In the Pine Forest - a photo on Flickriver

In the Pine Forest

            The problem with these colourful coves along the south coast is that the sun leaves the beach quite early.  Cala Macarella, one of the popular tourist spots on the island, and just a headland crossing away from our resort of Cala Galdana was one of them.  It was Saturday and the path was alive with humans moving over it like colonies of ants, trudging from one beach to the next, high up through the bright green pine forest where pink cyclamen littered the ground in clusters beneath the trees.  Look at the map and you’ll see a web of white trails spreading their tentacles through the woods in this area.  Once or twice a smaller track led away to the left - towards the cliff edge.  We followed each one, just to catch a glimpse of what views were on offer from up here above the sea.  This was the second such diversion we took, and it was the one that offered the best view.  I resolved to be back here in time for sunset, which was in about two and a half hours from now.  

For a while the world was ours alone - this whispering forest on the high ground with the endless chirruping of cicadas in the air.  Below lay the sea, a sighing blanket of azure spreading away to the mountains of Majorca in the west, while a million glittering diamonds of light danced on its surface.  We returned to the main trail, and after another ten minutes of walking, we began the steep descent towards the beach we couldn't yet see.  At the gate, an enormous man in tiny faux leopard skin pants exhaled loudly as though the rasping breaths he made might be his last.  At least he’d nearly made it to the top of the climb.  He was covered from head to feet in a thick black fuzz, and for a moment I thought he was wearing mohair pyjamas.  He wasn’t.  I’m still trying to get the vision out of my head.  I may need an exorcist.  Other day trippers were finding the ascent challenging, but not quite so obviously as our fur covered Tarzan of the Menorcan pine forest.  

A long flight of steps led down towards our destination, patches of aquamarine appearing through the trees, the sound of the sea and the bustle of a busy beach.  Too busy, even though it was October.  A pretty place; a riot of Balearic blues, greens and whites, but there was little space on the sand upon which to lay down a couple of towels.  I jumped into the warm sea, puttered about for a while in the shallows and then dozed off under a tree.  And all the while I knew the sun would leave long before its time, over the next headland where you can take another long walk towards Cala Turqueta.  And then another one to Cala des Talaier.  In between each of the headlands, the little coves nestle far below and you can watch the shadows advancing from the right hand side of the beach to where you cling to the light on the left.  Eventually our time was up.  We began the hike up into the forest, following in the footsteps of the man in the tiny pants - with the all over body hair and the heavy breathing.  I hoped he was safely down in Cala Galdana at one of the beach bars, nursing a well earned pina colada by now. I also hoped he'd put some clothes on. Only a very small percentage of people manage to look good in tiny pants. 

Some time later, we were back up in the pine trees, taking the first of those side paths towards the cliffs.  Up here, the sun was still in the sky - well just about anyway.  Funny how a steep climb is a breeze when I think there might be a photo waiting at the top.  And here at the viewpoint we met the only other person bearing anything that resembled a camera during the entire three weeks we spent here.  A young man from Lyon, making a timelapse video with a GoPro, mounted onto the guardrail with a gorilla tripod.  I’d love to share a link, but he was too shy to post his work online so you’ll have to make do with mine.  Sorry about that.  

It really does surprise me that in all of the time we were on the island, not once did we see anyone else taking photos - excluding the Instaselfie mob, of course.  They get everywhere don’t they?  Even here, in what I think of as a pretty postcard kind of spot, you’d think there’d be another stray oddball with a camera mounted on a tripod and a big square filter attached to the lens, but no, it was just me, and our young French friend with his GoPro on a stick.  It's rather liberating when you're not battling for a patch of ground to plant your tripod on, I suppose.

Taken in: Spain / Balearic Islands / Ferreries / Cala Galdana (show map)

Taken on: October 5, 2024

Tags:

Menorca

Minorca

Baleares

Balearic

Balearics

Balears

Europe

Sunset

sunburst

glow

Sea

seascape

Cloud

Spain

Espana

España

Cala

Macarella

Galdana

Cala Galdana

Cala Macarella

Ocean

Canon

sunstar

landscape

landscape photography

cliff

orange

sky

golden hour « less

Sets appears in: • Menorca 2024

Groups appears in: • Amateurs • Sea & Ocean ( invite your contacts ) more » • Outdoor Photographer Magazine (Unofficial) • Seascape/Landscape Junkies Worldwide • Photography Week • brilliant flickr • Amateur Photographer Magazine • NATURE'S KALEIDOSCOPE P1 X A1 • Feast for the Eyes • « less

Camera: Canon EOS 80D, f/11.0, 1/100 sec, 20mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 80D
Lens:	EF-S18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM
Aperture:	f/11.0
Exposure Time:	0.01 sec (1/100)
Focal Length:	20mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	-4/3 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 14.2 (Windows)
Show full info

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