Overdue Solo Ibiza Trip Review July 10- 25th

Nobbie Q

Well-Known Member
Long overdue review! Wasn't in a mad rush to start reviewing for some reason. Some preamble:
-this is my second ever trip, first ever trip was 2015 for 10 days in June, you can read all about it here-
http://forum.ibiza-spotlight.com/threads/june-16th-25th-first-timer-in-ibiza-trip-w-pics.73894/



Flight was from Toronto > Barca> Ibiza. Flight from Toronto left on July 9th at Midnight'ish, it was supposed to have left at 10:30 PM but they hadn't flown in the pilot to the airport to pilot our plane! I'm not that surprised- there's always delays at Pearson Airport, with me at least anyways, but I had left like 5 hours for my next plane from Barca to Ibiza so I wasn't that pissed off by it. I had emergency seats on the plane so I had a lot of leg room, plus no one was sitting in the middle seat.

I was really worried about my luggage getting to Barcelona. As per my last trip, my luggage didn't arrive until the next day I was in ibiza, so I was really anxious about this whole thing. BUT it did thankfully, and half my worries were erased immediately. I must have arrived in Barcelona just past 1 PM. My flight to Ibiza wasn't until 5:30 I think, so I had enough time.

Anyways I arrive in Ibiza, took a video of it too this time! I was sitting next to a couple of American guys and I gave them a couple of tourist tips. It was their first time there...I got a nice view of Formentera while on the approach to Ibiza. It was nice and sunny, so things looking great. The F*** Me I'm Famous sign on the escalator down was replaced this year with Martin Garrix's Multiply night, so no change in the level of cheese LOL, but I was happy to see something dance music related that would NEVER see any other airport. My luggage had arrived thank God and so it was off to San Antonio by the airport bus. I met a ticket seller at the airport for my first night there, Solomun + 1 w/Dixon. He met me right outside and started to make me worry about my footwear. I only had two pairs of sandals and he was saying I might not get in with them. This was new to me as last year there were no issues.

Anyways, after getting the typical picture in front of the Ibiza sign on the airport (which I wasn't able to get last year cuz I was worried about my luggage not arriving) it was off to San Antonio to hotel Marco Polo 1. I had a single room

My first thoughts of this hotel was that it was step down from Hotel Invisa Es Pla from across the street. I only had one light for my room that was situated all the way at the END of my room so you don't get proper lighting all across. The room was really small, but this was my bad for not checking the size before I booked I guess. The good news was that was a free safe to keep my passport and travel money and cards inside. I was thinking of going to the Cafe Del Mar area and predrinking there but it was like close to 9 by the time I settled in and decided to just get wasted in my room and save time. I was worried about my shoes situation and thought I'd have a better chance of getting in Pacha if I got in real early, since they might overlook my footwear at that time since it's not busy. I know Stivi told me it'd be fine but I really didnt' want anything to go wrong, especially on my first night!

I drank quite a bit and I honestly wanted to get there by 12. on my way to the San An busstation, I cut my finger on something, and it was deep. It didn't hurt me, but there was blood gushing out. The hotel staff sorted it out for me but they put on a big ass bandage on my hand and I looked like an extra from the Mummy. Luckily a convenience store next to the hotel had proper bandaids and I replaced my mummy wrap with that. Problem solved, but now i'd be getting to Pacha at like 12:30 AM.

There was no lineup or anything and the bouncers barely looked at me as they waived me in! I thought the atmosphere was funny inside. There were people inside but they surrounded the dancefloor and didn't want to be directly on it. The same thing happens in my hometown of Toronto too and i would think everywhere else- ppl aren't as loose yet in the beginning of the night and the whole scene looks like something out of a high school dance, where everyone is too scared of what other ppl might think of em dancing...TO ALEX KENNON's beats of all people right? Anyways he built up the atmosphere nicely and Dixon came on somewhere between 1- 1:30 AM. I didnt' recognize a single tune and the whole night became a blur to be honest. I can't remember the time I left but I remember taking a couple of buses to get back to San Antonio as the discobus had closed down.

I'm trying to upload more pics but the file sizes are too big and I'm too lazy to downscale them.




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July 11- Thai Food and Cocoon w/Luciano, Carl Craig, Adam Beyer +Ida Engberg, Scuba and damn LOST TRACK

Sorry just writing this as I get time!

I got up mid afternoon to beats playing outside my hotel room from the pool area. I was very close to it and these guys aren't shy about blasting the music. I must have heard Piece of Me by MK at least twice already.

I remember getting up and going out for a swim for a bit in the hotel pool. There were many young folk there, chilling and drinking around the pool and inside too. My plan was to go to Casa Thai. I went last year and couldn't wait to go back to grab some of their Chicken Pad Thai. Also had to grab some supplies too.

I had a trusted source my shiz but wanted it more conveniently. Despite my best interests, I decided to deal with the nearest looky looky dude i could find on the street and I really shouldn't have as you'll find out a bit later. I grabbed two tabs and some weed after my swim. Guy was saying it was pure M which I doubted of course, but I was doing this out of convenience.

