Morbyd
Moderator
Allo folks. Here we go again with the 10th anniversary edition of my epic Ibiza review. OK, maybe a misnomer since my first visit was 9 years ago, but you get the idea. Sorry I took so long to get around to this but it was hella busy at work from the day I got back until middle of last week. I was inspired to make the final push by the appearance of my good friend Nostrum's review.
My 10th annual visit to my favorite island had 3 main goals: relax, eat well and party hard. Mission accomplished, and then some.
As usual, the missus and I tried to pack a lot into 11 days and 10 nights – seeing as much of the island as possible. In keeping with the past couple of years, we made lists of restaurants we wanted to try, gleaned from information here on these forums (special thanks to McRackin!). I also set out an ambitious party plan that, for the most part, was fulfilled.
Regulars on the forum know the drill by now. This review will be verbose. Perhaps even epic. Maybe even something on the level of War & Peace, only without literary merit. It will contain neither the humor of letsgetdownanddirtybaby's chronicles, nor the misadventure of Olly's, nor the informed insight of Nostrum.
I will, however, hopefully provide some interesting tips and ideas for people's future trips. As per tradition, I'll put important people, places and things in bold so that you can scan through for what interests you (This year, I've even got links!). I guess I must be doing something right as I've seen some elements of my style copied in other reviews this year. Or I could be delusional in my narcissism.
Without further adieu, here we go:
We arrived around lunchtime on Saturday, September 18, and there are very few things in life for me that match the excitement of stepping off that plane. Home again.
Atesa (Alamo/National) – Our car this year came from Atesa, booked through arguscarhire (one of 3 or 4 discount sites I usually check). A good deal at 22 euros/day for a compact car. Best way to see the island! Atesa has a window right in the arrivals hall so I picked up the keys while the missus got the luggage and a few minutes later we were on our way. Only thing is, they were running out of compact cars so they offered us a Citroen C5. Bonus! Really nice car! However, I later learned that large cars are not the most practical things to have on a small island with small parking spaces. 
Word to the wise: check your rental form closely and inspect your car before you drive off. Our forms had only one of several dents and scratches marked. It was easily resolved by calling over the parking lot attendant to take a look and updating the form.
Hotel Garbi Ibiza - We arrived at our regular haunt, Garbi hotel in Playa den Bossa, which we booked through Ibiza Spotlight. We were happy to find that the staff had heeded the comment I put on my reservation and gave us a great sea view room very close to the beach. I've spoken much about Garbi around here so no need to go into detail. The only downside of our room is that we were somewhat far from the nearest Wifi receiver so we could only use the free Internet in certain parts of the room. No biggee. Otherwise, clean, comfortable, convenient, as usual.
S.O.S. @ Sands – After cleaning up and settling in, we headed down to Sands for their weekly S.O.S. session. I'd expected a party but it was really just people lounging around on the beach, having lunch on the patio, and listening to some nice tunes spun by a friendly resident named Damian. So we just met up with Grego, lounged around on the beach and had some sangria (25 euros/pitcher… steep!). Later, we went up and had a light late lunch/early dinner. They've got a varied menu with Mediterranean influences. Irina went for the aubergines, I had the calamari rings and my mate had a steak sandwich. Everything was delicious and nice presentation as well. With a couple of drinks, the tab came to 60 euros.
After Sands, I dropped by Bora Bora for a little bit and the place was rocking. Great to see this old favorite back in good form. 8) We called it an early night to rest up and get ready for the week ahead. I actually made it to breakfast on Sunday morning, which is a rare occasion!
Cala Gracio – Our beach-of-the-day for Sunday was Cala Gracio, just north of San Antonio. We'd visited it for the first time last year and really liked it. It's on a well-protected inlet with shallow waters. There is a chiringuito with the necessary beer to go and a satisfying hot ham and cheese sandwich should you need one to hold you over until dinner (there's also a restaurant, El Chiringuito, in neighboring Cala Gracioneta). As last year, the beach was not too crowded and had plenty of sunbeds available, despite being near a couple of big hotels. 4.5 euros each for beds and umbrellas. There was a jellyfish problem in mid-afternoon after the winds changed, which provided a certain amount of entertainment as people raced to abandon the water and a little man ran around trying to kill some of them while the would-be swimmers watched and waited.
We got back to PdB and I popped over to Murphy's to watch Chelsea v Blackpool while the missus got ready. Then I randomly ran into a club promoter I know from Moscow on the street. Apparently, Pacha Moscow had a special night at the previous Friday's Pure Pacha. Funny.
Fish Shack (Talamanca) – For dinner, we drove over to Talamanca to find the infamous Fish Shack. The name really fits the place – it is truly a small shack with tables outside! It's right on the water, about 100 meters away from the better-known (and better signposted) restaurant Sa Punta. We knew we were on to something when we saw Smokin' Jo hanging out there, and we were right. 8) The premise is simple – the waiter rails off a list of 5-6 types of fish that they've got today (plus steak and lamb chops) and you choose one. Each comes with green salad and potato salad. This place gets the simple things right – a tasty, well-prepared piece of very fresh fish. Simple and delicious. With several beers, wines and coffee, a good value at 51 euros.
After a little disco nap and a few drinks at our local bar Kopi in PdB, we headed out to…
Cadenza @ Pacha – Pacha's formula had been getting stale (bring back Renaissance!) but Cadenza changed that this season. Luciano and his crew through one of the season's great success stories on Sunday nights. We met up with a friend and went into the Funky Room where Reboot and Martinez were playing. This room, on this night, had one of the best vibes we encountered the whole trip, with top notch deep house music along with a good crowd. It was almost like being at a small intimate party inside a big club. Randomly met Spotlight regular Gabibiza for the first time. Later, we headed out to the balcony above the DJ booth for Luciano. Great music from the man himself but too much attitude from the people hanging around up there! Eventually we made our way down to the dancefloor which was absolutely packed but we managed to carve out a little space and the crowd was very much up for it and having a good time. Great to see people who appear to be there for the music. Luciano at Pacha is not quite the same experience as Luciano at DC10 or even Ushuaia, but it was definitely worth it. We closed out the night.
Monday was the first of two rainy days on our trip. We lazed around the hotel for a while before heading out to lunch.
Brisa de la Mar (Cala Pada) – We decided to go out for a late lunch and drove to Cala Pada on the East coast, just a little bit north of Santa Eulalia. For starters, we shared a huge portion of fish soup that was more than enough for two. The missus had the mussels marinara and I went for the monkfish in clam and shrimp sauce. Very fresh ingredients but both the soup and my fish left you with the feeling that something was missing… maybe some more garlic or salt or something. Too bland. In any case, an unfortunate salt shaker incident rendered half of my dish inedible. Not expensive though and Cala Pada is a nice setting. 50 euros including a couple of beers.
CircoLoco @ DC10 – the big event of the day had to be CircoLoco. This party, put simply, absolutely rocked. Met up with our friend who was with Spotlight Spanish forum regulars Montse and Anderixo and their crew. What a lovely bunch! We took up residence in the center of the dancefloor and enjoyed a succession of amazing sets by Clive Henry, Tania Vulcano, Dyed Soundroom and Cassy. DC10's “New Era†is an era of house music, but with a darker edge to it. It's magnificent. Each DJ had their own style elements but they merged seamlessly to take you through the evening. The water seeping through the roof due to the heavy rain outside made it all feel just that much more underground. The terrace was full but not packed. In fact, almost perfect. We went inside for some of Dave Squillace at the end. My only complaint there is the sound is so loud it kills your ears! But that's my only complaint. Top top party. One of the best times I had all trip. Saw a Dutch guy named Dylan whom I've now randomly run into on the island for 3 years in a row. Also saw the good Mr I-Spy and his lively friend from Manchester and her lovely friend from Montenegro who was excited that I'd been to her hometown.
Cocoon @ Amnesia – After DC10, it had to be Cocoon at Amnesia… or did it?! Sven Vath took the night off so Ritchie Hawtin was headlining the main room with Marco Carola out on the terrace. I was pleasantly surprised when I got in because despite the huge lines even for paying customers outside it wasn't overly packed inside. I was also surprised to be enjoying Ritchie's set as I'm not his biggest fan. Good proper techno. Hobo came on in the middle for a “live†performance which, while the music was generally good, had a few glitches along the way. Not enough to keep you from dancing though so it was alright. Hawtin came back on and was fine for a while but into his last hour he started screwing around with his loops and knobs and such, and you know what? It just gets annoying after a while. I went and had a sit down for a bit (during which time, while playing with my phone, I learned that Amnesia has free wifi!) then out to the terrace but I didn't stay too long as I wasn't really feeling Carola's style. Maybe a bad night? Definitely not my best Cocoon.
