San Felipe, a magnificent fort which once stood at the mouth of the harbour to protect the island from invasion. It changed hands many times between the British, French and Spanish, who all fought for control of our harbour. We cannot be surprised that it remains an important asset, as shipping in the Mediterranean is on the increase.

Publisher: John Davies Editor: Liz Parr Printer: LV Grupo Grafico y de Communication, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat Dep Legal ME: 187/1973 No. Registro: 1037/3.992 The Publisher reserves the right to edit any material submitted for publication.

All prices quoted were correct at the time of going to press No articles may be reproduced without written permission from the Publisher For Editorial contact info@roquetamagazine.net For Advertising contact roquetajohn@gmail.com For Subscriptions contact roquetajohn@gmail.com

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

Liz & John

IN THIS ISSUE ISLAND NEWS 04 /LJKWKRXVHV 7KH %LJ ,QWHUYLHZ %HQ *UHLJ )ORUU\ WKH /RUU\ 0RWRUKRPHV EATING OUT & WINE

GRAPEVINE Katherine Rowberry

THE GREAT OUTDOORS 36 $UWLÀFLDO *UDVV (QFORYHU :LOG +HUEV (O &DVWLOOR GH 6DQ )HOLSH ART IN MENORCA

WELLBEING

CLUBS AND ASSOCIATIONS

WHAT’S ON

READERS CORNER

ISLAND NEWS

MAY 2024

ISLAND NEWS

By Christine Brooker

PUBLIC MAY VISIT RUBBISH DISPOSAL PLANT AT ES MILÀ The consortium in charge of the rubbish disposal plant at Es Milà, on the road to Es Grau, consists of two companies (Prezero and Adalmo), who have been recycling rubbish from the entire island since 2022. They are organising guided visits on the first Thursday of each month from 17.00 to 18.00h. The councillor for the environment, Simon Gornés, says they want to clear up all the myths and misconceptions that exist, and to emphasise the importance of recycling. Up until now only organised groups such as schools could visit. Now people can put their names down on the website of the Consorcio de Residuos y Energia de Menorca at www.cremenorca.org. Visitors will be able to see the whole process and the incinerator. NATO TO USE NAVAL BASE IN MAHÓN NATO has announced that it is to use the Naval Base in the port of Mahón as its third back-up port in Spain. The frigate Navarra was due this month as part of operation “Sea Guardian”, which is part of MSO (Maritime Security Operations) under the command of the main naval HQ for NATO at Northwood in the UK. The base here has permanent Diplomatic Authorisation. The alcalde in Mahón, Hector Pons, has tried to calm down the speculation and concern that has naturally arisen locally in view of the world situation saying that Mahón is not strategically part of the national defence for Spain, and the increase in NATO shipping in the Mediterranean means that it is used more. He believes it will be a place for repairing ships and refuelling, adding that we are not at war... The Govern in Palma says that neither they nor the previous Govern were informed by the Government that they had offered the base in Mahón to NATO. In effect the island has been used for exercises by NATO for some time, the large barracks at the back of the port at San Isidre being useful to accommodate troops. The paper comments that the Port of Mahón has been of strategic importance for centuries and when General Stanhope took the island for Britain in 1708 he saw its importance and commented that it should always remain British. Protests are taking place on the island by people who are against the port being used by NATO. The Navarra`s visit was initially delayed but arrived on April 15th for a short “logistical stopover”.

THIS LITTLE PIGGY WENT TO MARKET Soraya Bosch from the Son Arret farm in Ferreries has taken to social media to complain about the tremendous bureaucracy that this country and most of Europe goes through. She is a pig farmer and has nine pigs. The Council for Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment in the Govern (Balearic Government), sent her a list of the “minimum documentation” necessary to have a farm with more than five pigs. The list of requirements was endless and would make anyone desist, says Soraya. She gave a few examples: the year the farm was built, last renovation, census of all the animals, document of environmental management, document of staff training, plan for disposing of bodies (of pigs not staff I think!), plans of the whole farm, measurements of barns etc, etc. Solution: she is going back to five pigs.

D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

ISLAND NEWS

MAY 2024

ES MIGJORN AND MAHÓN, FINES For those of you who did not see the last edition of Roqueta, we commented on the various radar checks and fines that are imposed on motorists. Es Migjorn, the municipality with the smallest population on the island, has been criticised for the number of fines levied and the slow speed that drivers are expected to travel in certain places. Now it has emerged that last February they spent 51.938 Euros on postage (there was a backlog of fines), 96% of the annual budget of 54.000 Euros for the post in one month. Although the ayuntamiento have contracted a private company to organise the fines, postage was not included. The socialist opposition is protesting (unsurprisingly) about all this.

BINIBECA VELL In recent years Binibeca Vell, (I use the original spelling although the powers that be have decided on Binibèquer), the small complex that was built to look like a fishing village in the sixties has been the subject of arguments between residents and authorities about visitors. Consisting of small apartments, an open air “church”, bars and a few shops, the properties were normally bought for investment and rented to tourists. The village has always been a magnet for visitors; it won a prize for its architecture. In recent years there has been an increase in permanent residents who protest about visitors, saying they are noisy and run up staircases and take photos. These residents began to restrict access and eventually came to an agreement last year with the town hall whereby the complex was closed to visitors during the season between 22.00 and 10.00h. Now they want to extend this to between 21.00 to 11.00h. Residents say that the Consell (Island Council) is of no help and they have asked the ayuntamiento at Sant Lluis to intervene more. The owners pay for the cost of painting the complex every year, maintenance and cleaning, plus an insurance covering visitors if they are injured. There is a plan to remodel the complex that will cost 1.5 million Euros and the owners want part of the Ecotax levied on tourists to help towards this cost. They say that their urbanisation is a reference for tourism for the whole island. This statement was made with no apparent irony and therein lies the problem. Previously the signs saying “Silencio por favor” (silence please) were sufficient and visitors passed with impunity. The few residents were often involved with the complex and an old lady resident who bought lettuces for the tortoises that breed in the gulley would happily point them out to the tourists. Now, official guides have been shouted at, and chains put up at times outside the hours of the agreement. Most groups just walk through, and explanations are given outside the complex.

In Mahón there was an average of 100 infractions a day at the beginning of March until people adjusted to the restrictions in the town centre. There is limited access to the Explanada (the main square) and drivers must have authorisation. Nearly 4000 drivers have applied for this. The ayuntamiento intends to publish information about the infractions on a regular basis and have sent letters advising all the car hire companies; hopefully the signs are clear for tourists.

6 COMPANIES MAY USE THE RAMPS IN CIUTADELLA Port Authorities from the Balearic Islands have accepted that six companies may use the ramps in the port of Ciutadella. They, in turn, may launch 6 boats a day, making a total of 36 in all; this is a result of an agreement between ASMEN, the Menorcan Association of Nautical Businesses, and the authorities. Most of the companies that hire boats are included in the agreement and if not there is another ramp at the old maritime station. Users in the port had complained about the chaos on the ramps in the summer. The same situation had occurred in Cala Galdana until the ayuntamiento took over the organisation from the Port Authorities and solved the problem, but many boats then transferred to Ciutadella which has caused the saturation. No mention was made about renting small boats to unqualified people that has caused many problems at sea as we have reported in previous years.

What is the situation if you go to live somewhere that is a tourist attraction? What if the residents in Mahón and Ciutadella said they didn´t want visits in the town centres during certain times because they needed to rest? Loles Tronch, the lady mayor of Sant Lluis says that she cannot enforce when people visit, however the interior is private property and could be closed provided the Cami de Cavalls (the protected bridle path) is respected. The ayuntamiento had an agreement whereby they provided financial help but this has now finished. She adds that the Consell can do no more, they cannot restrict when excursion buses stop and they have already stopped using photos of the village when promoting the island. One wonders what the owners of the bars and restaurants think. The part of the village that was built in the seventies, further from the sea, also has apartments rented to tourists but has never been conflictive as people tend to visit the more scenic zone. ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

ISLAND NEWS

MAY 2024

CARDIOLOGY LISTS REDUCED Waiting lists for an appointment with cardiologists at the Mateu Orfila hospital in Mahón have been reduced 12.7% since the end of 2023 thanks to agreement between the hospital and Son Espases in Palma. Since January every Saturday a specialist from Son Espases comes to Mateu Orfila. This has helped for those who were waiting over 60 days with numbers reduced from 651 to 550. Obviously, these are given priority although those who needed complementary attention have also reduced from 81 to 45.

EUROPEAN UNION MONEY TO FUND PURCHASES

ARSONIST DESTROYS 7.5 HECTARES The largest forest fire in Menorca for the last seven years which occurred on 12th March on the Son Serra farm in Es Mercadal and destroyed over 4.5 hectares of bushes was started deliberately. It was not near any farm machinery where it could have been started by a spark and it was not in the very dry season when there is a risk of fire. No buildings were destroyed but the cows that were happily grazing were frightened. The farm of 220 hectares has cattle and grows crops. The fire reached down into a valley of difficult access making the firemen’s job harder. They were backed up by a helicopter from Palma, Mallorca.

An injection of 5.5 million Euros from the European Next Generation fund will allow the Consell to complete three expensive projects included in the Sustainable Tourism Plan 2022. The fund will enable them to purchase the old Post Office building in Mahón, the Aeroclub in Sant Lluis, (the old airport) and part of the Lazareto Island that is privately owned by the businessman Vicente Garau. The Govern in Palma approved that the money could come directly to Menorca. The aerodrome will cost three million Euros, already agreed with the Spanish Ministry of Defence, 1.2 million Euros for the Post Office building (there was a lot of discussion about this being sold privately and converted into a hotel, readers may remember, but nothing transpired), and the seven hectares on Lazareto will cost around 500.000 Euros. The Consell found no paperwork for the purchase of the Aeroclub, just a page of “intentions”, but they have managed to maintain the original price; now everything must be completed by 30th June 2026. The Consell also has 46.3 million Euros at their disposal, left over from 2023. This is despite the budget for this year still not being approved due to problems with the coalition between the ruling party (PP conservative) and the one councillor from VOX (right wing) who will not vote with them. After the budget for 2023 had been spent (the Consell changed during the year from socialist to conservative,) there was money over. This is the first time that this has occurred, in fact up until 2012 the Consell had a negative balance at the end of each fiscal year. NOT AN APRIL FOOL JOKE

LAZARETO TO BE RUN BY TOURIST FOUNDATION The Foment de Turisme (Tourist Foundation) in Menorca is to take control of Lazareto, the old quarantine island in the port of Mahón, which until now had been organised by the environmental department of the Consell. This will give a new focus and promotion of the islet. They will organise the guided visits and also encourage congresses, rather than concerts which had led to complaints about noise.

The 26 politicians who have to travel to Mallorca from Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera are having their accommodation allowance increased to 120 Euros a night, owing to rising prices in hotels. The “diputados” deputies, have to be present in debates etc. The cost to the tax payer has long been a subject of debate and one famous case was Montserrat Seijas, ex diputada de Podemos (extreme left wing), who pocketed the money and then slept on sofas near the offices in parliament. This news was published on 1st April and Menorca of course celebrates this - unlike the rest of Spain who play jokes on 28th December - but sadly this was not a Diari joke! Another case was Maxo Benegal who took the money despite not being a part of parliamentary activities; he had to pay the sum back.

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

ISLAND NEWS

MAY 2024

MARCO NEEDS A BONE MARROW DONATION URGENTLY Marco from Ferreries will have his third birthday in May and desperately needs a bone marrow transplant as family members have not been compatible. He suffers from a rare disease that only 500 people in the world have and two are in Menorca (a membrane fails which causes the blood to oxidise which in turn breaks fibres in the muscles). He has to take 14 antioxidant tablets a day, he also suffers from 35% incapacity and his mother has to be vigilant 24 hours a day as he may need medication. He has to travel to Son Espases hospital in Palma every month, and the latest news has been alarming for the family, he is not advancing as much as the doctors hoped and Son Espases is searching worldwide for a donor. DIRTY RAIN In April Menorca suffered from red rain carrying an unusually large amount of sand from the Sahara desert. This phenomenon happens occasionally and apart from being noxious for people with respiratory problems, it is annoying for the mess it leaves on cars, boats and terraces which is notoriously difficult to clean. This time it was a major headache for villa and boat managers as it occurred just before owners arrived for Easter. However, there is an unexpected silver lining. CSR laboratories who analyse agri-food nationally have said that this sand from the desert is 100 times smaller than normal sand, and it continues to reduce in size as it enters eco systems. It diminishes solar radiation, cools the surface of the sea and adds important nutrients and minerals to the soil and the currents and sediment in the Mediterranean. Although it is irritating at first, in the long run it is beneficial. IB3 Televisió program Cinc Dies, after consulting with the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), calculated that the dust suspended over the Balearic Islands would fill 464 trucks of 28 tons.

SWIMMING IN THE PORT The ayuntamiento in Es Castell and Port Authorities are to work together to mark the zones in the port where swimming can be permitted. Although this is not allowed in the Port of Mahón, it is a tradition that is deeply rooted around the coast of Es Castell and so a solution is to be found. Unfortunately, other areas in the port seem to have lost this pleasure; Es Castell has been trying for some time to get the historical areas for traditional bathing reinstated. If they get permission again maybe this will encourage other areas in the port such as “Sa Altra Banda” (on the other side of the port). One typical zone in Es Castell is the Moll (quay) de l´hospital, which swimmers use alongside the boats that go to the Isla del Rey. Last year the Hauser and Wirth gallery invited them over to the island to compensate for the inconvenience of boats going backwards and forwards. In front of the Hotel Carlos III there is a group of “mature” ladies who habitually swim there known locally as “La Sirenitas” (the mermaids); the entrance at Cales Fonts is also popular. Another point is the old boat houses, around the port, also traditionally used for swimming. These are no longer allowed to be residential and the association supporting them (casetas de Vorera) says that they should be given other uses so that they don´t deteriorate. The delegate for port authorities (APB) in Menorca, Vicent Fullana, is sympathetic, saying that the law governing ports is for commercial ones, not large natural ones like the port of Mahón where there have always been traditional activities that nowadays are difficult from a legislative point of view. He says that all activities can take place but there must be clear regulations that establish the responsibilities of the distinct administrations.

FORGOTTEN ELECTORAL PROMISES During the electoral campaign for the general elections in May last year, Pedro Sanchez, the President of the Government in Madrid promised that 50.000 properties from the “bad bank” would be at the disposition of the autonomous communities. Of these 120 were for the Balearics. At the moment the islands have not received one... LA PAYESA SOLD Sagitario Hotels y Son Granot SL. have bought the La Payesa cheese factory in Alaior from Explotaciones Pons Marin. The new company will be called Formatges La Payesa Menorca and the head of the group is the hotelier Sebastià Triay Fayas who strongly supports local products. In the ten establishments his company owns the consumption of local products is 45% when the Govern requires only 3%. The hotels will absorb much of the cheese, but Sebastià says that a lot of commercialisation is needed for the rest. He also says that he will take milk from some of the farms who worked with La Payesa and were left without a client at the end of December when La Payesa closed (although the Co-operative in Alaior is taking a lot of the curds for Queseria Menorca); he also has his own farms and intends to continue the production of cheese with raw milk that La Payesa traditionally used. Triay Fayas says that it is his romantic side that led him to buy the factory; he says he felt bad that a factory that had been running for 75 years should just close. He is now 72 and feels that the older you get the more you think with your heart. His group also owns the Biniatzem Company which specialises in fruit, vegetables, meat, sausages and cheese produced in Menorca. Son Lloc, also part of the group, produces blocks of cheese that can be used to make sandwiches. Before it closed, La Payesa used three million litres of milk, which converted into 350 tons of cheese, Triay hopes to return to this figure from 1st July this year. COINGA, the farmers’ co-operative in Alaior, has recently announced that they will only pay 0.46 Euros per litre of milk. In 2023 the price went down from 0.50 to 0.48. Farmers and their unions are concerned as the price does not cover costs.

D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

ISLAND NEWS

MAY 2024

MENORCA PRIVATE OWNERS M E N O RC A V I LL A R E N TA L W ITH A PE RS O N A L TO U C H tourism. Paul has been visiting the island since the 1960’s with his parents, and we’ve been bringing our three boys, who are all grown men now with their own families, every year since they were small. Our eldest Peter even joined us in the business. Tell us about the type of holiday villas you rent. Our diverse portfolio covers many Menorcan rental types, from luxurious countryside estates to coastal villas with spectacular sea views and the reviews they receive have an average rating of 4.99 stars. The hand-picked properties in our villa collection are of the highest quality, visited personally by our team so that we better understand each property and can devise its personalised sales and marketing strategy to maximize rental returns. What about your clients, where are they usually from? The trust we’ve earned through our diligent approach is the reason we have clients returning year after year, many booking up to a year in advance to secure their favourite villa. Our clients come from all over the world, but predominantly the UK, Spain and France. For the last 30 years we’ve been taking the stress out of finding the perfect villa rental, tailoring our approach to each enquiry to ensure everything meets our clients’ requirements. We also have a growing client base with a demand for the most exclusive villas on the island. Why should people book a holiday with Menorca Private Owners? Menorca Private Owners (MPO) is a trusted villa company with an important ethos – Menorca with a personal touch. MPO is a family-owned business focused solely on renting villas in Menorca. We sat down with Jane Perera, Villa Owner and co-founder, to discover more. What makes Menorca Private Owners different? It’s about keeping the reasons behind starting the business front and centre, not just our passion for delivering exceptional Menorca villa holidays but finding much-loved second homes with friendly owners and like-minded clients looking for something more special than your standard holiday rental. With over 30 years of experience, MPO has perfected the art of matching these beloved second homes with discerning clients who will appreciate them.

Because we care about the experience you have and we have some of the best villas you can rent on the island. We have an experienced and multi-lingual sales team, fluent in English, Spanish, French and Italian, and take pride in ensuring that our clients always receive a personalised booking service and any support they may need. We are also financially bonded with ABTA so that we can make sure every client of ours is protected.

Ready to maximize your villa’s full rental potential? Visit www.menorcaprivateowners.co.uk/villa-owners for more details about renting your villa with MPO or contact their team on +44(0)1335 330169 to get started.

How did the business get started? Since the early 1990’s, Paul and I have owned our own rental home in Menorca. To this day we still split our time between the UK and Menorca which is very much our second home, and it’s our firsthand experience of renting our own house as a holiday villa, as well as our professional expertise in the property industry, that gave us the idea to start MPO. Villa owners receive our advice on many property matters, from management and taxation to navigating licences. For us, it’s also been about building lasting relationships with owners and caring for their properties as if they were our own. You said Menorca is your second home, tell us more about your relationship with the island. As our second home, our passion for Menorca comes across in everything we do, from forging partnerships with local activity providers on the island to supporting Menorca’s ecotourism and sustainability efforts, encouraging responsible ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

ISLAND NEWS

MAY 2024

Cat and Chris pointing to the villa in Binimel-là

FLORRY THE LORRY In November 2017 they bought a 2012 DAF LF45 which would be transformed into Florry; a process which took a year and a half of blood, sweat and tears. During this period they worked full time to save up to be able to set off with Rolo to live their dream of visiting beautiful places, while still being able to see their family. They gave things to charity and got rid of all their clutter to be able to live in a small home on wheels. Cat remembers having all the belongings in the lounge that they were going to put in Florry. Chris said it had to be halved. After another few goes, they managed to reduce everything they had to fit. They rented out their home in London, allowing them to live a healthier life with less stress, combining the two things they were passionate about - travel and scuba diving. They have now been on the road for 5 years and haven’t missed anything. Cat’s childhood memories of Menorca

Coming Full Circle Cat, Chris and their chocolate Labrador Rolo, have become social media stars through their blog, Facebook and Instagram posts about life in Florry the Lorry. They travelled all over Europe but kept returning to spend winters in Menorca, posting beautiful photos and interesting facts on the places they visit. With the increase of motorhomes on the island, we caught up with Cat to find out more about life on wheels, how they deal with parking such a large lorry on our small island and why they have such a love for Menorca.

I first came to Menorca when I was one year old. My father and his friend had a villa built in Binibeca and we spent many happy family holidays here. My earliest memories are from 1974/5 when we used to get paellas, Fanta Lemon and Cacaolat from the Bucaneros on Binibeca beach. We spent many hours snorkelling and swimming there. We went to Villa Carlos to get crepes and we played in Binibeca Vell, trying to get lost in the streets. Our times here were very happy and although my parents divorced my mother, who is French, continued to bring us back here every year when we would often meet the same families and play with the same children.

How it began Chris and Cat were on a scuba diving holiday in Menorca when they discovered that one of their instructors in Fornells lived full-time in her converted 7.5 tonne lorry. This got them seriously thinking about whether they could get a lorry of their own and convert it for life on the road. They had spent many holidays touring in a motorhome with their children, so they had lots of experience. Cat explains, “It was the build that was the scary part and the idea of living in it full time. People thought we were dreaming and that we wouldn’t be able to do it as we had never done anything practical like this before”. After much deliberation they decided to go for it. ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

ISLAND NEWS

MAY 2024

My father also had plans to build a house in Binimel-là and you can still see the lonely half-built villa standing today. We used to visit it and camp out in a cave close by, sleeping out under the stars on the beach by the house. It was one of the first villas to be started in the development before there were problems with the planning. Tufnell International, the developer from London, went bankrupt. If it had gone ahead, it would have been another Binibeca but instead Binimel-là has remained a fantastic unspoilt marine reserve.

without the need for rose tinted glasses. It really was and still is a magical place. I was searching for Villa Carlos, not knowing it is now called Es Castell, and thanks to Chris’s persistence of going around to all the harbours on the island, we found it. The only place we couldn’t find for a few years was a little restaurant I remembered, where we would go and swim in the pool while having lunch, as our villa in Binibeca didn’t have a pool. I knew the restaurant was nearby and we drove round and round looking for it but eventually I gave up.

I have always had a love of travelling and, at the age of 19, I set off around the world and lived in New Zealand and visited Australia and America along the way. When I met my then husband I used to tell him about Menorca all the time. We took our two girls to New Zealand and lived a year travelling around in a motorhome. At the age of 27, on the way back, I persuaded my husband we should go to Menorca. In a twist of fate my father had sold the villa in Binibeca. Life continued and I would talk about Menorca continually to everyone, always wanting to return, but when the girls were younger I couldn’t afford it and we had holidays in France at my mother’s home, which was wonderful too.

One day during the curfews, we were both feeling tired and fed up and missing our family. We needed a break from moving every few days, and so we parked in a car park in Binisafua where we could let Rolo run out of the lorry and play off-lead in a little park. I posted on Facebook saying we were tired and parked up just for Rolo, without beautiful views. We try to post about ups and downs of van life to keep our blog real. Werner, the owner of Thai Menorca, kindly came to find us and said we could stay on his land down the road. He showed me around his house and pool and I was overjoyed to finally find that place I had been looking for where we used to have lunch and a swim! Now we spend lots of time parking on his land for a break. The Thai food is amazing and they also have Thai massages which I treat myself to now and again. Coincidence or meant to be? I don’t know, but we are so grateful to have a bit of rustic land to park on when we need to work on Florry. We’ve spent several Easters on the land fixing and painting the lorry. Last year we even put in a bath. If you want to see how you get a bath into a small home on wheels you can watch our YouTube channel. The bath came from a hotel in Cala en Porter; we love to recycle and reuse items in Florry whenever we can.

