uptempodemonplumsauce: "Translucent, WHITE leeches!"

...says Stella, scaring the crap out of me at dinner, as she's telling me the story of why she hiked so fast through the Malaysian rain forest.

mid-hike in a place WITHOUT white leeches

September 18, Monday

It's moving day! Today is all packing, cleaning, airporting, waiting, flying...

To Menorca! Or Minorca! I see both everywhere, and that lack of distinction makes me crazy. But the town uses Menorca, so I'm using Menorca.

We're staying in Maó! Or Mahon! Same as above, so I'm sticking to Maó. The lack of clarity bugs me in a real pebble-in-my-sock kind of way. These are the little things that feel like indicators of big things that I'm running into all over the place, all of a sudden. I've been traveling long enough now, that I'm hitting an introspective phase. Yeah, it's as fun for me as it is for you.

view from our front door, down and up the street

Back to Maó. Our new home is beautiful. Perfect. Yes, okay, we'd like a nice big picture window with a view and stronger wifi, but otherwise primo.

What it looks like when I order half a kilo of jamon
because I don't understand how heavy a kilo is

The amount of space Stella and I have now -separate bedrooms, in a space roughly four times bigger than our Barcelona studio apartment - is a big adjustment for me. We're no longer right on top of each other, so we're no longer mind-merged. At one point in Barcelona, I told Stella I was ET to her Elliot. Because of our prolonged proximity, I felt so connected to her that when she had a bad night of sleep, I was exhausted despite my healthy coma sleep.

It's interesting to navigate the growing pains of spreading my wings to adjust to the new space, new town, new scene. I try to cope with a chocolate pastry the size of my head, but just end up with a tummy ache.

September 19, Tuesday

I wake up READY. Amped. Restless. I am a terror of energy. Piggy-backing on my ET/Elliot train of thought, without Stella's immediate proximity to neutralize my neurotic, over-revving engine, I have a lot of battery to burn. I've got a new town to conquer, new things to see, new plans to make, new bus schedules to decipher, new markets to explore, new shoes to buy! It is 6am.

shoes so famous, they're our keychain!

A couple of hours later I burst out the front door to run a couple errands in town. Our apartment is smack in the middle of the central village, so "in town" is one block away. I still get lost, and it feels glorious. The mania that needed something to do finally has a purpose: Figure It Out. I let myself be lost and explore. I discover, I connect dots, I use my instincts and my iPhone maps and I find myself again. I feel better.

Later, I take Stella to the market I found which is a collection of local vendors selling under one roof, like the Fairfax Farmer's Market. We regret going to the "real" supermarket last night because this place is heaven's heaven without toilet paper. (Seriously, none in any of the restroom stalls.) Here starts my shoe craving.

Menorca is known for these cute unisex sandals called Avarcas. They're handmade, comfortable, and unbelievably reasonably priced. I want all the colors!

OG Maps App

It's an overcast, sprinkling day. We walk around the harbor exploring shoe stores and whatever else we can find for a couple of hours. Having not done my research for what Menorca has to offer (shoes! Also? Cheese!), last night I scoured the stack of local articles and tourist leaflets our Air BnB host had for us and discovered Camí de Cavalls.

Camí de Cavalls is a 185km footpath that goes around the circumference of Menorca. It's broken into 20 sections of varying difficulty and features stunning natural beauty in all the varying biospheres the island has to offer. Once I know this, I cannot unknow it, and I HAVE TO HIKE IT.

Each leg of the route looks better than the last, but I opt for Section 1: Maó to es Grau, a medium grade, 10.3km section, mostly out of convenience. Getting anywhere on Menorca involves a bus schedule and patience that I can't dig up being as manic as I am right now.

I basically used The Force to get here

I have two maps, both from this kickass guide I bought of the Camí de Cavalls from the Tourist Office, both covering different portions of the hike. Basically, I'm fumbling around using paper maps for the first time in years. It leads me to walk along the highway on an incline for 2 miles with no assurance I'm on the right path. I'm... perturbed. But I'm moving, and moving is all I can do at this point. I know I'm going the right way, so I keep on.

I see my first view of water and I squeak. I walk into Sa Mesquida and I forget about the last hour of highway. The village is beautiful. I amble through, still not 1000%, but the map says I'm on the right track- and I finally see them. Trail markers!! Lots of them!! Like every 15 feet!!

Say cheese! Heh, heh...

Now, I'm unencumbered happy. I hike, I breathe, I take pictures and video. The vistas are stunning, and the trail is surprisingly "medium". I'm in great shape (shout out to ILKB Austin for that!) and some of the hills still burned my ass in the best way.

I see my first cows. Menorca has award-winning cheese thanks to these girls. I geek out and take pictures of them. Little do I realize, this is a cow heavy area.

A nudge from Auntie Moo to get the kids going

The last part of my path before I hit the biosphere park narrows. A cow crests the trail with a handful of calves and sees me. She stops. I stop. She will NOT pass me. I try to give her a wide enough berth and sit down to make myself smaller, but she's having none of it. I can't backtrack so I adjust my position on the trail. My move gives her whatever space she needs to get the hell away from me, but she leaves her babies. They stare at me. I want to hug them.

Another cow approaches and is not impressed by me. She nudges the babies and gets the whole family through the pass. Gah, I love animals.

I finish the hike in 2 1/2 hours. They'd logged the hike at 3 1/2 but I'm special. After my celebratory beer in es Grau, I call a cab to take me home since the bus between es Grau and Maó stopped running last week, indicating the end of the summer season.

I find Stella in the plaza at the foot of our street. I'm exhausted in the best way and so happy to see my friend.