Montreval
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Montreval
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The Calanera Coast
Limestone cliffs, terraced lemons, and water you can see the bottom of.
Calanera is a coast of edges. The cliffs fall two hundred metres into water clear enough that the shadow of a boat lands visibly on the sand beneath it. Between them sit four coves — Sella, Manda, Vinca and the small unnamed one below the house, which the staff call the Fifth and which appears on no map.
Above the cliff line the land was terraced for lemons some four centuries ago and has been maintained, more or less unbroken, ever since. Nine growers still work the terraces above our house. Our kitchen buys from six of them, which is a matter of proximity rather than preference.
The sea here is cold until late June and then warm until the middle of November. There is no tide to speak of and very little swell, which is what makes the sea caves navigable by anyone who can swim two hundred metres without hurrying. Our boatman, Nino, decides each morning which of the caves is going to be pleasant and which is going to be memorable for the wrong reasons.
May for the lemon blossom, which is overwhelming and lasts about eleven days. September and October for water at its warmest and the terraces at their quietest. July and August are beautiful and busy; we say so plainly.
The place, in short
When to come
May, then September to early November
Getting there
Porto Sella, then 40 minutes by road along the cliff. Arrival by sea can be arranged from the harbour at Manda and takes about an hour.
Experiences
Reservations
Our own team answers, not an agency. Rates fall on the fourth night and again on the seventh, which tells you what we would prefer.
