Piscina Municipal de Maó - Mahón

I'm on a week-long break from the Costa del Sol on the island of Menorca, back to my usual annual holiday destination, and possibly the world's best beach, Cala Galdana! It's a family holiday and this morning I'm on an airport run in the impressive Cupra hire car.

Airport drop off done, a quick detour down some narrow streets in central Mahón, thank you Apple Maps, then find the pool car park just in time to sit in the car for the next hour on a conference call!

Head into the pool. Manage to negotiate the complex conversation of 'is there a public lane swim session on... and can I go for a swim please!' It's always a challenge booking into a session when your local language skills are somewhat limited, but once again I'm amazed by how well the quite conversation goes!

Pay the €10 ($11.50) entry fee, then through to the changing rooms. They feel quite hot, sweaty and cramped, and have a bit of a porta-potty-on-a-hot-day smell! Don't hang about too long in there. Find a locker, stow my kit, quick stretch, then out to the pool deck.

It's a six lane, twenty five metre deck level pool, with the water level flush to the edges of the pool. Each lane has a proper lane rope and there are currently five swimmers, with a perfect centre lane free! The pool hall feels very similar in design to the other public pool on the island in Ciutadella. One side is lined with large windows to let in plenty of light, with a fairly low, sloped ceiling.

I'm not sure on swim cap etiquette in the Balearic Islands! Mainland Spain, they're keen on swim caps, regardless of how little hair you have. Notice the guy a couple of lanes over sports a similar hairstyle, so make the gesture of draping my swim cap over my poolside Yeti bag.

Hop in the lane and pleased to find it's an unheated pool and the temperature is perfectly cold, very welcome after the mid September Menorca heat!

After yesterday's 3.3km loops around the bay in Cala Galdana, today I'm looking for a more standard pool session. Start with a 2.2km plod, then 10x 100s at a very casual 1:27 pace on a two minute rotation for a total 3.2km swim.

Swim done, and that's now both public pools on the island added to the list! Time to head back to Cala Galdana via the supermarket and a quick McDonald's stop to check out what a Menorcan Big Mac tastes like!