the extended licenses are only reserved for the full venue closings and had they gone later, they would risk losing them. I think even 06:40 is 10 minutes beyond what is technically allowed
Tell us how it was - Ibiza 2022
- Thread starter McRackin
- Start date
IanF
Active Member
Dates you were there: Thurs 29th September 29th to Monday 3rd October.
Where you stayed: Innside Ibiza, San Antonio Bay.
Club nights visited: None. Just bars and restaurants for us.
Thursday. Arrived about 5pm, so by the time we got to hotel and changed it was time to go out. Drinks at the Irish Bar that used to be Peppers 2 then decided to go to Relish for food. Excellent tapas and cocktails, and really good service. Millenium Bar was closed when we walked past just before midnight, and disappointed that Mar-I-Pins has changed and no longer friendly like it used to be. So returned to the Irish Bar for one, and then one for the road in Plastik. Could have stayed there for a while but we had been at the airport at 7am that morning and the wife maybe had one too many by then.
Friday. Very lazy day. Walk round the bay, pit stop at Orange Corner, late lunch at Café Mambo, and walk back to the hotel with a couple of stops on the way. At night we went to Bar Can Font (I think that’s what it’s called, it’s across from the Urban Lounge) for Tapas. Food wasn’t the best, red wine was served very cold, and was quite a cold evening. After there it was back to the hotel and a couple of bottles of wine on the balcony.
Saturday. Brunch at Pikes, and then lazing around Pikes. Great food, great cocktails and nice wine, and excellent vibes around the pool. Got a few good photos around the place before we left. At night we had cocktails on the rooftop bar at Innside Ibiza then went to Can Pujol on Carrer des Calo for an excellent selection of fish dishes. What a wonderful restaurant and great service. Thanks for the tip @stivi . Stop off at Millenium Bar for a couple of large vodka's but they closed at midnight so it was back to the balcony again for wine.
Sunday. Spent the day in Ibiza Town. Just walked around taking it all in and the wife enjoyed the shops. Late lunch, yes more tapas, this time in La Cava. That was very nice and relaxing. Really enjoyed sitting there and a good bit of people watching. Then it was time for a few drinks and found Number 5 bar to settle in for the evening. When it was time to leave and get a taxi, the wife was delighted to see the jewellery stalls that had appeared. Was fun the next morning when she saw the things she couldn’t remember buying.
Monday. Didn’t have to leave for airport until 2pm, so checked out and walked round the bay and sat in Palapa (I think that’s the name) for a while watching the world go by.
Best night: They were all great, but probably Thursday for the thrill and excitement of returning to Ibiza for the first time in 3 years.
Worst night: Friday night in Bar Can Font. It really wasn’t bad, but I wasn’t on top form and it was quite cold in the evening, and didn’t feel like continuing drinking after the food.
Best bar: That’s a difficult one so I’ll say all of them.
Best place to eat: Definitely Can Pujol, but Pikes and Relish were both excellent too.
Best beach and/or beach club: No beaches.
Money spent: Don’t know, doesn’t matter, we had a great time.
Biggest regret: None at all. Probably not staying longer.
Going back?: Of course, end of September again. We loved our day in Ibiza Town this year, so going to be looking at Figueretes next year. Probably Torre Del Mar. Been there before, good area and easy walk to Ibiza Town.
Top tip: For me, I'm not there for clubs, so I guess I'd say get out there and find at least one new place every time you visit.
Observations and/or conclusion: The change I saw in San Antonio Bay from previous times. Peppers 2 gone, Mar-I-Pins gone, Millenium closing early. Oh well, we must move on.
Where you stayed: Innside Ibiza, San Antonio Bay.
Club nights visited: None. Just bars and restaurants for us.
Thursday. Arrived about 5pm, so by the time we got to hotel and changed it was time to go out. Drinks at the Irish Bar that used to be Peppers 2 then decided to go to Relish for food. Excellent tapas and cocktails, and really good service. Millenium Bar was closed when we walked past just before midnight, and disappointed that Mar-I-Pins has changed and no longer friendly like it used to be. So returned to the Irish Bar for one, and then one for the road in Plastik. Could have stayed there for a while but we had been at the airport at 7am that morning and the wife maybe had one too many by then.