After my divorce, I met Chris and we both had a joint love of scuba diving. We went all over the world to dive and I kept saying Menorca would be amazing as I recalled the crystal clear waters but he thought I was just remembering it with rose tinted glasses. I returned with Chris and on our first visit we stayed at the Tramontana Hotel in Playa de Fornells. We spent 2 weeks diving and Chris too realised it was beautiful. After this we returned several times a year for many years. Life in Florry on Menorca In 2019 we set off to live in Florry full time, touring all over Europe, including Menorca. It was an amazing year living in our tiny home and seeing so many beautiful places and meeting so many interesting people along the way. We returned to the UK for the summer to work as campsite wardens but due to Covid, we ended up locked down on my father’s drive in England. We were living in the lorry and found ourselves with little money as the campsites were closed and so Chris got a remote IT job again which allowed him to work from anywhere.

We also were invited by Yvonne Ford-Cross for Christmas which was lovely as we were not alone and had a place to stay. I spent Christmas day on crutches after Rolo had wiped me out having a playful moment, but I was very well looked after. I had tumbled into the air on Christmas eve on the roadside at Binibeca and ruptured a ligament, For us, this is what Menorca is about. Friends, lovely people, and caring souls as well as a beautiful place to live. It’s a very special place. Rolo has also become a hit on Facebook and he has built up many friends on the island who meet up with him for walks and swims. We are always very aware that we do not want to become a problem on the island, taking care to park in places where we are not blocking the views of villas and moving on to new places every few days. Once, we spent 2 weeks in July in Florry in Menorca but we will never do it again! It was far too busy and far too hot. The lorry is insulated but we have no air conditioning, and we suffered a lot that year. We prefer now to be here in winter months and spring when the island is quiet and we have the beaches to ourselves and enjoy the walks and the history the island has to offer.

When lockdown was lifted, we immediately set off through France to get back to Menorca. We were then supposed to be going back to the UK for Christmas but there were second lockdowns, and other countries were limiting travel across their borders so we decided to stay in Menorca. Here, there were only curfews and we found we had the island to ourselves and this enabled us to get some amazing photos. People in Menorca were following us on Facebook and they got in touch to help us out and we built up a network of valuable friends, such as Werner and Yvonne Ford-Cross and so many others who were so helpful.

What are the rules for motorhomes in Menorca?

Chris and I spent time searching out the places from my childhood memories and nothing much had really changed. It was still everything I remembered

There are strict rules in Menorca if you are living in a motorhome and very few dedicated facilities. Punta Prima now has a place where you can fill with water

D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

ISLAND NEWS and stay for 48 hours. Es Mercadal has a place for motorhomes at the Recinte Firal but that can be hit and miss depending on whether there is an event taking place. You are allowed to park up on public roads but you are not allowed to ‘camp’ which means you cannot put out chairs and awnings, or even put down steps. You can park in car parks (without marked lines) but recently new rules have been introduced to ban motorhomes from certain areas such as the top of the port in Ciutadella. There are also two campsites on the island, one in Son Bou and one in Cala Galdana. They open for the tourist season only and no dogs allowed. When we first arrived 5 years ago there was a small community of ‘van lifers’ who knew each other and they were generally from Spain. We got to know many of them which was lovely. Since COVID, the number of vans on the island has increased significantly. Motorhomes became popular as they were an ideal way to spend a holiday isolated from others. Larger motorhomes are now arriving from the mainland and Mallorca. Recently, as a shortage of rented housing has become a major problem, more seasonal workers are also now living in vans. We have witnessed some people causing problems and not parking courteously and not understanding the etiquette of respectful vanlife. On a positive note, we have been delighted to see that an increasing number of Menorcans have got motorhomes or vans as a means of travelling around mainland Spain and France. We get several emails a week from people asking questions about Menorca and where to go. We always say that for a holiday it’s better to fly here and rent a villa, visit local restaurants and hire a car to see the island. We don’t recommend vanlife here to our UK followers as the facilities are not the same as in mainland Europe and to come for only a few weeks with a motorhome is not cheap. The reason we get by easily is because we are totally off-grid, prepared and know many people here with private land where we can stay. I can only imagine what it would be like in summer with too many motorhomes - awful :( A new chapter in Menorca Last year I made the huge decision to buy a house in Menorca. I sold up in the UK last summer and looked around for something we could afford. Through my contacts on Facebook I found a 3 bedroom villa with a pool in Cala en Porter with a tourist licence. I was a teacher in the UK and I have taken a year’s contract at a School in Alaior teaching English under the Balearic Government Scheme. We are enjoying having our very own place here for family and us if anything happens to our little home on wheels. We don’t know how long we will be able to continue our full time vanlife but for now we love the life and freedom Florry gives us. On the day I signed for the house my daughter rang to tell me she was pregnant and so I am looking forward to introducing the next generation of my family to this unspoilt island that has always had a special place in my heart. We are so thankful to all the people here who have made us feel so welcome. We’ve met so many amazing people who have become good friends, both Menorcan and English, and feel very grateful for the life we have. You can read all about the adventures of Cat, Chris and Rolo on Facebook, Instagram and their website https://florrythelorry.com/ They also have a YouTube channel with videos and stories of their adventures and lorrylife - https://www.youtube.com/c/FlorryTheLorry

MAY 2024

FACILITIES FOR MOTORHOMES IN MENORCA There are 4 public service areas for motorhomes on the island. 1. ES MERCADAL The Es Mercadal motorhome service area is located off the main road behind the Centre Artisanal de Menorca at the Recinte Firal or fairground. To obtain the ticket, you need to request an appointment with the Local Police, by calling 971375251 (mornings) or 609804297 (afternoons and nights) or by email to the following address: policia@esmercadal.es Rate and access: 8€/day. It is a parking lot with a maximum stay of 72 hours, extendable depending on availability. Open every day of the year, except when there are events at the Fairgrounds. Includes: 220 volt power outlet for battery charging, fresh water, emptying of black and grey water. No chairs, tables or other camping equipment is allowed outside the motorhome. 2. CIUTADELLA In Ciutadella the motorhome service area is located in the municipal car park in the Ciutadella industrial estate or Poligono on Calle Carnisseria just off the Ronda Nord. It is free and you can empty the black and grey water and fill up with drinking water. 3. FERRERIES In Ferreries the “Ben Net” car wash has a service for emptying grey and black water for motorhomes and a water filling service. Emptying is free and it costs 1€ for approximately 70L-80L. It is open 24 hours a day and is located at C/ Trencadors, 25. in the Ferreries industrial estate. 4. PUNTA PRIMA Punta Prima has a dedicated motorhome parking area, in the main car park next to the beach. It has an area for emptying grey and black water and for filling up with drinking water, as well as an area for parking and recreation. There are seven 8×5m parking spaces for vans, caravans, and motorhomes. Vehicles can stay here for a maximum of 72 hours in low season and 48 hours during the months of July and August. This is a space where tables, chairs or awnings can be taken out of the vehicle, provided that the space delimited by each car park is not exceeded and that they are collected at night.

CAMP SITES 1. Camping Son Bou is located 3 km from the Son Bou beach and it takes reservations for fully equipped pitches, with an area of 70m2 located on wooded land. Rates range from €21/night in low season up to €47/night in high season (in high season there is a minimum 7-night stay). The fee includes: 2 adults in parcels of 70 m2, electricity, emptying of black and grey water, fresh water for filling the water tank, Wifi, access to swimming pools and entertainment services, access to sports facilities. There is a maximum of 6 people per plot and pets are not allowed. website: https://www.campingsonbou.com 2. Camping Atalaia is located on the south coast of Menorca. From Ferreries, take the exit to Cala Galdana for 4.5 kms to arrive at the campsite which is in a pine forest. Rates range from €7 to €12 depending on the season which is from 1st April to 1st October. The fee includes emptying of black and grey water, fresh water for filling the water tank. Free Wifi, Small supermarket, access to a bar, restaurant, and swimming pool. Pets are not allowed. Electric connection €5 must be notified at the time of reservation (clients must bring their extension cable). Website: http://www.campingsatalaia.com

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

ISLAND NEWS

MAY 2024

A TOUR OF MENORCA’S

7 LIGHTHOUSES

by Vanessa Jeny, Menorca Blue

Isla del Aire

Among its many charms, one of the most captivating features that dot the coastline of Menorca are the iconic lighthouses that stand as silent sentinels, guiding ships and enchanting visitors with their timeless allure. It’s hard to believe that there is such contrast from north to south on the coastline, and by taking in the views at the different lighthouses you can see why each of them plays such an important role in marking their territory. Before the island roads get too busy, May is a great time to discover the seven distinctive lighthouses of Menorca, each with its own unique character and story to tell. 1. Faro de Favàritx - North East Our voyage begins at the northeastern point of Menorca, at the beautiful Faro de Favàritx, a testament to Menorca’s wild and untamed beauty. Constructed in 1922, this imposing lighthouse in diagonal dark blue and white stripes, stands as a stark contrast in its colour to the jagged slate grey rock surroundings. Rising 28 metres above sea level, it is one of the tallest towers on the island. In winter, visitors can reach Faro de Favàritx by car, followed by a short walk along a seaside path. From June to August, access is restricted for cars and visitors can go by a special bus from the station in Mahón. 2. Faro de Cavalleria - North We continue to the northern tip of the island where the majestic Faro de Cavalleria stands proudly high atop rugged cliffs, offering breathtaking views of the surrounding landscape. Built in 1857 and sitting 95 metres above sea level, this pale beige-coloured lighthouse boasts a classic cylindrical tower rising to a height of 15 metres. It’s a pleasant scenic journey passing by car or motorbike through green fields of countryside to get to the lighthouse where limited parking is available close by. While access is unrestricted for most of the year, it’s worth noting that the lighthouse area may be closed during inclement weather conditions.

Faro de Favàritx

Faro de Cavalleria

3. Faro de Punta Nati - North West Our next stop takes us to the most northern point of Menorca in the west, where the Faro de Punta Nati stands against the backdrop of dramatic sandstone cliffs and deep blue waves. Built in 1912, this sand-coloured lighthouse is renowned for its distinctive square tower, a rare feature among Mediterranean beacons. Standing at a height of 19 metres and 42 metres above sea level, this corner of the island is lacking vegetation and the lighthouse is accompanied only by two stone army barrack lookout points in excellent condition. Visitors can reach Faro de Punta Nati by car or bicycle, with a limited parking lot available nearby. As Faro Nati is a hugely popular point to watch the sunset, access to the road is closed from the roundabout at Ciutadella during July & August for cars, and bus can be taken to the lighthouse from the centre of Ciutadella. 4. Faro de Sa Farola - West Our journey now takes us to the old capital of Ciutadella, where the elegant Faro de Sa Farola stands to greet all who arrive to the port both on land and by sea. Dating back to 1860, this historic lighthouse overlooks the bustling port and offers a glimpse into the island’s rich seafaring history. Standing at a height of just 13 metres, and 22m above sea level, visitors can reach Faro de Sa Farola by foot, with the lighthouse located just a short stroll from the city centre. You can walk right up to Sa Farola, arrive by bike or like many locals admire it as you pass by on the coastline for a stroll or swim in the cove next door with the same name. It has a beautiful little whitewash chapel ‘Ermita’ next door, making it arguably the most picturesque spot of all the lighthouses. 5. Faro de Artrutx - South West Continuing along the southern coast, we come to the charming Faro de Artrutx, nestled amidst the quaint fishing village of Cap d’Artrutx. Dating back to 1859, this slim tall lighthouse can be seen from afar when approaching Menorca by sea (19 nautical miles). Rising 35 metres above sea level, it offers panoramic views of the serene waters of the Mediterranean with a restaurant and sunset

Faro de Artrutx

D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

ISLAND NEWS bar operational during the summer months. Within walking distance from the Cala en Bosch resort area or parking in the surrounding streets, its a very popular and spectacular spot to enjoy the sunset any time of the year

MAY 2024

Isla del Aire

The final two in the list are different to the other five due to their limited accessibility: 6. Faro de Illa de l’Aire - South East Continuing southeastward, we come to the secluded ‘Air Island’, the islet that is home to the charming Faro de Illa de l’Aire. Built in 1860, this quaint lighthouse sits atop the rocky islet, surrounded by crystal-clear waters teeming with marine life. Standing at a height of 28 metres, this lighthouse shares the island only with a large colony of ‘Sargantana’ lizards, typically green in Menorca but unusually black on this small islet. Visitors can reach Illa de l’Aire only by boat and most can only appreciate it best from the point of Punta Prima Beach. Its isolation across the bright sapphire blue stretch of Punta Prima protects the biodiversity that continues to surround the lighthouse and thrive. 7. Faro de Sant Carles - East

Faro de Favàritx

Our final destination brings us to the Faro de Sant Carles, a testament to Menorca’s maritime and military heritage, it’s completely different to all the other beacons on the island in its appearance, history and location. Originally constructed in 1851, this historic lighthouse served as a vital navigational aid for ships traversing the treacherous waters of the Mediterranean. Its location is within the military zone at the tip of the port of Mahon, near the remains of the San Felip Castle. Due to its location within an active military practice zone the original lighthouse was demolishedin 1917 and replaced with a lower 10m high beacon (no ‘house’) so that the shortened tower was not obstructive to military activity. The smaller tower still serves its function to illiminate the entry to the large natural port of Mahón, guiding the hundreds of boats, yachts, cargo ships, ferries and cruise ships into the port every year. Although it is no longer an active military zone direct access to the remaining surrounding area remains restricted to visitors. Each lighthouse and viewpoint is sure to offer a distinctive perspective of Menorca and it’s well worth visiting all of them. It remains hard to believe that such varied contrasts in coastline can be found on such a small island.

Sa Farola

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

Punta Nati

ISLAND NEWS

THE

MAY 2024

BIG

INTERVIEW WITH

BEN GREIG Owner of Bambú Menorca

Ben and his wife Jules bought the former Bini Inn restaurant near Binibèquer Vell and transformed it into the beautiful sunset bar and restaurant Bambú Menorca, where you can enjoy wonderful sea views from the terrace or chill out in the Zen Garden. We talked to Ben to find out more about his life and career to date and how he came to open his first restaurant in Menorca. I met Ben at his house near Sant Climent, a lovely small marés finca with views over the countryside and a simple natural terraced garden. When I arrived, he was very pleased to have just received a renewed Golden Visa, which he obtained through his business investment in Spain 5 years ago. He was also testing out his latest obsession a ‘Big Green Egg’ BBQ, designed with NASA technology. It was mid-April and he was spending the week planning menus and tasting wines in preparation for the new season at Bambú

Ben Greig, owner of Bambú Menorca

Ben Explained how he came to open Bambú Menorca I first came to Menorca 40 years ago to stay at the house of my friend’s parents. Over the years I visited regularly before deciding to buy the house here in 2010 with my wife Jules. We have been together for 18 years and between us we have 6 children. On a family visit to Menorca in 2017 we went to Isabella Beach Club for the evening on the north coast at Playa de Fornells. We all thought how great it would be if there was a similar venue on the south coast nearer to our house. Then we saw that Bini Inn was for sale and it seemed the perfect location, overlooking the sea with spectacular sunsets. I have always been a foodie, travelling the world on my motorbike to try out street food and local delicacies in places such as Asia, Mexico and South America. I have been involved in running sandwich shops and have dabbled in catering (more on this later) but this is my first bar and restaurant. Having taken the plunge to buy Bini Inn, I lay on a beach in Cuba and read “The Idiot’s Guide to Starting and Running a Restaurant” multiple times. I used this as a blueprint to set up the business, as I have learnt over the years that having a commercial idea means nothing without the discipline of financial modelling and control of the figures. I am the first to confess that although I have great energy for starting businesses and setting them off on a firm footing, I then prefer to hand them over to others, far more capable than me, to run. Jules has a great instinct for design and knowing what customers want and she has been instrumental in the planning of the special spaces at Bambú. In truth it started as a small project and evolved into something much bigger, but we believe in maintaining quality and comfort with volume. Crucial to our success has been the really wonderful team of staff led by our fantastic General Manager Giacomo and his partner Niki, who runs front of house. Giacomo has great experience of managing restaurants and his charisma, knowledge and calmness is at the heart of Bambú. In the kitchen we have two talented joint head chefs, the very experienced Dean Lafosse and Alexandro, a younger chef who joined us from Valencia last season. In 2023 we employed 47 staff in the summer and this year 39 will be returning, which is a testament to the special team morale and atmosphere in the company which gives us great stability. We have created multiple different spaces to enjoy the wonderful sea views and sunsets in a relaxed environment with an Ibizan vibe. We like to be thought of as a ittle bit chic but relaxed, informal and never pretentious. You can eat outdoors on the terrace or inside in the restaurant and last year we ran at a capacity of 325 diners per night from mid-June to September, often in the privileged position of having a waiting list of 100+ people. Our clientele is drawn from the local catchment area which includes residents and tourists, it is roughly 40% British and 40% Spanish, with the rest from all around the world

D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

ISLAND NEWS

17 15

WINTER MAY 2024 2023

Do you have new plans for this year?

A career in Romania

This season we are adjusting our menu to offer a sharing plates experience rather than the traditional starters and mains. Also, for the first time, we will also be taking reservations for dining in the Zen Garden where you will be able to enjoy grilled fish, meat and vegetables fresh from our new Big Green Egg BBQs and served on rustic wooden platters dressed with herbs. We have a creative international menu with fresh, seasonal dishes of authentic taste and flavours, sourced locally whenever possible. Our most popular dishes include our prawn tempura, tuna tataki, galician octopus, grilled Iberian pork and our selection of Bao Buns. We have a menu of some 30 fresh dishes and cater for vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diners. We offer full sitdown meals but we will still be a venue where you can enjoy a few beers and Bao Buns for around 20 Euros while you soak up the atmosphere.

I set off to explore Europe in 1990 just after a series of revolutions had taken place across central and eastern Europe. I arrived in Romania in the aftermath of their bloody revolution when the country’s dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu was deposed and executed. Whilst exploring the country, I met a doctor who spoke English and he took me round to visit many businesses which were suffering from the freefall in currency. They were all desperate to buy goods and materials from abroad and I was in the right place at the right time to help one of these companies to import raw materials from the UK to make landing break parachutes for MiG fighter jets. They were not able to pay for the materials and so a barter system was agreed for them to pay in labour. I called up a UK Ministry of Defence contractor in Manchester and secured a contract to manufacture shorts for the British Royal Navy using this newly acquired labour force.

You opened Bambú in 2019 so it cannot have been all plain sailing We faced several challenges when we bought the business. Firstly, there were huge delays in our applications for planning, and then of course there was COVID which crucified all restaurants. There are many more rules in Menorca than I have been used to elsewhere and you need patience and understanding if you are going to succeed. There is an enormous amount of paperwork and complex labour contract laws making it very expensive to employ staff and of course Brexit has made it even more difficult. We have also had to deal with rising food and electricity prices and now a lack of affordable rental accommodation for staff. We have a great young team of locals, Spanish and South Americans who have somehow found themselves places to live. As this is Ben’s first restaurant, I was intrigued to find out more about his previous career I was born in 1965, the youngest of 5 children and grew up near Edenbridge in Kent. Now we live in Hartfield, East Sussex and we balance our time between there and Menorca but I also take plenty of time out to travel the world by motorbike. I have visited over 100 countries on various motorbikes over the years. I also have another obsession, seven colonies of bees which I keep in our garden in Sussex. I studied Psychology at Durham University, taking a year off to ride from London to Capetown on a Honda XL 600R motorbike. On graduating I secured my first job on a Graduate Training scheme with a shipping company in Liverpool. However, I only lasted 3 months, soon realising that I was not cut out for working in a big company or indeed having a boss at all! My first entrepreneurial venture was to design and build a simple floodlighting system for a tennis court to allow my friends to extend their playing time. We went on to design and build over 60 similar systems. However, I was soon itching to travel again and find new adventures.

This gave me a taste for textiles and working in outsourcing and I started my first company which has now been running for 34 years. In the 1990’s I established two factories in Romania, one manufacturing products using light sewing and another specialising in gluing life jackets and life rafts. In 1996 I was approached by Rom Telecom about setting up a factory to refurbish landline telephones from British Telecom in the UK. We called this company Britcom (later Cycleon) and it grew successfully until the advent of the mobile phone when we morphed into recycling and reconditioning small domestic appliances and petrol engine products, returned by customers in warranty, and sourced from across Europe. During my travels around Romania in the 1990’s I got fed up with living on warm coke and crisps and so I decided to introduce sliced bread to Romania. I bought a bankrupt bread factory in the UK and shipped it in containers to Romania. We made 900 loaves per hour of white English sliced loaves, taking advice from a Professor of Bread from the UK! This then expanded into a sandwich factory we called Snack Attack and then in 2000 we opened the first sandwich shop in Bucharest broadly along the lines of a ‘Pret a Manger’. By 2007 we had 28 stores in the city and so the next step was to move into outside catering, to make use of our large kitchen. Our company Flavours won the franchise for Masterchef Romania. Things grew and by 2007 I was employing around 1500 people across the different businesses, but I have since sold them on, closing the last textile factory in 2015. Today we retain an office in Bucharest with 15 people which concentrates solely on outsourcing production of semi-heavy technology textiles. We are currently heavily involved in the manufacture of body armour and camouflage clothing for the Ukrainian army. The new technology in warfare has meant that the soldiers need to be kept hidden from drones and specialist companies are coming up with ingenious solutions to keep them safe. So far over ¼ million sets of clothing and 100,000 pieces

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

ISLAND NEWS

of body armour have been manufactured by us, paid for by the NATO Alliance, and shipped to Ukraine across the border. This business was also affected by Brexit and so I now operate this business through a Spanish company called Matador Textiles. And so what of the Future? In Menorca we want to have a go at winning the concession to run Bucaneros in Binibeca. Currently the Ayuntamiento is only considering tenders to operate for one year but in future it may be possible to win the concession for a longer period. We feel we have a reasonable chance as our restaurant is close by and it would be easy for us to supply easy beach-friendly affordable food, choosing some of the items from our current menu and perhaps offering pizzas and food barbecued using one of our Big Green Eggs. Everyone with fond memories of the bar is hoping something can be organised in time for this summer, but it needs time to repair the infrastructure and time is marching on. Jules has a great love for animals. When she was younger, she used to hand rear orphan baby gorillas at Aspinal’s wildlife park. So this year we have chosen to support the animals looked after by Sam at the Trebaluger Equine Centre. We read about her work in Roqueta and went to visit and saw that she really needs more help. We are also setting up a dedicated page on our Bambú website to make it easy for people to make direct donations to this wonderful place. Jules and I are thinking we will spend more time in Menorca and perhaps downsize in the UK. We love this island because it is an unspoilt paradise, unpretentious, understated, easy going and natural, with special places such as Cala Rafalet and simple restaurants such as Txoko. We have a beautiful Capeador, a traditional Menorquín Llaut, called Samphire and we love to motor around the island in low season sleeping on board, chilling, and fishing. I have found a local fisherman who is teaching me a few tricks and it is starting to feel like this could become my next obsession.

Bambú Menorca, Passeig Marítim 38, 07711 Binibèquer Vell Tel: +34 971 358 969 https://bambumenorca.com

D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

ISLAND NEWS

19 11

MAY 2024

H OW

By Cathal Rochford, Partner, Blevins Franks

INVESTMENT CAPITAL AND INCOME I S TA X E D I N S PA I N Whether you just have bank savings, a large share portfolio, or own investment property, you need to be clear on how this capital and any income generated from it is taxed in Spain. Spanish tax residents are liable to local tax on their worldwide income, gains and wealth; non-residents will also be liable on any assets they own in Spain.

Notional rental income

Interest, dividends, capital gains etc For Spanish tax purposes, income is split into two categories with different tax treatment for each.

This tax also applies to empty overseas properties owned by Spanish residents. 50% of the acquisition price is used to calculate the annual charge which is 1.1% of the value.