I then went to Casa Thai and saw some of the same staff there as last time. They always get confused when I tell em I want it spicy. They tell me to make it spicy myself, but I like it when it comes spicy. I've been to Thailand as well and the same thing happened at a lot of the resto. Anyways I got the dish with a couple spring rolls too. Both things tasted great, and the white fried chip things they serve before each meal was nice as well.

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After this meal, I felt mad tired again. It was the itis, and this was my first meal after 24 hours since I had McDonalad's in Barcelona. I must have slept from around 7 PM- Midnight. I wanted to see Chris Coco at Sol House but I didn't have the energy. So I slept until 11 or so i think. I did want to hit Cocoon exactly at Midnight to see Scuba as I'd never seen him before. I didn't even see the set times but I knew he'd be opening up for Adam and Ida, but by the time I got freshened up and left my hotel it was past midnight and more like 1 AM at this time.

I had guestlist for this event and it worked like a charm. They do ask for ID but my photocopy of my passport sufficed (not taking the original out at nights ever again re: my 2015 trip!

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I was wondering how the atmosphere would be inside since this was like less than a week after the whole raid thing. Not a damn thing was changed. I started off in the main room, Scuba was finishing up and Ida and Adam came on. The music was really good and I didn't want to move but I love the terrace more and I had never seen Carl Crag before. I moved over to the terrace and it was busy just like the main room. SOme nice moments in this set. I heard Martin Luthar King's I had a dream speech as an accapella over some beats. Another moment was him dropping the original version of Sweet Dreams by Eurthymics which was so cool to hear. It was timed perfectly well. he played another very familier track as well which i have the vid for.

After him was Luciano and this would be my first time hearing him, and I felt I had lucked out so much with him appearing at his only Cocoon date of the season. I've always wanted to see Luciano personally on the terrace. He opened up with Ric Flair's theme aka Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 by Richard Strauss. That was nice to hear! Especially while I was wearing my Back to the Future t-shirt too, since this track was most famously used in 2001.

A big moment came where he played Opus and I half expected everyone to do a sit down but ppl learned their lesson from the closing. Below are the sexy gogo dancers during this middle part of this tracktimg_20160712_052440.jpg

My personal best moment came in the last hour when Luciano played this really uplifting track that was so magical that it became my favourite moment in Cocoon. I just don't know what this track was, as I would also hear it later on in my trip too. It's still driving me crazy to this day!!!! WHAT was this track?? It was easily the most uplifting track in the terrace. Luciano was on fire. No go nowhere loops, just a slamming DJ set!
Crowd wise I thought the Pacha crowd was cleaner, thought there was a bit more pushy ppl at this place. One funny moment was when I gave this hippy guy who must be a regular there since I saw him the next week too, a spliff of mine, and this f***ing guy ATE IT whole! Anyways. night ended at 7 AM on the nose and I was asking multiple peeps about an afterparty but ppl were saying no.

Oh yeah it's Tuesday July 13th now...
 
I figured out the another track that Carl Craig played that I ID'd. It was Oxia- Domino


Also I just remembered, Luciano played a remix of Energy 52- Cafe Del Mar, which further supports his set as being nothing short of magic. I *think* it was the newly released Marcel Janovsky remix, which I also heard the week after as well in Solomon's set by the port of Ibiza.

July 12th
Leaving Amnesia in the early morning, and not finding any afterparty to supplant the buzz I was still feeling, I was thinking of going back to San Antonio. I asked someone in the rear of Amnesia if they could give me a ride back but this guy was asking for 50 Euros. This was easily a ripoff and I ignored him, and I continued to walk behind Amnesia away from it and I was suddenly noticing how quiet and serene everything was around me, a drastic change to the madness of the club. I was really enjoying seeing the mountains and nature everywhere, I always was a fan of Ibiza's mountains and they seemed even better now.

I had this feeling of just walking towards the mountains and exploring them but after walking around outside and past some gated houses and stuff I changed my mind and I found a main road with a bus stop right there. Lady waiting there confirmed she was waiting for the bus for San Antonio.

When I got back, I still felt like I had a lot of energy and this was probably when it became appararant to me that the 2/3rds of the pill i had inside Amnesia was not pure at all, and I was still feeling stimulated. Anyways, near the bus station there's a little cafe place where it feels like a lot of locals go to. This was the same place I visited on the last day of my 2015 trip and I felt like going back there, even though there's nothing really special about it except maybe not feeling as touristy as other places. I ordered a Tuna sandwich there and a bottle of water and yes I actually did eat.

After this small meal, I felt this determination to visit Cala Conte. I wanted to just accomplish visiting this place, as this daytime stuff is harder to accomplish with consecutive clubbing nights. I bought a ticket for a boat ride from one of the multiple boat tour people that hang out across the street from the Burger King area roughly and was going to take the 10 AM one. I still didn't feel sleepy really and after getting prepped back in my hotel room. I was off on the boat.

It made a stop at Calla Bassa and then went to Cala Conte:

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It was fairly busy but I was immediately impressed by this beach. I still sort of sketchy at this point but still did manage to do a swim. Water was slightly cool, I guess I'm spoiled by my trips to Carribean beaches, but you do quickly get used to it so not bad. I spent a lot of time on the shore in the second last picture, just laying on my back, closing my eye and enjoying the water and sun beating down on me. I did venture out to the restaurent but didn't feel like getting a table and getting anything.