Friday. Very lazy day. Walk round the bay, pit stop at Orange Corner, late lunch at Café Mambo, and walk back to the hotel with a couple of stops on the way. At night we went to Bar Can Font (I think that’s what it’s called, it’s across from the Urban Lounge) for Tapas. Food wasn’t the best, red wine was served very cold, and was quite a cold evening. After there it was back to the hotel and a couple of bottles of wine on the balcony.
Saturday. Brunch at Pikes, and then lazing around Pikes. Great food, great cocktails and nice wine, and excellent vibes around the pool. Got a few good photos around the place before we left. At night we had cocktails on the rooftop bar at Innside Ibiza then went to Can Pujol on Carrer des Calo for an excellent selection of fish dishes. What a wonderful restaurant and great service. Thanks for the tip @stivi . Stop off at Millenium Bar for a couple of large vodka's but they closed at midnight so it was back to the balcony again for wine.
Sunday. Spent the day in Ibiza Town. Just walked around taking it all in and the wife enjoyed the shops. Late lunch, yes more tapas, this time in La Cava. That was very nice and relaxing. Really enjoyed sitting there and a good bit of people watching. Then it was time for a few drinks and found Number 5 bar to settle in for the evening. When it was time to leave and get a taxi, the wife was delighted to see the jewellery stalls that had appeared. Was fun the next morning when she saw the things she couldn’t remember buying.
Monday. Didn’t have to leave for airport until 2pm, so checked out and walked round the bay and sat in Palapa (I think that’s the name) for a while watching the world go by.
Best night: They were all great, but probably Thursday for the thrill and excitement of returning to Ibiza for the first time in 3 years.
Worst night: Friday night in Bar Can Font. It really wasn’t bad, but I wasn’t on top form and it was quite cold in the evening, and didn’t feel like continuing drinking after the food.
Best bar: That’s a difficult one so I’ll say all of them.
Best place to eat: Definitely Can Pujol, but Pikes and Relish were both excellent too.
Best beach and/or beach club: No beaches.
Money spent: Don’t know, doesn’t matter, we had a great time.
Biggest regret: None at all. Probably not staying longer.
Going back?: Of course, end of September again. We loved our day in Ibiza Town this year, so going to be looking at Figueretes next year. Probably Torre Del Mar. Been there before, good area and easy walk to Ibiza Town.
Top tip: For me, I'm not there for clubs, so I guess I'd say get out there and find at least one new place every time you visit.
Observations and/or conclusion: The change I saw in San Antonio Bay from previous times. Peppers 2 gone, Mar-I-Pins gone, Millenium closing early. Oh well, we must move on.
My issue then is that the set times which were extensively published should not have said Villalobos and Luciano 4am-7am (which in my opinion is not long enough for a b2b anyway)
Before swimming Mister , after swimming Miss ?Swimming in May can be done. I usually start my “swimming season” properly at that time after a few brave ones over in winter
G.W.
Active Member
You are quite right there
if she can't love you at your shortest, she doesn't deserve you at your longestYou are quite right there
G.W.
Active Member
True words like these were never spoken before sir!
The Sun God
Active Member
Dates you were there: October 10-15, 2022
Where you stayed: El Pinar Apartments, room 406
So this year’s pilgrimage was slightly different to the norm. For starters I was flying solo after my missus got chucked out of Spain (I’ll spare you the politics..), I had leave to use up, people to see and stress to compress. I selected Cala Llonga because the photo looked nice enough, I didn’t know that part of the world, and it seemed equidistant and within budget. October was unchartered waters for me too. I hoped to maybe catch a final swim and the dying embers of the summer before everything shut down. And true enough there was a deathly quiet around the resort, a few couples, elderly groups from the Netherlands, the real summer stragglers. I’ve always been slightly intrigued by places which are dead, a legacy perhaps of living in faded English seaside towns where you are forced by necessity to make the most of the dystopian reality around you. Of course, no comparison with Cala Llonga but your heart does drop when you see Traditional English Breakfast signs (even whilst craving a TEB..) but moving on, the main saving grace is Can Nuts (as always @Amigo coming through with the top tips), a chintzy little bar/eat with hanging umbrellas outside which does amazing lunches. I had solomillos al ajillo the most delicious pork and garlic medallions accompanied by the best patatas bravas I’ve had in a long time.
