Menorca is the quiet island of the Balearics, and its south coast is cut by ravines, the barrancs, that run down from the limestone plateau to the sea in narrow, green clefts. The central-south area is where they are most impressive: Algendar, Trebalúger, Binigaus and others, each a steep-sided channel with wild olive, holm oak and a trickle of water in the bottom, ending in a small beach. The whole island was declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1993, and the old walking path that circles it, the Camí de Cavalls, passes by the mouths of most of them.
Getting here by motorcycle is simple but slow. The island has one main road running along its spine from Maó to Ciutadella, and from it small lanes drop toward the coast between dry stone walls, in a pattern that has hardly changed for centuries. Those lanes are narrow, often with blind corners and the occasional tractor, and speed limits are low and enforced. The north wind, the Tramuntana, can blow hard in winter and spring, so check the forecast before you set out. Summer brings crowds and heat, while May, June and late September are the sweet spots for a quiet ride.
Alaior, seven kilometres off, has nearly nine thousand people and is where you buy fuel and food. It is the home of the island's cheese, a soft, tangy variety with a protected name that comes in square blocks. Ferreries, with over four thousand, is another handy town. The island also holds an extraordinary Bronze Age legacy in its stone talayots and taulas, towers and T-shaped monuments built over three thousand years ago, now recognised by UNESCO, and many of them stand beside the very roads you ride.
Try the local gin, flavoured with juniper and made on the island since the British period in the eighteenth century, when the Royal Navy was stationed at Maó. Menorcans also claim, with some conviction, that mayonnaise was born in Maó. Whether or not that is true, a plate of grilled fish with a dollop of it on a terrace above a barranc is a very good way to end a day.