July 1 & 2 Mahon and Cagliari

 We continue visiting new places. Menorca is one of the Spanish Balearic islands, and we arrived at the port of Mahon. Since this was our first visit here, we opted for the Highlights excursion.

First visit is to Fornells, a traditional fishing village. Except that now it looks to me like a resort town full of restaurants and hotels along the water. And some fishing boats.  

The ancient fort, Castel de Sant Antonio, guarding the harbor entrance

A resort hotel pool, guarded by the fort

As we drive the highest point on the island, we pass the famous black horses of the Balearic Islands. They need a better publicist, because I've never heard of them.

Atop Monte Toro is a convent dedicated to the Virgin Mary, whose statue was found in a cave on the mountain. There is much mythology associated with this statue.

Tiny pipe organ

The convent appears to also be dedicated to the gods of mobile phone connectivity in addition to the Virgin Mary.

Hillside near the port of Mahon

The next new port is Cagliari Italy on the island of Sardinia. We had not scheduled an excursion so we walked around the city. The weather continued blazingly HOT so we didn't spend a lot of time. We left early while it was still coolish, walked in the shade wherever possible, and came back to the ship when the sun got higher and hotter in the sky.

For those of us who live in South Florida this is a familiar site. 

Statue of Carlo Felice, the king of Sardinia from 1821 to 1831, posing as an ancient Roman. It marks the starting point of Sardinia's main highway which Felice was responsible for. Unfortunately, the statue is pointing away from the highway. 

Chiesa di Sant'Antonio Abate. Just another church on a city street.

Bastione di Saint Remy

And back to the ship. I drank 1 liter of water before starting out and another liter of water and half a liter of Coke during the 2 hour walk. Didn't need a bathroom until another liter of ice water back aboard the ship.