The savings income (renta del ahorro) tax category covers:

Wealth taxes

• interest income • dividends • capital gains on the sale/transfer of assets • income from life assurance contracts • purchased annuity income

In Spain, the value of your worldwide assets is added up on an annual basis and if the total value exceeds the available allowances, you are subject to the wealth tax rules and potentially solidarity tax.

All your income for the year that falls into any of the above categories is added together and taxed at the following progressive rates.

Income Up to €6,000 €6,000 to €50,000 €50,000 to €200,000 €200,000 to €300,000 Over €300,000

Tax rate 19% 21% 23% 27% 28%

If you own a Spanish property that is not your main home, a purely notional rental income is deemed to arise for periods where the property is not actually let to a third party and therefore empty, and taxed as above. It is generally based on 1.1% of the official value (valor catastral) of the property.

Under state rules, each individual receives a €700,000 allowance, plus €300,000 on the main home. The Autonomous Regions can vary the allowances and rates and the Balearics increased the individual deduction to €3,000,000 from 2024. Tax rates then reach up to 3.45% for wealth exceeding 10,909,915. Solidarity tax applies the same principles but only to wealth above €3,000,000. You get the state allowances, so effectively it only impacts those with wealth above €4,000,000. This cannot be varied by regional rules. You only pay one of these wealth taxes, whichever is higher. Cryptocurrencies If you transfer or sell cryptocurrency, any gains would be subject to Spanish capital gains tax in the same way as if you sold shares (therefore at the savings tax rates listed above). You also need to include the value of your cryptocurrency in your wealth tax return. Exit tax

For residents, gains made on the sale of real estate would be taxed as above, unless it meets the criteria for being your main home in which case it is exempt. Non-residents pay tax at a flat 19% when selling Spanish property.

If you have a large investment portfolio and leave Spain to become resident elsewhere, you may have to pay Spanish tax on unrealised capital gains arising from your holdings in all types of companies and collective investment institutions.

Investment losses can be set off against other savings income gains, with a specific order.

This applies if you have been Spanish tax resident for 10 years out of the 15 years preceding departure, if the market value of the shares surpasses €4,000,000 or the total shareholdings exceed 25% and the shares market value exceeds €1,000,000.

Life assurance contracts An approved life assurance policy, where you hold your choice of investments within its ‘wrapper’, can provide tax advantages in Spain. Income and capital gains rolled up within the policy are not subject to tax, while only the gain element of withdrawals is taxed. Take specialist wealth management advice to establish if these arrangements would be suitable for you and how you could potentially benefit. Rental income Rental income is classed as general income (renta general), along with employment and pension income. In the Balearic Islands, the general scale rates of income tax start at 19% for income up to €10,000 and rise progressively to 49.5% for income over €300,000. For Spanish residents, a reduction of 60% is generally available against the net rental income before tax is payable – you can deduct running costs, local taxes, maintenance, agency fees, mortgage interest (but not capital) etc. This applies to long lettings where the property is used as a main home. Rental income received from long lets outside Spain also benefits. Non-residents living in an EU/EEA country are taxed on the net rental income from Spanish property after expenses at the flat rate of 19%. NonEU/EEA residents pay tax at 24% on the gross rental income (expenses cannot be deducted).

The ‘Beckham Law’ If you are eligible for this special tax regime for individuals who become resident in Spain as a result of working in Spain as employees, you do not pay tax on non-Spanish source investment income or capital gains tax on assets outside Spain. Wealth tax liability is restricted to assets located in Spain. Tax planning Living in Spain offers many benefits, and the lifestyle is very conducive to a healthy and happy retirement. Of course, like any country, there are some drawbacks, and a key concern for many people is taxation. But you do not necessarily need to fear taxation in Spain – some people even find they improve their tax situation by becoming resident. The Spanish tax regime does present tax mitigation opportunities – the way you hold your assets, and take income from them, can make a significant difference to how much tax you pay. Take specialist personalised advice to establish how much you may be able to improve your tax situation in the Balearics. The tax rates listed within this article are as at April 2024; they may change when the Spanish government later releases and approves its 2024 budget. Any statements concerning taxation are based upon our understanding of current taxation laws and practices which are subject to change. Tax information has been summarised; an individual should take personalised advice. Keep up to date on the financial issues that may affect you on the Blevins Franks news page at www.blevinsfranks.com.

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

ISLAND NEWS

MAY 2024

AI IN MENORCA

By Luke Miller

Writing about AI in print is a fresh experience for me. I usually dwell in the digital realm, where AI is making significant advances. I’ve been involved in comprehensive discussions with various individuals from Menorca during our free in-person AI learning sessions at Isla House Coworking in Mahon. Our discussions primarily revolve around how to utilise AI and its impact on daily life. The short answer is AI can be used nearly everywhere, and it already impacts our lives. However, its effects are less apparent than some amusing scenarios shared on Facebook. How is the world changing already? AI is taking over: 1. Repetitive digital tasks that follow a structured pattern. AI aims to relieve this administrative load from everyone. 2. Creative industries, which inherently do not have predefined outcomes. It is an experimental space without definitive starting and ending points. Hence, using AI models to design a logo or generate an image for my Facebook page is reasonable - it may be mediocre but not incorrect. AI is gradually gaining dominance at both ends of the spectrum. Where is AI currently used “at scale”? My main job involves tech sales for a San Francisco-based company offering AI solutions. Some parts of my role are already transforming. Although many people would be thrilled to see the end of salespeople, I’ll still be around for a while. However, our processes and team structures are rapidly changing. D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

ISLAND NEWS

21 11

This shift will infiltrate all industries, primarily in the name of “efficiency,” or more frankly, cost savings. The most effective implementations I’ve seen essentially address glorified administration. Many knowledge worker roles have turned into glorified admin roles over recent years, and this is precisely where AI will make significant advancements. It acts as a catalyst to an existing process rather than a complete job substitution. A popular saying in various circles currently is: AI won’t steal your job, but people who know how to use it might. The CEO of a well-known online payments company, Klarna, announced a few weeks ago that Klarna’s AI systems are currently doing the work of 700 customer service agents. They outsource their customer service, making it easier for them to compare AI System cost versus Outsourced Customer Service Partner Cost. This revelation shocked both online and offline industries. Why? For most businesses, customer service staff is either the first or second most expensive component. So, when a tech leader makes such a statement, it resonates with everyone - to stay competitive or gain an advantage, I need to employ AI. Momentum has already started on this front.

MAY 2024

FAQs When should I use AI? There’s no definitive answer to when AI should be used. The simplified approach I take is, I use regular Google Search when I want to explore various options. If I want a single answer that doesn’t need to be conclusive, I turn to ChatGPT. Building Context Adding more context here is essential. When I need an answer, it’s typically for a process or activity without a specific outcome. i.e. I need guidance on how to proceed next. With ChatGPT, I operate in a much more iterative manner, meaning I want to find an answer. I interact with ChatGPT as a co-pilot. We collaborate to achieve the desired outcome. What is ChatGPT terrible at? Numerous things. For instance, if you’re unsure of what you want to achieve and vague with the information (or context) you provide to get started, you’ll struggle to extract value from your interactions with ChatGPT. Therefore, the formula to find ChatGPT useful is: Clear objectives + Clear output structure + Clear inputs = Valuable output e.g., I want social media posts from ChatGPT.

Such a public announcement by a CEO suggests that many companies are now evaluating how AI can be integrated into their sales and customer service relationships. I can hear a collective groan, “Great, more bots that don’t understand my needs.” But the truth is, like any other tool, its effectiveness depends on how a company uses it. High-performing companies enable their personnel to spend more time with customers, better understanding their needs, while using AI to manage increasingly complex administrative tasks. Mediocre companies will deploy AI wherever possible, and the experience will often be a faster version of terrible.

Objective = I want 5 posts which are going to be posted daily this week. They can be a common theme.

So how does this apply to the Roqueta community?

• Provide a link to stock images that can be used.

While I’ve seen significant changes in high-tech companies, these changes are trickling down to businesses of all sizes. In our AI sessions, we’ve seen companies exploring how they can deploy AI across content marketing, idea generation, process improvement, lead generation, customer service, and sales.

For any AI-related questions, kindly email us at hola@islacoworking.com, and we’ll write about it in the next column.

This is also where we [our AI & Automation consultancy www.islacollective. ai] are implementing processes for businesses in Menorca. These businesses may not have large teams, but to stay competitive, they need to offer a global standard of customer service in multiple languages. We analyse their customerfacing processes and use automation and AI to address weaknesses or points of failure in the process while enabling them to focus on relationship-building activities in their business, rather than administration. There are numerous tools and service providers focusing on this in the market. Ultimately, the goal for most of these companies is to engage faster, more consistently, and in the customer’s preferred communication channel and language. For our real estate clients, this is essential when multiple agents list the same property. Their distinguishing factor must be the quality and speed of their service. We’re also seeing companies in the Tourism sector aiming to enhance their Customer Service, even when they’re struggling to maintain adequate staffing in Menorca. Some view this as an opportunity to relieve their Customer Service staff of administrative duties and allow them to focus more on client interaction. Lastly, we’re seeing companies in the Maritime Industry, which is quite strong in the Balearics, exploring how AI in their operations can more effectively supplement their staff, who need to deliver premium customer service to boat owners. In conclusion, AI is here. It’s proliferating rapidly and already influences your life today. Its future direction is uncertain, but it’s unlikely to turn into the terminator.

Output = It should be in the Instagram Stories format. Inputs = The reels are for my coworking business based in Mahon, Menorca. We’re in spring and building up to peak season. Theme: Highlight 5 amazing aspects of Menorca in the spring, including a reason for those who see the post to visit Isla House coworking. I want links on each post to refer back to www.islacoworking.com

p.s. Yes, my wife is ahead of you. She did suggest I may have just become an AI Agony Aunt.

SIDE NOTE: At Isla House, we understand the challenges faced by residents in Menorca, from overcoming language barriers to managing busy schedules that can make essential tasks daunting. That’s why we are excited to introduce GoCall.es—a dedicated concierge service designed to simplify your daily administrative tasks for life in Menorca. Give it a try -> WhatsApp us on +34 605 195 831 Whether you need to make restaurant reservations, schedule doctor’s appointments, or navigate local government appointment requirements, our team is here to provide the support you need to make your life easier and your transition smoother. Yes, we use AI to enhance our service, ensuring efficiency and accuracy, but we also have a dedicated team available to handle any exceptions or special requests. How does it work? Accessing your personal concierge is as simple as sending a message on WhatsApp—just like chatting with a friend. Our service is fully integrated within WhatsApp, ensuring a seamless and convenient experience. Behind the scenes, a combination of innovative technology and attentive personnel works diligently to manage your appointments for you. We are launching GoCall.es and would love your feedback. Normally priced at €21 / mth, we are offering an introductory rate of just €9 / mth for our early adopters. This special offer is available exclusively to the Roqueta audience for the month of May. Join us now to take advantage of this special offer and help shape the future of this invaluable service. Sign up QR code.

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

ISLAND NEWS

MAY 2024

By Beverley Ward

ISLA

DEL REY Alison Gurney

The first floor has come on very well and provides a wealth of information as the Interpretation Centre for the history of the Harbour of Mahon, well worth a visit! Our long-awaited ramp is ready and set to go; but we can’t do the work while the Art Gallery is open and receiving hundreds of people, so the plan is to do what we can now and until 11th May, then pause until October to complete the work. The lift, which is meanwhile going dusty and rusty in storage, still awaits the Municipal Licence to be installed. It will arrive one day….. We had received an alarming fine for the restoration work on the Church Hall which, thanks to very determined efforts from the General, our President Luis Alejandre, has been considerably reduced and political and administration bodies pacified. Our Volunteers

As the weather warms up the preparations also start to intensify for the coming season, and especially for the opening of Hauser & Wirth on 11th May. Our winter peace and quiet was changed in the nicest possible way by the Gwent Charity Brass Band on Easter Monday. Once again, (and they’ve been coming to Menorca for 25 years), we were treated to their delightful music which echoed off the walls of the old hospital and made the morning very special for us all. It somehow makes you feel good and happy! For those of you who have the chance to come back and visit, you’ll be able to appreciate the work in the Director’s Room which has a new floor and a general facelift; the gardens have benefited from an international group made up of Spanish, English, Syrian, American, English, Belgian and French working on the weeding and planting every week, come rain come shine they can be relied upon. There is a new medical room which is for the ear, nose and throat specialty and we’ve just about managed to complete this room with a considerable donation from a local doctor and all under the guidance of our Vice President, Dr Migual Timoner.

I’d like to mention some of our regular volunteers on the island, with some 12 different nationalities participating as volunteers, we’re such a mixed and interesting bunch! For example, Viviane and Daniel Perrier; a Belgian couple who have led a very unusual life teaching and travelling widely and to some very remote locations, amongst others in Central and West Africa and French Polynesia (where their daughter and granddaughter still live). Daniel Perrier

ISLAND NEWS

Viviane Perrier

23 11

MAY 2024

They settled on retirement in Menorca about 7 years ago and started volunteering on Isla del Rey in 2019, since which time they have both proved invaluable helpers. Daniel seems to be able to turn his hand to almost any manual jobs or repairs. He started on clearing rocks off the little beach and from there was promoted to repairing some very old and broken X-ray machines, and now is usually to be found up a ladder working on the electrical installation on the first floor. Always amenable and willing to help efficiently wherever we need him. Viviane has also proved her worth as totally flexible and multi-use: gardens, cleaning and sorting out of exhibition rooms, translations into French of the weekly report as well as of an information book, and guiding for French speaking visitors. I asked her what kept them coming back every Sunday and she told me they really enjoy the social aspect of volunteering, and the sense of purpose in that we’re all working towards a common goal of restoring the old hospital. There are plenty of volunteers who quietly spend their Sunday mornings in whatever area they most like, it could be for example restoration or pharmacy or gardens. Alison Gurney is one of these, always good natured and smiling, she doesn’t look for praise or attention but puts in such a lot of effort and dedication to what she does for us. A teacher from the UK, she came here to visit 14 years ago and started volunteering in the school holidays about 10 years ago, being intrigued to find out that some pottery discovered by our gardener Mike Puttock had been made close to her hometown in the UK. She loves being in the fresh air, and the plants have benefited from her tender loving care; also many visitors will have enjoyed her guided tour which she does during the busy summer days. She says she feels lucky to be part of the Foundation and appreciates the fact more than ever before that she was born in more recent times - having seen the old medical equipment of the past. If you would like to come and and visit us, tours at present only operate on Sunday mornings until 11th May, departing from the jetty of Calle Fontanillas, Es Castell. From that date, with the Gallery of Hauser & Wirth open, the yellow catamarans will be running as usual from Mahon and transporting people over to the island on the hour, every hour and returning every half past the hour. For the English tour you could come on the 11.00h catamaran on Tuesdays or Thursdays or on the 09.00h boat for Sundays (especially interesting when the volunteers are at work). Best to book first with the yellow catamarans on: https://www.yellowcatamarans.com/en/home. This September we will celebrate 20 years since our volunteering work began, and now you have a chance to see all the amazing work that has been done over that time. I hope you can come and join us for a visit or even maybe to help as a volunteer. If you need any further information you can check out our website https://www.islahospitalmenorca.org/en/home/ or contact me on: beverleyjeward@gmail.com

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

ISLAND NEWS

MAY 2024

ILLA SPA J A R D I D E S ES B R UIXES

Gosh, I am forcing myself to write this review, as I really don’t want to, as the beautiful Jardi de Ses Bruixes Illa Spa is a secret I want to keep all to myself! From Thailand to Mexico, Iceland to London, I’ve been to a few spas in my lifetime but this spa is one of my all time favourites, especially out of season when it’s a bit chilly in the autumn months, as you can hide out in the secret depths below the surface and warm your bones. The Jardi de Ses Bruixes is a pretty chic boutique hotel in the centre of Mahon (with sister properties in and around Mahon) but it is its Illa spa that is quite exceptional. At first perusal, the reception and changing rooms seem all too familiar of exceptional spas - polite and discreet staff and dressing rooms that you wished were a touch bigger - but then comes the big reveal and my goodness it is unexpected, humble and just delightful. After changing into soft robes and very clean water shoes and shower cap you are led down stone steps to a large wooden door that is opened in a grand yet composed gesture, delivering you into deep hidden cavernous caves of peace, warmth and tranquility. Whilst standing in the outer welcome cave, the spa staff inconspicuously enlighten you of the experiences to come. Their kindness and whispers already start to smooth out the tension.

By Larissa

One more big gorgeous wooden door to push and you are into the chambers of heaven. The first thing that greets you is the smell of an open wood burning fire, earthy and completely in keeping with the low-lit cave space. Guided around you’re introduced to the many water features that will entertain and relax you in equal measure. A very warm flotation cave, big enough to fit two or three stretched out horizontal beings, is magical, deep and perfectly salted for a relaxing hover. This is shoulder to shoulder with three different shower experiences that uses an array of coloured lights to entice and unwind the senses. Just around the cave corner is an expanse of more water surprises, from a pebble walk with powerful blasts to your lower limbs, to the hot and very coldwater dunks, to a surprisingly large underwater pool ladened with pressurised water massages for every part of your body, all housed in cave upon cave. If you follow the path back towards the huge wooden entrance door and climb down some more stone steps you will find a glass sauna and an expansive steam room. The spa is utterly spotless, relaxing, serene and enchanting in every way and what makes it even more special (and totally genius) is the limited number of guests they allow in at the same time. If you’re lucky, you might well be the only soul in there, your own private spa! My husband and I did book treatments, the Sa Serena a la carte for 85 mins, followed by a 25 mins flash facial (yes we were spoiling ourselves). We asked for the massage to be deep, with extra time spent on our heads. This is where a spa experience can go wrong, but this spa experience just kept on giving. Our masseuses, and I am going to name them both, were beyond brilliant. They absolutely knew what they were doing and they did it well, with a dignity and calmness that left us feeling absolutely wonderful, happy and content - and in this world that is not an easy task! Daniela, who was the lovely lady who helped me pick our treatments and dealt with all my changes of dates and time, was superb at massaging my husband, an Icelandic Viking who needs strength to tackle some of his aches and pains. Daniela, although tiny, was mighty! Eugenia was gifted to me, and it did feel like a gift. She handled me with extreme care and power, her hands felt incredibly healing. We both had our treatments together in a couple’s chamber, which was beautifully decorated with candles and fragrances to settle the mind. There were a few treatment rooms in the spa caves, it’s deceptively spacious for such a compact underground grotto.

D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

ISLAND NEWS

25 11

MAY 2024

It was our two daughters first time in a spa, and if I am honest, I had to gently coerce them to join us as you do with teenagers, but once they were in and immersed in the environment, they didn’t want to leave the underground haven! The Illa Spa is actually super reasonable. Our treatments, that also came with a 30mins free spa session was 165 euros per person (85mins Sa Serena a la carte and 25mins Facial flash). The entrance fee to just the spa, for nonguests, is 50 euros (over 16 years only). So there, I’ve done it, I’ve shared my secret. The best spa on the island and for me one of the best in the world for treatments, staff, environment and pure relaxation. Oh and I must also mention that just a few doors down is Ses Forquilles, one of our favourite restaurants in Mahon, so we naturally indulged in a light après-spa supper to complete our luxury experience - we couldn’t have asked for anything more perfect to start our Easter stay in Menorca. https://hotelsesbruixes.com/es/illa-spa/bienestar-ses-bruixes

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

FOOD & DRINK

MAY 2024

EATING

OUT

By Roqueta’s Team of Tasters

MAY 2024

PRICE GUIDE € = up to €30 €€ = €30-50 €€€ = €50-80 €€€€ = €80-100 €€€€€ = Sky’s the limit! In April we had some beautiful weather, and it was lovely to see many of the restaurants opening up again and full of people sitting on the terraces enjoying the sun. You still need to check the opening times as many are closed mid-week and open for long weekends. If you follow the MICHELIN Guide there are nine restaurants in Menorca that have achieved ‘Recommended restaurant’ status in the latest edition. They are: Mon Restaurant and Godai in Ciutadella; Molí de Foc in Sant Climent; Restaurante El Rais in the Port of Maó; Sa Pedrera d’es Pujol in Sant Lluís, Ca na Pilar in Es Migjorn; Es Cranc in Fornells; Santa Mariana near Alaior and Torralbenc Menorca near Cala en Porter. You can read the “MICHELIN Guide’s Point Of View” and see beautiful photos of the food and restaurants on the website https://guide.michelin.com/ Our readers have sent us updates of restaurants open in their local area: In Punta Prima: Green Garden stayed open all year but now Oveja Negra is open and doing Tapas. Also open….. Básico (still doing their black bread sandwiches, which taste like normal bread, but check your teeth before you leave!), Royal Cafe, Santi and Casa Fermin. In San Luis: Clementina, La Rueda, La Bolla, La Venta and S’Olivera are all open as well as Pan y Vino and Sa Pedrera des Pujol In Cala Torret: “The Bakery” is open Tues to Sunday 0800-1400 plus Alma Salada, CalaMar, Restaurant Barracuda, Taberna del Corso, Cocoon Food and Fun, and El Faro In Binisafua: Restaurant Club Nautic and Thai Menorca are open and never forget, El Txoko. La Calita is open in Biniancolla (formerly Baia) and Paupa in Binibeca. Cardamom Indian Restaurant in the Port of Mahon has opened a second restaurant called Akhayas Indian Restaurant in the resort of Los Delfines, Ciutadella, near to Jimmy Hills and Haiti. In Mahon: Bar Augustin has a new image, a new bar space and announced it is now ‘married’ to Restaurant Candela next door. Ay mi madre is a new Tortillería in Carrer de l”Eglesia 26, Mahon open from 10am- 4pm for vermut, pinchos, tapas and more to eat in and take away. La Perla Kitchen and Bar is open down the quaint cobbled side street in Carrer D Alaior 12. Try Vedran’s famous Balkan style beef and lamb sausages or his Balkan filo pastry pies with Spinach and Feta.

XAUXA Moll de Ponent, 14, 07701, Mahon. Tel. 620 872 718. €€ By Veronica Xauxa, roughly translated to mean “enjoyment or to feel akin to a party atmosphere” is located opposite the old ferry terminal, an area of the Port which, after some years of neglect, is now re-emerging as a vibrant and increasingly popular area for dining out. The restaurant is the inspiration of Javier Cardona and Luis Beguristain, born in Menorca and friends since childhood. After working on the mainland, they returned to the island to open a small bar/restaurant. After researching the location, they then transformed the building into the result we see today – helped along the way by family, friends and professional input from an external design agency. Their combined efforts of 3 years’ hard work resulted in the opening of Xauxa in April ‘21. Xauxa has recently re-opened for the season. Chef, Dani Delgado Miro, also a friend of the owners, has been at the helm in the kitchen since the start and his input is very evident in

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

FOOD & DRINK

the unique style of the dishes. The menu, whilst reasonably small, is a testament to fresh produce, perfectly cooked and beautifully presented. It comprises of a number of tapas dishes, perfect for sharing or to stand alone as a starter; salads, rice, fish and meat dishes follow, the latter mainly focusing on various cuts of beef. To end the meal, there are a selection of tempting desserts. The wine list is reasonably limited – but very acceptable wines are included at affordable prices. We only came across Xauxa towards the close of the 2023 season but have visited a few times since it reopened this year and it will now be a regular haunt for us. The restaurant décor is fresh and inviting, made all the more so because of the friendly and efficient staff – customer service obviously rates highly here. The food is of high quality at extremely reasonable prices. Our most recent meal comprised of two starters: the tuna tartare served with kimchee mayonnaise in baskets of crispy nori seaweed and rice; artichoke flowers with jamon; and warm crystal bread with fresh tomato – some of the best I have tasted! For mains, my husband opted for the seabass in leek and saffron sauce, accompanied by candied shallots, carrots and sauteed asparagus; I chose the 90 days aged beef which is served “blue” at the table, accompanied by a hot stone from the kitchen oven on which to cook the beef to your liking – it melts in the mouth! For dessert we chose yoghurt and triple chocolate mousse. The total bill, including a G&T, glass of wine, two bottles of water and coffee – came to 100 euros – with a complimentary choice of liqueur at the close of the meal. I strongly recommend an advance reservation as the season progresses; the restaurant was fully booked, both inside and out, when we visited on a Thursday evening in early April.