On Tuesday I slept in while the missus went out to the beach at Garbi before she came back and dragged me up and out.
Benirras – Our beach destination for the day was Cala Benirras on the north coast. You might remember that there was a huge fire there earlier this summer, and we took note of the damage on the way. Lots of brown trees interspersed with the green – not quite as bad as I'd expected but still saddening. Fortunately, the beach and its facilities were untouched and it's still one of the more picturesque places to lounge around on an afternoon. I also like that Benirras has coarse sand so less of a mess, and some peddleboats and other water activities if you're up for it. We were disappointed that the chiringuito at the west end of the beach was closed (apparently licensing problems) but found a little pizza & sandwich place next to Restaurant Benirras (another good place, by the way) that served a lovely serrano ham and cheese bocadillo on ciabatta for 5 euros. Lunch solved! Cans of beer too for taking back to your perch on the beach. I only remembered 2 restaurants there before (could be wrong) but now there are 3 plus this sandwich place.
After the beach, we headed home to change then to Kopi for drinks before heading over to meet the great mister Spotlight James and Grego for dinner.
Bella Napoli (Playa den Bossa) – Just a quick word about this place. Obviously, its main draw is that it's in PdB near the hotels, bars and basically across the street from Space, but I was pleasantly surprised with our meal. Four of us shared some pizza, arugula salads and carpaccio and not a single complaint. Everything was fresh and tasty. Good choice for an inexpensive meal nearby if you're staying in PdB or on your way to…
Carl Cox Closing @ Space – Alright, I'll say it right from the start. This was the best party of the trip, or at least tied for best with the previous day's Circoloco. Cox's closing was simply top drawer. Space was full but not over-packed. Perfect. I knew I had another date with Loco Dice so I went into the terrace for Yousef who absolutely tore the place apart. I'm sure I've seen him play somewhere before but I can't say I'm very familiar with his sets. Any future opportunity will be taken, however, as this was just the best individual set I heard my whole trip. Deep, dark, fun house. I barely stopped dancing the whole time. He was followed at 3:30 by the master himself, Danny Tenaglia who did not disappoint. His usual eclectic self, but not a wrong step in the set. Tenaglia rocked us through until 7ish at which point it was over to the Discoteca for the last hour of the man himself, Carl Cox. Again, superb. I'm running out of superlatives! He ended his season with Blue Monday. Class. I took notice of the new additions to Space of ice jets around the periphery of the dancefloors and the ginormous LCD screens outside.
As Coxy went on until 8am, it's no surprise that I got a bit of a late start on Wednesday. But seeing as the missus had gone home halfway through the party, she was up earlier and pulled me out of bed to head to the beach.
Aguas Blancas – This was our first visit to this long, narrow beach on the northeastern coast, framed by rocky cliffs and a steep descent from the parking lot. It has some significant wave action (note to self: noisy waves not conducive to sleeping!) and I heard you can surf around there. There were a handful of people going commando. There are a restaurant at one end and a chiringuito at the other – I found the latter serves up bocadillos for 6 euros while the missus had a delicious snack of garlic prawns at the restaurant. At the southern end of the beach, if you walk out into the shallow water and around the rock outcroppings at the end, you'll find a couple of caves to explore. Be careful, though, as the waves will bosh you around a bit, especially if you go inside!
Torre de Campanitx (near Pou des Lleo) – on the way back, we decided to continue my 2 year quest to visit all 7 of the island's coastal watch towers. If you drive past the tiny beach of Pou des Lleo and up the dirt and gravel road on the opposite hill, you'll find this tower high up at the top, past a couple of private estates (and one very nice villa overlooking the coast). There's a great view of the private island of Tagomago from there.
We wanted to go to Can Pilot in San Rafael for dinner but found it closed, so instead we headed to Santa Gertrudis.
Santa Gertrudis – I've driven by this village many times while heading north and always thought it looked a little soulless. Boy was I wrong. When you drive into the town off the main road you'll find a wonderful quaint little town with quaint shops selling art, clothes and jewelry, bars, outdoor cafes, restaurants, and the traditional church square. It's quite a lovely relaxed place and we decided we look forward to visiting there again and spending more time. After we parked and took a walk around, we sat down for dinner.
Sa Cornucopia (Sta Gertrudis) – Wow. What a great restaurant. It's set in a finca-style building with a lovely outdoor terrace on a quiet side street. Mediterranean cuisine, with about a quarter of their dishes vegetarian. Instead of aioli, they served up a lovely spiced olive paste with their bread. I had a goat cheese salad to start, sharing some of it with the missus, followed by a bowl of couscous served with a separate bowl of lamb, lamb sausage and veggies in a flavorful stew. Irina went with the duck breast in a sweet wine sauce. Epic portions at this place! We could barely finish our food… but we couldn't help but eat it all (at the expense of mobility for the next couple of hours! Seriously… epic portions!) Our bill came to 84 euros, half of which was drinks (wine, beer, coffee, hierbas). Recommended!
After walking around Gertrudis a little more to work off a tiny fraction of what we'd eaten, I dropped the missus at home and headed over to Bora Bora to meet up with Spotlight's own Agentundercover and his crew. My plan was to go to Kehakuma at Space but they convinced me to join them for Subliminal (possibly aided by the very nice guy I'd met at Carl Cox who'd offered to guestlist me at Pacha). We swung by their hotel for a bit (including a humorous encounter with neighbors and an irate security guard), then over to the club for…
Subliminal @ Pacha – When we arrived Pacha was just getting going so we popped up to the terrace for a bit then back down to the center of the dancefloor for A-Trak. This guy was all over the place – house, funk, disco, even hip hop. If you're a top DJ and good mixer, you can get away with a set like this. But this guy lacks the skill and credibility to do it. Disappointing! However, then Erick Morillo came on and damnit if he didn't play a very good set of house music. Not too cheesy, as he is wont to do on occasion. Nothing groundbreaking either but very solid and (according to reviews I read elsewhere) his best set of the summer. The four of us spent the night wandering the dancefloor like nomads, slowly dancing around in circles from our starting point near the DJ booth to our eventual location near the bar to the far left. At one point, a member of the crew, who shall remain nameless, had to be retrieved before he danced all the way back into the toilets.
Thursday was a cloudy day so Irina headed into Ibiza Town on a photo excursion while I got stuck doing a couple of hours of work (happens at least once every year, thus my insistence on Garbi & its wifi). Once I finished up, I drove into town to meet the missus for a late lunch at…
Ancient People (Ibiza Town) – One of the best curries on the island and one of the best values for eating out as well. They have a great lunch deal in which you get a choice from among 4 appetizers plus a selection of curries for just EUR 9.50, including rice. I went for the saag chicken & samosas while Irina ordered samosas and lamb vindaloo plus some lentil soup from menu. I'll admit that we didn't find it quite as delicious as our first visit last year (her lamb was a little tough), although the service has improved. But at 30 euros with several glasses of beer and wine, it's still a good choice. Plus, they were playing Nina Simone as background music. ‘Nuff said.
The plan afterward was to hit the beach parties but with the poor weather, the MuMu closing at Sands was totally dead and Luciano's Vagabundos party at a “secret location†(El Chringuito at Es Cavallet) got canceled. Fortunately, the latter event was moved to La Plaige in PdB. Sure, more convenient, but did people know it was happening?
Vagabundos @ La Plaige – I walked by La Plaige at about 8, just when the music was starting, but it was still empty so I sauntered over to the sadly-empty Sands for one drink. I went back 20 minutes later and La Plaige was already filling up nicely! I met up with Spotlight's I-Spy for some drinks at the bar and the missus showed up a few minutes later. Within an hour, the place was packed and we moved to the dancefloor (the missus sadly abandoning us at this point). Luciano started off well but then went off on a strange tangent playing some very mellow house… the kind of stuff you'd expect at La Plaige in the mid-afternoon whilst sipping your sangria on the beach! The whole crowd nearly stopped dancing… until he changed course again and started blasting out some old house classics and the place went wild. With the crowd back on side, he proceeded into more of his usual darker style. By now, the rain that the clouds had threatened all day was coming down in buckets and water was seeping in everywhere despite the place being mostly covered. At 11:45, the weather took its toll as the power system went kaboom. The crowd waited around for a resolution, but at 12 they gave up getting the lights & sound back on and kicked us all out – a pity, as they'd gotten permission to party until 1am.