Food aside, I looked around in vain to see if there was any kind of entertainment but the only person who seemed to be enjoying himself was the chap living in the old camper van with the windows blown out, parked on the road outside the apartments. I’d hired an unusually unbattered Fiat Panda from Moto Luis at the airport (always the best) so I knew CL would just be a base, albeit further off the map than I would have preferred, a fair few bends, but it is close to Ibiza and SE alike.
So I’d been tipped off by some people I’d met in Sussex at a festie put on by the 1BTN crew in July that there was something going on in Oct at Pikes and I headed along there on day 2. There were probably around 30 people milling around outside, mostly from the Midlands region of England “oroight mate lovloi to see yeo”, ageing music heads I kind of knew or knew of, via various scenes. Also a couple of old, familiar faces from London who used to do pub raves in a former life. All very nice and everything, the Sade classic ‘Paradise’ wafting across the water whilst a mysterious test tube with equally mysterious contents was unexpectedly thrust into my palm. And there we remained all day. It was ok, no classic and I think Pikes is perhaps starting to suffer from overfamiliarity (that could be me though) certainly I think it has suffered from overmarketing and isn’t quite the Lewis Carroll fantasyland I once had in my head, but it’s still a very cool vibe for a social, especially the afternoon sessions and giggles were had. I had to take it easy though, in part because I had to get back but also because I was receiving real life messages from the gas board at home, urgently trying to get in touch. Too much reality alas, putting the lid on any meaningful escapism.
A bit distracted I got a bit lost leaving Pikes, somehow heading towards Sant Josep after a wrong turning and endless country roads ensued. That was as fast west or southwest I got all week. For some reason I tend to gravitate towards the east, so ludicrously I didn’t see any sunsets all week. I did however stop off in SE for a bite at the project social – very chatty staff - and then a drink at the Insula at the far southern end (next to Word of Mouth which I arrived too early for!). That stretch offers a welcome more down to earth contrast to the horror ‘concept’ show further up the beach. I was really sad to see the lovely Hostal Rey where we stayed last year concreted over (I hope this is only temporary – during lockdown the hotel opposite where I live concreted its entrance, at a guess to stop squatters breaking in). Perhaps I am overly romantic but it does feels like so many family businesses are closing down whilst corporate monsters take over.. Oct 12 was also the day of the Hispanidad in Spain, a controversial national public holiday which celebrates Colon (Columbus) ‘discovering’ the New World in 1492.. On one back street in SE I raised an eyebrow at the sight of a huge legionario flag hanging outside an apartment, a vivid reminder that even quiet corners of Ibiza aren’t immune to the country’s dark military history.
>>
Where you stayed: El Pinar Apartments, room 406
So this year’s pilgrimage was slightly different to the norm. For starters I was flying solo after my missus got chucked out of Spain (I’ll spare you the politics..), I had leave to use up, people to see and stress to compress. I selected Cala Llonga because the photo looked nice enough, I didn’t know that part of the world, and it seemed equidistant and within budget. October was unchartered waters for me too. I hoped to maybe catch a final swim and the dying embers of the summer before everything shut down. And true enough there was a deathly quiet around the resort, a few couples, elderly groups from the Netherlands, the real summer stragglers. I’ve always been slightly intrigued by places which are dead, a legacy perhaps of living in faded English seaside towns where you are forced by necessity to make the most of the dystopian reality around you. Of course, no comparison with Cala Llonga but your heart does drop when you see Traditional English Breakfast signs (even whilst craving a TEB..) but moving on, the main saving grace is Can Nuts (as always @Amigo coming through with the top tips), a chintzy little bar/eat with hanging umbrellas outside which does amazing lunches. I had solomillos al ajillo the most delicious pork and garlic medallions accompanied by the best patatas bravas I’ve had in a long time.
Food aside, I looked around in vain to see if there was any kind of entertainment but the only person who seemed to be enjoying himself was the chap living in the old camper van with the windows blown out, parked on the road outside the apartments. I’d hired an unusually unbattered Fiat Panda from Moto Luis at the airport (always the best) so I knew CL would just be a base, albeit further off the map than I would have preferred, a fair few bends, but it is close to Ibiza and SE alike.
