When the ferry docked in Ciutadella, the sun was still below the horizon and once I was instructed by a port official where to go after travelling down the ramp, and had left the port area and cycled towards the campsite, I quickly found myself in the countryside. There was very little noise or traffic on the roads, the white buildings and dry stone walls adjacent to the road seemed to perfectly match the landscape. Soon there was little sign of human habitation, let alone tourism. As the sun rose behind the clouds to softly illuminate the road, the scene felt completely the opposite to what I had left behind in Barcelona.

The seat on the ferry was comfortable but not particularly conducive to sleep and I was keen to find the campsite to get some rest. So I took the most direct route offered by Google, and eventually came to a gate which was manned by a gentleman who proceeded to warn me about the bus which would soon be travelling along the road. It struck me as strange that the road needed to be gated but carried on. Eventually the road narrowed to the extent that it became clear that meeting a bus could now be problematic.

Cycling was becoming more difficult and I looked down to discover the rear tyre of the bike was only partially inflated and must have a puncture. I was somewhat amazed that this was the first puncture and that I hadn’t had one sooner, especially in light of the many fragments of glass I had unavoidably cycled over on the edge of the roads in France. It didn’t take long to locate the offending thorn and replace the inner tube, or maybe it just felt like that because the bus I’d been warned about had passed by several times in either direction, and by the time it was fixed, it was broad daylight.

A stone type of stile like barrier – to stop vehicles and allow pedestrians – would necessitate removing the panniers temporarily. Two men on mountain bikes going the other way (who hurriedly made traversing the stile look easy) provided reassurance that I was heading towards a campsite.

Eventually I arrived at the campsite and checked in, then visited the beach at Cala Galdana. The beach was in a sheltered cove and the sand and water had a slightly green tinge.

It wasn’t until the next day that the sun came out and I cycled down to the more remote Cala Mitjana first thing in the morning, then returned to Cala Galdana which looked stunning in the sunshine and still being early, almost empty.

Once I had packed the tent I left the campsite and cycled to Ciutadella, where I caught the fast ferry to Alcudia in neighbouring Mallorca.

Cala Galdana, Menorca

Cala Galdana, Menorca

Ciuatadella, Menorca