Afterward, I headed over to Bora Bora to meet up with some friends including the just-arrived Spacemonkey. After hanging out for drinks for a couple of hours, I went to get a guilty-pleasure snack at Burger King and home for the night as we had a big day planned for Friday.
The sun was back out the next morning, so we rushed down to the PdB pier for the boat to...
Formentera – The Ulises Cat and its twin Ulises Cat 2 are among 3 different options for getting from the pier at the northern end of Playa den Bossa to Ibiza's little sister island. Each leaves in the 10-11:30 window, with our chosen option of the twin Ulises offering both a 5pm and 7pm return for 20 euros roundtrip. They also stop in Figuretas en route during the 40 minute journey. Upon arrival in Formentera's port La Savina, we settled down at one of the dockside cafes to fortify ourselves with a bocadillo and beer. Then we stopped in at Formotor to rent a scooter and picked out a very stylish red Vespa for about 30 euros for the day. From there, we drove to the capital San Francisco and stopped off for a stroll around its central church square, which was very lively for midday with an array of shops and cafes. Then we drove up to Es Pilar and to the lighthouse at Far de la Mola, where you can enjoy some beautiful views of the whole island from this spot high up on the cliffs, with Ibiza and Es Vedra visible in the distance. There's a monument to the author Jules Verne, who described this lighthouse in his works, and a café that's a good place to drop in for a quick drink. On the way back down, we stopped off at the Moli Vell de la Mola windmill for a few pictures and then drove around the villages of San Fernando and Es Pujols for a look. The latter is more of a touristy town while the former seems more like a place where locals live (strange sight: military trucks parked outside the main church!). Then finally we biked down to the beach at Ses Illetes, which is located inside a park so you pay 2 euros entrance. We drove almost to the end of the peninsula and while the beaches on the left (western) side were empty and battered by waves (there were high seas that day, as we learned on the boat ride over!), the right (eastern) side of the peninsula had more people and quieter waters. 18 euros for 2 sunbeds and an umbrella, and I was out for a very nice nap while the missus went for a dip. We'd hope to grab dinner there (there's one restaurant on that beach that I tried before and quite liked) but I worried about time so we went back to the port with plans to eat there. Those were dashed as all the restaurants only open after 7. You'd think they'd want to make money on the day tourists, but no such luck. So we turned in our scooter, grabbed a couple of drinks, and boarded our boat back to Ibiza. All in all, it's not the cheapest day out, but one that we really enjoyed.
La Masia d'en Sort (Ibiza -San Miguel Road, 1km after turn off from Ibiza-Santa Eularia Rd) – After missing out on dinner in Formentera, we decided to check another choice off my list of restaurant ideas and selected Masia d'en Sort, one of Ibiza's Michelin-starred restaurants. They pride themselves on quality food at fair prices, and they do not disappoint. They also had some of the best service we'd seen anywhere on the island. The setting itself is worth a Michelin star – they've got a huge walled garden out back with tables spaced well far apart and lots of fruit trees and vines of various sorts – oranges, lemons, grapes, etc. Starters are around 10 euros and mains around 20, all with good-sized portions. Irina had a green salad with warm shrimp, scallops and broccoli with vinaigrette accented with soy & honey, while I started with the fish soup. Both were fabulous – I especially loved the thick hearty broth in my soup. For our main courses, she had the wild turbot and I had lamb loin stuffed with bacon and foie gras in a rosemary-infused gravy, both arriving with a small side of grilled veggies and potato au gratin. Irina asked for some lemon for her fish, and the maitre d walked over to a tree, picked one, wiped it down, and cut it in half for her. We were well impressed! 108 euros including aperitifs, a bottle of wine, beers and coffee. And the best, most garlicky aioli we tried anywhere. Recommended!
Back in Playa den Bossa, I was too late to join in at Sands where Deadmouse had been playing but had been shut down for noise issues. So instead I popped around the corner to…
Pandemonium Pre-Party @ Ushuaia – Tania Vulcano brought her talents and her crew down to the beach to get ready for her closing party at DC10 later on, but when I arrived, the master of jackin' house was on the turntables. DJ Sneak is a favorite of mine for reasons I've never quite understood but I just love the way he gets your feet moving (witness: his appearance on the terrace at Cocoon last year!). Sneak was rocking the place and I loved every minute of it, regretting the fact I hadn't arrived a couple of hours earlier. Ushuaia was not too crowded as it'd been in some previous visits so just enough room to dance around. Perfect start to the evening.
After meeting up with some friends at Ushuaia, I went to get the missus and then we all stopped by a couple of PdB bars for drinks before driving to San Rafael for…
SuperMartXe @ Privilege – This party is one of our guilty pleasures. Firstly, I like to support promoter groups who make an effort to hold regular parties in Moscow (Supermartxe comes every 3 months or so, and hosted one joint party with Moscow club Rai at Privilege this year). Secondly, we went last year and had an amazing time. The music is nowhere near groundbreaking – in fact, it's cheesy as hell. But the visuals and the party atmosphere are among the best you'll find on the island. It's great to see the main floor of Privilege full and the stage show is good fun. It wasn't all roses – the party didn't quite have the crazy mojo of last year's visit, there were some serious issues trying to get into the toilets (anyone know why the toilets at the back were closed?), and Spacemonkey's mobile phone got stolen from her purse. Not our best night out but I'd still recommend this party for something different, if you're able to enjoy something apart from your regular clubbing experience. It's a bit like a club night out combined with a Broadway show.
On Saturday, I managed to get up and over to the pub just in time to watch the mighty Chels fall to Man City then home to rest while Irina went down to the beach. Then we got in the car and drove to San An for an early dinner.
El Rincon de Pepe (San Antonio) – This tapas restaurant has gotten a few mentions in the forums over the years so we decided to finally check it out. You wouldn't expect to find a good place to eat nestled amongst the bars and tacky shops of the West End but do not fear, for here you will enjoy some solid (if not spectacular) tapas at a very fair price. We loaded up – fried octopus with potato, marinated peppers, lamb shish kebab, steamed mussels with pico de gallo, and meatballs. Of them, only the lamb was disappointing. Be sure to check the blackboard on the wall too as we didn't notice until after that there were some additional choices to those on the menu. Good value. Forgot to make a note of our total but it was in the range of 30 euros.
Zoo Project Closing Party @ Gala Night– Firstly, buy your tickets in advance for this party. That's right – buy them. Because you will spend 3 days in the guestlist line, and it's 50 euros each at the door. We chose the latter option. Ibiza Darwin Award 2010 goes to the guy in front of us at the cashier, who upon learning that he couldn't pay by card at the door (only at bars inside), started digging around the various nooks and crannies of his wallet looking for cash, in the process revealing his drug stash to the security guard standing right next to him. Bravo! Despite the high cost of entry, once inside, the huge pitchers of sangria for 15 euros are one of the better clubbing beverage options out there. They reconfigured the outdoor poolside dance area this year in such a manner as to provide for easier movement but not quite as much atmosphere. The seal pit is still an overcrowded deathtrap as far as I'm concerned, so we spent all our time out there. Loads of people in animal-themed fancy dress (I joked with a friend by text that there were more leopard-skin outfits than you'll find anywhere outside of a low-rent Russian nightclub). The key to this party is dancing outdoors. That's what makes it special. I couldn't tell you who the DJs were (note to organizers: post set lists somewhere where you can find them!) and none of them are big names anyway. They were playing decent dark house mixed with a bit of techno. People were seriously mashed all around us, which was entertaining to watch.
The Zoo shuts down at 12 and we'd planned to go to the small club Aura later, but instead we ended up going to Ibiza Town to meet up with a colleague who'd just arrived from London, joining him, his wife, and their friends for drinks in the Plaza del Parque for a couple of hours. We learned that they'd been out on a boat that afternoon and had managed to stop off and make one of the most difficult restaurant reservations on the island for Sunday. They kindly invited us to join, which was great because we'd had this high-up on our to-do list.
