Page 52 - traveling73 eng

BALEARIC ISLANDS
Balearic Islands,
a soul of sea and stone
Texto y fotos: Joaquín del Palacio - joaquingeografo@gmail.com
Cala de San Vicente in Ibiza
The lush Ibizan pine forests —and
those of its sister island, Formente-
ra— inspired the Greeks to name
them Pitiusas (pitys, pine in Greek).
Meanwhile, Mallorca and Menorca
were known to them as the Gymne-
sias (gymnós, naked) because their
inhabitants, almost unclothed and wi-
thout protection, used slings to defend
themselves, thus avoiding hand-to-
hand combat. And the name Balearic
Islands comes from this Carthaginian
expression: Ba’lé yaroh (masters of
stone throwing).
The nature of the Balearic Islands is
so powerful that those ancient seafa-
rers would still recognise many lands-
capes and familiar silhouettes today,
for they have barely changed since
they arrived many centuries ago. The
52 -
Northern coast of Ibiza
outlines of mountains and coasts, or
the appearance of forests and islets,
remain much the same. Even the multi-
tude of talayotic monuments they found
everywhere back then continue to stand
unmoved, watching time pass and al-
most in the same state in which the
Romans saw them upon their arrival.
Immutable landscapes that still endure.
Mountains rising
from the sea
VSeen from the sea, it appears like a vast
stone wall filled with whimsically shaped
hills. The Sierra de la Tramontana rises
up to 1,445 metres (about 4,740 feet)
at Puig Mayor, forming a rugged lands-
cape that preserves legendary corners.
Stark white limestone landscapes stand
defiantly against the sky and sea blues,
preserving ancient yew forests that cling