So I’d been tipped off by some people I’d met in Sussex at a festie put on by the 1BTN crew in July that there was something going on in Oct at Pikes and I headed along there on day 2. There were probably around 30 people milling around outside, mostly from the Midlands region of England “oroight mate lovloi to see yeo”, ageing music heads I kind of knew or knew of, via various scenes. Also a couple of old, familiar faces from London who used to do pub raves in a former life. All very nice and everything, the Sade classic ‘Paradise’ wafting across the water whilst a mysterious test tube with equally mysterious contents was unexpectedly thrust into my palm. And there we remained all day. It was ok, no classic and I think Pikes is perhaps starting to suffer from overfamiliarity (that could be me though) certainly I think it has suffered from overmarketing and isn’t quite the Lewis Carroll fantasyland I once had in my head, but it’s still a very cool vibe for a social, especially the afternoon sessions and giggles were had. I had to take it easy though, in part because I had to get back but also because I was receiving real life messages from the gas board at home, urgently trying to get in touch. Too much reality alas, putting the lid on any meaningful escapism.
A bit distracted I got a bit lost leaving Pikes, somehow heading towards Sant Josep after a wrong turning and endless country roads ensued. That was as fast west or southwest I got all week. For some reason I tend to gravitate towards the east, so ludicrously I didn’t see any sunsets all week. I did however stop off in SE for a bite at the project social – very chatty staff - and then a drink at the Insula at the far southern end (next to Word of Mouth which I arrived too early for!). That stretch offers a welcome more down to earth contrast to the horror ‘concept’ show further up the beach. I was really sad to see the lovely Hostal Rey where we stayed last year concreted over (I hope this is only temporary – during lockdown the hotel opposite where I live concreted its entrance, at a guess to stop squatters breaking in). Perhaps I am overly romantic but it does feels like so many family businesses are closing down whilst corporate monsters take over.. Oct 12 was also the day of the Hispanidad in Spain, a controversial national public holiday which celebrates Colon (Columbus) ‘discovering’ the New World in 1492.. On one back street in SE I raised an eyebrow at the sight of a huge legionario flag hanging outside an apartment, a vivid reminder that even quiet corners of Ibiza aren’t immune to the country’s dark military history.
>>
The Sun God
Active Member
>>
I headed up north, stopping off at Anitas for lunch sat outside on the street, beating the queue by minutes. There was a drunk old Italian on the table behind me who was quite amusing. If you’re lucky you can still see the occasional German hippy driving old trucks around that bend, something that feels increasingly quaint amidst the fast cars and designer trash. I like Anitas a lot, really nice staff and I picked up an obligatory bottle of hierbas which sadly never made it past airport security. Take the boat again next time, avoid the grief…
The road to Sant Joan from Sant Carles is a perilous one and naïve tourists end up on that winding cliff road. I never understand why impatient other traffic tailgate you – are they expecting you to accelerate when you can barely get out of 3rd? Get out of my arse seriously. Wankers. It was great though to eventually make it to Portinatx and to catch up with the legendary @jimmiz again. Fantastic conversation over the best hierbas. It really is a wonderful part of the island.
I hadn’t been to Formentera for years either, somewhere that is always on the cards (special mentions to @fatphilb and @Moondust). A bit like Underground – but which never quite happens. Deciding to make a day of it, I went ridiculously early to guarantee a free parking space in a sandpit up D’Alt Vila, followed by a detour to the Croissant Show. Interesting that time of morning watching the freaks milling around. One totally wasted guy in oversized shades and what looked like a shiny radioactive dayglo cardigan sat down near me and started talking on his phone in the poshest English you could imagine. A good point at which to meander down to the port.
I thought I would book an open-return ferry and hire a bike. In recent weeks, in a desperate bid to get fitter, I signed up to the city ‘Bicing’ cycling scheme in Barcelona and thought I’d see what it was like on a quiet island. The Balearia passenger fast ferry with the scooters crammed on the back would be my pick. Trasmapi loyalists may have other ideas. From Savina port I headed to Es Pujols for an excellent lunch at the Roca Bella, part of the Zulmar hotels in Formentera (*full disclosure: Am good friends with one of the staff). We had a really good meal, quite emotional catching up after so many years. She told me some interesting stuff about the hotel trade and how they handle people posting spiteful comments on Trip Advisor. I think for family businesses, it is personal and something we don’t always appreciate as punters. In that part of the world, it’s mostly Italian tourists, talking of which The Blue Bar had closed for the season by the time I got there. So we said farewell and I had a swim in the most pristine sea there, sweet moses it was amazing. The clarity and warmth of the sea was a common feature all week everywhere I went. I got lost on the cycle route back through the dunes, surrounded by still water all round, you can just feel the ecosystem all around. I noticed a lot of lizards on the track playing ‘Frogger’ as I approached. If the snake genocide has reached Formentera too, then it was good to see these had all survived. Environmental issues are already a hot potato and I couldn’t help noticing “Caos Climatico STOP Mega Yates” posters on windows in the old town. On the ferry back I couldn’t help noticing the vast cruise ship in the harbour. I feel such burning hatred for those ships but it feels like resistance is futile.