I woke up at noonish the next day and relaxed while the missus was down at the beach. We then pulled ourselves together, picked up a couple of the gang in Santa Eularia, and drove to Cala Mastella.
Restaurant Cala Mastella (a.k.a. El Bigotes) – Some of you might know the story. The King of Spain was allegedly once turned away from this place for not having a reservation. You have to come a day or more in advance and leave a 20 euro deposit for your table. There is one seating per day – at 2pm. They have no phone, so there is no use trying to call and beg for a seat. Every table is full (we were lucky they let us squeeze 7 into our table for 5). There is no menu because everyone is eating the same thing. In the back of the room is one big pot, and in that pot these masters cook some Ibizan-style fish stew (bullit de peix.. actually, probable more of a guisado de pescado) with potatoes, saffron, and the fresh catch of the day. Absolutely delicious. Legend is, the proprietor goes out to catch the fish himself each morning. If you want seconds, don't worry – they distribute everything that's left in the pot after each table finishes its first platter. Then they make you a 2nd course of rice simmered in the leftover broth from the first course. Lovely. This was probably the most fun meal we had the whole trip – the setting, the company (an American and a Russian dining with a Brit, his Czech wife, an Ibiceno, a Spaniard and an Irishman… must be a joke in there somewhere. We certainly laughed the whole time!), the food. Just a great afternoon… and despite having eaten my weight in food, I could have had more. And the best part – with 3 bottles of rose, 12 beers, a couple of bottles of water, and a lovely coffee with liquor (cooked in a big pot on the same fire as the food pot) for everyone – it worked out to 35 euros each with tip. Recommended!!
Cala Mastella - After our epic meal, there was still a little time for Irina to get in a swim at Cala Mastella. It's a very small beach in a picturesque and well-protected cove, on a narrow road in the northeast between Cala Llenya and Cala Boix. You have to climb over a rocky path to get there from the restaurant. They've got sun beds, which they didn't charge us for as it was already late afternoon. The older gentleman at the little chiringuito was kind enough to sell me a beer for 1 euro since he didn't have change for a 20. We saw a guy catch an octopus out of the water, which was entertaining.
Torre de Carregador (Playa den Bossa) – On the way back to the hotel, I decided to continue my tower quest and drove down to the very end of Playa den Bossa to make the walk to the Torre de Carregador, aka Torre de Sal Rossa. It's not far at all from the last parking area, and on the way I discovered some nice looking beach restaurants that might be worth a try. From the tower you can see into a cove on the other side (anyone know what that cala is called?) as well as a good view of the whole of PdB.
Back to hotel and then over to Ushuaia where SIS were due to play. Sadly, it was dead. OK, maybe 20 people, all sitting around having drinks. So that's what we did while we waited to meet up with a friend who'd just arrived from Japan. Nice music, though. House with drums, I'd call it. Then we were off to…
We Love Closing Party @ Space – Long lines to get in to this event put a damper on the beginning but we got inside in time for Funkagenda on the sunset terrace. I'd really been looking forward to seeing him in that setting after enjoying his sets the couple of times I've caught him here in Moscow and reading reviews of his previous appearances. His first hour certainly didn't disappoint with lots of hands-in-the-air moments (Shakedown – At Night!). The last half hour got a little dull though, which was disappointing but I'd still give him high marks overall. Next up was the discoteca for James Zabiela. I'm not sure if it was my mood or what but it seemed to me that the usually-reliable DJ was just boshing it which didn't work that early in the evening so we went out to the terrace for Martin Buttrich who played the best set of the night by far – nice deep house. I wish he'd stayed on longer but next up was Basement Jaxx whom I adore live but their “decks & effects†DJ set was a bit of a train wreck. Bored of that, we went upstairs to the Premier Etage to chill for a while and found Ian Blevins playing an eclectic (or just plain random?) set that actually had me moving for a bit (Bizarre Love Triangle!). Then we decided to go downstairs for Aphex Twin. I have no idea what music they were trying to play but it was painful to listen to. Nice laser show, though. Back out to the terrace and Jaxx were still messing around so we went out to El Salon for a while. My highlight of the night was meant to be Joris Voorn closing out the terrace but I was in such a dour mood after all the disappointing sets of the night that we decided to leave in the middle of Paul Woolford. Also must be mentioned: the place was packed... almost too much so.
Cala Tarida – After getting up on Monday, we went to Cala Tarida for our afternoon beach session. This beach is one we visit regularly – it's set in a small resort town with several hotels and several beach restaurants and chiringuitos. There are peddleboats and waterskiing for those so inclined and the sun beds and umbrellas cost 6 euros each. We'd wanted to take a break for lunch at Cas Mila, one of our favorite restaurants on the island, but they closed an hour early to get ready for an event that evening. Boo!
So we grabbed a bacon & cheese bocadillo at Chiringuito Tarida to tide us over. Cala Tarida has some of the best afternoon sunlight when you're visiting the island late-season (and a gorgeous sunset if you're around later on). We were kept entertained by a family that spent an inordinate amount of time trying to catch an octopus that was hanging on to the base of one of the various small rocky islands that beach visitors wade out to. They were not successful.
Restaurant Es Torrent (Es Torrent) – On the way back, we stopped off at Es Torrent for dinner. We'd had this place recommended to us often, including by locals, so we had had high hopes. We'd been to this beach before a couple of times but had only had their sangria. We decided it was time for our annual paella, but started off with some marinated tuna (delicious) and Gallician-style octopus (too much sea salt). We chose the blind paella, where they remove most of the shells & bones and such from the seafood. The paella was OK, but not the best we've had (still dreaming of La Brasa in Ibiza Town). The place isn't cheap either – 128 euros total, 28 of which was for the pitcher of white whine sangria.
CircoLoco @ DC10 – Next up was DC10, where I met up with Grego, HDR, Nostrum and co. The place was absolutely rammed. Finding space to dance was difficult. But that was tempered by top-notch tunage from the likes of Seth Troxler and Squillace v Tanzmann. Really… is there any better line-up on the island than the ones at DC10 this season? We took a little time outside to cool down a bit and then I went back inside for Dubfire who was ace and the place had cleared out just enough to let you dance without getting bumped around. This edition of CircoLoco didn't match the previous week's, but it was still head and shoulders above the rest.
Cocoon Closing @ Amnesia – Next up was the Cocoon closing which was also busy but not as busy as I expected. Loco Dice was definitely the highlight of the evening, playing by far the best set of the night. Sven Vath and Ricardo Villalobos were both apparently wacked out of their minds because they went on some entirely random musical tangents. I really don't know what they were playing at. One song Sven put on was actually ear-splitting. That's when I went out to the terrace for Ricardo but didn't last too long there either. I came back to Sven for a good while but decided to leave sometime after 7 because I thought they'd close down soon (it was over at 8 last year). Apparently it went on for a couple more hours. Honestly? Not too sad I missed it.
Tuesday was our last day as, sadly, we were flying out that evening. I slept in while Irina went down to the beach. We then packed up, checked out of the hotel, and went out for a late lunch.
Blue Marlin (Cala Jondal) – Blue Marlin is probably better known for its occasional parties than for its food but it's a nice place for a meal with a beautiful setting. Irina started with the spicy seviche while I settled on the tuna Caesar salad. Both delicious. I like the fact that they didn't over load the Caesar in sauce as some places do. Irina had a delicious tuna steak as her main while my tagliatele with shrimp was tasty although perhaps could have used more flavor. Overall, very pleased with our meal, despite leaving 138 euros (35 of which was one pitcher of sangria). You pay for the ambience and the coolness of the place, and for the DJ spinning some very nice afternoon house tunes.
We went straight from there to the airport to board our flight to Madrid and connecting flight home to Moskva. As we walked out to our plane, I stopped for a minute on the tarmac to look out over the hills, Las Salinas, the coast… it was a gorgeous view as the sun had just set and the last light of the day reflected off of the water. The thoughts running through my head – What a great trip. Jeez, I love this place. I don't want to leave. When will I be back? – brought tears to my eyes but for the first time in years I was able to hold it back. No sense in crying when you've had such a good time.
Phew. Wow. I'm amazed you've made it this far. Or you just skipped down to the end you illiterate loser. Either way, thanks for reading and I hope something in there was interesting, useful, whatever. My Ibiza vacation is my favorite time of the year, and I like sharing it with this forum as I've gotten so much help, advice, etc. around here. As you can see we really try to make the most of it. I think this year we succeeded, with honors. And yes, of course, we'll be back!
