Port Mahon

Fifty years ago in April 1972 I had a five day port visit to the Spanish Balearic Islands where we tied up to a pier at Port Mahon on the island of Menorca. We were there April 11 - 15. We were surprised at the time to have another port visit so soon after our recent week in Athens. 

Port Mahon was a very fascinating place that is steeped in history. It has one of the largest natural harbors in the world that had been conquered by many different empires over the centuries. It was an important navy base for the British Empire throughout the 18th Century and included a shipyard and Navy hospital. It has been part of Spain since 1802. 

During the 20th Century the island and particularly the city of Mahon has become a tourist destination especially for the British. I was very impressed and fascinated by the restaurants, pubs, shops and tourist attractions in the town that catered to the English people. There were many ruins of structures from this former British possession and military base.

We spent five days in Port Mahon. There were fantastic beaches and wonderful seaside cafes, restaurants and establishments. The beach and port areas were surrounded by the old town which stretched up into the hills and were filled with narrow streets and congested old buildings. We were surprised to find one area that had several British style pubs located along the winding street that was full of people and serving English beers with soccer on the televisions. They also had very English sounding pub names. We had a great time there.

There were many great restaurants and clubs along the waterfront that catered to the many tourists on the island and the cruise ships that were always coming and going. One of the most popular night clubs in the town was closed the day we arrived which was a Tuesday. When they realized a US Navy ship had just arrived in port with a crew of about 350 sailors they opened the club that night. We would be better off hanging out in the pubs.

During my time in the Navy I would visit two other Spanish islands with some fun and interesting ports including Ibiza and Palma on the island of Mallorca.