MAY 2024

Oh and with a busy summer ahead, there is the benefit of a car park opposite the front door, I will be back, frequently! Following on from their success, they are opening an additional new restaurant S’Aturadeta del Jardins on 20 May in the former El Picadero Restaurant, on route to Sant Lluis at Avinguda de Josep Anselm Clavé, 388, Mahón. There will be less tapas on the menu with more individual starters and mains. A review will be forthcoming in a future edition. Open 12:00 to 22:30 Closed Tuesday & Wednesday

From 1st May: Closed Monday; open for dinner Tuesday-Thursday 7.30pm11.30pm; lunch and dinner Friday & Saturday 12.30pm-4.30pm & 7.30pm to late; lunch only on Sunday 12.30pm-4.30pm.

S’AMARADOR Carrer de Pere Capllonch, 42, 07760 Ciutadella Tel 971383524 https://samarador.com €€€ By Larissa Trew

S’ATURADETA Avinguda de Josep Anselm Clavé, 52, Mahon, Tel: 871047005 saturadetamenorca.com/ € By Sharon Pickersgill You could be forgiven for passing this little cafe thinking the menu reflects the look. Located next to the laundry, La Wash, and in search of a beverage to pass the time, I already knew that they served delicious coffee during the day but what I hadn’t appreciated was just how much this venue comes alive at night. Look up “all restaurants” on TripAdvisor, you will note that S’Aturadeta are listed #2 in all of Menorca, and deservedly so. Cozy booth seating is available for 4 in the main bar area and a high table with bar stools and clever lighting in a semi-private area at the rear accommodates parties of up to 8 people. The menu (which is available throughout the day) is full of traditional tapas from a variety of homemade croquettes, sizzling garlic prawns, to tender slow cooked oxtail. It’s hard not to choose one of every dish. The party piece however has to be the rice dishes. We tried both the Arroz de Senyoret (seafood €16.50) and the Juicy Rice with Pork Ribs and Shitake Mushrooms (€15.50) which were equally the best rices I have experienced on the island. Sadly we ordered so much we had no room for dessert but next time I know better to leave some space for a homemade pudding. It was all so good my mouth is drooling in memory of all these delicious dishes as I type. There are burgers and salads on the menu as an alternative, but for a truly local culinary experience, along with dedicated service from Manel and his team, and a very reasonable wine list, I urge you to give this restaurant a try.

I’m starting to see a pattern, I mentioned it to my husband the other day, as every time we pop to Ciutadella to browse the shops and take in the harbour and all the historical sights, we seem to gravitate to the same restaurant each visit. Now I do like to try new things, I actually become a little obsessed with the flourish of restaurant openings each season, but it seems that the inquisitive part of me leaves when we hit the other side of the island. Time and time again I find myself relieved to be sitting either in the garden terrace (during the cooler months) or right out front on the harbour terrace ordering from the menu of S’Amarador, knowing whatever I order is going to be spot on. The one thing I applaud S’Amarador for, is staying open all year round, especially now with the crazy lack of flights to and from this stunning island. S’Amarador is predominately a seafood restaurant but don’t be fooled, the meat options are excellent with my daughter always favouring the melt in the mouth baked lamb tournedos with rosemary sauce, that is both delicious and bountiful. We started with an array of shellfish to all share; small scallops seared in their shells with a creamy decoration of avocado, lightly grilled and flavoured; clams, which we opted for to be cooked with garlic and onion, are the best on the island in my opinion and of course mussels which our charming waiter convinced me to have grilled with alioli on the side. I will be forever grateful to him for his recommendation, as they were perfectly salty as the sea juices had evaporated through the mussel to give an enriched taste. My new favourite. Obviously, we had a side of tomato bread, which if you’ve read a few of my reviews, I think is a sign of a good restaurant and plates to come – it’s got to be crispy crusty shallow bread with a light dusting of tomato and a sprinkle of salt. S’Amarador gets it right. The garlic and onion sauce from the clams did actually deserve doing a scarpetta (little shoe bread mop-up), so we did take on big starters, however, the pace of which the lunch was served allowed us to calmly drink our wine and prepare for the next round. As it was our first trip back to Ciutadella this year, again due to flights (don’t get me started!) we chose the rice paella with shellfish and boy was it good.

D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

FOOD & DRINK

It was the perfect balance between the crispy Barcelona type paella we love but with more rice and shellfish per serving. Again, one of the best paellas on the island, we wish we could emulate this at home, but no matter how much we try, there is just a traditional and secret way of doing it, and S’Amarador has got it just right! We didn’t have dessert, instead we drank a fine brandy with our coffee and watched the world go by. For the three of us, with one bottle of cheaper rose, it was around 240 euros, which for us Londoners is bloody good value for money. Being situated on the corner at the end of the harbour looking out to sea, you’d pay just for the view, but with S’Amarador you get damn fine food and service too.

MAY 2024

top of the cliffs providing you with an almost 360-degree view of the stunning Sa Mesquida beach and its tiny fishing village, Cap Roig inhabits a place of natural beauty and ever-changing sea views. You can choose from three areas to dine; near the entrance in the shaded outdoor area, inside fully protected from the sun and wind, or towards the back of the restaurant with its outside terrace and gaping windows open or closed dependent on the weather. What is quite fabulous about Cap Roig is it doesn’t rely on its perfect position to attract its loyal customers, it puts real effort into its cuisine and service and maintains sensible prices for both food and wine. The menu is unpretentious and well thought out and hosts all the usual offerings from the island with an assortment of fish and shellfish, as well as a couple of meat dishes. In the past I’ve toyed with Cap Roig, not sure whether to put it in my top 10 restaurants to regularly visit, but after dining there in April this year, it is now firmly in my top 5 - reappraised and repositioned! We’ve eaten here many times and mostly opt for a blind (ready to eat, with no bones) fish paella and a noodle paella both at a very reasonable price of 21-22 euros per person. They do paella very well here, but I have to say, they do all the dishes well. To start, this time around we had melon with cured ham - a good size portion, which is easily shareable; oven-baked clams from Menorca, which are placed individually on a plate of sea salt and are delicious (we’ve also had the fresh Menorcan clams, which are served cold and raw and are equally divine); our usual steamed mussels that are salty and sweet at the same time (the mussels mariners also have incredible flavours, nice and light); and anchovies from L’Escala alongside a portion of crispy tomato bread, perfectly prepared.

VILLA LE BLANC Gran Melia Urbanització Santo Tomàs Playa, H2, 07749 Sant Tomàs. 971370050 €€€€ As a little bonus, I popped into the sister restaurant of S’Amarador at the Villa le Blanc, Gran Melia in Sant Tomas, just to see if it lived up to the original. The ocean view was rather spectacular, but the food, although good, just doesn’t have the finesse or depth of flavour as its Ciutadella twin. We had razor clams, steamed mussels and clams to start with which were all ok, but not for the price! The razor clams and steamed mussels were incredibly fresh, salty but simple and served as advertised but the clams – that were meant to be served with a saffron cream – were a little tasteless. Paella seems to be our choice of main at the moment, so we opted for the fish and shellfish to share. It was nice, the rice had a good bite to it and it was flavoursome, but it lacked something. We didn’t quite finish it all, and didn’t take the rest home. The service although polite was very slow, but it was the beginning of the season with inexperienced staff, who I am sure will improve will the fullness of summer. The wine was very over-priced as was the food, but it is a luxury hotel with fabulous views, so you’d expect to pay more. I will definitely go back to the Villa le Blanc, but maybe I’ll try the Italian next time.

On other visits we’ve tried the shrimp cocktail, which is juicy with a good homemade sauce; garlic and fried shrimps (like, but don’t love, but I’m used to over-garlicky Portuguese shrimps which you can’t really compare); chopped cuttlefish with sobrasada, which is very tasty and again enough to share; and fried baby squid, which are nicely seasoned and not too greasy. We have sampled a selection of fish, which are served plainly grilled or deep fried - I would prefer a little garlic butter on the fish or something along those lines but that’s just me - all come with vegetables and potatoes or whatever you want really. They have great dessert options too not that we can ever fit in as many as we’d want, but they are a good size for sharing. Cap Roig is a favourite with locals too with Sunday lunches packed out with large families feasting away. The jovial atmosphere mixed with the view, makes this place an absolute must when eating out in Menorca. The staff are kind and inclusive and it opens early in the season and stays open as late as it can into the autumnal months. For a greedy family of four, with wine and soft drinks the bill came in around 230 euros. Well worth it - we are already planning a trip back this summer.

SA LLIGA MARÍTIM Moll de Llevant, 292, 07702 Maó, Tel 871538437 https://salligamaritim.com/ €€ Sa Lliga is open again in the Port of Mahon with a new chef. Over the winter the staff have been working in the Restaurant AQUA above which caters for many weddings and events. When we visited Sa Lliga in April they were offering paellas at lunch time from 18€ and a special dish of Conejo al Ajillo in the evening in addition to their usual menu..

ES MOSSETT 15 CAP ROIG Carrer Gran de sa Mesquida, 13, 07701 Sa Mesquida. Tel: 971188383 https://www.restaurantcaproig.com/ €€€ By Larissa Trew We are always greeted at the door with a firm handshake and smile as if we are life long friends, and that’s just the start of what has always been a very lovely lunch at Cap Roig. For those who know Cap Roig, you will not be surprised that I am going to hark on about the view before I get stuck into telling you about the food. The positioning of the restaurant is by far the best on the island, you simply can’t beat it. Perched on

Plaça dels Pins, 15, 07760 Ciutadella de Menorca, Tel 971484040 € esmosset15.com/ Es Mossett 15 is open all year round in the popluar Plaça dels Pins in Ciutadella. Our friend Mike chose a burger the last time we visited and said it was one of the best he had ever tasted. We returned to try them ourselves and opted for the Guacamole Exquisita with guacamole, tomato, lettuce, cheese, caramelised onion and a Mexicana with cheese, onion, bacon, tomato, lettuce, spicy mexican sauce. They come with beef, crunchy chicken, vegetarian and vegan burger options in 150g or 300gr sizes and include fries or a salad. The restaurant specialises in meat from the grill and the beef burgers were fat, juicy, and delicious… Mike was right. If you live in Ciutadella they offer home delivery.

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

FOOD & DRINK

MAY 2024

ROQUETA RECIPE SEA BASS CEVICHE FROM THE SEASONAL MENU

BY DEAN LAFOSSE AND ALEJANDRO CORRAL SOTO Head Chefs Bambú Menorca

INGREDIENTS Fresh Sea bass Strawberries Mango Red Onion Cucumber

160g 20g 20g 20g 20g

Juice of 2 limes Juice of one orange Coriander 5g Fresh Chilli 5g Radish 5g

METHOD 1. Cut the sea bass into 1 cm pieces and add the juices 2. Cut the strawberries and mango into 1 cm pieces 3. Chop the red onion, cucumber, fresh chilli and radish 4. Mix all the ingredients together with chopped coriander 5. Let the ceviche rest for 5 minutes and serve

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

FOOD & DRINK

MAY 2024

By Michael Stevenson

UNDERSTANDING

CASTILLA Y LEON 7KH ODQGORFNHG UHJLRQ RI &DVWLOOD \ /HRQ LQ QRUWKZHVWHUQ 6SDLQ LV KRPH WR D GLYHUVH UDQJH RI WHUURLUV SURGXFLQJ DQ HTXDOO\ YDULHG DVVRUWPHQW RI ZLQHV 7KLV ZLGH H[SDQVH RI WHUULWRU\ LQFRUSRUDWHV DW OHDVW WKUHH PDMRU '2V GHQRPLQDFLRQ GH RULJHQ UHJLRQV DQG QXPHURXV RWKHUV JLYLQJ D KXJH VFRSH IRU ZLQH H[SORUDWLRQ ZLWK PDQ\ VW\OHV WR FKRRVH IURP :LWK FROG ZLQWHUV YHU\ KRW VXPPHUV DQG GULYLQJ ZLQGV WKDW UXVK DFURVV WKH KLJK 0HVHWD &HQWUDO WKLV YDVW UHJLRQ H[SHULHQFHV DQ H[WUHPH FOLPDWH ZKLFK SURYLGHV VRPH RI WKH EHVW FRQGLWLRQV IRU YLWLFXOWXUH LQ WKH ZKROH RI 6SDLQ Much of this region is hidden. Bierzo is tucked away in a valley concealed by the surrounding mountains. Vineyards in the hills of Salamanca and Arribes are so off the beaten track that even the most intrepid of wine lovers may never reach them, and many of the traditional cellars of Ribera del Duero, Cigales and Arlanza are hidden underground in caves with only their chimneys visible above ground, very Hobbit-like. Castilla y Leon sits on the Meseta Central plateau surrounded by mountain ranges including the Cantabrian mountains and the Picos de Europa. The average altitude is 830m. The region accounts for 8.9% of the vines planted in Spain (83,038 hectares in 2022). There are 13 delimited sub regions (DOs). These are Arlanza, Arribes, Bierzo, Cebreros, Cigales, Leon, Ribera del Duero, Rueda, Tierra del Vino, Zamora and Toro. Of the other classifications there are 3 Vinos de Calidad: Sierra de Salamanca, Valles de Benavente and Valtiendas, and three Vinos de Pagos: Abadia Retuerta, Dehasa Penalba Bodegas Vizar and Heredad de Uruena. In a region dominated by red wine production , DO Rueda bucks the trend. About 99% of the grapes are white, 88% of which are the Verdejo. It is wildly popular in the Spanish market, though the grape was only introduced to Rueda in the 1970s. The wine is typically light and crisp with hints of lemon, lime and peach coupled with a note of bay leaf. DO Ribera del Duero is the best known in the region producing red wine and a minute amount of Rosado. The red grape variety is Tempranillo known locally as Tinto Fino and/or Tinta del Pais. 98% of vineyards are planted with this grape and many of those vines are more than 100 years old. Until the 1970s the only real success

was Vega Sicilia. Then in the early 1980s a group of wine producers and growers banded together with the intention of promoting the quality of their wines as well as enforcing regulatory standards. The reds come in many styles similar to Rioja. Joven which is young and medium bodied, full of ripe strawberries and black plum fruit. Crianza and Reserva styles are more concentrated and full bodied, full tannins and spicy, whereas Gran Reserva are full bodied with supple tannins, complex layers of tertiary flavours. DO Bierzo on the westerly edge of the region has now become very popular for its red wine, made from the Mencia grape. These are aromatic, midweight, crunchily fresh wines and the white wines are made from the Godello grape. Look out for the wines made by Raul Perez and Ricardo Perez Palacios (no relation). Bierzo wines are widely available in Menorca. Toro is a small DO on the River Duero, famed for its bold reds made from the Tinto de Toro grape which is related to Tempranillo. The climate is continental with temperatures ranging from -10 degrees C in winter to 37 degrees C in summer. The elevation of the vineyards is between 650 to 825m with the lowest rainfall of the entire region. Toro wines have the ability to age extremely well. Some of the Toro wine producers are Pintia (owned by Vega Sicilia), Numanthia, Matsu and Elias Mora. DO Cigales is one of Spain’s largest producers of vinos rosados. It is in the centre of Castilla y Leon with the Pisuerga River, the Duero River’s second largest tributary running through it. It has a continental climate. Tinta del Pais (Tempranillo) is the main grape grown here with Verdejo, Garnacha Tinta and Gris. Rosado accounts for 64% of its wine with 34% red with 2% white. Producers are increasingly turning to red wine rather than rosados; this may be because Cigales rosados are “clarete” which is darker than the rather insipid rosados which are fashionable at present. The other DOs and Vinos de Calidad have only been created within the last few years and have yet to appear on our Menorcan wine sellers shelves but I am sure they will given time. If you do see any I would be very pleased to hear from you. HERE ARE MY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MAY. HAPPY DRINKING.

TINTO PETIT PETTACUM 2020, MENCIA, BIERZO, 14.5% ABV, 7.75€ ENRIQUE PENALVER Dark red, intense red berry fruit on the nose. Juicy and fresh on the palate with a classic balance, spicy with a hint of liquorice. Very moreish. Good with cold beef and grilled meats.

D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

FOOD & DRINK

MAY 2024

ENTRELOBOS 2021 TINTO FINO VINE DOS SINGULARES SL, RIBERA DEL DUERO, 14.5% ABV, 10.65€ DE VINS Deep red with a purple rim, opens into delicious fruit aromas. Sweet ripe fruit with hints of oak and spice. Lovely balance with great ageing potential and some length. Good with grilled, roast and stewed meat or hefty vegetarian dishes. BIGARDO 2019, TINTA DE TORO, TORO, 14% ABV, 13.60€ DE VINS Very dark red, black fruit and spices on the nose. Fresh, structured, mid to full bodied, hint of dark cherries and plums, almost porty. Lovely finish. Good with BBQs, sausages and grilled meat. PRUNO 2019, FINCA VILLACRECES, TINTO FINO, RIBERA DEL DUERO, 14% ABV,12.50€ DE VINS Cherry coloured with a garnet rim, lovely ripe fruit nose with hints of liquorice and coffee. Soft ripe sweetish red fruit, meaty and spicy with great balance and structure and a very long finish. A good meat and stew wine.

ROSADO MOJALPICO ROSADO 2022, GRAPE VARIETY PRICTO PICUDO, DO LEON (CASTILLA Y LEON), 13.5% ABV, 6.60€ DE VINS Bright raspberry pink, with red berry fruits and floral hints on the nose. Smooth and ripe , a tasty red berry palate with a slight prickle - rather cheeky. Good as an aperitif and with light tapas. MILIARIO ROSADO ECO,BIERZO, 13% ABV, 9.31€ ENRIQUE PENALVER Light ruby colour, ripe berry nose. Fresh and light with a tasty red berry palate, good balance and finish. Very drinkable. Good as an aperitif and with light tapas.

BLANCO MARQUES DE RISCAL, VERDEJO, RUEDA, 13% ABV, AROUND 9.25€ EROSKI AND WIDELY AVAILABLE Pale straw in colour with a gooseberry and grassy nose. Light and crisp, very refreshingly dry, good balance, clean but tasty with a distinct good finish. A very good aperitif and good with shellfish. JOSE PARENTE 2023, VERDEJO, RUEDA, 13% ABV, 13.95€ DE VINS Bright golden yellow with citrus and minerals on the nose. Crisp with citrus and peaches on the palate. Ripe, classy and elegant with lovely balance and a long dry finish. One of Ruedas leading Verdejos. Good with shellfish and light fish dishes. ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

GRAPEVINE

MAY 2024

GRAPEVINE

KATHERINE ROWBERRY THE FISH FRIENDLY CLEANING COMPANY Katherine Rowberry first arrived in Menorca on the 20m sailing yacht ‘Lady of the Sea’ in 2001. Katherine’s unique combination of experience in the environmental and boating sectors has resulted in her setting up the Fish Friendly Cleaning Company. Here she tells us about her career and how it has led to the new company. The Fish Friendly Cleaning Company was formed to bring together both my knowledge and experience of the environmental and nautical sectors into something I feel passionately about. I grew up in Gosport near Portsmouth and studied Physical Geography at University. I decided that water quality issues were where my interest really lay and went on study for a Masters in Freshwater Management. Following this, I was lured away to sea by my now husband, Pete, crewing a sailing yacht from England to Menorca which was how I was first introduced to the island. We lived onboard for 2 years, and it was very different back then, before you could get the internet or TV on your phone. We were moored outside Latitude 40, where we went to play backgammon, and Nicky Terry was the first person we met on arrival. We were in the harbour on the day of the Tsunami in May 2003. We were washing up after dinner on the boat when Pete went on deck and saw the water going down. Luckily, we were able to adjust our lines and avoid any damage as the water returned and receded several times between 9 and 11:30pm. Many boats weren’t so lucky and the mussel farms in the harbour were washed away by the oscillations, all caused by the earthquake in Algeria. D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

GRAPEVINE

Over a couple of years, we sailed the Balearics, Corsica and were lucky enough to do a transatlantic crossing. On my return to the UK, I had an amazing opportunity to work at The Green Blue, a joint project between the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) and British Marine Federation which promoted environmental awareness to boat users. I carried out similar projects as an Environment Officer for Langstone Harbour Board, working with the RSPB and Wildlife Trust and promoting best practice in recycling schemes. In 2009 we returned to Menorca and became residents when Pete took up a full-time position as skipper of a Fairline Squadron motorboat. Since then, I have spent many years working professionally in the marine industry. I am an RYA Yachtmaster and a PADI Scuba Instructor and have had a variety of jobs skippering motorboats, polishing, painting and managing boats, and running the office of a yacht charter company. To build up my strength for work, I signed up with a personal trainer on the island, and this also involved extra running for fitness. The running soon became my passion and through this I discovered trail running. I have taken part in the 85km Es Castell to Ciutadella section of the Cami de Cavalls, which took me 11 hours and 59 mins (just made it!) and I came 3rd in my age group. Trail Running is now bringing a lot more athletes to Menorca. Menorca Illa de Trails has 4 events and I took part in the Trail de Nord on 13th April which covers 25km from Cala Pilar to Cala Tirant. The Issue of Boat Cleaning My understanding of boats and the special requirements of their surfaces, combined with my passion for protecting our precious waters and aquatic life, has led me to start the Fish Friendly Cleaning Company. The natural beauty of Menorca and its coastline is incredible, so much so it was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve back in 1993. The surrounding waters support an array of marine life with seagrass beds playing a vital role in this marine ecosystem providing food and shelter for many species. Growth within the nautical sector on the island, an increase in the number of moorings and more visiting boats is great for the island’s revenue but it is vital that we as users, and as an industry, do what we can to minimise our impact on this fragile environment and protect the future of boating on the island. There are steps everyone can take to help minimise the impact of boating on the marine ecosystem that doesn’t take a lot of effort but can make a big difference. One of the simplest and cheapest ways is to ensure that whatever cleaning products being used onboard and to washdown don’t cause harm to the marine environment when entering the water. At home, domestic cleaning products are treated before returning to rivers and lakes to remove most harmful chemicals and contaminants. However, on a boat any wastewater enters the sea directly, so it is even more essential to choose your products responsibly. Standard domestic and marine soaps and detergents can contain phosphates, microplastics, chlorine, ammonia, potassium hydroxide and solvents, all of which are potentially harmful to aquatic life. There has been a traditionally held view that eco-friendly boat washdown products don’t actually work. Maybe there was an element of truth in that theory in their early days but with a growing demand in this market things have significantly improved and with the dedicated marine products it is hard to tell the difference in performance. The best products now use biotechnology: naturally sourced surfactants to ‘eat’ or lift dirt from the surface. For example, traditional teak cleaners use acid to burn dirt from the teak whereas it is now possible to buy teak cleaners that will use harmless bacteria and enzymes to remove dirt from a surface in a natural, harmless way. One such line of products is made by Ecoworks Marine who

MAY 2024

produce a range of marine cleaners specifically for the materials and surfaces found on boats. These cleaners also avoid using harsh chemicals which are so much kinder to you and your boat. When hours have been spent polishing and waxing the fibreglass to a beautifully smooth and glossy finish, why would you then want to undo all that hard work and money by applying degreasers or acid to it? What to look for in an eco-friendly cleaning product. This is not always as clear-cut as it sounds; terms such as “eco-friendly”, “biodegradable”, “organic” and “non-toxic” are not regulated, leading to many companies greenwashing and misleading their well-meaning customers. It is easy to claim that products are green but many products have nothing to verify this. To ensure you are buying a genuine eco-friendly product there are certain things to look out for. Always read the label and avoid ingredients such as phosphates, chlorine, VOC’s , ammonia and polyethylene (microplastics). The best products will also be PH neutral, vegan friendly and come in superconcentrated formulas in recycled packaging. The EU Eco Label is a voluntary scheme promoting goods and services that clearly demonstrate environmental excellence, based on standardised processes and scientific evidence. You know if you are buying an item that has this label you are buying something that genuinely does not cause harm to the environment. Of course, there is always the completely natural way of using lemon juice, bicarbonate of soda, salt, water and plenty of elbow grease! Save water whilst keeping you and your boat clean. Available fresh water is one of Menorca’s biggest problems with regard to sustainability and has been a matter of debate for the last 25 years (Menorca Preservation Society). This is especially so in the summer months when water is particularly scarce, and the population multiplies with visitors. Boat users can play their part in helping conserve this resource by adopting a few simple measures. • Regularly wax fibreglass -maintaining a good waxy surface will help prevent the build of dirt and salt causing less staining and needing less water and soap to washdown. • After using your boat, wipe off the salt before it has too much time to harden by just using a chamois and freshwater in a bucket rather than the hose. If you are onboard on a damp, dewy morning, utilise this lovely soft water and remove dirt and dust with just a chamois. • When using a hose, always have a pistol on the end and turn it off when not in use and supervise filling of water tanks to prevent overspill. It sounds obvious, but you would be amazed how much water from hoses and water tanks can be seen running directly into the sea when you walk round a marina in the middle of summer. • Have what I call a ‘sailing shower’ – wet down, turn off shower, soap/ shampoo, turn on shower, rinse, turn off shower, apply conditioner, rinse. The Fish Friendly Cleaning Company can help you with all your boat cleaning and preparation needs. We offer external wash downs, internal cleans, yearround guardiennage, detailing, victualing and boat preparation. Call or whatsapp +34 608588028 or email pkrowberrymarine@gmail.com to discuss how we can care for your boat.