My 10th annual visit to my favorite island had 3 main goals: relax, eat well and party hard. Mission accomplished, and then some.
As usual, the missus and I tried to pack a lot into 11 days and 10 nights – seeing as much of the island as possible. In keeping with the past couple of years, we made lists of restaurants we wanted to try, gleaned from information here on these forums (special thanks to McRackin!). I also set out an ambitious party plan that, for the most part, was fulfilled.
Regulars on the forum know the drill by now. This review will be verbose. Perhaps even epic. Maybe even something on the level of War & Peace, only without literary merit. It will contain neither the humor of letsgetdownanddirtybaby's chronicles, nor the misadventure of Olly's, nor the informed insight of Nostrum.
I will, however, hopefully provide some interesting tips and ideas for people's future trips. As per tradition, I'll put important people, places and things in bold so that you can scan through for what interests you (This year, I've even got links!). I guess I must be doing something right as I've seen some elements of my style copied in other reviews this year. Or I could be delusional in my narcissism.
Without further adieu, here we go:
We arrived around lunchtime on Saturday, September 18, and there are very few things in life for me that match the excitement of stepping off that plane. Home again.
Atesa (Alamo/National) – Our car this year came from Atesa, booked through arguscarhire (one of 3 or 4 discount sites I usually check). A good deal at 22 euros/day for a compact car. Best way to see the island! Atesa has a window right in the arrivals hall so I picked up the keys while the missus got the luggage and a few minutes later we were on our way. Only thing is, they were running out of compact cars so they offered us a Citroen C5. Bonus!
Really nice car! However, I later learned that large cars are not the most practical things to have on a small island with small parking spaces. Word to the wise: check your rental form closely and inspect your car before you drive off. Our forms had only one of several dents and scratches marked. It was easily resolved by calling over the parking lot attendant to take a look and updating the form.Hotel Garbi Ibiza - We arrived at our regular haunt, Garbi hotel in Playa den Bossa, which we booked through Ibiza Spotlight. We were happy to find that the staff had heeded the comment I put on my reservation and gave us a great sea view room very close to the beach.
I've spoken much about Garbi around here so no need to go into detail. The only downside of our room is that we were somewhat far from the nearest Wifi receiver so we could only use the free Internet in certain parts of the room. No biggee. Otherwise, clean, comfortable, convenient, as usual.S.O.S. @ Sands – After cleaning up and settling in, we headed down to Sands for their weekly S.O.S. session. I'd expected a party but it was really just people lounging around on the beach, having lunch on the patio, and listening to some nice tunes spun by a friendly resident named Damian. So we just met up with Grego, lounged around on the beach and had some sangria (25 euros/pitcher… steep!). Later, we went up and had a light late lunch/early dinner. They've got a varied menu with Mediterranean influences. Irina went for the aubergines, I had the calamari rings and my mate had a steak sandwich. Everything was delicious and nice presentation as well. With a couple of drinks, the tab came to 60 euros.
After Sands, I dropped by Bora Bora for a little bit and the place was rocking.
Great to see this old favorite back in good form. 8) We called it an early night to rest up and get ready for the week ahead. I actually made it to breakfast on Sunday morning, which is a rare occasion!Cala Gracio – Our beach-of-the-day for Sunday was Cala Gracio, just north of San Antonio. We'd visited it for the first time last year and really liked it. It's on a well-protected inlet with shallow waters. There is a chiringuito with the necessary beer to go and a satisfying hot ham and cheese sandwich should you need one to hold you over until dinner (there's also a restaurant, El Chiringuito, in neighboring Cala Gracioneta). As last year, the beach was not too crowded and had plenty of sunbeds available, despite being near a couple of big hotels. 4.5 euros each for beds and umbrellas. There was a jellyfish problem in mid-afternoon after the winds changed, which provided a certain amount of entertainment as people raced to abandon the water and a little man ran around trying to kill some of them while the would-be swimmers watched and waited.
We got back to PdB and I popped over to Murphy's to watch Chelsea v Blackpool while the missus got ready. Then I randomly ran into a club promoter I know from Moscow on the street. Apparently, Pacha Moscow had a special night at the previous Friday's Pure Pacha. Funny.
Fish Shack (Talamanca) – For dinner, we drove over to Talamanca to find the infamous Fish Shack. The name really fits the place – it is truly a small shack with tables outside! It's right on the water, about 100 meters away from the better-known (and better signposted) restaurant Sa Punta. We knew we were on to something when we saw Smokin' Jo hanging out there, and we were right. 8) The premise is simple – the waiter rails off a list of 5-6 types of fish that they've got today (plus steak and lamb chops) and you choose one. Each comes with green salad and potato salad. This place gets the simple things right – a tasty, well-prepared piece of very fresh fish. Simple and delicious. With several beers, wines and coffee, a good value at 51 euros.
After a little disco nap and a few drinks at our local bar Kopi in PdB, we headed out to…
Cadenza @ Pacha – Pacha's formula had been getting stale (bring back Renaissance!) but Cadenza changed that this season. Luciano and his crew through one of the season's great success stories on Sunday nights. We met up with a friend and went into the Funky Room where Reboot and Martinez were playing. This room, on this night, had one of the best vibes we encountered the whole trip, with top notch deep house music along with a good crowd. It was almost like being at a small intimate party inside a big club. Randomly met Spotlight regular Gabibiza for the first time. Later, we headed out to the balcony above the DJ booth for Luciano. Great music from the man himself but too much attitude from the people hanging around up there! Eventually we made our way down to the dancefloor which was absolutely packed but we managed to carve out a little space and the crowd was very much up for it and having a good time. Great to see people who appear to be there for the music. Luciano at Pacha is not quite the same experience as Luciano at DC10 or even Ushuaia, but it was definitely worth it. We closed out the night.
Monday was the first of two rainy days on our trip. We lazed around the hotel for a while before heading out to lunch.
Brisa de la Mar (Cala Pada) – We decided to go out for a late lunch and drove to Cala Pada on the East coast, just a little bit north of Santa Eulalia. For starters, we shared a huge portion of fish soup that was more than enough for two. The missus had the mussels marinara and I went for the monkfish in clam and shrimp sauce. Very fresh ingredients but both the soup and my fish left you with the feeling that something was missing… maybe some more garlic or salt or something. Too bland.
In any case, an unfortunate salt shaker incident rendered half of my dish inedible. Not expensive though and Cala Pada is a nice setting. 50 euros including a couple of beers.CircoLoco @ DC10 – the big event of the day had to be CircoLoco. This party, put simply, absolutely rocked. Met up with our friend who was with Spotlight Spanish forum regulars Montse and Anderixo and their crew. What a lovely bunch! We took up residence in the center of the dancefloor and enjoyed a succession of amazing sets by Clive Henry, Tania Vulcano, Dyed Soundroom and Cassy. DC10's “New Era†is an era of house music, but with a darker edge to it. It's magnificent. Each DJ had their own style elements but they merged seamlessly to take you through the evening. The water seeping through the roof due to the heavy rain outside made it all feel just that much more underground. The terrace was full but not packed. In fact, almost perfect. We went inside for some of Dave Squillace at the end. My only complaint there is the sound is so loud it kills your ears! But that's my only complaint. Top top party. One of the best times I had all trip. Saw a Dutch guy named Dylan whom I've now randomly run into on the island for 3 years in a row. Also saw the good Mr I-Spy and his lively friend from Manchester and her lovely friend from Montenegro who was excited that I'd been to her hometown.
Cocoon @ Amnesia – After DC10, it had to be Cocoon at Amnesia… or did it?! Sven Vath took the night off so Ritchie Hawtin was headlining the main room with Marco Carola out on the terrace. I was pleasantly surprised when I got in because despite the huge lines even for paying customers outside it wasn't overly packed inside. I was also surprised to be enjoying Ritchie's set as I'm not his biggest fan. Good proper techno. Hobo came on in the middle for a “live†performance which, while the music was generally good, had a few glitches along the way. Not enough to keep you from dancing though so it was alright. Hawtin came back on and was fine for a while but into his last hour he started screwing around with his loops and knobs and such, and you know what? It just gets annoying after a while. I went and had a sit down for a bit (during which time, while playing with my phone, I learned that Amnesia has free wifi!
