Page 143 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Mallorca, Menorca & Ibiza

FORMENTER A  141

The southern coast of Illa Espalmador as seen from Formentera
4 Illa Espalmador heron and the fen-duck. on which salt-loving flora and
During the summer season, fauna thrive. Salty shrimps are
This small, 3-km- (2-mile-) long the grounds are also visited by the favourite food of many
island is situated between flamingoes. Until recently it was birds, including the black-
For mentera and Ibiza. There is commercially viable to produce winged stilt.
no regular ferry service; how- salt here, but in 1955 the area was
ever, during high season the declared a listed zone in view of
island is visited by pleasure its ecological importance. Now 6 Ca Na Costa
boats sailing from La Savina. the area including Ses Salines, 1.5 km (1 mile) north of Es Pujols.
The tiny island is popular Estany Pudent and the Punta
with day-trippers from Ibiza, de sa Pedera headland to the Situated close to the Es Pujols
who flock here for the chance west of La Savina island forms resort is the megalithic burial
to sunbathe on the shores of a nature reserve. chamber of Ca Na Costa
s’Alga, a large natural harbour Situated to the north of Ses (1800–1600 BC), a circle of
situated at the southern end of Salines are Platja de ses Illetes seven vertical limestone
the island. This is also a favourite and Platja de Llevant, which blocks. The simplicity of the
spot for yachts cruising the are considered to be among stone ring belies its historical
archipelago. A short walk north the loveliest beaches the importance, as it is the only
of the beach is a sulphurous Balearic Islands have to offer. structure of its kind in the
mud pool where you can The adjacent 200-year-old Balearic Islands and the
indulge in a bath of warm, sticky saltmill now houses a restaurant. most precious historic relic
ooze (get there early to avoid Salt was valued for centuries, on Formentera. It is also the
the rush). The island’s only not only as a condiment but only evidence of prehistoric
monument is the Torre de sa also as legal tender. Even today human habitation remaining
Guardiola, an 18th-century it is still being produced in the on the island.
defence tower that has recently traditional way in many places The excavations were begun
been restored. throughout the Balearic Islands. in 1974 and unearthed a num-
At low tide, some people Seawater floods the shallow ber of objects, including ceramic
attempt to walk across the lagoons and then evaporates and bronze vessels and axes,
sound to Formentera, although when heated by the sun, which are now on display in
this is prohibited by the notice leaving behind pure salt. This Eivissa’s Museu Arqueològic
boards displayed at the tip of creates a specific environment (see p122).
the Es Trucadors peninsula –
the only traces of man’s pres-
ence on this spit of white sand
are the fragments of boats, nets
and buoys washed ashore by
the sea.

5 Ses Salines
3 km (2 miles) north of Es Pujols.
The flat, salty marshes found
along the road leading from La
Savina to Es Pujols are famous
for their birdlife. The most
common species include the Picturesesque Ses Salines

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