Es Caló de Sant Agustí

Es Caló de Sant Agustí is a small fishing settlement on the north coast of Formentera, at the foot of the road climbing to La Mola. It consists of a tiny sheltered inlet between rocks, a handful of houses and a few businesses. It is one of the few places on the island where you can still see what it all started as.

History

The inlet is barely a few boat lengths across, but shaped exactly so that small fishing boats lie sheltered in the prevailing wind — which is why a settlement grew here and not a hundred metres further along. Along the rock edge stand the wooden boathouses on stilts, the escars, used to haul boats out of the water; the same building type is found across this island group. From Es Caló the old route climbs to the plateau of La Mola, the path used by fishermen and farmers before there was a surfaced road. The place has stayed small simply because there was no room to grow.

What to do here

• Look at the escars along the rock edge: the wooden boathouses where the fishing boats were hauled out.
• Swim in the inlet itself; it is small but sheltered, and the water is clear.
• Walk the old route up to La Mola instead of driving it.
• Follow the coast west towards Es Pujols; the path runs right along the water.
• Snorkel along the rocks on either side of the inlet.
• Come at the start or the end of the day; there is room for very few people at once.

Facts

• Es Caló de Sant Agustí is a small fishing settlement on the north coast of Formentera.
• The wooden boathouses on stilts are called escars and belong to the traditional building style of these islands.
• The old route up to the plateau of La Mola starts here.
• The inlet is small and sheltered, and was used as a landing place for exactly that reason.

Good for

Anyone who wants to see the older Formentera, and a quiet swim stop on the way to La Mola.