I spent way too much time here, all the way until 3:30ish or so arrgh until the next boat would arrive. there was one earlier at 11:30ish or so but that was too early for me too leave and I think I saw signs about a bus that could take me back but didn't want to venture to find it, but in hindsight I should have made the effort to ask someone about getting back but also just wanted to laze around on this beach. i definitely did get sunburned eee.

When I finally got back to my room, I thought finally I could get some much needed rest before heading off to Mosiac @ Pacha . Or so I thought. I tried very hard to sleep but I just couldn't. I honestly don't think I was able to and I have to blame it on the pill I had at Amnesia the night before. I had my eyes closed but I don't think I managed to get much or any sleep....
 
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...but I had to to go to Pacha to attend Mosiac. Maceo Plex, Len Faki, and Bicep on the bill. The Prism Room had Oswald, Fatima Yamaha, and Jennifer Cordini. I bought a ticket from one of the ticket sellers next to the hotel and didn't actually predrink too much before heading out.

Bicep was on when I arrived and I was introduced to this fast paced melodic techno style that was very new to me...something I hadn't heard before. The entire place had these dancers in glowing boxes wearing...I'm not sure what, but it was different. You coudln't even see their faces, and they were wearing like these artsy dresses or something, hard to describe, but see it here and the whole Pacha setuptimg_20160713_015517.jpg timg_20160713_015915.jpg timg_20160713_020906.jpg

Those masks seemed mad uncomfy to wear! But I was overall surprised at the fast pace of the night so far but also not really since Len Faki was on the bill. I saw for a bit, playing some fast techno on the darker side. It was my first time seeing him, but i wanted to explore the prism room, and Fatima Yamaha was finishing upwith this unreleased track called "Araya" which you can see here:


I spent some time in the prism room listening to Jennifer Cordini after as well. Liked the slow tech stuff she was playing plus you could unofficially smoke in this room (even she was doing it). I switched back and forth and then finally I settled for the main room and Maceo came on. He started off with some uplifting ambient opening before heading into his set. It was an alright set, I didn't stay for the whole thing, I recognized TV Baby- New York is Alright (? remix) and a couple of Maceo tunes. I was mostly sitting down by the area near the left of when you get in. There was seating there and I just chilled out and watched Maceo play on the screen there before I decided it was enough and probably left a bit earlier than I wanted. I would say 6
 
Such a horrible feeling not being able to sleep after so long! Enjoying the review
Thanks sir. Yeah the sleep thing was horrible as I'll explain shortly

July 13th- Insomnia, Paradise w/Jamie Jones, Capriati, Claude Von Stroke, Eats Everything, Richy Ahmed

So despite being up all night for Mosiac, I still had extreme trouble sleeping. I blame it on a combination of jetlag and some lingering effects from the stuff I took Monday morning. I didn't take anything for Mosiac. Ibiza time is 6 hours ahead from Eastern Time, so I mean 7 AM in Ibiza is like 1 AM back home and I don't sleep back home until like 5 or 6 AM anyways due to my night work schedules but I still felt I should get some bloody rest considering all the partying going on. I dunno, I just couldn't bring myself to it, kept tossing and turning. The A/C unit was right above my bed and the cool air blowing into face wasn't making things better. The remote for this f***ing thing was on the fritz, and so I couldnt control it properly until a while waiting till the remote stopped flashing and finally allowed me to control it.

I dunno but somewhere between 11 and noon, I decided I should grab some breakfast so it would make me feel more sluggish and drowsy. I went to Red Grill and Bar and got a nice deal for breakfast plate with beans, eggs, toast, and some fried mushrooms and tomatoes. Got some juice there as well. I felt pretty sketchy, like I couldn't operate properly, waitress at one point wasn't sure what I was requesting from her. This whole meal was like 10-13 Euros and was quite good actually. I wasn't expecting much from this place, I always see it by all those restos just past the egg.

I think I finally felt like I could sleep. When it turned Noon, the music from the pool outside my room started to blare so made it harder, plus there was more activity now in the hotel and I kept hearing doors slamming shut, and them being knocked on as well loudly since this hotel probably only gives out one key per room despite the usual standard of two keys. This is what I don't get in Ibiza- I don't know why basic hotel essentials are hard to come by. I feel you have to go luxary and then perhaps you can start getting stuff like coffee machines and the like. I had earplugs and they sorta worked, and then I finally managed to get a few hours of real sleep finally.

Wanted to grab food, checked out this site for some San Antonio resto recommendations and saw @craig72 's post about Rincon De Pepe for tapas and decided to go for it. I wanted to check out Martin Solveig and Diplo's preparty at Cafe Mambo but I'm unsure why it took me forever to get to this resto. I didn't get there until close to 9 PM. I thought this was a really nice quaint place and the staff was relaxed and friendly. I ordered some Cava for the first time, Ibiza salad (which was potato salad basically) and a lamb kebeb with some some more potatoes. Thought the quality of the food was great, very tasty for sure. Expensive for sure, but the quality and nice mature atmosphere was I guess worth it. It was a like a hideaway from the west end madness outside.
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I went to a convenience store nearby afterwards to get drinks, and headed to Cafe Mambo. I was only able to catch like the last 20 mins of the preparty. Both Diplo and Solveig were going sorta back to back, it was very accessable music, pretty top 40 feel to it when Diplo dropped some remix of Rihanna- Work. GROAN.