) then out to the terrace but I didn't stay too long as I wasn't really feeling Carola's style. Maybe a bad night? Definitely not my best Cocoon.On Tuesday I slept in while the missus went out to the beach at Garbi before she came back and dragged me up and out.
Benirras – Our beach destination for the day was Cala Benirras on the north coast. You might remember that there was a huge fire there earlier this summer, and we took note of the damage on the way. Lots of brown trees interspersed with the green – not quite as bad as I'd expected but still saddening. Fortunately, the beach and its facilities were untouched and it's still one of the more picturesque places to lounge around on an afternoon. I also like that Benirras has coarse sand so less of a mess, and some peddleboats and other water activities if you're up for it. We were disappointed that the chiringuito at the west end of the beach was closed (apparently licensing problems) but found a little pizza & sandwich place next to Restaurant Benirras (another good place, by the way) that served a lovely serrano ham and cheese bocadillo on ciabatta for 5 euros. Lunch solved! Cans of beer too for taking back to your perch on the beach. I only remembered 2 restaurants there before (could be wrong) but now there are 3 plus this sandwich place.
After the beach, we headed home to change then to Kopi for drinks before heading over to meet the great mister Spotlight James and Grego for dinner.
Bella Napoli (Playa den Bossa) – Just a quick word about this place. Obviously, its main draw is that it's in PdB near the hotels, bars and basically across the street from Space, but I was pleasantly surprised with our meal. Four of us shared some pizza, arugula salads and carpaccio and not a single complaint. Everything was fresh and tasty. Good choice for an inexpensive meal nearby if you're staying in PdB or on your way to…
Carl Cox Closing @ Space – Alright, I'll say it right from the start. This was the best party of the trip, or at least tied for best with the previous day's Circoloco. Cox's closing was simply top drawer. Space was full but not over-packed. Perfect. I knew I had another date with Loco Dice so I went into the terrace for Yousef who absolutely tore the place apart. I'm sure I've seen him play somewhere before but I can't say I'm very familiar with his sets. Any future opportunity will be taken, however, as this was just the best individual set I heard my whole trip. Deep, dark, fun house. I barely stopped dancing the whole time. He was followed at 3:30 by the master himself, Danny Tenaglia who did not disappoint. His usual eclectic self, but not a wrong step in the set. Tenaglia rocked us through until 7ish at which point it was over to the Discoteca for the last hour of the man himself, Carl Cox. Again, superb. I'm running out of superlatives! He ended his season with Blue Monday. Class. I took notice of the new additions to Space of ice jets around the periphery of the dancefloors and the ginormous LCD screens outside.
As Coxy went on until 8am, it's no surprise that I got a bit of a late start on Wednesday. But seeing as the missus had gone home halfway through the party, she was up earlier and pulled me out of bed to head to the beach.
Aguas Blancas – This was our first visit to this long, narrow beach on the northeastern coast, framed by rocky cliffs and a steep descent from the parking lot. It has some significant wave action (note to self: noisy waves not conducive to sleeping!
) and I heard you can surf around there. There were a handful of people going commando. There are a restaurant at one end and a chiringuito at the other – I found the latter serves up bocadillos for 6 euros while the missus had a delicious snack of garlic prawns at the restaurant. At the southern end of the beach, if you walk out into the shallow water and around the rock outcroppings at the end, you'll find a couple of caves to explore. Be careful, though, as the waves will bosh you around a bit, especially if you go inside!Torre de Campanitx (near Pou des Lleo) – on the way back, we decided to continue my 2 year quest to visit all 7 of the island's coastal watch towers. If you drive past the tiny beach of Pou des Lleo and up the dirt and gravel road on the opposite hill, you'll find this tower high up at the top, past a couple of private estates (and one very nice villa overlooking the coast). There's a great view of the private island of Tagomago from there.
We wanted to go to Can Pilot in San Rafael for dinner but found it closed, so instead we headed to Santa Gertrudis.
Santa Gertrudis – I've driven by this village many times while heading north and always thought it looked a little soulless. Boy was I wrong. When you drive into the town off the main road you'll find a wonderful quaint little town with quaint shops selling art, clothes and jewelry, bars, outdoor cafes, restaurants, and the traditional church square. It's quite a lovely relaxed place and we decided we look forward to visiting there again and spending more time. After we parked and took a walk around, we sat down for dinner.
Sa Cornucopia (Sta Gertrudis) – Wow. What a great restaurant. It's set in a finca-style building with a lovely outdoor terrace on a quiet side street. Mediterranean cuisine, with about a quarter of their dishes vegetarian. Instead of aioli, they served up a lovely spiced olive paste with their bread. I had a goat cheese salad to start, sharing some of it with the missus, followed by a bowl of couscous served with a separate bowl of lamb, lamb sausage and veggies in a flavorful stew. Irina went with the duck breast in a sweet wine sauce. Epic portions at this place! We could barely finish our food… but we couldn't help but eat it all (at the expense of mobility for the next couple of hours! Seriously… epic portions!) Our bill came to 84 euros, half of which was drinks (wine, beer, coffee, hierbas). Recommended!
After walking around Gertrudis a little more to work off a tiny fraction of what we'd eaten, I dropped the missus at home and headed over to Bora Bora to meet up with Spotlight's own Agentundercover and his crew. My plan was to go to Kehakuma at Space but they convinced me to join them for Subliminal (possibly aided by the very nice guy I'd met at Carl Cox who'd offered to guestlist me at Pacha). We swung by their hotel for a bit (including a humorous encounter with neighbors and an irate security guard), then over to the club for…
Subliminal @ Pacha – When we arrived Pacha was just getting going so we popped up to the terrace for a bit then back down to the center of the dancefloor for A-Trak. This guy was all over the place – house, funk, disco, even hip hop. If you're a top DJ and good mixer, you can get away with a set like this. But this guy lacks the skill and credibility to do it. Disappointing! However, then Erick Morillo came on and damnit if he didn't play a very good set of house music. Not too cheesy, as he is wont to do on occasion. Nothing groundbreaking either but very solid and (according to reviews I read elsewhere) his best set of the summer. The four of us spent the night wandering the dancefloor like nomads, slowly dancing around in circles from our starting point near the DJ booth to our eventual location near the bar to the far left. At one point, a member of the crew, who shall remain nameless, had to be retrieved before he danced all the way back into the toilets.
Thursday was a cloudy day so Irina headed into Ibiza Town on a photo excursion while I got stuck doing a couple of hours of work (happens at least once every year, thus my insistence on Garbi & its wifi). Once I finished up, I drove into town to meet the missus for a late lunch at…
Ancient People (Ibiza Town) – One of the best curries on the island and one of the best values for eating out as well. They have a great lunch deal in which you get a choice from among 4 appetizers plus a selection of curries for just EUR 9.50, including rice. I went for the saag chicken & samosas while Irina ordered samosas and lamb vindaloo plus some lentil soup from menu. I'll admit that we didn't find it quite as delicious as our first visit last year (her lamb was a little tough), although the service has improved. But at 30 euros with several glasses of beer and wine, it's still a good choice. Plus, they were playing Nina Simone as background music. ‘Nuff said.
The plan afterward was to hit the beach parties but with the poor weather, the MuMu closing at Sands was totally dead and Luciano's Vagabundos party at a “secret location†(El Chringuito at Es Cavallet) got canceled. Fortunately, the latter event was moved to La Plaige in PdB. Sure, more convenient, but did people know it was happening?
Vagabundos @ La Plaige – I walked by La Plaige at about 8, just when the music was starting, but it was still empty so I sauntered over to the sadly-empty Sands for one drink. I went back 20 minutes later and La Plaige was already filling up nicely! I met up with Spotlight's I-Spy for some drinks at the bar and the missus showed up a few minutes later. Within an hour, the place was packed and we moved to the dancefloor (the missus sadly abandoning us at this point). Luciano started off well but then went off on a strange tangent playing some very mellow house… the kind of stuff you'd expect at La Plaige in the mid-afternoon whilst sipping your sangria on the beach! The whole crowd nearly stopped dancing…
until he changed course again and started blasting out some old house classics and the place went wild. With the crowd back on side, he proceeded into more of his usual darker style. By now, the rain that the clouds had threatened all day was coming down in buckets and water was seeping in everywhere despite the place being mostly covered. At 11:45, the weather took its toll as the power system went kaboom. The crowd waited around for a resolution, but at 12 they gave up getting the lights & sound back on and kicked us all out – a pity, as they'd gotten permission to party until 1am. Afterward, I headed over to Bora Bora to meet up with some friends including the just-arrived Spacemonkey. After hanging out for drinks for a couple of hours, I went to get a guilty-pleasure snack at Burger King and home for the night as we had a big day planned for Friday.
