Poets have often described Menorca as the island of wind and calm. A wind that moves and transforms the landscape throughout the year, which combs the fields, shapes its cliffs, and seasons the grass that the cows pasture on with salt. A wind that is art and part of the life of the inhabitants of Menorca whose famous tramuntana (North wind) has inspired more than one song and has filled the collections of proverbs with wisdom: “Vent de Tramuntana, si no moren en tres dies, dura una setmana” (If the Tramuntana wind doesn’t die down in three days, it lasts a week).
During the summer the gregal (NE), xaloc (SE) and migjorn (S) blow. In spring and autumn it is the llevant (E), llebeig (SW) andponent (W). And it is during the winter when the mestral (NW) and tramuntana blow. This northerly wind moves at an average of 23 kilometres per hour but can blow gusts of more than 100 kilometres per hour. Enjoying the strong tramuntana of Menorca has become a veritable spectacle to be able to see for oneself how the sweetness of the crystalline and paradisiacal sea that reigns on the trip through the Mediterranean, becomes alive and powerful, especially on the north coast of Menorca. When it blows in summer, it opportunely refreshes and dries the air.
On stormy days it is the custom for the people of Menorca to go and watch how the waves crash on the lighthouses of Favàritx, Cavalleria or Punta Nati. Other spots that are easy to reach by car are the beaches of Playa Tirant, the mouth of the Bay of Fornells, Cala Morell, Algaiarens, to the north of Arenald’en Castell or Na Macaret. These are ideal days for surfers.