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

MAY 2024

EL CASTILLO DE SAN FELIPE IN THE PORT OF MAHON By Fernando Serrano Llabres

During the course of this war, the British took control of Gibraltar in 1704 and then Menorca in 1708. Once he realised what a magnificent harbour Port Mahon was, Lord Stanhope told Queen Anne never to give back to Spain Gibraltar nor Menorca. The War of Succession ended, and the Duke of Anjou became the new King of Spain, named Felipe V. Through the treaty known as the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, Spain gave Gibraltar and Menorca to Britain and their people became British subjects. Over the next 44 years Britain carried out intense works and improvements to the Castillo and it became one of the largest, most magnificent fortresses in Europe. The British engineers gave it more depth and breadth, building new ramparts, ravelins (triangular fortifications) and other outworks around the old Spanish castle, giving it its characteristic 8-point star shape with moats that linked to each other at different levels.

A plan of St Philips Castle and fortifications in the island of Minorca. 1780.

It In the year 1535, the town of Mahon was under attack from the Ottomans, led by the infamous Barbarossa. They came to Menorca to seek revenge for the conquest of Tunis by the Emperor of Spain, Carlos I. In their killing rampage they murdered over 100 people and took away nearly 100 more to sell as slaves. The town was severely damaged and a few days later they sailed off with their prize.

In 1756, Castillo came under attack and was taken over by the French, after the successful landing of the troops of Marshal Richelieu, and the naval victory of La Galissonière against Admiral Byng. The French ruled Menorca for the next seven years. They added a few improvements of their own to the outer works of the fortress. At the end of the ‘Seven Year War’ the French gave Menorca back to the British in 1763.

The survivors who had escaped from the carnage returned to the town to find their homes burnt to the ground. They appealed to the Emperor Carlos V to build a castle to defend the entrance of the Port of Mahon from further attacks. It was the emperor’s son Felipe II who gave the order for the castle to be built and it was in his honour that it was named Castillo de San Felipe. The castle was built on the southern shore of the mouth of the port of Mahón, following the design of the Italian engineer Juan Bautista Calvi. It took nearly 50 years for the castle to be completed. It was square with a bastion in each corner facing the four cardinal points; north, south, east and west, surrounded by a narrow and deep moat dug into the stone. Once completed, 200 men and 24 canons were deployed in El Castillo, which stood in a commanding position overlooking the harbour entrance. In 1700, at the death of the childless Carlos II, known as the Bewitched and the last of the Habsburg dynasty to rule Spain, the War of Succession to the throne began between Philip Duke of Anjou and Charles the Archduke of Austria.

Attack and capture of Port Mahon, June 29, 1756 Jean-Baptiste Martin le jeune

D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

MAY 2024

Destruction of the Castillo In 1781 the Spanish king Carlos III tried to reconquer Gibraltar and Menorca once again. He failed in Gibraltar, On August 19, a Franco-Spanish squadron, composed of 52 ships under the command of the Duke of Crillón, landed in the coves of Sa Mesquida and Alcaufar. The castle of San Felipe was besieged for 6 months, until the English surrendered on February 4, 1782. This is when Spanish King Carlos III took the very debateable decision to completely demolish the fortress. His thinking was that if the island was defenceless, no foreign power would be interested in conquering it again!!

Vue de Port Mahon et du fort de St Phillippe Ilustración de 1782 (Biblioteca Nacional).

He was proven wrong when the British returned in November 1798, and the forces of General Charles Stuart landed on the island and defeated the Spanish garrison without losing a single man. For four years, the British tried to rebuild the fortress and they changed its name to Fort Charles. However, in the end the British decided to move to Malta, with its magnificent harbour La Valletta, nearly as good as Port Mahon. The plan was to control the Mediterranean Sea with Gibraltar and Malta, without Menorca In 1802 the British returned Menorca to Spain under the Treaty of Peace of Amiens. The next king, Carlos IV destroyed the repairs made by the British and the castle was once again demolished. Guided Tours of San Felipe The ruins of the Castillo de San Felipe are well worth a visit and one can still get an understanding of what a magnificent fort it once was. You can watch a short film and then take a guided tour of the underground works and numerous galleries that speak of its impressive past. Information and tickets can be obtained on the website dedicated to the military history of in Menorca https://www.consorciomilitarmenorca.com/en/.

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

The original castle

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

MAY 2024

DID YOU KNOW? THE TRUTH ABOUT ARTIFICIAL GRASS %\ 'U -XG\ %HQQHWW

+DYLQJ UHFHQWO\ UHWXUQHG WR 0HQRUFD IURP water, regulates the earth´s temperature, and acts as our carbon storage RYHUVHDV , ZDV VWXQQHG WR VHH WKH LQFUHDVH powerhouse. LQ DUWLÀFLDO JUDVV XVDJH RQ WKH LVODQG In contrast, artificial grass: ZKHQ DFURVV (XURSH LW LV EHLQJ EDQQHG RU • Does not provide food for any living creature, and is harmful to wildlife SKDVHG RXW KDYLQJ EHHQ UHFRJQLVHG DV that eat it HQYLURQPHQWDOO\ GDPDJLQJ D SROOXWDQW RI • Deprives the earth of air and water, killing the soil beneath it RXU VHDV GDPDJLQJ WR RXU KHDOWK DQG RXU • Restricts access to soil dwellers such as worms that keep the soil ZLOGOLIH DQG D FRQWULEXWRU WR JOREDO ZDUPLQJ healthy The explanation I was given is that our water supplies are limited, and artificial grass doesn´t need watering. But do we really understand the damage we´re doing? And aren´t there any workable alternatives? So I´ve been doing some research, and here´s a summary of my findings to date. What is artificial grass? Artificial grass is made from polyethylene or nylon (polyamide), fragments of which make their way into the soil, and beyond, in the form of microplastic pollution. It has a shelf-life estimated between 10-20 years, is difficult to reuse, and can only be recycled at specialist plants after a specific cleaning process. (Which begs the question, where on earth are we, or our children, going to dispose of it when its shelf-life is reached?) Why is artificial grass harmful to the environment? Healthy soil is the bedrock of a complex ecosystem that lives, breathes, digests and exhales. It provides more than 95% of our food, filters our

• Increases the risk of contaminants in stormwater run-off • Contributes to global warming by absorbing significantly more radiation than living grass • Displaces living plants that could remove carbon dioxide through photosynthesis Why is artificial grass damaging to our health? Artificial turf contains a rubber crumb infill, typically made by pulverising waste vehicle tyres, which contains unsafe levels of lead, mercury, cadmium and other known carcinogens. A 2016 study in the Netherlands warned that sports fields with artificial turf contained 6 times the amount of cancer-causing compounds permitted in consumer products. In the United States the deaths of 6 baseball players have been linked to the turf. These discoveries contributed to the EU adopting measures to restrict intentionally-added microplastics from September 2023, and the Netherlands´ ruling to phase out the use of artificial grass by 2030.

D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

MAY 2024

How do we know artificial grass is polluting our seas? The damage that plastic pollution is inflicting upon our oceans has long been proven, but a recent study by Universidad de Barcelona specifically identified the remains of artificial turf amongst the pollutants. Up to 200,000 fibres per km2 were found in surface waters near Barcelona, and up to 20,000 fibres per day flowed down the Guadalquivir River. The study calculated that artificial grass accounted for 15% of the plastics larger than 5mm in length found floating in the aquatic environment. These plastics, swallowed by aquatic animals, cause the blockage of their intestinal tracts and a decrease in growth and reproduction rates – environmental repercussions described as “multiple and very serious.” Anna Sanchez-Vidal, co-ordinator of the study, concludes:

“If we want to put an end to plastic pollution of the oceans… it is necessary to act on all levels, starting by rethinking the installation of these green plastic surfaces in public areas, such as schoolyards or sports fields, and private, such as music festivals, gyms, private gardens or terraces”.

)RU PRUH LQIRUPDWLRQ ´Why are artificial lawns bad for the environment?´ University of Plymouth https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/discover/why-are-artificial-lawns-bad-forthe-environment ´Soil, the earth´s living, breathing fragile skin.´ British Society of Soil Science https://soils.org.uk/news/soil-the-earths-living-breathing-fragile-skin/ A UB study identifies the remains of artificial turf as an important suorce of pollution of the aquatic environment Universidad de Barcelona https://web.ub.edu/en/web/actualitat/w/estudi-gespa?tn=np

In next month´s Roqueta What are the alternatives to artificial grass? A look at drought-resistant grasses, water-saving strategies and low-maintenance alternatives to artificial grass, with Becca Morris (Menorca Preservation) and Miquel Camps (GOB: Grup Balear d´Ornitologia i Defensa de la Naturalesa).

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

MAY 2024

MENORCA ENCLÒVER A LEGUMINOUS RESURRECTION

%\ 5DFKDHO $GDPV

In Menorca in Spring, the fields change from the bright yellow of the Bermuda buttercups to a beautiful red as the “enclòver” comes into flower. This leguminous plant is abundant in Menorca, and rarer in some parts of Mallorca (Alcúdia). It has been used as fodder and has become naturalised from the arable land. When in flower the fields take on this lovely colour from April to June. If you want to take a donkey a treat, they love to eat it, but the seeds have small hooks which may stick to your clothes. Enclòver has a big role to play as the island returns to sustainable agriculture. Here in Menorca, “enclòver” (Hedysarum coronariumis) is outstandingly good at enriching the soil with nitrogen. Though the name is similar to “clover”, they aren’t related. It’s called Italian sainfoin in English and Sulla or Zulla in Spain. A deep-rooted, drought-resistant and highly nutritious perennial herb, it has been grown for hundreds of years as an excellent animal fodder, and to fertilise cultivated soils. The red flowers are an excellent source of nectar and pollen for insects, helping to make delicious honey. Agricultural school at Sa Granja

Menorcan agriculture was historically based on growing cereals; a subsistence farming, where cows were used to pull ploughs to turn the land. The “vaca vermella”, or red Menorcan cow was a well-adapted, low-maintenance allrounder, giving tasty milk and meat in equal quantities. They were usually eaten when they became too old to pull the plough. Meat was a rare treat. Enclòver grew naturally here and was part of the “tres sementers” or threepart crop rotation system. Pushed out of fashion with the advent of industrial fertilisers, with the rise of regenerative agriculture, natural fertilisers like enclòver are thankfully staging a comeback. The plant has symbiotic bacteria in its roots, and it is these bacteria that absorb inorganic nitrogen from the air contained in pores in the soil. Though it’s not that simple - because the plant will only grow in basic soils that already contain the bacteria it needs! Therefore, it cannot be introduced easily to new areas. In the olden days, farmers used to move the whole plant, hoping it would carry the bacterial nodules with it to the new ground. Alternatively, they’d move soil from where the plant was known to grow to the new intended spot. Today seeds are inoculated by coating them in bought-in dissolved bacteria, often sloshed in a cement mixer, then planted.

D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

MAY 2024

TH E I MPORTA N C E O F

NITROGEN AND SOIL ECOSYSTEMS Nitrogen makes up approximately 79% of the air we breathe. Leguminous plants, such as beans, clover and peas, contain symbiotic bacteria in their roots that absorb inorganic nitrogen from the air contained in pores in the soil. This bacteria family, collectively named “rhizobium”, converts gaseous nitrogen into soluble nitrate compounds that plants can use as food. Importantly, a part of this nitrogen is left in the soil surrounding the roots. In exchange, the plant feeds the bacteria sugars.

Another complication was getting the hard outer casing off the seed so that it would germinate faster before weeds could overtake it. Farmers used to leave seeds out in the sun all summer or scald them to damage this casing. There was a mill in Es Mercadal that could crush the seeds too for the same effect. However, when the mill closed, and with less enclòver being grown and dropping their seeds into the ground, it became harder to find local seeds. Initially, researchers from the council’s agricultural school at Sa Granja near Mahon used to have to gather what they could find still clinging on in damp ravines to get their seed for experiments. Nowadays seeds can be imported from Italy, but these are genetically different from local varieties. Ongoing studies there seem to indicate that local varieties are better adapted to our increasingly dry climate. Careful management of the biennial enclòver means once it’s planted it should self-seed into continuity. Sown late in autumn and left to grow uncut throughout the first year, the plant flowers in its second spring. After dropping its seed it will get cut for fodder. By June, just a couple of months later, the plant will have grown enough (in a good year) for a second cut. Then, after two years of service, the original mother plant dies. But the dropped seeds will come up in the next (third) year. It can be fed as “healthy hay” as its French name suggests. Or, once there are plenty of seeds in the ground, clover can be cut sooner, when flowering, to make nutritious silage to feed during the dry summer and autumn months. Another practice in Menorca to improve soil fertility, and reduce weeds, is to plant vetch, (Vicia sativa) alongside cereals such as corn, oats and barley. Vetch is also more suited to acidic soils. Going back to what we knew before, the centuriesold practices of crop rotation and cultivating leguminous crops boost soil fertility. This “reduces the need for external input (fertilisers and pesticides), and is the cheapest and most resilient mode of farming”— said the head of the War Agricultural Executive Committee, in 1947!

Nitrogen is necessary for plants because it forms amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. As well as from the atmosphere, nitrogen enters the soil through animal poo. However, the soil is also made up of carbon-rich organic matter such as rotten leaves and dead animals, thus, plants require more than 40 minerals to grow healthily. Different types of worms drill horizontal and vertical holes, sometimes over two metres deep, into the soil, aiding water and nutrient infiltration. Fungal networks extend from plant roots to access minerals in the bedrock below, raising them to organisms living nearer the surface. Thus, endless specialised microorganisms and their enzymes have worked together for millions of years to mobilise minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc from the bedrock and the surface. Each level of chemical reaction requires a specific combination of pH, temperature, water and ingredients. These activities make soil ecosystems very complex indeed. They form the sustenance every one of our souls depends upon for food production. For survival. The adverse effects of synthetic fertilisers This slow and natural process was to be deeply affected by the advent of synthetic fertilisers. In 1918 Nobel-prize winner Fritz Haber developed a method to synthesise ammonia nitrogen, the basis for explosives and fertilisers. He is also the father of chlorine poison gas used in the WW1 trenches and Zyklon B used during the Holocaust. Thus, during WW2, ammonia nitrogen was massproduced to make bombs. After the war, the vast infrastructure was left lying around, and could be used to make artificial fertiliser: by dousing farmland with synthetic nitrogen crops could be forced to grow very big very quickly, year-round, over and over again in the same field. Farmers had previously relied on crop rotation to maintain soil fertility: some fields were planted, successively alternating different crops to add different nutrients to the soil, either through microbial interactions or when left to rot after harvest. Other fields had legumes like Italian sainfoin or lucerne planted as fodder and to nourish the soil, and would be grazed by livestock that simultaneously fertilised (by pooing on) the soil. The rest of the fields were ploughed and left weed-free and open to the elements, resting. Yet with artificial fertilisers a new era was born. Beginning in the USA, it wasn’t long before European markets were roped in. It seemed too good to be true. And it was. Very soon, there was an overabundance of grain. To use it up, cattle were brought in from their fields and force-fed concentrate feed. Their activity limited, they gained weight quicker. Italian ryegrass, a fast-growing and nitrogen-hungry crop used to make silage was grown everywhere in monoculture — replacing mixed-species

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

meadows. Milk production rocketed. Cow muck turned to nitrogen-rich slurry. Farmers were told to “dig for victory”, and plough everything. Agribusinesses rubbed their hands together selling fertilisers. Intensive agriculture was born. Not only grain was overproduced: by the 1980s, Europe had a “common market butter mountain” weighing 1 million tonnes. Today, 1/3rd of what we produce goes to waste. Most people in the Western world are overweight. This industry was born out of greed, not necessity. And the environment has paid a hefty price. Overuse of artificial fertilisers, often based on nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (NPK) cause acidic, oxidised, imbalanced soils– because as mentioned above, living creatures require more than those three elements for healthy growth. Ploughing and over-fertilising alters the soil and kills off the creatures within it. Even too much nitrogen-enriched slurry can scare off the worms. Devoid of microbes, any remaining nutrients (or synthetic ammonia) can’t be converted into food that plants can absorb. Then the excess fertiliser runs off the fields and pollutes rivers and aquifers — like the Trebaluger torrent, as green as a radioactive rainforest. Nitrates levels in Menorcan aquifers are over the WHO limits. Furthermore, unhealthy, luminous green plants attract pests — then the same companies that sell the fertiliser sell the pesticides and fungicides. All fertilisers are designed for repeat use. Note the ingredients on a pot of vegetable fertiliser, under all the “natural” tosh on the label, will most likely be only NPK. The influence of the Cheese factory In the 60s the El Caserio cheese company set up in Mahon. Emulating France’s La Vache Qui Rit, vast quantities of cheese were processed and encased in the foil-wrapped triangles with the red thread we remember from our childhoods. Suddenly, Menorca needed a lot of dairy cows. Friesians rapidly replaced the red cow, pushing it to the verge of extinction. In 1975, thirsty, nitrogenguzzling Italian ryegrass was sown to feed them. Down went the water table and up went the fertilisers. While nowhere near as damaged as the UK nor the USA with their vast monocultures and shocking losses of biodiversity, crop rotation was lost and soil impoverished. Over five decades this company fuelled the conversion of Menorcan subsistence agriculture to dairy farming. Most of the milk produced on the island went into the cheese. Then, in 1992 it was sold to Kraft and in 2009 it closed. Since then, a lot of effort has been made to bring back the hardy red cow, and quality cheese production from both goats and cows is expanding anew. A small amount of the triangular portioned cheese is still produced at the premises on the industrial estate in Mahon today, under the new name of Queseria Menorquina. The company has introduced a new brand ‘Flor de la Isla’, improving the recipe to make it richer, creamier and tastier, while the number of preservatives has been reduced.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

MAY 2024

Romero, Salvia and Ortiga

A COMPILATION OF MENORCAN HERBS AND EDIBLE WILDFLOWERS By Marc Moll

There is a long history on the island of using plants for medicine as well as to season foods. While the use of some of these has never been lost, others are staging a comeback as food supplements. They have known antioxidant properties and provide vitamins and minerals that are good for our health. Many of the following species are gathered early in summer when they flower and are dried. Thus preserved, they can be used year-round. Others are picked on the day and the leaves are eaten fresh.

Fennel

• Mentha pulegium, or pennyroyal, is best known as a medicinal drink to aid digestion. It has a strong aroma and so is best used in small amounts. A great source of vitamins B1, B2 and B3. Fresh leaves are added to salads or oils. It also adds a very good taste to all types of desserts, drinks and liqueurs, and pairs particularly well with citrus and chocolate. • Rosmarinus officinalis, or rosemary, is a well-known condiment for meats, fish and sauces. Dried leaves can be ground with salt or fresh leaves can be ground, also with salt, and used to season oven-cooked dishes. Good as a refreshing drink or to make syrups for cocktails. Contains vitamins A, B6 and C, calcium, iron and magnesium. Acts as a good liver cleanser. • Mentha suaveolens, apple mint, and water mint, Mentha aquatica. Both are found near water though the latter one is more common in torrents. Water mint has a more delicate flavour and is preferably used in baking or as a tea. Good with pasta, fish, peas, beans, pâtés, and to dress salads.

Borage

• Teucrium majoricum, a type of germander. A strong-tasting aromatic shrub to be used sparingly. Too much of it can cause liver poisoning. Acts as a digestive and antibacterial, and is a favourite in Persian cuisine. • Teucrium balearicum, a small spiny cushion-like shrub with a strong spicy flavour, with strong antiseptic properties. Used to season meat, fish and soups. This is a protected species that was once known as English marjoram. • Calamintha nepeta, or lesser calamint, is found bordering woodlands and ravines. Its minty smell and strong taste make it a great digestive. Also used in desserts and to season mushrooms, sponge cakes, and soups.

Bladder Campion

• Common fennel, Foeniculum vulgare. Freshly picked leaves taste sweet and crunchy and are used with fish, meat, pulses, charcuterie, and even in ice-creams. The seeds go into baking bread, sponges and biscuits.

D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

MAY 2024

• Crithmum maritimum, or rock samphire. Used in rice dishes or pickled to eat with bread. Can be eaten raw in salads or dried as a seasoning. High in vitamin C and more commonly used in Mallorca. • Artemisia maritima, sea wormwood, or “old woman”. Strongly scented, should be used in small quantities to make drinks. In Menorca, it was traditionally used to fight fevers and boost the immune season. It can be toxic in large amounts. • Phagnalon saxatile, or Mediterranean phagnalon, is a favourite in Es Migjorn Gran to go with seafood and in soups. • Myrtus communis, or true myrtle. The leaves have a lemon-like taste and can be used as a substitute for cinnamon, or to season crème caramels and “menjar blanc” - a popular Catalan custard. The berries can be used the same way as any fruits of the forest, as well as to make liqueur. • Capparis spinosa, or capers. Small green flower buds and the gherkin-like fruit are pickled in vinegar. Buds are also eaten in salads or used to make sauces and mayonnaise. High sources of vitamins E and C as well as iron, potassium, calcium and sodium. • Eruca vesicaria, or rocket. Found in arable fields and in those left fallow. Its main use is in salads and it’s best gathered while the leaves are tender, before flowering. • Silene vulgaris, or bladder campion. Sweet leaves when tender are good in salads, omelettes and croquettes. They pair well with cheeses and pâtés. • Hyoseris radiata, a herb that is related to dandelions, but without a common name. Fresh leaves are used in salads and croquettes whilst the flowers are used to decorate salads and soups. • Beta vulgaris, chard. Tender leaves, picked before flowering, are used in soups, to make sauces, or oven-baked with mean. Menorcans make a tasty chard pastry.

