Son Blanc could be the title of a work of art or an experimental musical composition. It is the name of a finca (traditional farmhouse) from the 19th centurye century, buried in the Menorcan maquis that a couple of design and agroecology enthusiasts have transformed into a hotel-restaurant. With the ambition to make it a self-sufficient place in terms of energy, water and food before 2030.
To preserve the calm of the place, planted on an area of 130 hectares, with a view of the Mediterranean, the exact address is communicated only after the reservation of a table or a room has been made. It is located about twenty kilometers from Mahón, the capital of the least touristic island of the Balearic Islands, nevertheless very popular in recent years for the mildness of its climate and its coves with turquoise waters.
You have to take the direction of the town of Alaior, take a road nestled in the vegetation, then a very long forest path, sandy and bumpy, lined with pines, olive trees and pared dry, these superimposed dry stone walls which delimit the properties, the fields and the enclosures. Most of the trees are arched, pushed by the gusts that sweep the landscapes of the one we nicknamed “Windward Island”. On the right, you can see Monte Toro, the highest mountain in Menorca.
This course in the middle of nature is marked out by barriers in ullastre, the emblematic wild olive wood of the archipelago. Secret codes, provided to visitors upstream, are required to open them. The last gives access to the farm, with its original building, rebuilt in stone from mares (the local white rock), its orchards and vast cultivated land.
At the end of a summer afternoon, the place is still bathed in light. The breath of the breeze softens the heat and spreads the perfume of the immortelles which abound along the paths. Mireia Matons, a smiling young woman in a camel tunic, light linen trousers and leather sandals, welcomes us on the covered terrace, under the stone vaults of the main building. She is responsible for receiving guests and visitors and introducing them to the estate.
“In the distance, you can see the sea at Son Bou beach”, she asks, serving a large glass of fresh water flavored with herbs from the garden. A wide blue band stands out, in fact, on the horizon, at the end of an immense green and leafy expanse. On the right of the farmhouse, below, a swimming pool treated with salt has been carved into the limestone rock. Some guests swim in this large irregularly shaped pool, others relax in the hammocks suspended under the olive trees.
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