The sun was back out the next morning, so we rushed down to the PdB pier for the boat to...
Formentera – The Ulises Cat and its twin Ulises Cat 2 are among 3 different options for getting from the pier at the northern end of Playa den Bossa to Ibiza's little sister island. Each leaves in the 10-11:30 window, with our chosen option of the twin Ulises offering both a 5pm and 7pm return for 20 euros roundtrip. They also stop in Figuretas en route during the 40 minute journey. Upon arrival in Formentera's port La Savina, we settled down at one of the dockside cafes to fortify ourselves with a bocadillo and beer. Then we stopped in at Formotor to rent a scooter and picked out a very stylish red Vespa for about 30 euros for the day. From there, we drove to the capital San Francisco and stopped off for a stroll around its central church square, which was very lively for midday with an array of shops and cafes. Then we drove up to Es Pilar and to the lighthouse at Far de la Mola, where you can enjoy some beautiful views of the whole island from this spot high up on the cliffs, with Ibiza and Es Vedra visible in the distance. There's a monument to the author Jules Verne, who described this lighthouse in his works, and a café that's a good place to drop in for a quick drink. On the way back down, we stopped off at the Moli Vell de la Mola windmill for a few pictures and then drove around the villages of San Fernando and Es Pujols for a look. The latter is more of a touristy town while the former seems more like a place where locals live (strange sight: military trucks parked outside the main church!). Then finally we biked down to the beach at Ses Illetes, which is located inside a park so you pay 2 euros entrance. We drove almost to the end of the peninsula and while the beaches on the left (western) side were empty and battered by waves (there were high seas that day, as we learned on the boat ride over!), the right (eastern) side of the peninsula had more people and quieter waters. 18 euros for 2 sunbeds and an umbrella, and I was out for a very nice nap while the missus went for a dip. We'd hope to grab dinner there (there's one restaurant on that beach that I tried before and quite liked) but I worried about time so we went back to the port with plans to eat there. Those were dashed as all the restaurants only open after 7. You'd think they'd want to make money on the day tourists, but no such luck. So we turned in our scooter, grabbed a couple of drinks, and boarded our boat back to Ibiza. All in all, it's not the cheapest day out, but one that we really enjoyed.
La Masia d'en Sort (Ibiza -San Miguel Road, 1km after turn off from Ibiza-Santa Eularia Rd) – After missing out on dinner in Formentera, we decided to check another choice off my list of restaurant ideas and selected Masia d'en Sort, one of Ibiza's Michelin-starred restaurants. They pride themselves on quality food at fair prices, and they do not disappoint. They also had some of the best service we'd seen anywhere on the island. The setting itself is worth a Michelin star – they've got a huge walled garden out back with tables spaced well far apart and lots of fruit trees and vines of various sorts – oranges, lemons, grapes, etc. Starters are around 10 euros and mains around 20, all with good-sized portions. Irina had a green salad with warm shrimp, scallops and broccoli with vinaigrette accented with soy & honey, while I started with the fish soup. Both were fabulous – I especially loved the thick hearty broth in my soup. For our main courses, she had the wild turbot and I had lamb loin stuffed with bacon and foie gras in a rosemary-infused gravy, both arriving with a small side of grilled veggies and potato au gratin. Irina asked for some lemon for her fish, and the maitre d walked over to a tree, picked one, wiped it down, and cut it in half for her. We were well impressed! 108 euros including aperitifs, a bottle of wine, beers and coffee. And the best, most garlicky aioli we tried anywhere. Recommended!
Back in Playa den Bossa, I was too late to join in at Sands where Deadmouse had been playing but had been shut down for noise issues. So instead I popped around the corner to…
Pandemonium Pre-Party @ Ushuaia – Tania Vulcano brought her talents and her crew down to the beach to get ready for her closing party at DC10 later on, but when I arrived, the master of jackin' house was on the turntables. DJ Sneak is a favorite of mine for reasons I've never quite understood but I just love the way he gets your feet moving (witness: his appearance on the terrace at Cocoon last year!). Sneak was rocking the place and I loved every minute of it, regretting the fact I hadn't arrived a couple of hours earlier. Ushuaia was not too crowded as it'd been in some previous visits so just enough room to dance around. Perfect start to the evening.
After meeting up with some friends at Ushuaia, I went to get the missus and then we all stopped by a couple of PdB bars for drinks before driving to San Rafael for…
SuperMartXe @ Privilege – This party is one of our guilty pleasures. Firstly, I like to support promoter groups who make an effort to hold regular parties in Moscow (Supermartxe comes every 3 months or so, and hosted one joint party with Moscow club Rai at Privilege this year). Secondly, we went last year and had an amazing time. The music is nowhere near groundbreaking – in fact, it's cheesy as hell. But the visuals and the party atmosphere are among the best you'll find on the island. It's great to see the main floor of Privilege full and the stage show is good fun. It wasn't all roses – the party didn't quite have the crazy mojo of last year's visit, there were some serious issues trying to get into the toilets (anyone know why the toilets at the back were closed?), and Spacemonkey's mobile phone got stolen from her purse. Not our best night out but I'd still recommend this party for something different, if you're able to enjoy something apart from your regular clubbing experience. It's a bit like a club night out combined with a Broadway show.
On Saturday, I managed to get up and over to the pub just in time to watch the mighty Chels fall to Man City
then home to rest while Irina went down to the beach. Then we got in the car and drove to San An for an early dinner.El Rincon de Pepe (San Antonio) – This tapas restaurant has gotten a few mentions in the forums over the years so we decided to finally check it out. You wouldn't expect to find a good place to eat nestled amongst the bars and tacky shops of the West End but do not fear, for here you will enjoy some solid (if not spectacular) tapas at a very fair price. We loaded up – fried octopus with potato, marinated peppers, lamb shish kebab, steamed mussels with pico de gallo, and meatballs. Of them, only the lamb was disappointing. Be sure to check the blackboard on the wall too as we didn't notice until after that there were some additional choices to those on the menu. Good value. Forgot to make a note of our total but it was in the range of 30 euros.
Zoo Project Closing Party @ Gala Night– Firstly, buy your tickets in advance for this party. That's right – buy them. Because you will spend 3 days in the guestlist line, and it's 50 euros each at the door. We chose the latter option. Ibiza Darwin Award 2010 goes to the guy in front of us at the cashier, who upon learning that he couldn't pay by card at the door (only at bars inside), started digging around the various nooks and crannies of his wallet looking for cash, in the process revealing his drug stash to the security guard standing right next to him. Bravo! Despite the high cost of entry, once inside, the huge pitchers of sangria for 15 euros are one of the better clubbing beverage options out there. They reconfigured the outdoor poolside dance area this year in such a manner as to provide for easier movement but not quite as much atmosphere. The seal pit is still an overcrowded deathtrap as far as I'm concerned, so we spent all our time out there. Loads of people in animal-themed fancy dress (I joked with a friend by text that there were more leopard-skin outfits than you'll find anywhere outside of a low-rent Russian nightclub
). The key to this party is dancing outdoors. That's what makes it special. I couldn't tell you who the DJs were (note to organizers: post set lists somewhere where you can find them!) and none of them are big names anyway. They were playing decent dark house mixed with a bit of techno. People were seriously mashed all around us, which was entertaining to watch.The Zoo shuts down at 12 and we'd planned to go to the small club Aura later, but instead we ended up going to Ibiza Town to meet up with a colleague who'd just arrived from London, joining him, his wife, and their friends for drinks in the Plaza del Parque for a couple of hours. We learned that they'd been out on a boat that afternoon and had managed to stop off and make one of the most difficult restaurant reservations on the island for Sunday. They kindly invited us to join, which was great because we'd had this high-up on our to-do list.
I woke up at noonish the next day and relaxed while the missus was down at the beach. We then pulled ourselves together, picked up a couple of the gang in Santa Eularia, and drove to Cala Mastella.
