something different for a change. I´ll explain a bit.
hiking.
I grew up in switzerland and when I was a kid my parents always took me hiking. I genuinely hated it back then.
2012 I made my permanent move to ibiza and it´s about then when I sort of re-discovered that I actually do like hiking. in winter I did a lot of hikes with toby who runs walkingibiza. then in 2014 I did the round the island walk with him. an experience that was the fire starter for me. I was hooked on hiking. so I started to do more hikes on the island and bit by bit an idea arose.
so right after the 2016 season, I made a really long walk - from my old house near bern in switzerland to barcelona, then ferry over to ibiza and walk home. that was an amazing experience and I´m gonna do more of that in the future for sure.
this past weekend I did another walk on here, here´s the text copied over from facebook if anyone is interested.
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the trans ibiza express
day 1
faro de portinatx - es fornàs
41km
I spent the whole summer without doing any proper hikes - work and clublife just take completely over for a few months and if there's any spare time, then it's either the beach or scuba diving.
the idea of crossing ibiza north to south had been in my head for a while. because I did the round the island walk a few years ago, I know the entire coastline really well, but I also wanted to see more inland ibiza by going off the beaten track and away from the main roads we all know. so when august was finally over and I saw the weather forecast for this weekend (sunny, but temperatures a little lower), I knew this was it!
my GF yesterday evening gave me a lift up to portinatx right in time for sunset. while she drove back home (ladies night...and yeah she was pretty hungover today I'm told!), I had dinner at el puerto (thanks for the recommendation
@jimmiz ). after that it was just a short moonlight walk to the lighthouse (had a torch with me but didn't even need it) where I set up my tent and spent the night.
I woke up early today and had breakfast while the day awoke. I was all packed up and ready to go just before sunrise, so I watched the sunrise (you could clearly see mallorca too from the lighthouse which is always nice) and then set off.
today's route took me to cala d'en serra first and then up to san juan (drenched in sweat already after the climb up from cala d'en serra). from there I continued, first to san lorenzo and then over to santa gertrudis, where I arrived right in time for lunch. after that, san rafael was next and that was how far I had planned to get. but I still had some energy left and also wanted to find a nice spot to camp so I ended up entering the valley of es fornàs. ibiza people might know casita verde yeah? well, my tent is set up right above and behind casita verde in a great spot.
more tomorrow - it's only going to be a two day mission this one, but I thought I might share anyway...final destination will be torre d'es savinar above cala d'hort (and then of course going to have a swim as well!)
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day 2
es fornàs - torre des savinar, cala d'hort
26km
total distance 67km
I had fallen asleep early and that also meant I woke up early, well before sunrise. so I had my coffee and brioche while looking at the stars. I enjoyed the silence and caressed the blisters I got yesterday (no wonder after no hikes all summer) and then started packing up and got ready for the second part of this mini trip.
the long lap yesterday was mainly possible because of the fact it was a flat walk for two thirds of the route. it was up and down right at the start, from portinatx to san juan, but once I was past that, it was really pretty flat. today's lap was the opposite of that...it started easy, but 80% of the walk were very strenuous. first I had a nice and easy warm up down the valley of es fornàs and crossing the benimussa area to san josé and this is where the fun started...
now if you look at a map you'll see san josé and cala d'hort aren't that far from each other if you make a beeline. but there is no straight road from A to B in this case. plus, I'm pretty sure no one of you was thinking I'd do this island crossing without passing by the highest point of ibiza. so, up to sa talaia first, then down the other side, only to climb back up another peak that I always had wanted to check out. it's the big cliffs to the right as you approach es cubells, right where you veer off to the right towards cala d'hort at restaurant mo...not sure of the actual name, one map has it as rota d'en paises, but am not sure that's what it's called. it's a super steep climb up there, but it's worth it - fantastic views down to es cubells and all the coast as far as cap d'es falcó and over to formentera...and as you continue walking along the ridge of the peak the majestic es vedrà comes into view!
another very steep descend followed down to the main road. then 20 more minutes along that road and then the dirt track leading to the tower overlooking es vedrà and last but not least one final climb up to torre des savinar and I was there. wow, 26kms only, but that was a bloody tough one today!
my gf, who felt decidedly better again today, came and picked me up. off to cala vadella for a long awaited dip in the sea. and the paella at maria lluisa and the siesta on the beach afterwards was just what the doctor ordered.
more tales from the trails soon amigos!
I shall add pictures too now, see if you can see them.