I found myself spending a lot of time in the old town. On the final day, I committed myself to Malanga and decided to do a bit of barhopping beforehand. I was very impressed with the Zaguán, which reminded me slightly of the some of the old modernist cafes on the mainland. The food at Bar Peixet was excellent culminating in a teixonera dessert a local delicacy which set my diet plan back a thousand years. I had originally planned on dinner at the Los Pasajeros but walking up the stairs I noticed banging music. What kind of sociopath listens to banging music at a meal? And so on to Malanga. For the uninitiated this is a trully wonderful venue, discreetly tucked away on the backstreets in the newer part of town behind the big Burger King on the front and near the Teatro. I first went in 2019 and had a top night and always vowed to return, genuinely worried it might have been killed off by the pandemic but luckily no. A bar/club that with minimal fanfare continues to champion cutting edge music from around the world, as well as local legends like Pippi, which is open to 6am, and which is free. Hello?
It caught my eye this time because some African guys from Senegal and Mali, Abba Suso, Mama África and Katana, some of whom were locally based were playing a live gig using all sorts of instruments, including a harp and xylophone. I’d heard Gambeat (playing the following night) on the Costa Brava in the summer and I love that fusion sound and funk energy he brought to Manu Chao back in the day and I guess this was similar. For a long time, I’ve been getting more and more into afrobeats and have heard loads of crossover stuff I liked, that loads of DJs I really respect are now into, hypnotic tribal drums and that kind of slower, trippy energy. A big Spanish group turned up after the soundcheck and then the whole place went off. Tremendous atmosphere. Really nice guys. I had a chat with one of them and I genuinely hope their tour does well. I didn’t last the course though as I had to get back and you reach THAT point. Sadly missing Akasha, but the geography, the booze, the rest, checking out the next day, all the shit you don’t think about when you’re 17 not 47… Walking back to the car park, the town didn’t seem as dead to me as others had suggested although it was a Friday on an unusually warm day for October. As mentioned on another thread I stupidly left (or had stolen from me?) all the beach stuff I’d changed out of after an hour at Talamanca earlier in the day. Aah well. Ibiza.
En route to the airport I saw a sign for Jesús. More the last breakfast than last supper though as I quaffed a macro zumo de naranja and the tiniest croissants known to man that you are kindly requested to spread your own Nutella over. Croissant Chic ain’t no Croissant Show. As I waited at the airport for my Vueling flight (mercifully a shorter delay than the 9 hour unrefunded encounter with Satan we’d experienced in September 2019), and as I munched a flavourless 12€ burger, I reflected on the week. It’s obvious that vast aspects are not aimed at me, 95% of the DJs/parties billed there or on here are so far removed from anything I can remotely relate to, and anything with the word ‘concept’ is to be swerved at all costs - but the island itself I still like very much, and it has a natural vibe that feels so much more peaceful and less fractious than where I live or come from.. A very different trip to previous ones, of course. Despite the personal pressures of recent months, for once no stress or suffocating expectations or terrible dilemmas or endless hanging around for someone in a ‘white Audi’. I wasn’t out to get battered or worship DJs. It was nice to catch up with people I like, try new bars and see the parts of the island that haven’t yet been pillaged - and these days that’s all that counts. And on that basis alone, I will be back.
Money spent: Circa 1000€ all in
Best place to eat: Can Nuts
Best bar: Anitas
Best club: Malanga
Top tip: local, local, local
Best beach: Platja des Pujols
Biggest regret: wish she’d been with me, but it is what it is.
