Tuesday 3rd April
Woke before my alarm, at just gone 7am, feeling pretty chilly. Hot bath (hardly ever get one of those these days !) was a nice start to the morning. We'd had breakfast and were on the road before 8.30am, off in search of more Almond blossom.
Headed out past the turning to Pikes to Capella de Forada and then turned left to Santa Agnes through sa Coma. Stunning drive in the early morning. Decided to explore the smaller road passing Puig d'en Jaume towards San Mateu d'Albarca and then up the Caminos to the ‘end of the line' above Cala d'Albarca. Green valleys, hamlets, loads of terraces and vineyard plantations – it all felt rather ‘French'. Only a handful of Almond trees though – we saw far more in the North. Stopped for a couple of ‘snaps' along the way and I noticed loads of pale pink alliums growing wild in the grasslands.
At the end of the Camino, parked up – the track was just too steep, very rock-strewn and eroded to continue safely (car was petrol 1.2L ... limits just a bit on the light side for this – may have tried it in a 1.6 or 2.0L, having someone else along to help if we ditched or burst a tyre, but I think MiniMarc may have had something to say about such an idea !!!).
A seemingly abandoned 4x4 was nestled in the trees and the remains of a previous campfire was now covered in moss. Someone had clearly been roughing it up here at some point last year. Views of the bay were rather obscured by the pines.. but walking down the steep track, some glimpses were there to be had. Very spectacular – especially the fishermens' boat huts at the bottom of the cliff ... could only be accessed in another boat or with a very long climb down.
We returned to the car and drove back past San Mateu to Santa Gertrudis and on towards Ibiza Town. It was not even 11am. Seeing the sign to Jesus, we decided to turn off and check out s'Estanyol, a little refuge even in the height of the Summer. The one other car in the car park at the end of the dirt track left as we arrived. It was only a little choppy and some light wind, but I decided not to swim.
Cracked open some beers and explored the barred-up PK2.. I climbed up on the roof terrace where a drinks trolley still bearing the Diesel Island plaque from last year had been left out. We were visited by a fisherman and his very friendly puppy passing through, but other than that we had the place to ourselves. Had a good chat over a beer whilst watching the ferries and ships sail past. It's a simple spot, but one which leaves a strong impression.
Headed on through Marina Botafoch past Pacha into Ibiza, but after sitting in the traffic it was quite clear neither of us were in any mood to be in a town with the countryside there for the taking. So we drove straight out again – headed for Cala d'Hort. My first time actually leaving the car there in a while. Have tried to park several times over recent Summer trips and just left with the parking stress and crowds. No such issues today !
It was a little after midday and we decided to fuel up with a proper meal at El Carmen. The Ibizan Calamari speciality was going to take 30-40minutes so MiniMarc had Calamari fried in olive oil instead, and I had Red Mullet, all with huge helpings of vegetables and potatoes, Alioli and Olives on the side, and ... no booze !!! The food was pretty good and fresh, but it's not cheap – bill was about 40 Euros for 2 of us.
15-minute kip on the beach willing the food to settle a bit before our next expedition .. to Sa Pedrera. Sign is down again so it helps to know where to turn off onto the Camino.. although you could pretty easily work it out with maybe a bit of trial and error – and a good detailed map (or some good instructions).
It was a little cool, but as we parked up, a load of pretty fit girls in short shorts and vests came hiking down the path, clearly a group, followed by a guide wearing a ‘Boot Camp Ibiza' t-shirt. After our gluttonous lunch it did seem quite fitting that we'd chosen the same place as them to come and hike it off ! Decided we maybe ought to man up a bit and ditch the Jeans .. well, maybe when we got to the Torre anyway ... and if the clouds blew over. Lol.
Took the easy route straight to the Torre des Savinar watchtower, past the concentric stone circles by the cliff edge, and straight up to the rooftop. Sun came out pretty much right on cue as we neared the Tower. Spotted people camping down by Atlantis, and the cliff-cave on the opposite side was clearly in occupation. Other than that, no-one came any closer than the stone circles and we had the rooftop to ourselves in brilliant sunshine. Perfect spot to relax and after it was clear the sun was staying out, decided to catch some rays. It's always very hard to leave this spot. One of my favourite places on Earth.
Called McRackin from the top of the tower rooftop and arranged a meet-up with Nostrum at 7pm at Golden Buddha in Calo d'es Moro. Plan set ! When we eventually dragged ourselves away, we headed to the only nearby spot I could think was guaranteed not to be a disappointment after such a fantastic experience – Cala Conta.
There were a few people there when we arrived and the restaurant was open. As if laid on specially, there were two free sunbeds on the beach, protected from the prevailing breeze. After a beer and a snooze in the sun we resolved to head back towards San Antoni. Refuelled the car ready for tomorrow's departure on the way in and realizing we still had well over an hour in hand headed to nearby Punta de Sa Galera (sometimes called Cala Yoga).
It's often quite busy in Summer but there were only a handful of people enjoying the dramatic rock formations when we arrived (via the camino route !) It's a really beautiful place – I haven't been for about 3 years or more, so was really nice to return and see it at a quiet time (photos above).
Arrived early at Calo d'es Moro in time for a stroll along the coastal path to the Sunset Strip for another (small) beer on the decking opposite Savannah. At Cafe del Mar, preparations were underway for the 123 Festival Press Conference with much Bacardi in evidence. We retained our sang froid and headed back to Golden Buddha for our meet-up with McRackin.
As said above, it was really great to meet out of season with some proper time to talk and enjoy a good meal. Nostrum arrived fresh from the Press Conference and we all agreed the all-you-can-eat pizzas at Es Tanco sounded too good an offer to refuse. Great pizzas they were, too – and a very nice bottle of wine. I think we came out under 15Euros each after 4 huge pizzas had been brought to the table and every slice dispatched.
Our flight was due to leave at 8.50am the next morning so after a great evening, we bid our farewells, emptied the car contents ahead of time and contemplated the likelihood (with some trepidation) of waking up in time to get to the airport !
8)8)8) .. been on my things to do before I die list for far too long ! 
. I have now been firmly told that MiniMarc will ..... not under any circumstances ..... be participating in this 
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. So called UK from the side of the road, got someone to send the important e-mails out and set a bunch of Out-of-Office Assistants 
