Silver Spirit Cruise Photos

From: Silver Spirit Cruise Review

Port Mahon (5)

After a late lunch, we left Silver Spirit and walked up the steps to Port Mahon's city center.

Downtown Mahon was almost creepily quiet, possibly because most of the government workers, store owners, and shop clerks had gone home for lunch.

The Plaça Bastio and its playground were deserted, and there was hardly any traffic through the old city gates.

In the neighborhoods of Maó (as the city's name is spelled locally), everyone seemed to be napping.

Even the city's café tables were deserted.

Neither dog nor toddler splashed in the waters of this public fountain.

The Burger King on the Plaça d'Espanya had a few customers, so it was apparent that not everyone had left town.

As the afternoon wore on, a handful of other people appeared on the streets of downtown Mahon.

We even saw two dogs, who were leading a pair of local residents--or possibly tourists--through Mahon's pedestrian zone.

Another dog appeared, sniffing the pavement like a bloodhound searching for the missing populace.

The Mercat de Maó was closed (like so many of the other local businesses), but downstairs from the covered public market, a supermarket was open.

The supermarket, which was located in the basement of the Mercat de Maó, had a pair of moving sidewalks for the convenience of customers with strollers or shopping carts. (We were impressed that the store was open, and that a customer was on the premises.)