I headed up north, stopping off at Anitas for lunch sat outside on the street, beating the queue by minutes. There was a drunk old Italian on the table behind me who was quite amusing. If you’re lucky you can still see the occasional German hippy driving old trucks around that bend, something that feels increasingly quaint amidst the fast cars and designer trash. I like Anitas a lot, really nice staff and I picked up an obligatory bottle of hierbas which sadly never made it past airport security. Take the boat again next time, avoid the grief…
The road to Sant Joan from Sant Carles is a perilous one and naïve tourists end up on that winding cliff road. I never understand why impatient other traffic tailgate you – are they expecting you to accelerate when you can barely get out of 3rd? Get out of my arse seriously. Wankers. It was great though to eventually make it to Portinatx and to catch up with the legendary @jimmiz again. Fantastic conversation over the best hierbas. It really is a wonderful part of the island.
I hadn’t been to Formentera for years either, somewhere that is always on the cards (special mentions to @fatphilb and @Moondust). A bit like Underground – but which never quite happens. Deciding to make a day of it, I went ridiculously early to guarantee a free parking space in a sandpit up D’Alt Vila, followed by a detour to the Croissant Show. Interesting that time of morning watching the freaks milling around. One totally wasted guy in oversized shades and what looked like a shiny radioactive dayglo cardigan sat down near me and started talking on his phone in the poshest English you could imagine. A good point at which to meander down to the port.
I thought I would book an open-return ferry and hire a bike. In recent weeks, in a desperate bid to get fitter, I signed up to the city ‘Bicing’ cycling scheme in Barcelona and thought I’d see what it was like on a quiet island. The Balearia passenger fast ferry with the scooters crammed on the back would be my pick. Trasmapi loyalists may have other ideas. From Savina port I headed to Es Pujols for an excellent lunch at the Roca Bella, part of the Zulmar hotels in Formentera (*full disclosure: Am good friends with one of the staff). We had a really good meal, quite emotional catching up after so many years. She told me some interesting stuff about the hotel trade and how they handle people posting spiteful comments on Trip Advisor. I think for family businesses, it is personal and something we don’t always appreciate as punters. In that part of the world, it’s mostly Italian tourists, talking of which The Blue Bar had closed for the season by the time I got there. So we said farewell and I had a swim in the most pristine sea there, sweet moses it was amazing. The clarity and warmth of the sea was a common feature all week everywhere I went. I got lost on the cycle route back through the dunes, surrounded by still water all round, you can just feel the ecosystem all around. I noticed a lot of lizards on the track playing ‘Frogger’ as I approached. If the snake genocide has reached Formentera too, then it was good to see these had all survived. Environmental issues are already a hot potato and I couldn’t help noticing “Caos Climatico STOP Mega Yates” posters on windows in the old town. On the ferry back I couldn’t help noticing the vast cruise ship in the harbour. I feel such burning hatred for those ships but it feels like resistance is futile.
I found myself spending a lot of time in the old town. On the final day, I committed myself to Malanga and decided to do a bit of barhopping beforehand. I was very impressed with the Zaguán, which reminded me slightly of the some of the old modernist cafes on the mainland. The food at Bar Peixet was excellent culminating in a teixonera dessert a local delicacy which set my diet plan back a thousand years. I had originally planned on dinner at the Los Pasajeros but walking up the stairs I noticed banging music. What kind of sociopath listens to banging music at a meal? And so on to Malanga. For the uninitiated this is a trully wonderful venue, discreetly tucked away on the backstreets in the newer part of town behind the big Burger King on the front and near the Teatro. I first went in 2019 and had a top night and always vowed to return, genuinely worried it might have been killed off by the pandemic but luckily no. A bar/club that with minimal fanfare continues to champion cutting edge music from around the world, as well as local legends like Pippi, which is open to 6am, and which is free. Hello?
It caught my eye this time because some African guys from Senegal and Mali, Abba Suso, Mama África and Katana, some of whom were locally based were playing a live gig using all sorts of instruments, including a harp and xylophone. I’d heard Gambeat (playing the following night) on the Costa Brava in the summer and I love that fusion sound and funk energy he brought to Manu Chao back in the day and I guess this was similar. For a long time, I’ve been getting more and more into afrobeats and have heard loads of crossover stuff I liked, that loads of DJs I really respect are now into, hypnotic tribal drums and that kind of slower, trippy energy. A big Spanish group turned up after the soundcheck and then the whole place went off. Tremendous atmosphere. Really nice guys. I had a chat with one of them and I genuinely hope their tour does well. I didn’t last the course though as I had to get back and you reach THAT point. Sadly missing Akasha, but the geography, the booze, the rest, checking out the next day, all the shit you don’t think about when you’re 17 not 47… Walking back to the car park, the town didn’t seem as dead to me as others had suggested although it was a Friday on an unusually warm day for October. As mentioned on another thread I stupidly left (or had stolen from me?) all the beach stuff I’d changed out of after an hour at Talamanca earlier in the day. Aah well. Ibiza.
