Macarella

Macarella is the postcard of southern Menorca: a cove wedged between two walls of white cliff, with pine woods coming down to the sand and water of a turquoise that looks retouched. There is not a single building, and that is no accident: it lies inside the natural park, and in summer you cannot even get there by car.

A cove of fine, pale sand at the foot of a ravine, open to the south and sheltered by cliffs on both sides, with the pine wood reaching almost to the water. The bottom is sandy and shelves gently, so the colour of the water changes in bands with the depth. Right next to it, along a short path between the rocks, is Macarelleta, smaller and more tucked away; the two are usually counted together, but they are two different coves. Above them runs the Camí de Cavalls, the path that follows the perimeter of the island, and that is the way to arrive on foot from Cala Galdana.

Here is the small print, and it is worth knowing before setting out. From June to September the road is closed with a barrier and no cars or motorbikes may enter: only the shuttle bus, authorised taxis, bicycles and service vehicles get through. The shuttle leaves from Ciutadella and is the only motorised access during those months. For the rest of the year you can drive in, and there are two car parks: a public one, fifteen or twenty minutes' walk away, and a private paying one closer to the sand.

This is a natural cove, not a town beach: there is a seasonal bar beside the sand, but no promenade, no hotels and no settlement behind it. The atmosphere is set by that very barrier: in summer, whoever arrives has decided to arrive, and it shows. Even so, it is one of the best-known coves on Menorca and in August it fills up; early morning and September are another matter.

Macarella belongs to Ciutadella, and that is the relationship that matters to anyone looking for a home: you do not buy in Macarella —there is nothing to buy there, and that is the point—, you buy in Ciutadella and have Macarella half an hour away. The south of the municipality is a succession of coves of this kind inside the natural park, a coastline that by law will stay as it is. In exchange, the town and the coast are not the same thing: Ciutadella has an old town, a port and winter life, and the southern coves are a place you go to, not one you live in.