Marc Moll Marques was born in Ciutadella de Menorca. He is an environmental education guide, ethnobotanist, phytotherapist, floral therapist and forestry specialist. He has been teaching medicinal plant workshops in Menorca for many years and provides advice on gardening with native plants. He also advises on the cultivation of aromaticmedicinal plants native to Menorca for different farms on the island.

• Allium ampeloprasum, or wild leek. Used to make sauces, oliaigua (a water and oil-based vegetable soup), pastries, or paired with meat and cheese. Freshlypicked flowers are used to make oils or to mix in salads the same as threecornered leeks, or snowbells Allium triquetrum. • Asparagus horridus. Related to wild asparagus but covered in spiny thorns. Used in fried dishes, omelettes, oliaigua, and with langoustines. • Cichorium intybus, or chicory. Tender shoots make a tasty addition to salads and omelettes. Roots are roasted to make a caffeine-free coffee substitute. The blue flowers are also added to salads. Great liver cleanser. Considered a superfood due to its high content of vitamins A and B, and minerals iron and calcium.

Nigella

Asparagus

Myrtle berries

Capers

Sea Fennel

Myrtle leaves

• Malva sylvestris, or common mallow. Flowers are mixed into salads and wilted leaves can be used to make casings for spring rolls. • Calendula arvensis, or field marigold. Flowers are used similarly to saffron to season and colour salads. Can be interchanged with common golden thistle or Spanish oyster thistles, Scolymus hispanicus. • Borago officinalis, or borage. Leaves and stems go in soups and breadcrumb coatings. Flowers can be added to salads, or to your G&T (gin and tonic) or jug of Pimms. • Plantago afra, a type of plantain. Seeds are used in salads and can be mixed with flour, croquettes, breads, cakes and jellies. They also have emulsifying properties. • Linum sp. Flax seeds are used in salads but mostly to make desserts and bread. • Nigella damascena, love-in-a-mist, devil in the Bush, or “spiders” in Menorcan. Used to make bread and in other baking. Many different plants can be used to season food. These must be gathered from clean places, away from exhaust fumes. They must also not be on the protected species list, and plenty of individuals are to be left behind to seed and reproduce.

Restrictions are in place for popular species; rocksamphire, chamomile and myrtle — where gathering is limited to 1 kilo per family per season.

For more information on protected species see https://herbarivirtual.uib.es/en/general/100/especie/ teucrium-balearicum-pau-castrov-bayon. Oliaigua recipe: https://www.illesbalears.travel/en/ menorca/local-product-oliaigua-de-menorca

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

ART IN MENORCA

MAY 2024

WINTER

ART CLASS EXHIBITION

We went along to see the end of term exhibition put on by the artists from the art club which meets upstairs at the Casino Bar, in Sant Climent. The Winter Art Class started a while ago and used to be called the Picadero Art Group as they met in the Picadero restaurant near the Guardia Civil offices. It was organised by Janet Quayle. The group now meets every Tuesday morning in Sant Climent under the leadership of Gerry Best. Gerry sets a different project each week and helps the group with their work as the morning progresses. They finish with a ‘gallery’ when they look critically at each other’s work. Gerry told us ‘The exhibition is a relatively new event which started last year. This year we had 70 visitors and some sales, though we don’t put it on to sell, more to encourage friends and family to see the work done.”

Gerry Best (left) with the exhibitors

Alycia and Gerry Best come to Menorca from Fife in Scotland, usually arriving in October and departing at the end of March. They have a house in S’Algar, and love the island. Whilst Gerry is busy with his art, Alycia is busy with her craft group who meet at the Aero Club, also on a Tuesday morning. The class is aimed at complete beginners but is open to anyone whatever their ability, and the group continues to meet every Tuesday morning in the summer months on a more informal basis, working on their own projects when Gerry returns to Scotland.

D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

WELLBEING

MAY 2024

NUTRITION AND FITNESS WITH TOM AND JESS 2. Make Nutrient-Dense Foods a More Significant Part of Your Diet For your body to convert fat, carbohydrates and protein into energy, micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) are needed. CoQ10, magnesium and B vitamins are some of these nutrients. These micronutrients can be found in pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, organic chicken, other quality meats, and broccoli and spinach. Eat foods that provide more nutrients naturally; this will improve how you feel, as your body will have the raw materials required to generate energy. 3. Staying Hydrated Besides causing premature wrinkles, dehydration is one of the fastest ways to feel fatigued! Aim to drink 35ml of water daily per kilogram of body weight. A person weighing 50 kilograms requires 1.7 litres, 60 kilograms requires 2.1 litres, etc. To truly hydrate your body, try to include electrolytes so your cells can successfully absorb the fluid and appropriately hydrate. 4. Make Regular Sleep A Priority Make sure you practise good sleep hygiene. Some of my favourite tips are: • Be consistent with your bedtime and wake-up time. This will positively affect your hormonal health by supporting your circadian rhythm, and it will help you to sleep deeper. • Before going to bed, avoid blue light for at least an hour. I sometimes work at night, so I wear blue light-blocking glasses to still get quality sleep that night.

6 WAYS TO NATURALLY INCREASE ENERGY

• Avoid caffeine after 1pm or 2pm. Consuming caffeine too late can negatively affect your sleep as it stays in your system for a long time. Instead of caffeinefilled drinks, opt for caffeine-free options such as flavoured sparkling water or decaffeinated tea during the latter half of your day.

Feeling tired all the time and having trouble getting out of bed is not normal, though they’re being increasingly normalised due to so many people experiencing day-to-day tiredness. In terms of nutrition and lifestyle, there is SO much you can do to support having greater and more consistent energy throughout the day, so here are 6 of my top tips to promote more stable, consistent energy for you.

Take note of where you’re currently at step-wise and general movement-wise, and progress from there. So, if you walk 2,000 steps daily right now, aim for 4,000. If you don’t wear a tracker, a simple way to ensure you’re getting steps in is to schedule 20 minutes of walking in the morning and 20 minutes in the afternoon. The health of our mitochondria relies on movement.

Changing our mindset is the first step

6. Breathing Deeply.

To achieve a health goal, let’s reframe the discussion. Instead of focusing on what foods to limit, let’s focus on what foods to include and what behaviours to practise to feel healthily fuelled and energised. A human body contains 37 trillion cells, each needing quality ingredients to function optimally. You have probably heard of mitochondria - the powerhouses of cells whose purpose is to create energy. Our mitochondria produce energy most efficiently when nutrition & lifestyle are supported, so this article will be armed with tips to help you best support the health and functionality of these mitochondria.

Deep breathing throughout the day is essential for energy. We often breathe shallowly, that is, into our chests instead of our bellies. This way of breathing can cause you to feel overstimulated and tired. Make a point of practising deep breathing every day. Take deep breaths into your belly to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps you to relax and digest. Parasympathetic activity can be triggered at any time during the day, which is incredibly convenient. If you find it challenging to practise meditation or yoga, try deep breathing instead. Every time you put the kettle on to make yourself a cup of tea or go to the toilet, take a few deep, slow belly breaths. This is the perfect starting point!at

Boosting your energy naturally 1. Balance Your Blood Sugar Throughout The Day Eat meals and snacks high in protein, fibre and good fat. Blood sugar levels rise quickly when we eat carbohydrate-heavy meals (such as a bowl of cereal or a sandwich made up of 2 slices of bread and a small amount of filling). About an hour later, your energy levels will plummet and you’ll feel tired. I describe it as ‘swimming through mud within your brain’; in other words, your brain isn’t firing the way it should be to process information effectively. We need glucose for our brains but having too much can cause fatigue. It is possible to consume the same number of calories and experience very different glucose responses depending on what the meal comprises and the balance of carbs, protein and fat. When you eat a meal made up of avocado, veggies and eggs, your body will react differently than if you eat a slice of toast, peanut butter, and orange juice. You will experience a much more stable blood sugar response with the former, resulting in sustained and stable energy levels. In contrast, the latter will give you a quick surge of energy, followed by a crash and subsequent cravings.

5. Make Regular Movement A Part Of Your Daily Routine

I hope the above article has landed at the perfect time in your life for you to take onboard perhaps some, if not all, of the recommendations and implement. If you need any one-to-one personalised support for a health challenge or a healthoptimisation programme, then I have just opened up another weekly nutrition clinic morning to support more clients with their health, so you can reach me on my website below. Have a great month. Jess Nutrition Support - Personal Training - Qi Gong - Yoga - Island Hikes Cooking Workshops www.TheOnlineNutritionClinic.com www.jessntom.com

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

WELLBEING

MAY 2024

HOW TO MAKE GOOD FOOD CHOICES GREAT, AND IT STARTS WITH YOUR PLATE

Buenas, Summer is now fast approaching. These are the busiest months for Jess and me on the island of Menorca, and the days and weeks whizz by. Add our two little girls to the mix, and life can go into turbo mode! It is times like this when some simple and clever advice on eating may be well received. This is especially useful at BBQs, buffets, or any situation where you are able to choose yourself what you will eat. Naturally, if you are cooking, then this is super useful too. With this in mind, Jess and I wanted to share with you a video I recorded that is of fantastic value. Watch the first 30 seconds, and if it resonates, keep watching. The total length is 6 minutes. This video discusses a rarely discussed big tip on how to get the most out of a plate of food if you want to lose weight. When you understand the principles, you can get a good idea of how to lose, maintain, or gain weight. All without calorie counting! If you cannot shift weight and seem to put it on fast, understanding a few essential principles about adding weight may answer some questions. It’s not a secret, but it may as well be because it is wild how few people even think about this. It’s all about how to compose the perfect plate of food. This has helped both myself and many clients over the years and takes the guesswork out. It is simple, and it works. Firstly, not all plates of food are created equally, even if the food on the plates is the same.

Plate size is essential! We subconsciously like to see a full plate of food, so we can trick ourselves by choosing slightly smaller plates to cut the calories we eat while still having what our brain sees as a ‘full meal’. People who use smaller plates, which are visually full of food, consume fewer calories overall than if they use a medium-sized full plate. Naturally, with larger plates, you will be eating many more calories (obvious but worth noting). If you placed the same amount of food from the full small plate onto a large plate, it would look like a small serving, and the brain would think it’s getting a raw deal. But by using a smaller plate (20% smaller than usual, for example, not a tiny plate), your brain is happy as it sees a full plate of food. Now, plate size aside, here is the interesting part… In the video (link below or use the QR code with your phone), I show you how to compose a plate of food based on the primary macronutrients, such as protein, carbohydrates and vegetables. Which vegetables are best for losing weight, and which are best for adding energy and thus gaining weight? It is a formula for longevity and a healthy life, which you can follow most of the time. Eating this way will not make you feel hungry. You will feel satiated and content. Your energy will increase, and you’ll stabilise your blood sugars. All of this is explained in the video. The short time to watch it will save you pounds of weight in the future! It is a great one to share with others, too.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think. By the way, this principle and others combine to make a massive difference to your quality of life. If you feel your life needs more focus on your health, energy, weight, or other linked areas, then email me at tom@jessntom.com. We can look at where you are and, more importantly, where you want to be. We run online small-group workouts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, which are a great way to enjoy accountability, support and consistency in your exercise routine, as well as private one-to-one training, yoga and QiGong; and Jess runs her online nutrition clinic too, to support individuals with their health in much more depth with a tailored approach, so there are lots of ways you can get the support and expertise you might be currently longing for. Here are to the final days of Spring and hitting Summer running! Have a great month. Tom :-) Personal Training - Nutrition Support - Qi Gong - Yoga - Island Hikes - Cooking Workshops www.jessntom.com

The Fat Loss Plate video: https://tinyurl.com/FatLossPlate or https://youtu.be/ahDUGqWVQoc (carefully copy this link into your browser)

D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

WELLBEING

MAY 2024

HOLISTIC THERAPIST GENICIA BARBOSA

Genicia Barbosa is a holistic therapist who came to Menorca from Sao Paulo, Brazil, 5 years ago. She is highly qualified being a graduate and post-graduate in Holistic Therapy, Psychotherapy and Bioenergetics as well as being a Reiki Master and Acupuncturist. She offers a mobile home service and uses many different techniques including Massage; Reiki; Reiki with Stones; Auricular Acupuncture; Foot Reflexology; Holistic Body Psychotherapy; Chakra Therapy; Regression and Hypnosis; Hot and Cold Stone Therapy; Bach Flower Remedies and Benzimento. She studied for all these courses at the Clínica Holística Maria Angela Chiamenti, in the city of São Paulo. Genicia explains that Holistic (from Greek origin) means the whole. Humans are not just the physical body, but they feel and think and these processes interfere with the constitution. In our daily lives we go through very tense situations, which accumulate in the physical body and cause imbalance. To prevent this, she utilises a whole range of techniques. One of these for example is auriculotherapy or auricular acupuncture, a technique of Chinese origin capable of influencing organic balance through stimulation of points located on the ear. To do this, mustard seeds, disposable needles or crystals can be used. Genicia says it is highly effective in treating weight loss and smoking.

If you want to try it Genicia is offering 10% discount to Roqueta readers Genícia Barbosa 643354068 barbosagenicia.gb73@gmail.com Home service with prior appointment via cell phone or WhatsApp.

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

LOCAL NEWS

CLUBS AND ASSOCIATIONS

MAY 2024

NEWS

LADIES LUNCHEON CLUB We enjoyed a sunny day for our March lunch at the Hotel Port Mahón. As always, Elizabeth had pulled the stops out with the raffle prizes, one of which was a mystery offering, clearly marked for over-18´s. Frankly, it would have been unexpected if anyone had been under 18 given the average age of our members! When chosen it was found to contain a variety of alcoholic beverages. Our guest speaker was Fernando Serrano, who is well known to the club and is fluent in English with a booming voice which is much appreciated. He began by describing the conflict between the Spanish, British and French to dominate the Mediterranean which came to a head with the Spanish War of Succession; with the British subsequently taking the island in 1708. As a result, many troops were billeted here, and initially there was no accommodation for them. Some of the officers were luckier and obtained houses or could stay with families, and they often brought their wives. The troops were less fortunate, and what did they need? “SEX” said Fernando; there were thousands of men, so some of the local ladies found employment... and the building that housed one of the brothels still stands behind the new block of flats at the end of the port near La Colarsega. Fernando also explained that the original garrison town was by the fort of San Felipe at the mouth of the port, before being moved to what is now Es Castell in 1771. He recounted a couple of anecdotes; one about a soldier who refused medical treatment and after death, was found to be a woman. Another about the case of three nuns who escaped over the wall of a convent in Ciutadella to elope with three British soldiers; the soldiers “did the right thing” and married the girls, but it caused a tremendous fuss at the time. Apparently if you were a fourth child and a girl, it was an honour for the family to pack you off to a convent, not so for the girl of course! Our AGM took place in March and was attended by 31 members with apologies from many more. Our President, Jayne Wolstenholme, thanked everyone and said how much she had enjoyed her first year in the role. She explained that we would continue to meet in the Hotel Port Mahón, until summer when we will move to the Hotel Agamenon. After a lively debate it was agreed that the club would open a Facebook account for a trial period of six months which will be set up by Sam Roussel. It is hoped that this may attract younger members as well as those who are moving to the Island. It was made clear that no personal information or photographs would be posted on the FB account. One member had objected to her photograph being published in the spring edition of Roqueta and whilst this may be the first time this has occurred, we shall check with members in future before publishing photographs. Our April lunch was again at the Hotel Port Mahón. We enjoyed an excellent fashion show, courtesy of Joanne from Estudio 3 in Mahon, who encouraged us to try things we wouldn’t normally wear. We, the ”models”, had great fun and I think the public enjoyed it too - even the aircrew who were also lunching at the hotel.

LADIES PROBUS Our March lunch was held at Can Avelino 23 with 21 in attendance. The food was good and served beautifully by waiters. In April we went to Il Porto and a lovely meal was enjoyed by everyone. The raffle with prizes provided by Sandra was a success as usual. This was followed by the AGM presided over by our president Mrs Janet Quayle. After the AGM, music was provided by the Il Porto which successfully rounded off an excellent lunch. If you would like to join, please contact probusmenorca@gmail.com ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

LOCAL NEWS

MAY 2024

HOW TO PREPARE FOR A TRIP ABROAD WITH YOUR PET? by ROQUETA’s VET Caroline Langlois

Phone or WhatsApp: +34 685753292 Email: vetmenorca@gmail.com C/Santa Victoria 30, 07701 Mahon

Great! Summer and holidays are approaching, but have you thought about your pets? They, too, need to prepare for their trip with papers that vary depending on the destination. You can also help them to manage their stress better, and make sure they have a first-aid kit in case of any minor injuries during the holiday. In this issue, we’ll be looking at the legal aspects and next month I’ll be giving you practical advice on how to prepare your pet in the most serene way possible.

• Travelling to a country outside the EU from Spain: To travel to a third country, your pet must meet the requirements of that country: find out at the embassy or consulate of that country or find out more on the website of the relevant ministry in that country. From January 1st, 2021, new rules for the transport of pets apply between Great Britain and its dependencies (England, Scotland, Wales and the Isles of Man, Jersey and Guernsey - excluding Northern Ireland) and the European Union. Any dog, cat or ferret must comply with the criteria indicated in the boxed text. They can enter or return to the UK without quarantine if all the formalities required by current regulations have been followed. • Returning to Spain from an EU country To bring a dog, cat or ferret into Spain, your pet must be identified by a microchip, be vaccinated against rabies with a vaccine valid at the time of travel and included in the passport, have a European passport issued by your vet. No exceptions are allowed and the entry into Spain of dogs, cats and ferrets less than 15 weeks old is prohibited because their anti-rabies vaccination is not yet valid: the minimum age for vaccinating animals is 12 weeks, and the vaccine is only valid from 21 days after the first inoculation.

Part 1: What requirements and documents do you need to travel with your pet? Compulsory requirements may vary from country to country, and I recommend that you always check before you travel. However, here are the current requirements for travelling from Spain. • Travelling to the EU from Spain: If you are travelling with your dog, cat or ferret within the European Union (in this case the 27 EU countries + Norway + Northern Ireland), your animal must be identified by a microchip, vaccinated against rabies, and have a European passport issued by your vet. And if you’re going to Ireland, Malta or Finland you must also treat your dog with a specific internal antiparasitic treatment issued by your vet between 24 and 120 hours before arriving in the country. D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

LOCAL NEWS

• Returning to Spain after visiting a non-EU country Annex II of Regulation (EU) 577/2013 details the list of European countries not included in the EU (e.g. Switzerland, Andorra or Gibraltar) and certain nonEuropean countries (e.g. the United States, Canada or Argentina) for which the rules are the same as for the previous point. The UK is included under the Withdrawal agreement (without Northern Ireland). These are rabiesfree countries. In cases where a European passport is not available, the animals must be accompanied by a health certificate, which must be signed by an official vet of the third country and presented at least in Spanish, a declaration, both conforming to EU models and a certified copy of the identification and vaccination details of the animal. To bring a pet into Spain from a third country that isn’t listed in Annex II, i.e. a country at risk of rabies, in addition to the requirements set out in the previous point, you must have your pet serologically tested for rabies in an approved laboratory before travelling and the result of this test must be indicated in the passport by your vet with a serological titration equal to or greater than 0.5 IU/ml. The blood sample for antibody testing is taken no earlier than 30 days after inoculation in the case of a first vaccination, and the animal must wait 3 months after blood sampling before he can enter the EU. What are the requirements for returning to Spain from Great Britain? From January 1st, 2021, all pets arriving from Great Britain and its dependencies (England, Scotland, Wales and the Isles of Man, Jersey and Guernsey - excluding Northern Ireland) must be introduced through an airport or port approved as a Passenger Point of Entry and be accompanied by a Health Certificate. Any dog, cat or ferret must: • be identified by a microchip • have a valid rabies vaccination • be accompanied by an original health certificate signed by an official vet of the United Kingdom, or, if the animal is being reintroduced into EU territory, the animal’s European passport. If a rabies booster vaccination has been given in the UK during your stay, the European passport is no longer valid. It is then necessary to obtain a health certificate from the UK • Note: Dogs, cats and ferrets from the UK are exempt from the requirement to present a serum rabies antibody titration test on importation.

MAY 2024

TREBALUGER EQUINE RESCUE CENTRE

By Samantha Lake

We have had friends and volunteers visit us in April which is always lovely that they come and spend their holiday time helping and having quality time with the animals. We have managed to go to two beaches in the last month or so, the first was in the lorry with 2 slightly more experienced horses to Es Grau, the sun was shining and it was a fun few hours with the horses in and out of the sea, they loved it. The second time was walking from the rescue centre via the Cami de Cavalls to Alcaufar beach. It was a very hot day and one of the horses we took had never done anything like this before so we were so proud to see her relaxed and in and out of the sea with a young volunteer, it was an amazing experience for horses and riders. I have been able to rehome an unwanted lonely donkey with another donkey that was living alone. A man came to the centre one day to say he didn’t want his donkey any more, this happens a lot. Luckily I knew of someone who was looking for a companion for theirs so the new owners have had him chipped and a passport made and so the two donkeys are now living together and will hopefully become lifelong friends. We have had a new arrival, a horse of 25 years who is very scared to be around any other horses. She has made friends with a small pony called Aila but for the first 2 weeks wouldn’t come out of her paddock area and just cried and was very unsettled. Now in the mornings she is the first out of her paddock where they stay during the night, and into the big fields. She will happily wander about but is always on the lookout for another horse coming too near. She runs away every time but has stopped crying and is much more relaxed. It will take time for her to trust her surroundings and us but we are getting there slowly. She will find her herd eventually, some take longer than others but it will always be at her pace. The Consell Insular have been down to visit at my request as the centre is becoming so busy with the amount of animals that need help. They have agreed to increase our yearly grant from 3000€ to 4000€, which is a great help, however our monthly overheads at the moment are approx. 3500€ a month so it doesn’t go far! They held a meeting with the local mayors of the town halls to ask for their support, so let’s hope we can start to get dialogues going with each town about the welfare of their animals. It’s a great and positive start for the equines of Menorca. Some sad news, our rescued Mrs Pig passed away this week, she had had a very hard life before we took her on but has had 3 years of lots of food and water and company. She does however leave a very old Vietnamese pig behind who is now alone. She will be too old to rehome I think and knows her surroundings so we visit regularly during the day and people chat to her as they pass by. Our very mischievous mule was 6 years old on the 12th April, I can’t believe where the time has gone. He was born at the rescue centre as his mother arrived pregnant. She was a very traumatised horse but has always allowed us to help her foal even though she would never let us near herself. He is cheeky and loving, however he likes to jump a gate every now and then sometimes breaking them in the process but we love him! If anyone has a few hours a week to spare we desperately need volunteers, you don’t need to know anything about horses or donkeys, we are very happy to teach you, but there are always plenty of other jobs that need doing and I just don’t have the time to do it all now. We have a small shop that needs to be kept clean and organised, the cats help but as you can imagine it needs a human touch! Walls, gates, feeders always need repairing, equines need brushing and some taken out down the lane to get some exercise and greenery. We need people to help on the market stalls, the list goes on, there is something for anyone if you can please spare some time. Please whatsapp or call 689802108. For any donations please visit our website www.trebalugerequinerescue or give 1€ month through the teaming app www. Teaming.net/trebalugerequinerescuecentre. As always we thank everyone who supports us, we could not do any of this without your continued help.

