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Looking for a secluded beach? Buy an island!

 

For just €5.2 million, you can stop worrying about finding a spot on the beach without heading out early to leave a chair and towel. You can forget about noisy bars at your beach hotel. For that money, you can have your own Spanish island, and if things get really annoying, maybe even your own secession movement.

The island, Illa d’en Colom, lies just off the coast of Menorca, in the Balearics. It's got two sand beaches, rugged cliffs, woodland, a boathouse and a jetty. Also included is an 18th-century manor house (needs renovation!), a disused mine, and a homesite formerly used by miners. The island is within the bounds of an official Natural Park, so you won't be pestered by developers...but you are allowed to rebuild the miners' house.

It's being sold by the family of Antonio Roca y Varez, who bought it in 1904 for the equivalent of about 50 bucks, to use as a holiday retreat. It also has a darker history: in the 1700s, it was used as a quarantine site for Spanish soldiers who had been captured in Algeria and enslaved. After a treaty, they were returned, but Spain required them to live on the island until it was clear they weren't infected with any unknown African diseases.

The best part of every trip is realizing that it has upset your expectations

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