My colourful Hostel - it was excellent - Giramundo
Ah, Ibiza. I quite like this island and I highly recommend staying near Ibiza Town. It is interesting when you come to islands in the Mediterranean, and I remember this from my visit to Greece back in 2007. Not only are the islands idyllic, but they are steeped with history.
Looking out from one of the many caves that litter the island - literally sadly
So after visiting city after city on mainland Europe, you come to an island and you get that pleasurable mixture of history, nature (albeit nature that has had man’s strong presence for 2,000 + years), relaxation, and lifestyle. It is a pleasurable mixture for me.
A view of the walled city
Of course I lived on an island for 6 years – Gabriola, B.C. – and yes, it certainly has its merits. But as a new world island it is lacking in history. Yes it does have First Nation’s history but that is different from European history. First Nations did not tend to build long standing fortresses. Nor were there as many wars on that side of the world. Also, although Gabriola is surrounded by ocean, it is the northern Pacific ocean so not really that warm – nice to look at but you really don’t want to go into it most times of the year.
I almost fell through this hole - that is the ocean many metres below
So back to the Mediterranean, definitely one of my favourite places. Although I do love the Caribbean too, but I think I prefer the Mediterranean and that is largely for the vast number of cultures, and of course the history.
The rugged Ibiza island
Ibiza was an island that was ignored for hundreds of years and left to ruin. It was not until it was rediscovered by tourists that a new injection of money came into play, allowing it to protect, rebuild and embellish what it had. There are a number of treed mountains that can be climbed and tucked away little bays that most of the tourists don’t even know about. And of course, as an island, it has that relaxed, chilled out, “rules – what rules?” kind of energy to it.
Yes - that is right - there is nothing underneath that man - seriously
Well on our last full day, Paul rented a moped to explore the island and I chose to hang and just take in the environment (I often like to do a lot of my travelling/exploring internally as opposed to externally). Well on the report from Paul at the end of the day, he confirmed that we had chosen well staying near Ibiza Town in our funky hostel (which I highly recommend – Giramundo Hostel) since the other, well known party bay – St. Antonio I believe – was void of the history that graces Ibiza Town.
I will let this picture speak for itself
Another coolish and breezy day, Paul came back quite frozen through (we have not had the best luck with our weather) and I was fairly relaxed and happy having just roamed the local area and taken in the Ibiza elixir. I would like to return here in the fall to experience the warmer weather, the warmer water and people – who were all lovely.
Storm clouds over the ocean we managed to avoid
So today, I leave Spain behind for the moment and head to Portugal for my 5 month house sit in the mountains in a 200+ year old casa. I am quite excited to have a base if only for 5 months. I continue to fill out my dreams – this one, living in Europe, in a fairly natural yet historical area, with a language I don’t know and an environment that will be conducive to writing. Be careful what you ask for because you might actually get it.
Yup - it's me - or a reflection thereof!