Adonia cruise part 8 - Menorca

What a wonderful day! We had both intended to be up on deck for the sail into Port Mahon on Menorca but when we woke and looked through the window we were already in the estuary so threw some clothes over our nightwear and raced up on deck - the beauty of a small ship is the lifts are quick and close by the cabin! It was a stunning morning with calm turquoise water and pretty pastel-coloured houses lining the waterfront and up the cliffs. We had to turn 180 degrees - quite a feat in the narrow harbour and berthed right at the bottom of the steps up to the old town. As we had breakfast on deck, Minerva arrived with a tug so we watched her berth behind us. This looked fairly difficult as she doesn't appear to have any thrusters and needed pulling round by the tug and then winching in to the quayside using her bow lines. Caryll and I set off to explore this lovely town. It is quite a climb up initially but once at the top we were rewarded with lovely views of the ships and marina. As it was Sunday most of the shops were closed but the first church we found was open and quite spectacular. There was a small open air market and cafes and we sat with a couple of glasses of Sangria and took in the atmosphere. We were both on a hunt for a hat as I had left mine in the reject pile when told the last cruise to the Med was wet and cold and Caryll lost hers (bought in Alghero) on the top of the bus in Barcelona! There were some good clothes shops as well as souvenirs and artisan goods and I found a nice black straw hat for 9 euros. We separated as Caryll found a Wi-Fi spot and I wandered round the lower waterfront area before arriving back on Adonia just in time for the deck barbeque. It was perfect to be sitting beside the pool out in the sun in this pretty port. The Captain stopped for a chat with me – he was very visible around the ship, as were the other officers, unlike other ships I have sailed on, although of course being small there are fewer places to hide, and he frequently had breakfast in the Conservatory with pax. Sadly we only had until 2.30 here as I would have liked to have taken the glass-bottomed catamaran out into the estuary mouth, but on the other hand our departure back along the narrow inlet was well worth watching.

Adonia at Port Mahon

Finally there was an early show at 7.15 for the late sitting diners, so we both went. It was a John Denver tribute act and was very good, although I thought he could have chosen a better selection of songs.  We then went to dinner, which is now so much better as we have got to know each other better, although putting two singles with three couples is not the best combination IMO. Tonight was casual/Tropical, and after dinner there was a Tropical Deck Party which was great fun under balmy Mediterranean skies, after which we went to the quiz. Tonight we came last, but since we won last night (another bottle of wine for the fridge!), it was just as well else we would be starting with -2 tomorrow! We also a team member down and since he was the sports/film/pop expert that didn’t help!

Thank goodness we finally have a sea day tomorrow and a lie-in and leisurely breakfast.