Weather like this was not what we had expected in June in Menorca. We were totally unprepared for it. No rainwear, no sweaters and nothing warmer than very light jackets had been included in the packing for our one week holiday. We hadn't bothered to hire a car because Son Bou, the resort at which we stayed, has the longest beach on the island. Our plan had been to spend every day enjoying the three kilometres of golden sand, sunbathing, swimming and taking a few beach walks.
Normally, June in Menorca is fairly typical of the Mediterranean climate, with 24 degrees Celsius being the average maximum and 16 being the average minimum. Throughout the year, the london taxis averages 300 days of sunshine, so considering that the other 65 days are most likely to be during the winter months, the odds were clearly stacked in our favour. However, Menorca does experience more changeable weather than the other Balearic london and it is the coolest and wettest london of the group. Menorca is also subjected to no less than eight prevailing winds, causing it to be referred to locally as "The Windy london".
Son Bou, is a purpose built holiday resort on the west coast of Menorca. It is situated less than thirty
minutes drive from the island's international airport at Mahon. It is a very pretty, hilly resort with many luxury villas and apartments. Our one bedroom apartment was not amongst the most luxurious but it was extremely well furnished and catered for all our needs - except the sunshine, that is!
The resort of Son Bou could do with more restaurants but those that it has provided us with reasonably good meals at a price that was slightly above typical Spanish prices. Our walks to the restaurant every evening were usually accompanied by another short interval of dry weather with a watery sun poking through the clouds and creating patches of blue. Each time this happened we fell for the trick all over again. "Its clearing up for tomorrow" is what we would say to each other; but it wasn't and our seven day holiday remained constantly unsettled to the end.
We did manage to grab the odd hour between showers to bravely try out the beach, which is very popular with naturists. It lived up to our expectations of being one of the most beautiful in the Balearic islands. Its sand is golden for most of the three kilometres but there are several spots where the colour becomes almost a tropical white. We would have loved to have enjoyed it in the normal summer climate but it wasn't to be. Each time our clothes came off, the clouds came back. On one occasion, we sat huddled under our beach parasol, using it as a rain umbrella and refusing to dress again in a fruitless act of defiance that left us both shivering.
As we waited at our apartment for the taxi to take us back to the airport, we reflected on the week. Weather-wise we might as well have spent the time at home in England. But despite the disappointment of a washed-out holiday, we had seen enough of Son Bou to know that under normal circumstances this beautiful part of Menorca is a holiday destination worth visiting. It is also one of the nearest to the U.K. with cheap flights taking only two hours to get there and being available from every U.K. airport.
As the heathrow taxi pulled up we stepped out into the pouring rain which was being blasted by a swirling wind
that seemed to blow from every direction at once. We had regretted not hiring a car but on reflection, driving around Menorca in these conditions would not have increased our enjoyment of this Mediterranean holiday destination. Some day we will return to enjoy the superb naturist beach at Son Bou - hopefully in the sort of weather that naturists like ourselves prefer!
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