We were both huddled around a tiny electric fire. Outside, the sky was the same turbulent mixture of greys that it had been since a short interval of unconvincing sunshine, had awakened us and offered false promises through the bedroom blinds. More rain blew almost horizontally across the sea and our view deteriorated as the window pane became laced with wet streaks outside and misted over on the inside. Yesterday was being repeated and yesterday had been pretty much a copy of the day before. That had been the day we had arrived.
Weather like this was not what we had expected in June in Menorca. We were totally unprepared for it. No rainwear, no sweaters and nothing warmer than very light jackets had been included in the packing for our one week holiday. We hadn’t bothered to hire a car because Son Bou, the resort at which we stayed, has the longest beach on the island. Our plan had been to spend every day enjoying the three kilometres of golden sand, sunbathing, swimming and taking a few beach walks.
Normally, June in Menorca is fairly typical of the Mediterranean climate, with 24 degrees Celsius being the average maximum and 16 being the average minimum. Throughout the year, the island averages 300 days of sunshine, so considering that the other 65 days are most likely to be during the winter months, the odds were clearly stacked in our favour. However, Menorca does experience more changeable weather than the other Balearic islands and it is the coolest and wettest island of the group. Menorca is also subjected to no less than eight prevailing winds, causing it to be referred to locally as “The Windy Island”.