Restaurant Cala Mastella (a.k.a. El Bigotes) – Some of you might know the story. The King of Spain was allegedly once turned away from this place for not having a reservation. You have to come a day or more in advance and leave a 20 euro deposit for your table. There is one seating per day – at 2pm. They have no phone, so there is no use trying to call and beg for a seat. Every table is full (we were lucky they let us squeeze 7 into our table for 5). There is no menu because everyone is eating the same thing. In the back of the room is one big pot, and in that pot these masters cook some Ibizan-style fish stew (bullit de peix.. actually, probable more of a guisado de pescado) with potatoes, saffron, and the fresh catch of the day. Absolutely delicious. Legend is, the proprietor goes out to catch the fish himself each morning. If you want seconds, don't worry – they distribute everything that's left in the pot after each table finishes its first platter. Then they make you a 2nd course of rice simmered in the leftover broth from the first course. Lovely. This was probably the most fun meal we had the whole trip – the setting, the company (an American and a Russian dining with a Brit, his Czech wife, an Ibiceno, a Spaniard and an Irishman… must be a joke in there somewhere. We certainly laughed the whole time!), the food. Just a great afternoon… and despite having eaten my weight in food, I could have had more. And the best part – with 3 bottles of rose, 12 beers, a couple of bottles of water, and a lovely coffee with liquor (cooked in a big pot on the same fire as the food pot) for everyone – it worked out to 35 euros each with tip. Recommended!!
Cala Mastella - After our epic meal, there was still a little time for Irina to get in a swim at Cala Mastella. It's a very small beach in a picturesque and well-protected cove, on a narrow road in the northeast between Cala Llenya and Cala Boix. You have to climb over a rocky path to get there from the restaurant. They've got sun beds, which they didn't charge us for as it was already late afternoon. The older gentleman at the little chiringuito was kind enough to sell me a beer for 1 euro since he didn't have change for a 20. We saw a guy catch an octopus out of the water, which was entertaining.
Torre de Carregador (Playa den Bossa) – On the way back to the hotel, I decided to continue my tower quest and drove down to the very end of Playa den Bossa to make the walk to the Torre de Carregador, aka Torre de Sal Rossa. It's not far at all from the last parking area, and on the way I discovered some nice looking beach restaurants that might be worth a try. From the tower you can see into a cove on the other side (anyone know what that cala is called?) as well as a good view of the whole of PdB.
Back to hotel and then over to Ushuaia where SIS were due to play. Sadly, it was dead. OK, maybe 20 people, all sitting around having drinks. So that's what we did while we waited to meet up with a friend who'd just arrived from Japan. Nice music, though. House with drums, I'd call it. Then we were off to…
We Love Closing Party @ Space – Long lines to get in to this event put a damper on the beginning but we got inside in time for Funkagenda on the sunset terrace. I'd really been looking forward to seeing him in that setting after enjoying his sets the couple of times I've caught him here in Moscow and reading reviews of his previous appearances. His first hour certainly didn't disappoint with lots of hands-in-the-air moments (Shakedown – At Night!). The last half hour got a little dull though, which was disappointing but I'd still give him high marks overall. Next up was the discoteca for James Zabiela. I'm not sure if it was my mood or what but it seemed to me that the usually-reliable DJ was just boshing it which didn't work that early in the evening so we went out to the terrace for Martin Buttrich who played the best set of the night by far – nice deep house. I wish he'd stayed on longer but next up was Basement Jaxx whom I adore live but their “decks & effects†DJ set was a bit of a train wreck. Bored of that, we went upstairs to the Premier Etage to chill for a while and found Ian Blevins playing an eclectic (or just plain random?) set that actually had me moving for a bit (Bizarre Love Triangle!). Then we decided to go downstairs for Aphex Twin. I have no idea what music they were trying to play but it was painful to listen to. Nice laser show, though. Back out to the terrace and Jaxx were still messing around so we went out to El Salon for a while. My highlight of the night was meant to be Joris Voorn closing out the terrace but I was in such a dour mood after all the disappointing sets of the night that we decided to leave in the middle of Paul Woolford. Also must be mentioned: the place was packed... almost too much so.
Cala Tarida – After getting up on Monday, we went to Cala Tarida for our afternoon beach session. This beach is one we visit regularly – it's set in a small resort town with several hotels and several beach restaurants and chiringuitos. There are peddleboats and waterskiing for those so inclined and the sun beds and umbrellas cost 6 euros each. We'd wanted to take a break for lunch at Cas Mila, one of our favorite restaurants on the island, but they closed an hour early to get ready for an event that evening. Boo!
So we grabbed a bacon & cheese bocadillo at Chiringuito Tarida to tide us over. Cala Tarida has some of the best afternoon sunlight when you're visiting the island late-season (and a gorgeous sunset if you're around later on). We were kept entertained by a family that spent an inordinate amount of time trying to catch an octopus that was hanging on to the base of one of the various small rocky islands that beach visitors wade out to. They were not successful.Restaurant Es Torrent (Es Torrent) – On the way back, we stopped off at Es Torrent for dinner. We'd had this place recommended to us often, including by locals, so we had had high hopes. We'd been to this beach before a couple of times but had only had their sangria. We decided it was time for our annual paella, but started off with some marinated tuna (delicious) and Gallician-style octopus (too much sea salt). We chose the blind paella, where they remove most of the shells & bones and such from the seafood. The paella was OK, but not the best we've had (still dreaming of La Brasa in Ibiza Town). The place isn't cheap either – 128 euros total, 28 of which was for the pitcher of white whine sangria.
CircoLoco @ DC10 – Next up was DC10, where I met up with Grego, HDR, Nostrum and co. The place was absolutely rammed. Finding space to dance was difficult. But that was tempered by top-notch tunage from the likes of Seth Troxler and Squillace v Tanzmann. Really… is there any better line-up on the island than the ones at DC10 this season? We took a little time outside to cool down a bit and then I went back inside for Dubfire who was ace and the place had cleared out just enough to let you dance without getting bumped around. This edition of CircoLoco didn't match the previous week's, but it was still head and shoulders above the rest.
Cocoon Closing @ Amnesia – Next up was the Cocoon closing which was also busy but not as busy as I expected. Loco Dice was definitely the highlight of the evening, playing by far the best set of the night. Sven Vath and Ricardo Villalobos were both apparently wacked out of their minds because they went on some entirely random musical tangents. I really don't know what they were playing at. One song Sven put on was actually ear-splitting. That's when I went out to the terrace for Ricardo but didn't last too long there either. I came back to Sven for a good while but decided to leave sometime after 7 because I thought they'd close down soon (it was over at 8 last year). Apparently it went on for a couple more hours. Honestly? Not too sad I missed it.
Tuesday was our last day as, sadly, we were flying out that evening. I slept in while Irina went down to the beach. We then packed up, checked out of the hotel, and went out for a late lunch.
Blue Marlin (Cala Jondal) – Blue Marlin is probably better known for its occasional parties than for its food but it's a nice place for a meal with a beautiful setting. Irina started with the spicy seviche while I settled on the tuna Caesar salad. Both delicious. I like the fact that they didn't over load the Caesar in sauce as some places do. Irina had a delicious tuna steak as her main while my tagliatele with shrimp was tasty although perhaps could have used more flavor. Overall, very pleased with our meal, despite leaving 138 euros (35 of which was one pitcher of sangria). You pay for the ambience and the coolness of the place, and for the DJ spinning some very nice afternoon house tunes.
We went straight from there to the airport to board our flight to Madrid and connecting flight home to Moskva. As we walked out to our plane, I stopped for a minute on the tarmac to look out over the hills, Las Salinas, the coast… it was a gorgeous view as the sun had just set and the last light of the day reflected off of the water. The thoughts running through my head – What a great trip. Jeez, I love this place. I don't want to leave. When will I be back? – brought tears to my eyes but for the first time in years I was able to hold it back. No sense in crying when you've had such a good time.
Phew. Wow. I'm amazed you've made it this far. Or you just skipped down to the end you illiterate loser.
Either way, thanks for reading and I hope something in there was interesting, useful, whatever. My Ibiza vacation is my favorite time of the year, and I like sharing it with this forum as I've gotten so much help, advice, etc. around here. As you can see we really try to make the most of it. I think this year we succeeded, with honors. And yes, of course, we'll be back!
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what's the liquor they use?! 