Helpful links https://www.mapa.gob.es/en/ganaderia/temas/ comercio-exterior-ganadero/desplazamientoanimales-compania/default.aspx https://food.ec.europa.eu/animals/movementpets/eu-legislation/listing-territories-and-non-eucountries_en https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2020/2016/ data.xht?view=snippet&wrap=true#f00003 ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

LOCAL NEWS

MAY 2024

SPIRITUAL WELLBEING

COMPASSIONATE CARE IN COMMUNITY Recently I received a call from a young woman asking whether I could go to the crematorium in Mahón to ‘say a few words’ for her mother, who had just died following an extended period of cancer treatment. ‘There will just be a few of us,’ she said, expecting four or five people. I turned up at the cemetery to be confronted with an animated undertaker who protested that there were too many people to fit into the little room adjacent to the crematorium. Somewhat mystified, I walked up to the rooms of the ‘tanatorio’ to find that there were thirty people there! The daughter was as surprised as I was. By word of mouth, or the ‘Menorca grapevine,’ news had spread of the lady’s death, and people just turned up in sympathy and solidarity. Well, ‘saying a few words’ for four or five people is a little different from addressing a group of thirty, so I had to improvise. As I said to the daughter afterwards, this is an example of the community spirit that exists in Menorca, and an example of compassionate care. It also exemplifies how important ritual is in human life. We very much need some sort of ceremonial celebration of life, death and the important milestones in between. The church has these covered in worship for baptisms/christenings, marriages and funerals, of course, but it is interesting to see how, as increasingly ‘unchurched’ generations appear on the scene, people make all sorts of different efforts to improvise ritual. Those little floral tributes by the side of the road where there has been a traffic accident are an example. But it goes further than that because ritual is a communal thing. Human beings are meant to live in community. Throughout history there have been plenty of examples of people trying to live in isolation, as hermits, for example, and more often than not these fail because health suffers when we are completely alone. So our rituals are ways of coming together to share in celebration or grief. And although there’s sometimes a sort of anxiety about how to behave or what to say, the reality is that our presence is often the greatest gift we have to offer. There’s a lovely song by Yusuf Islam (alias Cat Stevens) called, ‘How Can I Tell You?’ It’s a love song, but it captures the essence of being tongue-tied in the face of extreme emotion: ‘I can’t think of the right words to say.’ Those of us with an introverted personality type know only too well the frustration of always thinking of the right thing to say about an hour after a conversation! But it’s also symptomatic of the awkwardness of dealing with someone who has been bereaved. The truth is that there are no ‘right words to say.’ The best form of compassion is quite often simply to turn up and be present. No words are required. There was a young woman in our church in Canada who was long on silence and short on conversation. She, too, struggled with the right words to say, and would often sit in prolonged silence. Yet applied in the right direction that was a gift. It made her the best hospice visitor I have ever known, because she was quite content to sit in calm silence, usually prayerfully, with someone who really just wanted companionship, rather than conversation. At the end of May the Anglican churches of northern Spain and the Balearics are hosting a retreat in Barcelona. The title is, ‘Joy is a Kingdom of Justice and Peace,’ but a large part of the time will be devoted to thinking about how we care for one

By Rev Paul Strudwick

another in community - how we show compassion (a word derived from ‘with feeling’) and care, collectively. This is something that applies on a large scale, such as supporting projects that assist those in need in countries that are less well off than we are, through a process of listening, observation and action. It also applies on a local level, where we visit those who are socially isolated, assist those who arrive with scant resources (as happened for those from Ukraine), support those who are going through a health crisis, or simply bestow the gift of our caring presence upon those who have been bereaved. What I have found is that all these are really more than acts of compassion; they are expressions of love. There are many forms of love, but caring for one another in community is quite often a way to channel the love that has been invested in humanity. And while I might have a professional axe to grind in terms of the way this applies in a Christian community of faith, I’ve seen enough to know that no one religious group has a monopoly of loving care for those in the surrounding community. In British Columbia, for example, where we lived before moving to Menorca, there is a large Sikh population. Anyone who is hungry can go to a Sikh temple and be fed, on any day of the year. That’s quite a challenging level at which to set the bar of collective care! In the Anglican Church in Menorca, we have produced a commitment to apply a fixed percentage of our income to support organisations outside the church, even when the church faces a deficit of expense over income. Meanwhile, just turning up at a funeral in solidarity with those who have been bereaved is most definitely a way to show compassion and even love. Never mind the ‘right words;’ just being there can be comforting and helpful. By the way, anyone who is interested in the retreat in Barcelona can find more details and a registration form on the church website, via https://bit.ly/NSAD-Retreat.

CHURCH INFORMATION Worship in the church of Santa Margarita takes place on Sunday mornings at 9am and 11am, as well as at 11am every Wednesday, and morning prayer with a focus on healing at 11am on Friday (also on Zoom). Santa Margarita continues to offer worship online, to respect the needs of those unable to worship in person at the church. The church website will continue to be the place to seek up-to-date news and information about online worship: anglicanchurchmenorca.com (soon to change to anglicanchurchmenorca.net).

The phone number for the chaplain, Paul, is +34 617222382 and his e-mail is chaplain@anglicanchurchmenorca.com (which will not be changing).

D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

LOCAL NEWS

MAY 2024

AGE CONCERN MENORCA It was good to see people at our AGM in Bar Pons on 10th April. The usual business was conducted with support from members present. Last year’s accounts were reviewed and each aspect of the organisation reported back. The current committee are carrying on into this coming year and are as follows: President Vice President and Treasurer Secretary Medical Equipment Lifeline Social Secretary Social Secretary Membership

Celi Roca Rosello Tony Rickwood Jane Bryer Jan Henman Carol Kenyon Sandy Beresford Christine Crane Shelley Englefield

President Celi We have had a very successful year in terms of both fund raising and being able to support many individuals and local organisations with help. Although individual help is always in strictest confidence, we have been able to support individual medical needs, short-term living arrangements and also help for other local organisations. We have been able to support the local care homes at Christmas time with hampers and provided a large screen TV for a local Jubilado Centre! Our translation services for appointments are used often and the medical equipment loan service is widely used by both residents and visitors. Our shop on the Mahon Poligono has had a very good year under our Shop Manager Lee Kenyon. He is very pro-active and runs a group of delightful volunteers. Their efforts are very much appreciated and help create a positive, welcoming atmosphere in the shop. They offer our organisation a wealth of skills. You are always welcome to join our team, just contact Lee at the shop.

Social Activities Our two lunches are proving to be very successful and well attended. On the first Thursday of the month, we enjoy a Fish n Chip lunch at Bar Pons in Cala en Porter. On the third Thursday of the month, we have a Menu del Dia at Ca’n Avelino 23 in Mahon. Guests as well as members are welcome. Cala en Porter, Thursday May 2nd, 1.30 pm Please contact Sandy on 650 729 430 Can Avelino , Thursday May 16th, 1.30 Please contact Chris on 669 949 370 Membership You can become a Member of Age Concern by paying 12 euros to our Membership Secretary, Shelly, either at a lunch or in the shop or by bank transfer if you wish. You can also donate through the DONATE page on our website Apart from the importance of offering your support to our organisation you also get a discount on the lunches you attend! Trip to Cala Blanca, Ciutadella and Truvi We hope to be running this popular trip at the end of May. Transport is free for members. Please check with Christine on 669 949 370

President Celi Roca Rosello

Information and Contact Numbers Please remember our confidential Lifeline service to help with individual problems and information lifelineminac@gmail.com +34 676 904 487. Our Medical Equipment Loan service is available for everyone either on the island or just visiting acmenorcamedequip@gmail.com +34 629 016 307 Shop: menorca@ageconcern.org.es 971 156 110 Manager: 636 347 286 Opening hours: Monday – Saturday, 9.45 – 13.15. For the latest information and current offers follow us on Facebook: Age Concern Menorca 2015 or visit our website www.ageconcernmenorca.com

Sandy and Paul at Bar Pons, with a Birthday Cake

CANCER SUPPORT IN MENORCA All the participants who registered set their own goal for the month, if you would like to, you can sponsor them here https://www.migranodearena.org/evento/ walk-against-cancer-2024 The money raised will go to helping cancer patients on the islands. If you are affected by cancer and live in Menorca we can offer you free nutritional advice and counselling, either online or by phone. We can also offer support if you have to come to Mallorca for any treatment. And there are other ways we can support you, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact us and we will do our best to help. info@cancersupportmallorca.com

During April 2024, Cancer Support Mallorca was Walking Against Cancer. The goal was to raise money but more importantly to help people be more active, as exercise and a healthy diet are such an essential part of preventing and living with cancer. ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

LOCAL NEWS

MAY 2024

“The Bizarre Life: Looking at Clarice Cliff” Speaker: Will Farmer from Antiques Roadshow 23rd May at 8pm Aeroclub Sant Lluis Well here we are, it’s May already, which means it is time for our second lecture in the Arts Society Menorca 2024 series. We started the season in April with Ian Swankie on the beautiful yet sometimes quirky pottery designs of Sir Grayson Perry. If you joined us, we hope you enjoyed our premiere lecture. Love pottery??? How about Clarice Cliff? “The Bizarre Life: Looking at Clarice Cliff”, is our topic this month with Will Farmer from Antiques Roadshow! Clarice Cliff was considered one of the most influential ceramic artists and designers of the 20th century. Her work spanned from 1922 to 1963. When you think of an Art Deco design you are probably thinking of her stylised work. Will Farmer will be with us on the evening of Thursday 23rd of May at 8pm at the Aeroclub Sant Lluís. We have waited for Will for quite a while, but Covid and his very busy schedule on the Antiques Roadshow kept his Menorcan commitment on hold. We are proud to finally welcome him to our beautiful island home. He will share his expertise on Clarice Cliff and it is sure to be a great evening! In future months we are looking forward to: Brian Healey on Gustave Caillebote, Stella Lyons on Edward Hopper, Andrew Prince on Jewellery and Fashion in the early 20th century.

1ST ANNUAL TORTILLA AND SANGRIA COMPETITION On 23rd March the First Annual Tortilla and Sangria competition took place in Cala en Porter, organised by the Neighbours Association of Cala en Porter (AVV Cala en Porter) in collaboration with the Alaior City Council. The Mayor of Alaior, Jose Luis Benejam, attended and it was a fantastic day with live performances from Speedway Jam, José Luis Linares and Marco Vino Delfín. There was zumba with association members giving it a go and Cala en Porter Club Petanca invited people to give it a try. There was a BBQ and after the judging was finished, the tortillas and sangria were free for everyone to try and enjoy. Judging was done on taste/texture and presentation. Prizes for the tortilla: 1st - Eva Martin, 2nd - Lucy Walker, 3rd - Julian Ameller Prizes for the Sangria: 1st - Julian Ameller, 2nd – Nicole, 3rd - Lucy Walker Samantha Roussel thanked all those from AVV Cala en Porter who worked so hard behind the scenes to make the event such a success including those on the BBQ. Next year there will be 2 categories for the tortillas - classic and creative/artistic. Get your thinking hats on for 2025.

We also want to express our sincere thanks to Ses Bruixes boutique hotel for accommodating Will, to Jorge at the Aeroclub for hosting the Arts Society Menorca every month, and to Blevins Franks, investment advisors par excellence, who generously sponsor us every year. We recommend making reservations, and members please RSVP for this lecture as Will is very popular. Contact Malcolm at: menorca@theartssociety.org Aeroclub Sant Lluis, Avinguda Josep Anselm Clave 396, Mahon 07703

D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

WHAT’S ON

WHAT’S

ON MAY 2024

Every month we try to list events that we know are happening to help you plan ahead. Of course if you hear of anything else yourself that is of interest to the readers, then please let us know info@roquetamagazine.net

26TH MENORCA JAZZ FESTIVAL Information: www.menorcajazzfestival.com Tickets on www.jazzobert.com 1-5 May: Menorca’s Lindy Exchange 2024. 10 May: Jazztà Quartet and Lluís Allès Quartet, 8pm in the Auditorium, Ferreries. 24 May: Ziveli Orkestar, 11am at the Centre Polivalent Carlos Mir. Also 7.30m in Ciutadella (between Plaça Palmeres and Plaça Sant Pere). 25 May: Picnic Vega Jazz with the Llorenç Barceló Trio and the orchestra Menorca Latin Big Band, 1.30pm at the back of Cala’n Blanes beach. 1 June: Jazz Didàctic with Noa Lur- jazz for children, 5.30pm, Pla de Sant Joan (at the end of Ciutadella port).

MAY 2024

MUSIC FESTIVALS MENORCA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2024 2-9 August in the Recinte Firal Es Mercadal https://menorcamusicfestival.com/

CRANC FESTIVAL 2024 26-29 September in Mahón. https://crancfestival.com

53RD MAHON OPERA SEASON 2024 12 May: Conference on the opera la Bohème, by Ramon Gener, 7pm in the Teatro Principal. 7 and 9 June: performance of the opera La Bohème, by Giacomo Puccini, in the Teatre Principal. An outdoor screen will be placed in Ses Moreres, where people will be able to watch the opera live (free of charge). 7 June at 9pm. 9 June at 8pm.

LIVE MUSIC AT ES CLAUSTRE The courtyard in Es Claustre, by Iglesia del Carmen in Mahón town centre is the scene of many live concerts, over seventy have been scheduled from Saturday 11 May through to October. https://www.esclaustre.com/es/agenda/

LIVE MUSIC AT JAZZBAH Located in the port of Ciutadella, jazzbah regularly holds live concerts, most Fridays and Saturdays. Check online for more information on https://jazzbah.es/

COVA DEN XOROI Open every day from 3pm. As from 5.30pm only adults admitted. Live bands and guest DJs for the sunset session. Tickets from https://www.covadenxoroi.com/

LIVE MUSIC EVENTS 4 May: Antihéroes – Tribute to M Clan, 8pm in Jazzbah, Passeig es Pla de Sant Joan 3, Ciutadella. https://jazzbah.es/ 11 May + new date added: 31 May: Symphonic heavy metal concert performed by Najash, 9.30pm in MusikBox Sala, Carrer sa Volta, 30, Poligono industrial, Sant Lluis. Sant Lluis. https://musikbox.es/puntos-de-venta 11 May: Johnson Woo in concert at Es Claustre, Mahón. https://www.esclaustre.com/es/agenda/ 15-18th May: Festival de Curts la Boca Erotica at Es Claustre, Mahón. https://www.esclaustre.com/es/agenda/ 26th May The Geckos live at Alexanca’s Bar and Tapas restaurant, Son Parc. 4pm start time tbc 7th/8th June Enfusion Choir concert at the Aeroclub in San Lluis. Tickets €10 from the Aeroclub on practice days 4pm Tuesday and 10:30am Fridays. 21 June: Ferran Palau in concert at Es Claustre, Mahón. https://www.esclaustre.com/es/agenda/ 6 July: Celtas Cortos in concert in the Cales Fonts car park, 10pm. Tickets from https://entradium.com/events/celtas-cortos-en-menorca. A Valladolid rock group with Celtic influences founded in 1984. During their career they have sold more than two million records making them one of the most commercially successful Spanish groups of all times. ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

WHAT’S ON

MAY 2024

6 and 7 July: Concert Ferreries, by Fernando Ferrer Martinez, on the Auditorium terrace, Ferreries. 9 July: The Binigaus Band in Es Mercadal. For the first time a Fusion between the Music Band of Es Mercadal and The Binigaus Band. 12 July: Sopa de Cabra in concert in Recinte Firal Es Mercadal, at 10pm. Tickets from https://entradas.codetickets.com/entradas/ sopa-de-cabra-en-concert-menorca 12 July: Amparanioa in concert at Es Claustre, Mahón. https://www.esclaustre.com/es/agenda/ 13 July: The Binigaus Band in Es Migjorn Gran. For the first time a Fusion between the Music Band of Es Migjorn Gran and The Binigaus Band. 30 August: Antonia Font in concert at Es Claustre, Mahón. https://www.esclaustre.com/es/agenda/

LIVE MUSIC IN CIUTADELLA Throughout May and June, the local council are putting live music events in the town centre. 5 May: Ten Strings, 12 noon in Plaça dels Pins 12 May: Ja Som 5, 12 noon in Plaça Joan de Borbó (Pl. L’Empordà) 18 May: Wanderlust, 12 noon in Plaça de Ses Palmeres 25 May: Shanti & Simo, 12 noon in Plaça Nova 2 June: Nuraki, 12 noon in Plaça de la Llibertat (Fish market) 8 June: Marc Bosch, 12 noon in Plaça d’Artrutx 9 June: Leonmanso, 12 noon in Placeta del Roser

FESTIVAL OF ANCIENT MUSIC The Festival of Ancient music is taking place once more in Es Migjorn https://es.musicaantigaesmigjorn.com/ 25 July: Réunion des Goûts performed by Il Gesto Armonico, 9pm in Es Migjorn parish church. 26 July: Crónicas Vivaldianas: La sonata performed by the Ensemble Tsaldaris, 9pm in Es Migjorn parish church. 27 July: Conference/concert by Laura Triay, musicologist, 8pm in the Saló Verd, Es Migjorn. 28 July: Mujeres a la sombra, performed by Marina Plovins (soprano), María Antonietta Muggianu (soprano) and Graziela Lleonart (rhapsode), 9pm in Es Migjorn parish church.

TEATRE DES BORN Plaça des Born, Ciutadella Ciutadella’s theatre puts on a full programme of events, listed on the website https://www.teatredesborn.com/ Tickets available online and from the ticket office open Tuesdays 11.30am to 1pm, Thursdays 7 to 8.30pm, also one hour before the start of the performance. 11 May: Contemporary ballet show El Lago, by LaMov dance group, 8.30pm. 17 May: Drama Feísima enfermedad y muy triste la muerte de la reina Isabel I, by La Calòrica, 8.30pm. 25 May: Drama Els dies bons, by Produccions de Ferro, 8.30pm. 31 May: Dance show En el Océano, performed by the Escola de dansa Carmen Estela D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

WHAT’S ON

MAY 2024

TEATRE DE CIUTADELLA (TEATRE DE CALÓS)

OCIMAX CINEMA MAHÓN:

Carrer de María Auxiliadora 38, Ciutadella.

https://www.aficine.com/cine/ocimaxmahon/

A new company has taken over the Calós theatre. Tickets available from

Cineclub films shown in the original language on Thursdays at 8.30pm.

https://www.ukalarimenorcaevents.com/ 18 and 19 May: De Simba a Kiara. A Lion King Tribute. 18 may at 5pm and at 7.30pm. 19 may at 12 noon.

CINEMES MOIX NEGRE CIUTADELLA http://www.cinesmoixnegre.org/ Films shown in the original language most Tuesdays at 8.30pm.

TEATRE PRINCIPAL

Cineclub films screened every Tuesday and Thursday at 8.30pm.

Carrer d’en Deià 40, Mahón

Opera at the cinema Es Moix Negre, Ciutadella.

This is the oldest opera house in Spain, dating from 1829, with a wide programme of shows and concerts. See website for full programme. Tickets available online or from the box office.

9 May: Opera: Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, recorded at the Staatsoper Unter Linden, Berlín, 8.15pm.

Box office open mornings Tuesday to Saturday 11.30am to 1.30pm. Afternoons: Thursday and Friday 6.30 to 8.30pm. Also, one hour before the start of a show.

23 May: Opera Il Trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi, recorded at the Teatro Maggio Musicale Florentino, 8.15pm.

https://www.taquilla.com/mahon/teatre-principal-de-mao

WHAT’S HAPPENING

3 May: Drama El silenci de les falzies, by La Dislèxica Produccions, 7.30pm.

MENORCAN HORSE SHOW

4 May: Charity Gala Sine Dolore, 7pm. 8 May: Family musical show Cantata performed by La Clika, 5pm. 12 May: Conference on Puccini’s opera La Bohème, by Ramon Gener, 7pm.

3 - 5 May in the Recinte Firal, Es Mercadal. All about the Menorcan breed and its morphology. www.caballomenorquin.com

17 May: Concert Story amb W, performed by the Conservatori Professional de Música i Dansa de Menorca, 7pm.

CASINO COMEDY

18 May: Concert Best opera Arias, performed by Orquestre de l’Alliance (França).

3 May: Comedy show performed by Carlitos, 9pm in the theatre Casino 17 de Gener, Avinguda Constitució 18, Ciutadella, at 9pm. Tickets from www.jazzbah.es

7 and 9 June: performance of the opera La Bohème, by Giacomo Puccini, in the Teatre Principal. An outdoor screen will be placed in Ses Moreres, where people will be able to watch the opera live (free of charge). 7 June at 9pm. 9 June at 8pm. 1 August: Dance festival 78i… Gala d’Estrelles de la Dansa – Fundació Rubió.

FOSQUETS DE LÍTHICA Every summer an arts festival takes place in Líthica quarries, on the outskirts of Ciutadella. The full programme isn’t set up yet. Tickets available from www.fosquetsdelithica.com

HATS AND HORSES 1 June: The seventh edition of Hats and Horses will take place at the Mahón Hippodrome, 11am to 7pm. See website for details www.hatsandhorses.com

MENORCA LINDY FESTIVAL 1 - 5 May: Menorca Lindy Exchange, in Ciutadella. https://www.menorcalindyexchange.com/.

Here is what’s on so far: 18 July: Concert Requiem by Gabriel Fauré, performed by the Coral Càrmina and Orquestra de Cambra Illa de Menorca (OCIM), at 9pm.

CELEBRATION OF SPRING

15 August: Concert Bachcelona Consort, at 8.30pm.

25-26 May: Ferreries celebrates the season by decorating the town centre with flowers.

SALA ALBERT CAMUS

MENORCA DOC FEST

Carrer de Sant Lluis 58, Sant Lluis www.salaalbertcamus.org

4 October – 1 November: Documentary festival https://www.menorcadocfest.com/

11 and 12 May: Drama: Els Figurants performed by Tornam a ser Aquí (At 8pm on Saturday 11 may, and at 7pm on Sunday 12 May).

MENORCA BIOSPHERE RESERVE

25 May: Choral Concert, 8pm.

Guided visits on different aspects of the Biosphere Reserve. Visits are in Catalan and free of charge. Places are limited and are to be booked in advance on www.menorcabiosfera.org or by WhatsApp to 699 824 897

EROTIC FILM FESTIVAL 2 – 18 May: 8th International Erotic Film Festival at various locations in Mahón. See website for more details https://www.labocaerotica.com.es/

26 May: El turisme, una clau de pas oberta a la sostenibilitat. 10am to 2pm. 1 June: Una mar de sal, 10am to 1.30pm. 10 August: Pluja estel·lar, 9pm to midnight.

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

WHAT’S ON

MAY 2024

TALAYOTIC MENORCA GUIDED VISITS: These tours are in Catalan and are free of charge: you just need to sign up for them. Tel: 689 33 28 88. 25 May: Son Mercer de Baix 8 June: Son Catlar 21 September: Talatí de Dalt

GUIDED TOURS COVA DE S’AIGUA Cova de s’Aigua, in Cala Blanca: guided tours in English at 9.30am daily Wednesdays to Sundays. Ticket office open on site from 9.30am to 1.30pm Wednesday to Sunday or online from https://www.menorca.es/es/Visitas_guiadas_la_Cova_de_ sAigua/14052

GUIDED TOURS OF THE HOSPITAL ON ISLA DEL REY From 11th May with the Gallery of Hauser & Wirth open, the yellow catamarans will be running as usual from Mahon and transporting people over to the island on the hour, every hour and returning every half past the hour. For the English tour you could go on the 11.00h catamaran on Tuesdays or Thursdays or on the 09.00h boat for Sundays (especially interesting when the volunteers are at work). French tours are at 11.00h on Wednesdays and Spanish tours (in castellano) at 11.00h every day. Best to book first with the yellow catamarans on: https://www.yellowcatamarans.com/en/home.