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Went to Paradise afterwards, had Fanta bottle mixed with gin and just drank that outside pretty much outside in front of DC-10 where all the taxis were dropping ppl off. TBH, this was the worst night I had in Ibiza, and I had proper clean supplies too. There was security everywhere and it made me feel kinda paranoid, despite the alcohol in me. I had some anxiety, I think some residual effects from that lousy pill from Cocoon. Not only that, but it was just so busy everywhere in both rooms, terrace particuallarly so. The garden area was really only the best place for space and comfort but there's no DJs playing there. I spent a lot of time talking to some guys on their stag do for a buddy even before checking out the terrace. Good talk about American football and my hometown Blue Jays team which I surprised they knew about since they where British. Didnt know anyone knew about the Jays but I guess they did have a good run last year lol.

Ilario Ilicante was playing in the terrace and it was opening type of set, some good steady techno that was setting up the night well. I spent more of my time in the main room for Claude Von Stroke later on, and can't say I was too impressed. Thoought the track selection was sorta stale and was just not getting into it.

Jamie Jones in the other room was surprisingly not better either. It was just some go nowhere music. Some highlights was some girl with another girl telling me how she's her "side whore" repeatedly and then her friend just kissing me on my nose, missing my lips lol. The main girl who talked to me got all upset and took her away LOL. Also, I did my first ever shoulder ride. Another girl just asked me to give her one, and so I did. The terrace was mad busy and was not very comfy to be in.

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Thankfully Eats Everyhing and Richy Ahmed saved this night from being a total disaster in the main room by playing a stellar fun set. they were originally supposed to play seperately but did a B2B instead, probably to take some of the crowd pressure away from Jamie Jones. There was way more room in the main room too! I have no other words to describe this set other than just being fun housey type of music instead of the boring techy dreck in the terrace. Oh yeah and don't bother trying to roll any weed and smoke it there, security was on this one group trying to do that there in a second and it was past 6 AM too and asked em to get rid of it. One person in that group made fun of my construction foam earplugs. Didn't care, Ill be the one with less ear damage the next day than her!

Whole event was done at 7 AM. I just started walking towards the Space area, some other people were too. thought maybe i could get a bus back to San Antonio back from there but the last bus for some INSANE REASON LEAVES AT 6:45 AM WHEN THESE CLUBS FOR THE MOST PART ARE DONE BY 7! IT'S ASS BACKWARDS. Anyways me some other guys were going back to San Antonio as well and we all just split on the cab thankfully.
 
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July 14th- Sasha @Kumharas, Afterlife Week 2

Got up around 4 I believe, yes I actually slept finally. This was the big day where I was gonna see Sasha for free to boot finally in Ibiza which I've always wanted to for so long since I got into the serious underground side of stuff with GU :13. I had a table reserved for around 7. After Kumharas, I was gonna try to see Stephan Bodzin at Space for his live set for Afterlife, but was willing to skip it for Sasha.

I saw online last second when I awoke about how there was gonna be a Boiler Room set that was gonna start in Ibiza with Eats Everything and Richy Ahmed in like an hour. I RSVP'd, based on how good they were just last night, and thought I might be able to squeeze this in too. I was hungry though and thought I should get something outside while I'm waiting for a response.

Wanted to eat something small, was remembering I wanted some KFC and there was one around the Ibiza Rocks Bar side of things but then I decided to just check out Ibiza Rocks Bar itself. I thought the service was really fast, I ordered a Smoked Salmon bagel with an English breakfast tea and got my order in no time. I liked the view out to San Antonio Bay through the glass windows.

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I didn't get any response back from the Boiler Room people but it was okay, I already had my day and night set with Sasha and Afterlife afterwards. The taxi ride out afterwards my meal brought me to Kumharas past 7, to like 7:30. There were a lot of tables available and I ordered a drink, just thinking I could order food as well where I was but it turns out you had to be closer to the restaurant side to get it. I went there and they had me down at 10 PM in error and I couldn't get a normal table, but only a table that I'd have to sit on the floor for. I thought it worked better anyways because view was closer to the DJ stand. I ordered a Thai Chicked Curry type of dish and got a massage in the meanwhile from a masseuse who'd accept whatever payment I thought would be necessary. It was an okay massage, I gave her about 10 Euros I think.
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Food was good, no complaints, but it was like 8:30 PM now and still no Sasha. I was told he'd be there by 8 PM. Anyways, he didn't come on until 9'ish or so and I made my way over near the DJ area where ppl started to mill about. This was a big moment for me, I had seen Sasha many times before but I wanted most above all to see him in Ibiza. He looked a bit worse for the wear, like maybe he was up all night but music was nice. You can find the set online to hear what it was like. At one point the music cut out completely, but after a few mins it came back. The same thing happened to the opener as well.
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^^there I am in my Batman shirt! I was hoping to still catch Stephen Bodzin for Afterlife afterwards but would be okay if I missed it. Sasha finished up aroound 11 and I tracked him down afterwards to have him sign my Gu 13 booklet (again, as I already had it signed a while back) and also GU 09: San Fran. He apologized for the technical errors and i told him it was okay because they guy before him had issues too.

