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Attractions

The main tourist attraction in Cala Galdana is without doubt the fabulous beach and water sport facilities. A word of advice, if you are planning to spend everyday on the beach invest in your own beach mats and umbrella and you'll save yourself an absolute fortune by the end of the holiday. Also a special attraction that the kids will spot straight away in the resort is the pizzeria Tobogán. In addition to the restaurant and bar, there is a couple of fair sized water slides that operate on a "pay as you go" basis, a playground and a mini golf course in their grounds.

The island of Menorca is famous throughout all of Spain for its displays of horsemanship. The Menorcan horse was officially recognised as an indigenous breed back in 1989, and should be completely black in colour, muscular, powerful, with an elegant and rustic appearance. The Association of Owners and Breeders of the Menorcan horse work tirelessly to improve the genes of the breed, and in recent years it has become a popular choice with many of the European breeders. On the main road running into Cala Galdana from Ferreries, you will find one of the best equestrian shows on the island at the Club Escola Menorquina. During the summer months from June to September, they hold shows every Wednesday and Sunday evening beginning at 8.30pm. If you book direct and pay on the door, tickets are quite reasonably priced at around £8.00 for adults, and under 12's are admitted free. Contact details are:
Club Escola Menorquina
Carretera Cala Galdana Km. 0,5
Ferreries
Telephone: +34 971 155 059
Web site: www.showmenorca.com

Contrary to popular belief, fiestas on Menorca are not held purely for the benefit of tourists, and the origins of many can be traced way back to the 14th Century. To the local residents, the word fiesta conjures up images of beautifully groomed horses, the drink “Pomada” which is a combination of gin and lemon, and the traditionally baked cake “Coca amb Xocolati”, which is served with a sweet chocolate drink. A typical fiesta begins in the afternoon before the Saint's day with the horses and their riders meeting and parading through the streets before congregating at the church for Mass. In the evening there is often live music and traditional folk dancing, and then a magnificent firework display ends the celebrations at around midnight.

Although the resort of Cala Galdana cannot justify its own fiesta, the town of Ferreries, which is 11km inland from the resort, proudly celebrates its annual fiesta for its patron Saint Bartomeu on the 23-25 of August each year. The highlight of the fiesta is always the parade through the town, where at pre-determined points riders encourage their horses to rear onto their hind legs to the cheers of the crowd.

Although not strictly a celebration that visitors to the area will necessarily get too involved with, the tradition of "El Caramelero", or the Tree of Sweets, is still widely recognised by the children of Ferreries. Each year on the Saturday before Palm Sunday, children eagerly plant the branch of a tree in a pot, and water it with a water and sugar mixture. The following morning when they awake, the branch is then full of sweets which they carry through the town during the traditional Palm Sunday procession.

Certainly worth a mention are the three weekly open air markets that are held at the Placa Espanya in Ferreries throughout the year. On Tuesday and Friday mornings these are traditional fruit and produce markets, whereas the one held on the Saturday morning would possibly hold more appeal to visitors, as it does tend to have more of a local handicraft theme. As with all markets throughout the Balearic Islands, they all tend to start quite early in the morning, and then begin to break up at around 2pm as the heat of the day really begins to set in.

Although at 354m above sea level, Mount Toro is indisputably recognised as being the highest mountain on Menorca, however, the honour of being the second highest rests with Mount Santa Àgueda, in the municipal district of Ferreries. The Castle of Santa Àgueda at its peak was built by the Arabs on the remains of what was an ancient Roman settlement. Local legend has it that when the castle was abandoned in 1287, the Arab Governor at the time buried a golden calf somewhere in the castle grounds, in an attempt to prevent it from falling into the hands of the invading Christian forces led by Alfonso III of Aragon. Well over 700 years have now passed, and the illusive golden calf has yet to be discovered, so don't forget to pack a metal detector into your hand luggage!!

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