En route to the airport I saw a sign for Jesús. More the last breakfast than last supper though as I quaffed a macro zumo de naranja and the tiniest croissants known to man that you are kindly requested to spread your own Nutella over. Croissant Chic ain’t no Croissant Show. As I waited at the airport for my Vueling flight (mercifully a shorter delay than the 9 hour unrefunded encounter with Satan we’d experienced in September 2019), and as I munched a flavourless 12€ burger, I reflected on the week. It’s obvious that vast aspects are not aimed at me, 95% of the DJs/parties billed there or on here are so far removed from anything I can remotely relate to, and anything with the word ‘concept’ is to be swerved at all costs - but the island itself I still like very much, and it has a natural vibe that feels so much more peaceful and less fractious than where I live or come from.. A very different trip to previous ones, of course. Despite the personal pressures of recent months, for once no stress or suffocating expectations or terrible dilemmas or endless hanging around for someone in a ‘white Audi’. I wasn’t out to get battered or worship DJs. It was nice to catch up with people I like, try new bars and see the parts of the island that haven’t yet been pillaged - and these days that’s all that counts. And on that basis alone, I will be back.
Money spent: Circa 1000€ all in
Best place to eat: Can Nuts
Best bar: Anitas
Best club: Malanga
Top tip: local, local, local
Best beach: Platja des Pujols
Biggest regret: wish she’d been with me, but it is what it is.
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cunninghamali
Well-Known Member
Nice review! Sorry to hear about your girlfriend, hopefully you guys can get it sorted and she will be back!
Floyd
Active Member
Stayed at the El Pinar about 20 years ago on one of those allocation-on-arrival gambles. Worked out great because it forced me to explore parts of the island that go under the radar, especially back then
Amigo
Well-Known Member
Fantastic. Sounds like a really lovely trip. Good to hear 'blown out window camper van man' is still parked up in Cala Llonga. Agree with @Floyd that it's a great base to explore from. Shame a few places had shuttered for the season as there are some gems dotted around the resort. Next time. And hopefully not solo - best of luck with all of that.
elmooreo
Well-Known Member
Top review mate glad you enjoyed the trip!
Another solid review full of perceptive details, muy excelente.
Q: Would you consider going back in October?
I can relate to your comments on the Pikes public. More generally speaking I felt less connection with crowds on the island this year, even if it was September. I found myself most comfortable among frequenters at the old town.
That Can Nuts place reminds me of Little Ibiza @ Figueretas. It was already recommended in the restaurant thread by fellow spotlighters. A lovely little spot at the bay which serves excellent breakfast/lunch formulas, all very affordable. Very decent music as well, ranging from slow-paced dark ethno house to disco (when we left the place Evelyn "Champagne" King - Shame came on, still a firm favourite of mine).
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Also musically it was more challenging than other years to pick out quality music events. I've had brief encounters with some of the worst dj's and tech house this universe has in store, things that make you wonder what life is all about. A friend who went in August made the same comment.
cunninghamali
Well-Known Member
Yeh there were so many tech events this year and most of then done well, except for I think Patrick topping,
I avoid tech house, don't like it at all
Browny
Well-Known Member
I admit my pre season thoughts about Trick being busier than Solid Grooves may of went a but west sorry @Springal & @stivi
BUT to say Trick didn’t do well simply isn’t true.
Not saying it’ll happen next season but i could see Bibi following JJ path and taking SG to Amnesia at some point along the lines but thats for another years gossip thread
The Sun God
Active Member
yep, it's like sifting through garbage, which is why you really have to research this stuff nowadays. It's easy enough to avoid the clubs but more of a challenge in some of the smaller bars that insist on that continuous loop of anaemic lowgrade 4/4 I'm not always able to zone out of. Pikes (and Malanga) tend to be a safe haven from that muzak because their guest DJs (around the pool at least) tend to know their stuff.
cunninghamali
Well-Known Member
love it! "Continuos loop of anaemic low-grade 4/4"The djs have all started jumping up and down when they are djing (when they think they are playing a good tune and 20 of their friends and followers that are in the dj booth jump up and down with them)