I had to leave to try to catch some of Stephen Bodzin but it was impossible getting a cab outside. This part of San Antonio was 10 times less manic but because of the increased peace it was harder to get a taxi. I managed to find one outside a hotel and headed off to Play D'en Bossa. I didn't get there till like close to midnight and figured Bodzin was done and decided to just predrink outside. I went inside eventually and I bought those Space tickets and the rest of the night was very hazy to remember lol. I did remember talking to some Korean people which was cool, since I used to live there for a year teaching. It was nice talking to them despite the limited English.

I don't have any pics from this night since my phone decided to get battery drain issues as soon as I landed, but basically all the action was on the terrace and the sunset terrace and chamber area were not that busy. I heard Patrice Baumel- Surge on the terrace by Tale of Us which was a sick moment. The music all throughout the terrace was great I found and I lost myself there. I had Tale of Us randomly sign my sasha GU 13 boooklet as well as other staff members at Space. I thought the terrace was just right in terms of crowd, or maybe I just didn't care how busy it was but I do remember there was room to dance all way in the back where the original booth is, as the DJ stand was on the other end. The event went till 7 AM and I caught a cab back home.

Alone in my room I felt a lot of emotions about my ex gf from Korea, as I was reminded of her by the ppl I met earlier in the night. We messaged a little but it was clearly not the same. In 2015 I was supposed to have gone back there to work again after my first Ibiza trip, but we split up after that trip. So just going to Ibiza itself makes me think of that part of the world as it was gonna be the next place to be in
 
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July 15th- Mambo Preparty w/Hot Since 82 and Nick Curly, Secret Life @ Pikes Hotel

Got up extremely late this day and there's this gap between when I woke up and when I got to Mambo's for the preparty. I remember one girl on the way jumping into the main San Antonio fountain and before she got out I told her to stay in so I could take a pic of her. Her four friends encouraged her to stay in lol, i asked them to join her as well but they said they would later. I would post this pic, but I wanna protect the innocent.

Got to Mambo's eventually, good music being played. Hot Since went B2B with Nick Curly. I finally managed to try their famous strawberry daiquiris and it was worth it. You can only get those at the bar outside, but not inside. I was confused for a bit, because the bartender told me to go to that bar but I thought he meant the other side of the main bar inside. He was pretty friendly in re-directing me again. I must have gotten at least two of those strawberry daquiris.

I left for a bit to get some drinks from a convenience store. I went around Savannah beach club and went to the convenience store next to that Yogood's dessert place. Some guys bought a 4 pack of this strawberry beer and I decided to do the same. The store owner was smiling and kinda laughing a bit when she looked at me. I dont know from what. She opened up all four beers for me as a courtesy and I went off with the pack back to the Cafe Mambo area.

I think around this time it mighta been only Nick Curly on, im not sure. I hung out in front of the area and watched the fire dance lady do her thing. She's a staple of that area, I saw her last year and was happy to see her again. Managed to grab a pic together with her.

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I noticed that pretty much after her show was done that some security guards came and started telling ppl to get lost. This musta been past 11:45 PM or so judging from the time i took this picture. I didn't encounter this last year, so must be a new thing.

Walked back to the main fountain area, shared my canadian smokes with a couple of ladies from Bristol. ONe was really cute took a pic with her too.

This night was gonna be an off night, but I received a hot tip from Afterlife (Steve Miller) to check out Secret Life at Pikes Hotel. I saw the lineup consisted of Chris Coco, Pete Gooding, A Man Called Adam and some others i havne't heard of before. A cab took me there and I wasn't sure where I was going, because there's no street lamps when approachng Pikes. It was really quiet outside and I wasnt even sure I was supposed to be there. But I approached the front of the place where a girl was sitting down at this table. She asked me for my name, I didn't realize there was a guestlist. Told her it was my first time coming. She was cool and let me in anyways.

I was directed to the side of the hotel, and instantly saw how the crowd was different from all the parties I've been to. It was more of a mature crowd and there was this nice chill atmosphere. I went inside to the dancefloor area and was pleased by the whole aesthetic of the place. It had this old feeling to it, which it should considering how old the place is. I liked the purple lighting throughout and just thought the place was nifty. There was pure disco house playing.
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Does anybody know who this DJ is?

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She was really up for it and was having a blast. I met an Ibizan local outside with his Mexican friend and he invited for drinks outside the place. Didn't know there were ins and outs! We went outside to the side and he had a bottle of rum with some coke and glasses and we all drank and smoked while discussing our lives. Turns out hes a producer and he also runs a clothing stall with his own designed clothes with his friend. His friend didnt know much English but was pretty hammered and was wanting to go to Music On. It was really dark outside and it really made me notice the stars and moon out. They honestly looked so beautiful and this area was quiet too, so it was nice to have that as well.

