Pablo Montez Junior
Active Member
I had a slightly unconventional holiday this year. Spent a few days in Barcelona getting high on nationalist politics before heading across to a certain isla to catch up with two entirely different groups of friends. Had a bit of drama with the hire car at the airport, because i forgot my licence and refused to recognise a photocopy from the dvla. They pretended they couldn't change dates from there, either so i could pass the car on to my later friends so i lost about €40 in cancellation i think. Outraged, I gave in and just told the taxi to take me to figueretas, where my friends were waiting in an apt block called Luxe, which wasn't too bad. (The girl in the tat shop next door was a creature of interplanetary beauty) I'd missed Sneak i think at Underground the night before but got hold of some scandalously priced tickets for Space Enter. Naturally i fell asleep in the room and missed the lot. Did however enjoy sunrise by the figueretas rocks. Was feeling quite caned by this stage. Then did loads of resorty stuff around sta eulalia. My friend's daughter played the piano at Sandys in Sta Eulalia - what a lovely place that is. I then relocated to Sta Gertrudis to hook up with another crew. our big night was at Las Dalias, which is a fantastic space/venue, which doubles up as a market in the daytime. The Nightmares on Wax Feelin' Good album launch on Tuesday waxdajam was such brilliant fun - music covering all bases from skanky funk through to leftfield house. DJ Ease got up on stage and said "this is about the music and you, not any of that vip rubbish!" Damn right. Everyone cheered. We saw loads of music heads in the place (andy carroll & dani crazy p spring to mind) amongst a totally international, super-friendly, clued-up crowd. Got quite banjaxed. A good choice of venue /sound which i heard is usually used for reggae, world music and psy-trance (!)
The day after Las Dalias & afters back at the ranch, we headed to the beach to carry on. Jon Sa Trinxa at Salinas is hit & miss for me but he got that Wednesday's sunset spot on - hearing an old fave of mine Jean Luc Ponty 'computer incantations..' was just a bit WOW, i had a transcendental moment, no doubt not unconnected to being off my chops on some 'lovehearts' procured from a bespectacled Italian in some toilets in Figueretas. The beautiful people were all out in force, of course - bumper to bumper (badly tattooed) flesh.
The house near St Gertrudis was pretty swish, v enjoyable, save for the endless attention of some evil fktard mosquitoes (the NF of the insect world) On my first night, I got embroiled in a political discussion with the taxi driver about Catalan nationalism and I guess we missed a crucial turn. He dropped me off in a pitch dark lane at 3am. I was badly mauled during a 2km walk through the wilderness in a quest to find a house in the middle of nowhere. Google maps are much pilloried but they saved my life that evening. Suffice to say, I enjoyed some of the other car rides around the island a lot more, in some yellow Fiat they found in SanAn, with the radio usually locked on Sonica - there is little to beat finding hidden coves, local food and reading the balearic press (i saw the local teachers were on strike because they're being forced to teach in English irrespective of whether they can actually speak it!)
We drove up the coast to the Hidden bar and then Benirras on sunday. All the drummers seem to have completely ignored the new restrictions. I couldn't help wondering what would happen to them if the Guardia do enforce it. Where would they go? These people would surely be destitute?! The beach was more mental than I imagined it would be (was that Guru Josh I spotted in a loincloth?) the drums were pretty hypnotic. The parking meanwhile was even more lawless than Naples. It's unsustainable though - the crackdown can't be far off. We also revisited some old haunts in the old town, including Base for drinks (whose pushy staff perhaps need to ease off ). The parades were as enjoyably naff as ever. The Ashram was as I remembered it from my previous visit. Forget about finding a table though, even the walls had reserved signs on.
And then it was all over too fast. It was unlike my previous visits, more controlled, less anarchic. Perhaps a metaphor for where the island's heading?
I had this thought on the flight back - maybe we used to predominantly go there for the clubs and now we go in spite of them? Or maybe i just got middle-aged...
The day after Las Dalias & afters back at the ranch, we headed to the beach to carry on. Jon Sa Trinxa at Salinas is hit & miss for me but he got that Wednesday's sunset spot on - hearing an old fave of mine Jean Luc Ponty 'computer incantations..' was just a bit WOW, i had a transcendental moment, no doubt not unconnected to being off my chops on some 'lovehearts' procured from a bespectacled Italian in some toilets in Figueretas. The beautiful people were all out in force, of course - bumper to bumper (badly tattooed) flesh.
The house near St Gertrudis was pretty swish, v enjoyable, save for the endless attention of some evil fktard mosquitoes (the NF of the insect world) On my first night, I got embroiled in a political discussion with the taxi driver about Catalan nationalism and I guess we missed a crucial turn. He dropped me off in a pitch dark lane at 3am. I was badly mauled during a 2km walk through the wilderness in a quest to find a house in the middle of nowhere. Google maps are much pilloried but they saved my life that evening. Suffice to say, I enjoyed some of the other car rides around the island a lot more, in some yellow Fiat they found in SanAn, with the radio usually locked on Sonica - there is little to beat finding hidden coves, local food and reading the balearic press (i saw the local teachers were on strike because they're being forced to teach in English irrespective of whether they can actually speak it!)
We drove up the coast to the Hidden bar and then Benirras on sunday. All the drummers seem to have completely ignored the new restrictions. I couldn't help wondering what would happen to them if the Guardia do enforce it. Where would they go? These people would surely be destitute?! The beach was more mental than I imagined it would be (was that Guru Josh I spotted in a loincloth?) the drums were pretty hypnotic. The parking meanwhile was even more lawless than Naples. It's unsustainable though - the crackdown can't be far off. We also revisited some old haunts in the old town, including Base for drinks (whose pushy staff perhaps need to ease off ). The parades were as enjoyably naff as ever. The Ashram was as I remembered it from my previous visit. Forget about finding a table though, even the walls had reserved signs on.
And then it was all over too fast. It was unlike my previous visits, more controlled, less anarchic. Perhaps a metaphor for where the island's heading?
I had this thought on the flight back - maybe we used to predominantly go there for the clubs and now we go in spite of them? Or maybe i just got middle-aged...
