Day 7 - Ibiza

Beach day!  I wasn't so sure in the morning when I woke up early and went out on the balcony.  The bathing suit had a much better chance of drying in the bathroom, out of the humidity.  I brought it inside, went back to bed and 10 minutes later the rain was pelting down.

The hotel owner said that this is the first time in 10 months that it rained.  I was in Ibiza for 3 days and it rained some of each day.  But it is that kind of rain that I have come to expect from being a Manitoban.  The rain happens and then moves on.  Like a good house guest.  

Once the sun came out, I was ready with my itinerary.  The bus to Cala Bassa.  I was staying in Sant Antoni de Pontmany, which is on the opposite side of the island from the airport and Ibiza town.  This is Catalonian as well - the name for the main city is Eivissa.  

The second most prominent feature of Sant Antoni, besides the sea which is really what beckons all of us here, is a statue in the roundabout entering the town.  It is an egg, hollowed out with a statue of a ship, the Santa Maria.  

Sant Antoni is one of those places that lays claim to be the birthplace of Christopher Columbus.  They wouldn't be so proud if they were from our part of the world - CC doesn't have a good reputation where I come from.  

Apparently when Columbus was trying to get funding from Queen Isabella, she didn't think that it would be a good bet.  He convinced her by asking her about the possibility of an egg standing up on its own.  When he showed her, apparently by cracking the bottom, she was sold on the idea.  

The route to Cala Bassa took me through the town, past the tourist hotels and the marina.  So I got to see a little more of the island.  Except not really.  There are apparently 120 beaches.  I got to see 4.  Many people say you have to have a car.  Since my beach days were a little dubious anyways, this was perfect.  There is no doubt that I have to come back.

Cala Bassa is an impressive place:

Here was today's lesson:  Don't go to the beach hungry.  The food on the menu started at 17 Euros to 32; that is about $25 to $45 Canadian.  So I had a water.  It was definitely the most expensive water I have had yet - $3.50 Euros - about $5.00.

Impressive bottle though! 

When I got back to my hotel, the owner told me that there was a cheaper place down the beach.  

My next meal was a hamburger at the place I was staying.  It was impressive in its own right - hamburger, tomato, onion and ketchup PLUS ham, cheese, pineapple, egg and bacon.  Yum!  Sort of a pizza.  Sort of breakfast.  

And then I changed into the bathing suit and went to swim in the ocean.  For my third time!

I did not swim at Cala Bassa.  That was most difficult.  In the morning, I decided that I would prefer to take photographs rather than swim.   When travelling alone, it is a question about what to leave on the beach for safekeeping.  It is the law in Spain to always carry a photo ID which I probably could in a plastic bag but so far no plastic bag is leak proof.   And I have nothing to protect a camera.  So the choice for me that day - swim or take photos.  

This is definitely one of the cons of travelling alone.  

But there are many pluses.  

- moving to my own rhythmn, I go out when I want - I come back when I want

- I meet a lot of people, sometimes because I need someone else to figure things out and sometimes it is a friendly person on a park bench

- Observing the world, soaking it in, and being engaged in a different way.  

- I have been getting some primo seats on planes and buses because one seat is easy to find.  

Ibiza is one cool place to hang out.  And the people who know this best are Brits.  They flock here in droves.  It is evident in the menus, signs and even the way of life.  Restaurants are always open rather than the closing that happens in the afternoon that I saw in Barcelona.  

This island also has a reputation for party-ville.  Electronic music, dance clubs, and consumption of alcohol.  

I didn't see any of that but I did get to experience a bit of the life being influenced from the English visitors.  My only wifi was in the reception area where there were several TVs playing a lot of soccer (futbol) and loud!  And when that was not happening, there was MTV with the video countdown.  All in all this was my preference.  

But you can have what you want in Ibiza.  They do promote family vacations.  

I spent a total of 3 nights on Ibiza - that could have easily been more.  Especially if the sun is shining.  Which apparently, it does, 80% of the year.