We eventually went back in, without his friend who decided to just sleep in the car. We met a small group of married British girls who started to talk to us. They were intersted in my background and religion and mentioned the attacks at Nice, France. It was my first time hearing about them but I really didnt want to talk about that stuff. We all went to dance for a bit inside and then later on we were all just chilling and waiting for the cabs to come get us and they were being cozy with us, but didnt' want to get THAT cozy, you know what I mean? It took a while as all the cabs were busy at the time. They were really nice people to hang out with and I realized Pikes Hotel was really close to Marco Polo and that we coulda walked back by the time it took us to get a cab! I went back with my new found buddy and then he went off on his way and I went bck to my hotel.
I reallly enjoyyed Pikes Hotel, it was one my favourite and unique nights in Ibiza and liked how ppl were so cool and sociable. Sometimes I did feel pangs of lonliness in Ibiza but it was so nice to meet folks who are open and talk to you. Was really happy to skip out on one of the big club nights and go to this but I understand ppl who don't go, as they would probably be in ibiza for a shorter amount of time and would feel the need to go to one of the big nights.

I realize this review is taking a long time...just trying to do this as I get time!
 
I felt that Pikes was like a party at a mate's house, which is always the mood I want and hard to get in a big tourist destination. (I saw two people fornicating on a wall and I think they fell off it midflow!) My kind of joint. So anyone not in the same mindset feels like a gatecrasher. As you get older you want a relaxed vibe, you don't want aggro and queues and shit music. You're more discerning and want to meet characters, an easy bar and above all to have a laugh. That's why I can't do the big battery farms anymore.
 
July 16th- Ants(yes, I know Ushuaia is the devil) w/Tube & Burger, DJ Sneak, Nic & Joris, SuperMartxe

Couldn't sleep again(!) after Pikes. I don't know what was going on with my body, maybe it was jetlag combined with that nasty pill from Monday. I really don't know. After enough tossing and turning I decided again to get some breakfast so that I would be tired enough after the meal to get some rest. Decided to check out Rita's from all the rave reviews this place was getting from Spotlight.

It musta been around 12:30 PM when I arrived. It wasn't busy at all and I could sit pretty much anywhere. There was a waitress who helped me out at first but I needed time with the menu so she went away. My only gripe with this place was that the service was slow a bit as I had to really flag someone down again to get my order. And also, theyre not that good with substitutions with their meal selections. It's pretty much set in stone. I got the rancho eggs which is like two eggs surrounded by salsa and tomatoes with some extra cheese and a bottle of water.

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I wanted to start off with this before getting anything else. Thought it was excellent (craving it again now seeing this pic), but thought they'd melt the cheese on top. No matter, it was great and you get a decent view of the bay as well.

Went back to my hotel room. I wanted to get to Ants by like 5 PM to see Tube and Burger at least but this didn't happen because I managed to finally get some sleep. The eggs paid off, but I didn't get up until 5 PM and I still had to get my Ants tix. My connection hooked it up but by the time I got all ready etc. I didn't get down to PDB by close to 7 PM. I took a bus down to Ibiza Town and then from there I took a taxi. I wanted to predrink a bit, grabbed a small bottle of vodka and mixed it with water, possibly the dirtiest combo out there. I took a stroll down to PDB beach, which would be my FIRST ever time going there. I liked how long it was and the vistas were nice, but as I expected the water wasn't as lightly blue coloured as Cala Comte for example.
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I went to Ushuaia right after, much later than i wanted to get there, maybe around 8'ish. Not really much of a queue but it was busy inside, greeted to Sneak doing his thing which was reminiscent of Ants last year. Thought he was played really well, very tough techno set. I showed him my Canadian passport and he was like "hey!". He lives in Toronto actually so I'm hoping he appreciated it! Washrooms were like a nightmare, really long lineups for stalls for obvious reasons!

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My memory is sketchy but I remember being really social with folks and that Nic and Joris played really well. This event was basically La Familia meets Ants, and when they opened up the rest of the area for the main stage performance of Nic and Joris there was a lot more room to move around and I found the event overall to have LESS people than the Ants event I went to last year and the music was WAY better, so it was a double bonus. The following track pretty much solidified my opinion of this event:

I listen to this track today and it still doesn't sound the same as Nic and Joris playing it. I noticed them playing a lot of older tracks, and there was nothing wrong with that. They played The White Stripes- Seven Nation Army at the end of the night as a surprise as an encore of sorts when their set finished and the whole thing ended up finishing at 12:10 AM, 10 mins over the midnight finish time which was the longest I'd been at Ushuaia.

Exiting the place they were giving out wristbands for Avicii's party on Sunday. I musta been really high cuz I took a few, thinking I might go. I was actually thinking about Supermartxe w/Chris Brown and Chuckie and going there, ticket sellers had the event for sale at 50 Euros. I wasn't sure but I wanted to really check out Privilege as I'd never been there before and this was the best night to go by a long shot despite not caring much about EDM, because it would be a way to experience the club at fully.

I took the bus back to San Antonio, got into a conversation with a girl from Netherlands who was going to Priviledge and it made me think more about it. I heard DJ Tennis- Chiralty playing on the bus speakers, if anybody wants to know.

After mulling it over in my hotel room and drinking a bit more, I decided to head out there but by the cab dropped me off it was like 4 AM and tix at the door were like 70 Euros. Meh whatever, Ibiza right? Security was concerned with what was in my pockets as it was bulging a bit, but it was just my usual stuff.