CAN ALBERTI CULTURAL CENTRE Calle Isabel II 9, Mahón www.hotelcanalberti.com/en/art/ 28 June- 8 July: Photo exhibition by Isabel Muñoz. 11 July- 2 August: Art and photo exhibition with Ibasho Art gallery.

MUSEUMS Can Saura Municipal Museum: 2, Santissim, Ciutadella. Open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10:30 to 13:30 and 17:30 to 21:00. Free Entry on Wednesday. Museu de Menorca: Pla des Monestir, 9, 07701 Maó, Illes Balears. October to May Open Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Closed Monday. http://museudemenorca.com

EXHIBITIONS Francesc Hernandez Monjo. Marines: Can Oliver. Calle d’Anuncivay 2, Mahón. Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 1.30pm and 6 to 8pm. Sundays open 10am to 1.30pm. Until 16 June. Free admission to the exhibition. Admission to the museum: 5€. Ha Aretz: exhibition of photographs by photographer Roger Grasas, in El Roser, Calle Roser 11, Ciutadella. Open Monday to Saturday 11am to 1pm and 6 to 9pm. Until 11 May. Admission free. Sunscreen: experimental photography by artists Víctor Masferrer and Maite Basterra, at the Museo de Menorca, plaça d’Es Monestir, Mahón. Open Tuesdays and Thursdays 10am to 6pm. Also, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays from 10am to 2pm. Free admission to the exhibition. Admission to the museum: 4€. D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

WHAT’S ON

Jesús Rafael Soto, exhibition of the artist’s works at the Galería Cayón. Open Mondays: 6 to 9pm. Tuesday to Saturday: 10.30am to 2pm and 6 to 9pm. Open from 1 June to 31 August. Carrer de Sant Roc 24, Mahón. Admission free. A peu i en bicicleta per Menorca: an exhibition about archaeologist Mascaró Pasarius, in Sala de cultura Sant Diego, Alaior, open 5.30 to 8.30pm. Until 2 June. LÔAC: Contemporary art gallery located at Calle Santiago Pons Quintana 56, Alaior. Open Tuesdays to Fridays 5 to 8pm, and Saturdays and Sundays 10am to 1.30pm and 5 to 8pm. Admission 5€.

MAY 2024

SPORTS EVENTS Walk for health: Every Wednesday, setting off from the obelisk in Plaça Born, Ciutadella. 9.30 to 11.30am. Organised by Asociación Española contra el cancer. 27 – 31 August- 2 September: Copa Del Rey Classic Ships sailing regatta. www.velaclasicamenorca.com 28 September: The Trail Nocturna, night run, https://traildelsfars.com/nocturna 6 October: Artiem Half Menorca Triathlon. www.artiemhalfmenorca.com

NEW CULTURAL CENTRE IN CIUTADELLA

18-20 October: International cycling tour. www.menorcacicloturista.com

A new centre will be opening at the end of April in the Sa Quintana area of Ciutadella, located on the corner of carrer Santa Barbara and carrer Marino Benejam (on the northern side of the port, just up the hill from the bridge). Run by the Fundación Numa, the centre is opening with the Inner Voice exhibition of 30 sculptures by Dutch artist Caspar Berger.

21 October: The October Trail run. https://illadelstrails.com/programa-october-trail/

HAUSER & WIRTH Contemporary art exhibitions on Illa del Rei. The gallery will be open from Saturday 11 May with two new exhibitions, by Roni Horn and Eduardo Chillida (until 27 October). Admission free. Many activities (tours, concerts, workshops, etc) are organised throughout the summer. Please see website for more information. https://menorca.hauserwirth.com/en/home

BANK HOLIDAYS Everything closed, although in the summer months, many shops tend to stay open. All shops and businesses remain closed during the respective local fiestas. 1 May: International Workers’ Day 15 August: Assumption Day 12 October: Spain’s National Day 1 November: All Saints’ Day 6 December: Constitution Day 8 December: Day of the Immaculate Conception. 25 December: Christmas Day.

ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T

WHAT’S ON

MAY 2024

RECYCLING The recycling plant at Es Milà is running guided tours (in Catalan) for anyone interested in learning more about how recycling is dealt with in Menorca. The tours are free, and held on the first Thursday of the month (except July and August) at 5pm (lasting one hour). Places need to be booked in advance by filling in the form on the website https://www.cremenorca.org/ and clicking on the link Visita la planta de Milà.

GETTING AROUND THE ISLAND If you prefer using public transport as an alternative to taking the car, there are three bus companies covering different parts of the island. Buses are very punctual, although bear in mind timetables vary greatly depending on the time of year. Up to date bus timetables can be checked online. TORRES www.bus.e-torres.net Torres buses run between Ciutadella and resorts along the west coast, as well as to the unspoiled beaches to the north and to the south of Ciutadella. TMSA www.tmsa.es TMSA buses run across the island connecting all the main towns, as well as routes to the resorts on the southern coast and eastern coast AUTOS FORNELLS https://www.autosfornells.com/ connecting Mahón with the north-eastern coastline up to Fornells, also connections to Alaior and Es Mercadal.

MARKETS FARMERS’ MARKETS Ciutadella: Wednesdays and Saturdays 9am to 2pm in Plaza de la Libertad (by the fish market). Mahon: Sundays 9am to 2pm, in Carrer de s’Arravaleta and Carrer Nou (by the American bar). Mahón Tapas by the fish market: Monday to Saturday, 11am to 11.30pm. Ferreries: Saturdays, 9am to 1pm in Plaza España (main square).

STREET MARKETS Mahón: Tuesday and Saturday 9am to 2pm in the Plaza Esplanada. Ciutadella: Monday and Friday 9am to 2pm in the Plaza Borne. Alayor: Thursday morning in town centre. Fornells: Wednesdays, 9am to 1pm. in Carrer de la Mar. Sant Lluis: Mondays and Wednesdays, 10am to 1pm in Pla de sa Creu. Es Castell: Mondays and Wednesdays, 9am to 1pm in Plaza Esplanada. Ferreries: Fridays 9am to 1pm in Plaça Espanya.

WANTED Long term villa/apartment rental from April 2024, Mahon side of the Island preferably. For further information please contact Angie: angie@roquetamagazine.net WE OFFER Private garden maintenance services and pool cleaning. Help looking after animals in your own home on the island. Oven cleaning service especially to UK non resident families. Contact pemigogardens@aol.com Tel: +44 7770233986 or +34 604907638. D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

READERS CORNER

MAY 2024

ALAIOR

TREASURE HUNT

I have begun creating treasure hunt games in the towns, villages and countryside of Menorca and am delighted to present my first treasure hunt right here in the Roqueta. The games are designed to be a fun way of exploring the island and are suitable for people of all ages. If you enjoy this hunt, I can no doubt be persuaded to set another one for you!

How to Play The hunt takes place within the boundaries of the town of Alaior. It can be undertaken on foot and is wheelchair friendly. First, make sure you take this magazine with you as you will need the treasure map and the answer sheet (larger, printable, PDF versions are available on the menorcatreasurehunts.com website) to complete the quest. If you are arriving by car, try to find somewhere to park in or around Av. de la Verge del Toro (the ME9). From there, you will head up the hill in a north-westerly direction to the first location (shown on the hunt map). If your fitness level makes walking uphill difficult, you might want to park near the top of the hill. Then just continue to follow the orange arrows, answering the gambits as you go. It really is that easy, and when you get to the end (Gambit 12), you should have a completed answer sheet. The highlighted boxes on the sheet form an anagram of the name of a local town. As this is a permanent hunt, I can’t hide physical items around the town. For that reason, all the gambits are provided here, and their approximate locations are marked on the treasure map. Good luck and happy hunting! Jobie Baldwin

READERS CORNER

Gambit 1 Find the lucky sculpture and then enter the small park located behind it. There you will find a lovely little church that is dedicated to a saint who was once the patron saint of Alaior. His name in Catalan is the answer to this gambit. You will see it is called the new (Nou) church, which seems wildly inaccurate (it was built between 1723 and 1731) until you learn that it replaced an even earlier church that stood on a different site in town.

MAY 2024

Gambit 4 King James II of Mallorca, who founded the parish, is immortalised in stone in the small garden at the side of the church. Use an Ottendorf cypher on the plaque at his feet to find a five-letter word. The numbers you’ll need to answer this gambit are: -

341, 125, 212, 345, 358 You’ll need to remember this answer for one of the later gambits. Gambit 5 Beside the Santa Eulalia church, this small door is the entrance to a series of tunnels. The answer is the Catalan word for what they were used for during the Spanish Civil War.

While you are here, don’t miss the opportunity to go to the back of the little park where you will find a fantastic view of the valley below the town. Gambit 2 Solve this rebus puzzle to find the name of the object you are looking for.

Gambit 6

Take the road you found in gambit 4, Then look for bad luck over the door. The solution to this little game, Is found in this hotel’s Catalan name (6). Gambit 3 Go to Santa Eulalia church. The Santa Eulalia church was built between 1630 and 1690, although it was built on the site of an earlier church that was built in the early 14th century. The parish was founded in 1303 under the patronage of James II of Mallorca. The church is built around a single nave that was large enough to shelter all the villagers in case of attack. Look above the main door and tell us what is missing from the picture. While you are here, do go inside the church and take a look around.

Water Stop You can fill your water bottle at the water fountain in Placita d’En Borrás. Gambit 7 Continue down the street to LÔAC art museum. Stand facing the museum and look at the front of the building. Add up the number of circles you can see on the railings then deduct the total number of circles at roof level. The resulting number is the answer to this gambit.

Water Stop In case you forgot to top up your water bottle earlier, you’ll find one in the children’s play park in Plaça des Ramal. Gambit 8 Cross the Plaça and when you get to Carrer des Ramal, turn left. On your way up the hill, on your right-hand side, you’ll see some steps leading up to and through an arch. Go up the steps and follow the path to discover a watery secret. The question is, when is a pearl not a pearl?

D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

READERS CORNER Gambit 9 Continue up Carrer des Ramel until you reach the Plaça de la Constitució. Stand in the photographer’s footprints. What time-related item can you see in real life that you can’t see in this photo?

MAY 2024

FIND THE

TREASURE

Gambit 10 From the Plaça de la Constitució take Carrer Major. Along this road, inside one of the buildings, you’ll find a grand staircase. Multiply the number of steps you would have to climb to get to the statue by the number of exit roads from the Plaça de la Constitució. That is your answer. Gambit 11 Go to the convent of Sant Diego, where Franciscan monks established themselves in around 1629. In 1835, the building was repurposed for military use and later, during the 20th century, after the military left, the people of Alaior began using the building and the patio for cultural events. Over the years, the building has been refurbished and now offers a busy timetable of events throughout the summer months.

Solve this anagram to find the part of the convent you are looking for.

Gambit 12 This Nag is named after a famous Sylvester.

SOLVE THE ANAGRAM TO FIND THE TREASURE.

Find the answers to these clues and more treasure hunts at

menorcatreasurehunts.com All the hunts are free to play and you can start whenever you want, they’re there all year round. All I ask is that if you enjoyed your hunt, you consider donating to one of Menorca’s incredible charities - if you play online, there will be links waiting for you at the end of your quest!

READERS CORNER

MAY 2024

BOOK REVIEW ENCHANTED ISLANDS: TRAVELS THROUGH MYTH & MAGIC, LOVE & LOSS BY LAURA COFFEY

“A magical and hugely captivating journey – filled with such beauty, wonder and surprise. A simply marvellous read, hugely recommended” – Stephen Fry Enchanted Islands is the story of how Laura, seeking solace from the pain of heartbreak and her father’s illness, was inspired to travel through the Mediterranean’s islands, including Menorca, using Homer’s The Odyssey as her inspiration. In the opening chapter Laura picks up a copy of The Odyssey in a bookshop to impress her exboyfriend, who had a triple first in English. When the pandemic hits and her relationship ends, she is left alone in lockdown, sad and angry. Laura starts to read the book and she gets caught up in the tales and the places visited by Odysseus. As the real world became stranger and more terrifying with new monsters and perils, I dived deeper into the fantastical world of The Odyssey, in search of escape. She is also unable to visit her father who has terminal cancer and has to isolate and she can only speak to him on the phone. Their relationship is deeply loving and her father maintains his amazing sense of humour throughout his illness. There are many moments you can relate to if you have lost one of your own parents to illness but there are plenty of uplifting moments too. When ‘travel corridors’ open in the UK, Laura escapes to the string of tiny Aeolian islands off Sicily which were thought to have inspired The Odyssey. Next, she visits Croatia but when her plans to reach Mljet are thwarted by bad weather she makes her way to Menorca, arriving in Mahon in December. Sitting in the Bar Nou, she reads about Mauricio Obregó, a historian who believed that the island of the Cyclopes could be one of the Balearic Islands, leading her to imagine Menorca as ‘the land where one-eyed monsters used to roam’. She rents a cheap apartment and a local woman, Montese, lends her an old bike so she is able to explore the island and swim. She sees birds everywhere and meets Javier, our Menorcan ornithologist, who becomes her teacher. She is the only person on his bird walking tour and delights in learning the names of birds in three languages. Happiness came down to this: a bicycle, low-walled narrow country lanes to slow-cycle down, a turquoise sea cradled by a rocky cove, a bright day, and a notebook so I could write down the new things I’d learned to see. Laura’s mother visited Menorca when she was 19 and had always wanted to return, so she revisits all the beaches her mother can remember and writes her name in the sand. From Mahon she moves to a small casa de campo near Sant Lluis, and unable to return to the UK she decides to take time to think by walking the Cami de Cavalls. She meets and swims with more local characters including Carmen, a Buddhist interior designer, and ‘naked Andrew’, an expat, a man of routine and ‘British to the point of satire’ who likes to share local horror stories. After her father’s death, and a period of grief, she returns to Menorca, wanting to go back to somewhere she had felt happy. She bumps into Javier again and has “one of the best days of my life” when he takes her with him to catch and put rings on the wild birds. This is the first book Laura has written and I spoke to her to find out how she has achieved such success. She told me that her father had always encouraged her to write and after getting two travel articles published in The Guardian and Condé Nast Traveller she started to put the book together. On the advice of a friend, she sent off a proposal to 20 publishers but received no response. Six months later Summersdale, a specialist publisher of travel books, got in touch and asked for the first chapter. She quickly wrote 5,000 words over one weekend and they offered her a deal. The book was launched on 30 April at Daunt Books, the famous travel bookshop in Marylebone, London. It has received wonderful reviews from Stephen Fry as well as poets, authors and the one she is especially proud of, a palliative care doctor.

Enchanted Islands: Travels through Myth & Magic, Love & Loss by Laura Coffey (Summersdale, £16.99) is available from all good book retailers: bookshop.org, Amazon D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T

READERS CORNER

MAY 2024

PIG TALES

By Rachael Adams

AN APPLE-SCRUMPING, THIEVING SORT OF PIG

Her legs aren’t even as high as my ankles but I could swear H she’s crouching too. Slinking, as it were. I drag myself sh through the (thankfully!) long grass, heart hammering. I th make frequent breaks to review the situation: and make sure m those voices aren’t getting any closer. th After a few metres, I get the giggles. Hopefully, I encourage A myself, if anyone did spot us, they’d find it funny too - but m we can’t be taking any risks! I quickly sober up as we come w tto a hole in the trees, with nothing between us and sure ddeath, we’re to be callously exposed for a full three-metre stretch. In my imagination we could easily be spotted and taken out: BANG, BANG! - go the sniping fruit-protectors down below. Just breathe I tell myself.

It’s a lovely sunny morning in October. The weather is cooling off and there’s a gentle breeze. I’m standing in somebody’s orchard, high on a terrace amongst the rows of green leafy apple trees, admiring my most loved possession, Dot. She’s gorging her little fat face on dropped Royal Galas and Golden Supremes. Her eyes are squeezed shut with glee, what a treat! I can see the polytunnels in the field down below, stone walls, a couple of little outhouses and a small tractor. All is quiet, peaceful and serene. Good. Suddenly, a gurgle and a hiss announce the sprinklers have been turned on. I pray they’re on a timer. Almost as suddenly, I hear men’s voices! Since returning to live in England in 2021, I come back to camp with my 12-year-old potbelly in her field as often as I can. Dot’s trained to go in my van via her ramp. But I don’t want her to know it’s here, parked a couple of minutes away along the track. In my mind, she might wonder why I don’t just take her back home to her family, her warm heater and endless pampering. I can’t explain that our rented house was sold. And so, places we can get to for walks are somewhat limited for the time being… But we make do. She wakes me up at 6 am, we have breakfast together, then she joins me back in the tent for snuggles, doing her best to tear up my ground mat before settling. Next, it’s time for our walk. I let her out of her field and ask her which way she fancies this shiny fair morning; “right towards the horses of course” – she answers back. She has a thing about horses and donkeys and wants to be their best friend immediately. They, on the other hand, are rarely so keen. “No ‘cos they’ll kick you in the head and I can’t be bothered with all that malarkey today.” We take a left towards the orchards. I grab my horse-thwarting staff just in case. We amble up the lane and allow ourselves onto somebody else’s property. The gates have long since parted ways with their posts, and we aren’t doing any harm. It’s just a few rotten apples and somewhere safe for her to wander. Piggy needs must, I reason. All is going well; everything is lovely and fine and dandy. We relish every second of our time together in this beautiful fresh landscape, the world is an amazing place…until the watering system fires into life unexpectedly… “Ahhhhhhh bugger – bugger – bugger!!” - I wheeze, à la Dawn French. I drop to the ground, cursing my bright red jumper. We’re quite some way from the exit, a full 50m at least. I inch forward on my elbows, imagining I’m Kate Adie in war-torn Iraq. Dot dutifully follows along behind me.

“Come on porc, look sharp! One, two, three!” I dive across the gap, THWUMP! shuffle, shuffle, shuffle! I look back to see if my war cries have catapulted her into action. “Hang on I’ve found a nice one” complains Dot from across the abyss. “Pleeeease”- I beg her in frantic whispers, “now’s tiiiime”. “Yea - but - no - but -yea - but”, …says Dot à la Vicky not the tiiiime” “ Pollard, raising an undecided trotter and moving her head from side to side. She eyes a Red Delicious to her right. My heart’s no longer beating. She looks at me. And then…I kid you not, she scuttles for her little piggy life!!! Straight towards me, come to Mama in the undergrowth my wonderpig! I drag myself the last mile to an innocent-looking níspero tree at the exit, branches draped casually over the gateposts. I stand up and pull the grass out of my traitorous red jumper. “PHE-WEEEEEEEE” I chuckle. Dot gives me a wink and a bright little grunt — then keeps on eating apples. P.S. I bet the (sadly) late Esther the Wonder Pig couldn’t have pulled off a feat like this – she just seemed to be forever lying on couches. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlHV_GGR0RM _

READERS CORNER

MAY 2024

EXPLORING MENORCA WITH THE DOCTOR 1962

By Ann Port

Staying at the Hotel Xuroy, we were based in Alcaufar, a sleepy village but with a surprisingly international community with of course, Spanish but also French, German, Swedish, Danish and English residents. Our first port of call was to get a pair of flip flops from Via Maris, a Post Office/shop/café. We tried the menu of the day which was a large bowl of eels which tasted as they looked! The Piccolo Mundo bar was more successful as it was also a meeting point to get to know other families in the village and their house guests. This led to the discovery of a bathing platform where we would often meet. We found a coastal path on the opposite side which led to an emerging development called S’Algar and just beyond a tiny beach called Rafalet. We would sit on the hotel terrace in the evening chatting with other residents. There was an elderly schoolmistress who had become a regular visitor and we heard of an English writer who had made Menorca his home. If feeling energetic we played table tennis under the shade of the pergola. There was a chap who used to cross the beach daily herding his pig with a stick and an old lady with a plaintive voice, desperate to sell her grapes to the hotel guests. She wore black, including a black headscarf as did most women over a certain age as there was still strict observance of “luto rigoroso” in those days, the obligatory period of mourning. This was much stricter for women than the simple wearing of a black armband for men. On the far side of the beach, we discovered the coastal path to Punta Prima and the tiny beach of Calo Roig which you could generally have to yourself for a dip. Punta Prima had a hotel right on the beach run by an Englishman and a beach bar and restaurant. The road was still dusty and unmade but a few little houses had been built facing the beach.

a hotel, we were to have barbecued fish cooked by a chap who had a secondary talent as a fortune teller. I’m not sure he was entirely accurate in that sphere, but his cooking was certainly very good. After a swim and lunch we continued to Cala Morell. Unsurprisingly, these trips whetted our appetite and we returned to the island the following summer. Having met the doctor’s family and friends we were now beginning to feel integrated into local life and we entered into the swing of things. We discovered “Xoriguer” or more often Beltran in those days (I can still picture the bottles) and we enjoyed nights at the Casino, better known as the Club Maritimo where we danced into the early hours. Nowhere closed until the last customer had left. A favourite spot for the young set was the ‘Jardines Infanta’. There we danced outdoors in the moonlight with live groups playing under the stars, the trees twinkling with the fairy lights. This was a magical experience for a young person. A group of all ages would then move on to Sa Tanca, a nightclub in Sant Lluis where quite sophisticated cabaret acts would take place, though not quite on a par with the ones I had seen in Barcelona. You will notice that I refer to the towns by their Castilian names as this was quite common during the Franco era and it took some time for the road signs to change. Some friends younger than I am still refer to Es Castell as Villa Carlos, another of our haunts. Cas Pinto was often packed to the gunnels, and I remember people dancing on the tables on really lively nights. There were impromptu musicians at Es Cau where Ivan sat in the corner playing his guitar and Jim Maps, who many will remember, was generally at the bar in conversation with some interesting visitor, on one occasion an ex Russian prince. More to follow...

This formed the limits of our exploration of Menorca until my father had an ear infection which, although unfortunate and expensive for him initially, turned out to be fortuitous and the precursor to these articles. A doctor was summoned, a specialist it turned out and he gave my father medication and his not insubstantial bill. He seemed a genial, elderly man and chatted animatedly to my father asking him what he had seen of the island and what he thought of it, although at this point we had scarcely ventured very far. The doctor was solicitous and insisted on coming back to check on his patient the following day. My father agreed somewhat reluctantly (something which later filled him with remorse for his churlishness). He had no inkling at this point of what the doctor had in mind and how kind and generous he would turn out to be, true Menorcan hospitality of which we encountered much more over the years. The following day on finding my father greatly improved, the doctor announced that he had taken the day off to show us the island. He had a Citroen CV with windows which folded upwards and a push pull gear lever, something I had never seen before. We crammed into the car ready for our adventure. Our first stop was the breathtaking sight of the beach at Arenal d’en Castell, accessed by a rocky road. The doctor assured us that it would remain a virgin beach due to the difficulties of getting a water supply there (if only!). We saw Son Saura del Norte and then went on to Na Macaret and the ‘pièce de résistance’ a perfect virgin beach known at that time as Cala Santa Galdana. I will never forget descending the red soil, sandy road in the heat of summer with dust flying everywhere. Winding down the track we spotted through the pine trees the spectacular sight of the horseshoe bay. How privileged I feel to have seen it before any development. A real friendship was developing with the doctor as we marvelled at the beautiful places he had shown us and his inordinate pride in his homeland. As if this kindness wasn’t enough, he then said he would call again and take us on another trip to what was previously the old capital of the island, Ciutadella, and arrange a fresh fish lunch for us in a cave with a platform on the rocks. The doctor called for us in his Citroen CV. We were first going to meet one of the aristocratic families on the island, some friends of his, at their palace, before going to the beach at Santandria to have lunch. Although this beach already had

Cala en Porter in 1963, before the Playa Azul was built

D O N ’ T M I S S A N E D I T I O N , S U B S C R I B E T O D AY ! V I S I T: R O Q U E TA M A G A Z I N E . N E T