The crowd was very young at this club and I felt a bit outta place lol. Chris Brown was finishing up his performance...he did a cover of that OT Genesis- Coco track and some other popular hip hop tracks (if you wanna consider Genesis hip hop that is). I was expecting the club to be more filled wtih performers and craziness as it's the closest to Manumission that I think Ibiza will ever have, but no dice. Maybe they spent their budget on the artists coming? I'm not sure.

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Chuckie came on soon after and for EDM it was a pretty solid set I have to admit. I wish I had more stories for you guys from this night, but nothing really eventful happened as everyone around me was like under 25 and I didn't feel right there.

 
July 11- Thai Food and Cocoon w/Luciano, Carl Craig, Adam Beyer +Ida Engberg, Scuba and damn LOST TRACK

Sorry just writing this as I get time!

I got up mid afternoon to beats playing outside my hotel room from the pool area. I was very close to it and these guys aren't shy about blasting the music. I must have heard Piece of Me by MK at least twice already.

I remember getting up and going out for a swim for a bit in the hotel pool. There were many young folk there, chilling and drinking around the pool and inside too. My plan was to go to Casa Thai. I went last year and couldn't wait to go back to grab some of their Chicken Pad Thai. Also had to grab some supplies too.

I had a trusted source my shiz but wanted it more conveniently. Despite my best interests, I decided to deal with the nearest looky looky dude i could find on the street and I really shouldn't have as you'll find out a bit later. I grabbed two tabs and some weed after my swim. Guy was saying it was pure M which I doubted of course, but I was doing this out of convenience.

I then went to Casa Thai and saw some of the same staff there as last time. They always get confused when I tell em I want it spicy. They tell me to make it spicy myself, but I like it when it comes spicy. I've been to Thailand as well and the same thing happened at a lot of the resto. Anyways I got the dish with a couple spring rolls too. Both things tasted great, and the white fried chip things they serve before each meal was nice as well.

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After this meal, I felt mad tired again. It was the itis, and this was my first meal after 24 hours since I had McDonalad's in Barcelona. I must have slept from around 7 PM- Midnight. I wanted to see Chris Coco at Sol House but I didn't have the energy. So I slept until 11 or so i think. I did want to hit Cocoon exactly at Midnight to see Scuba as I'd never seen him before. I didn't even see the set times but I knew he'd be opening up for Adam and Ida, but by the time I got freshened up and left my hotel it was past midnight and more like 1 AM at this time.

I had guestlist for this event and it worked like a charm. They do ask for ID but my photocopy of my passport sufficed (not taking the original out at nights ever again re: my 2015 trip!

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I was wondering how the atmosphere would be inside since this was like less than a week after the whole raid thing. Not a damn thing was changed. I started off in the main room, Scuba was finishing up and Ida and Adam came on. The music was really good and I didn't want to move but I love the terrace more and I had never seen Carl Crag before. I moved over to the terrace and it was busy just like the main room. SOme nice moments in this set. I heard Martin Luthar King's I had a dream speech as an accapella over some beats. Another moment was him dropping the original version of Sweet Dreams by Eurthymics which was so cool to hear. It was timed perfectly well. he played another very familier track as well which i have the vid for.

After him was Luciano and this would be my first time hearing him, and I felt I had lucked out so much with him appearing at his only Cocoon date of the season. I've always wanted to see Luciano personally on the terrace. He opened up with Ric Flair's theme aka Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 by Richard Strauss. That was nice to hear! Especially while I was wearing my Back to the Future t-shirt too, since this track was most famously used in 2001.

A big moment came where he played Opus and I half expected everyone to do a sit down but ppl learned their lesson from the closing. Below are the sexy gogo dancers during this middle part of this trackView attachment 2854

My personal best moment came in the last hour when Luciano played this really uplifting track that was so magical that it became my favourite moment in Cocoon. I just don't know what this track was, as I would also hear it later on in my trip too. It's still driving me crazy to this day!!!! WHAT was this track?? It was easily the most uplifting track in the terrace. Luciano was on fire. No go nowhere loops, just a slamming DJ set!
Crowd wise I thought the Pacha crowd was cleaner, thought there was a bit more pushy ppl at this place. One funny moment was when I gave this hippy guy who must be a regular there since I saw him the next week too, a spliff of mine, and this f***ing guy ATE IT whole! Anyways. night ended at 7 AM on the nose and I was asking multiple peeps about an afterparty but ppl were saying no.

Oh yeah it's Tuesday July 13th now...
Ive just pmsl ...... that bit when the bloke ATE IT.... haaaaaa f***ing hilarious
 
I felt that Pikes was like a party at a mate's house, which is always the mood I want and hard to get in a big tourist destination. (I saw two people fornicating on a wall and I think they fell off it midflow!) My kind of joint. So anyone not in the same mindset feels like a gatecrasher. As you get older you want a relaxed vibe, you don't want aggro and queues and shit music. You're more discerning and want to meet characters, an easy bar and above all to have a laugh. That's why I can't do the big battery farms anymore.

Yeah I guess I do feel like I need more relaxed vibes now as compared to my 20s when I was all about the madness. Pikes was great, enough room to move around and I saw at least 2 girls there who came all by themselves. What special little gem of a place.

July 17th - Rumors

Trying to get this done! Okay, okay so I pretty much got up insanely late today. I had some Burger King by the ol' San Antonio fountain. Wasn't tasting as good as last year for some reason. A nice moment occurred when outside the resto I saw some religious Christian folk walking down the street. They were all marching together and there was some traditional music playing with some light marching beat. There were police around them as well. This was a Sunday so it probably explained it.

After eating I ran into the Ibizan local I met at Pikes. He was operating a stall just nearby with his own clothing and he had some other crafts as well. I couldn't really talk to him too long as I was already insanely late for Rumors and I probably had already missed Lauren Lane who I had heard good things about.

I took the bus into Ibiza town. Was planning on taking a cab from there to Destino. However, the cab took a while to find and I was was like walking away from the Port area which made it rougher to find. It was like around 10 PM around this time and I was thinking of just winging the whole idea to just hang out in the Port area where all the bars are. Eventually I found one cab and by the time I got to Destino it was like 10:30. I knew the party was free but I was unsure if I could really just walk inside. I told some guy just before the entrance I was going to Rumors and some girl was like "everybody is going there!" Yeah I wasn't sure what the procedure was but yes you could really just walk into this place.

Guy Gerber was playing as I entered. Half the area was blocked off, there was a stall selling clothes and another place selling crepes. It was a little busy in the main party area where you face the DJ booth but there was room in the back. I think I had all of one drink at this place as I was pretty out of it from the night before. The music itself was...okay. I wasn't really feeling it until he played Art Department- Catch you By Surprise (Guy Gerber Remix) and then when he finished off with Chaim- Love Rehab. Some nice tracks there but the set as a whole was meh really. I liked the outdoor seting of the party though, just wish there was more room to move around. I liked the nighttime views out to the sea, seeing a full moon cast it's light down on the waters with the lights of Ibiza Town in the distance too.

The party moved to Tox shortly afterwards. People were selling drugs on the stairway to the place. I wasn't really in the mood to party but wanted to check out the place. There's like VIP seating on the sides that are roped off and there's big pillers that reach up into the ceiling. I wasn't really feeling like partying so I decided to go back upstairs.

Some dude playfully tossed some paper at me or something and was laughing. He proceeded to introduce himself. he was an Italian real estate guy doing real estate with his British gf who was there too. He seemed pretty drunk but we all proceeded to exit the venue. I didn't know where the hell we were going. We ended up in a private hire van and there were some other people there too. He kept asking me what my name was and where I was from like repeatedly. The guy driving had an earpiece on, I felt kinda special I suppose. We drove down to Pacha area, him and his GF were bickering. She had to meet up some friend who was just arriving at the airport and I think the plan was to go there. That was the last place I wanted to be! Didn't want to see it until I left Ibiza really. The people that we were with were going to see Acid Pauli at Heart, so we all split off. Me, buddy and gf all got into a cab, I still was unsure what the plan was but it looks like we drove to their home, which was a townhouse in some big townhouse complex. His gf was gonna meet her friend so me and buddy went to his home.

It was my first time being inside an actual Ibizan home. It was nothing spectacular but it was weird being inside an actual house on this island. It was a three bedroom home, they were renting out two of the rooms though. It was nothing incredible but I bet a place like this costed big bucks in ibiza. It was nicely kept. Seems like the guy spends like most of the year in Ibiza with his gf. He gave me some inside scoop on some of the major parties that I can't say here. Eventually his gf came back with her friend and these guys all went upstairs. I did as well after mulling around the couch listening to Ibiza Global Radio on their TV. Nothing crazy happened so don't wanna disappoint. He kept begging his GF for the good coke and didn't want the shit coke. It was quite hysterical actually. These guys kept arguing with each other but the GF seemed amused while she was getting ready to go out somewhere with her friend. She apparently gets free entry into Pacha all the time. I kept asking her how but she was not telling me!

She was leaving to go with her friend somewhere and kinda asked me to come as well. Her BF was like passing out on the coach and kept asking her for the coke and she wouldn't budge and was taking amusement in all this. This guy was close to passing out and didnt wanna go out anywhere. She left with her freind eventually. I didn't wanna leave, I guess I coulda passed out there too if I wanted to but that felt weird and so I just left on my own. I should have grabbed his email as he lost his phone earlier that night. One of the things I regret, he was quite the character.

Their home was very close to PDB. I checked out my location on my cellphone and it wasn't too far. I walked to that area, I wanted to get something to eat. I got pretty close to the area and there were a bunch of bars and some food places. As I got closer to the Space area, the black prosistutes came outta the woodwork and were really aggressive. They were blocking my path and I felt legit scared for my life. This was at the area down the main street of Space where you make a left. I had to run away from them. I wanted to go back as there was a food place that looked enticing, but those girls didnt' make me feel like going.

I settled on Zanzibar bar near Space. I grabbed a Margerita pizza, water and beer. The pizza was surprisingly very good, but I couldn't belive how water was 4 Euros at this place! The bottle of Amstel i had was 4.50 Euros, so only 0.50 more. Unbelievable. Anyways they closed the place at 4 AM, seems like the main time all the outdoor bars close in Ibiza and I took a bus back back to good ol' San Antonio where an Md out dude kept on passing out all over me and stuff and was totally out of it.
 
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