Well I've held off writing this post for two reasons, the 1st obviously I want to do this island and my time there justice, the 2nd reason is because I'm actually not quite sure how to describe my experiences in Ibiza!
It's a weird place, I mean there is of course the club scene and when I say club scene I mean 'SUPER' clubs, some of the biggest in the world, with some of the most known celebrities and entertainers frequenting them on a weekly basis.
There are the beaches, whilst they are not the best in the world, they are certainly the European style with the sun lounges, waiters, umbrellas and beach side bars. They have the Nigerian's walking the beaches selling mixtapes, hats, glasses and the locals selling fresh fruits, coconuts and juices. But i think what shocked me about the beaches and San Antonio itself is that between the hungover or passed out party goers, there are also the children and families holidaying on the island!
So I think in order to put my thoughts together and do justice in describing how weirdly amazing Ibiza actually is I will note down random points or things I learnt:
The ferry ride from Valencia to Ibiza is rough, really rough especially with a Sangria hangover from the La Tomatina after party. Definitely took some Kwells on the way back, but as it is a four hour ferry ride it is a great way to catch up on some much needed sleep!
Arriving in the city of San Antonio, Ibiza mid afternoon is an experience on its own! Yes there is the odd person passed out along the dock, or the cafe pumping some David Guetta mix, but mostly what you notice on your walk from the port to the hotel is that it is an eerily sleepy place at this time, with a marina full of boats just sitting there, the odd one leaving with a fisherman or some tourists heading to another beach. I guess at the end of the day this party island is still part of Spain and between the hours of 3pm and 8pm its siesta time!
It's a weird place, I mean there is of course the club scene and when I say club scene I mean 'SUPER' clubs, some of the biggest in the world, with some of the most known celebrities and entertainers frequenting them on a weekly basis.
There are the beaches, whilst they are not the best in the world, they are certainly the European style with the sun lounges, waiters, umbrellas and beach side bars. They have the Nigerian's walking the beaches selling mixtapes, hats, glasses and the locals selling fresh fruits, coconuts and juices. But i think what shocked me about the beaches and San Antonio itself is that between the hungover or passed out party goers, there are also the children and families holidaying on the island!
So I think in order to put my thoughts together and do justice in describing how weirdly amazing Ibiza actually is I will note down random points or things I learnt:
The ferry ride from Valencia to Ibiza is rough, really rough especially with a Sangria hangover from the La Tomatina after party. Definitely took some Kwells on the way back, but as it is a four hour ferry ride it is a great way to catch up on some much needed sleep!
Arriving in the city of San Antonio, Ibiza mid afternoon is an experience on its own! Yes there is the odd person passed out along the dock, or the cafe pumping some David Guetta mix, but mostly what you notice on your walk from the port to the hotel is that it is an eerily sleepy place at this time, with a marina full of boats just sitting there, the odd one leaving with a fisherman or some tourists heading to another beach. I guess at the end of the day this party island is still part of Spain and between the hours of 3pm and 8pm its siesta time!
Piscas Park Hotel...hmmm not quite a hotel or if it is, it couldn't be more then a 1 star! This hotel overlooks the Egg in the centre of San Antonio. So yes, location is perfect. However as I waited along the footpath with the other 250 members of my tour to check in at the hotel, guest after guest walking out of the hotel had one thing to say... Keep your valuables on you at all times...everything gets stolen, doors get kicked in, safes get opened by the maids, people jump over balconies...All I could think was Mum and Dad are going to kill me if I loose their camera in Ibiza and damn...I guess I'll have to carry my iPad with me to the clubs too! All part of the experience so I dealt with the whole accommodation thing with a smile!
Here are some other interesting points about the hotel...
- You have to pay $10 euro for the remote to your air conditioning in your room, however one remote is the same for all machines.
- You have to wear yellow club arm bands with a barcode that get checked on your way in, this means you are not allowed any guests in your rooms, who aren't wearing an armband. This sucks for those people who meet a gorgeous local or foreniger and want to bring them back to their hotel for some fun after dirty dancing all night in the club!
You only get given one key per room, regardless of if your sharing. This means if you and your room mate are not partying or eating together, the last one out needs to leave the key in the rooms pigeon hole for the other to collect on the way in.
- You cannot bring any alcohol onto the premise. This is both good and bad! I mean I see the reasoning behind it, people would get even more intoxicated then normal and fall off balconies etc. but Avignon a ruling like this just means people go to crazy measures to sneak alcohol in. We simply chose to either buy a bottle of Coca Cola, tip out half and add in the dark rum or amaretto, or add some gin to a bottle of tonic water!
- Never expect to sleep more then a few hours, if your not protecting your belongings, then your being woken every few hours by passers by banging on all the doors, or your neighbor needing to jump over your balcony to get into their room. Again, I always opened the door with a smile, as the experience and what you were opening the door too, was a once in a lifetime type of thing!
Now for the clubs...almost every shop, cafe, restaurant sell club tickets and they are all trying to be the best price or offer free bus ride or drinks vouchers in order to get your sale. I went to 2 clubs whist on the island the first was Amnesia at Cream. Calvin Harris was DJ-ing, which I'm not sure if that brought an added crowd, but the place was insane and pumping with the line to get in, never seeming to get smaller! The club is located just outside Ibiza, Ibiza in what looks like a huge warehouse out in the middle of nowhere with a million billboards and club posters promoting all the DJ's or entertainers that frequent the club. Inside there are lots of rooms and levels, almost like little balconies around the walls overlooking the main stage! Drinks are super expensive around 16 euro for a gin and tonic...so was defiantly glad we had snuck our alcohol in the hotel to have pre drinks over a game of cards (with naked men on them)!
Then came Zoo Project on the last night and wow what an experience. After a late morning breakfast followed by a day at the beach, it was time to get body painted! Yes! You get dressed up as your favourite zoo animal, or rather sort through your clothes to see if you packed anything animal like. Then head to one of the many body painting stalls along the strip to get painted up! The painters are insane, considering Zoo Project is on every Wednesday and Saturday nights, they have gotten very good at quickly painting up people as different animals! There were cheetahs, leopards, snakes, giraffes, fishes, birds...I was a butterfly! The party is actually held in an old zoo, with the cages serving as seating areas, and the old kiosks each selling different types of drinks...I fell in love with the 10 euro blue jugs...god knows what was in them but I was defiantly feeling the buzz after one. The beats were pumping and it was the first time since arriving that I actually got to mix and dance with some Europeans and Americans (as I was beginning to think Ibiza was all Aussies or Brits!)...Perfect Night!
I'm not sure if the drugs and alcohol ever actually wear off for some people until the ferry ride back to Valencia as it seems when the super clubs actually finally do close (usually around 7am), there is an array of restaurants and cafes opening up providing amazing hangover food and sre all to happy to keep the party or should I say 'buzz' going.
Back in Valencia I am defiantly popping some pills, the vitamin kind and getting some much. Ended sleep, because after one weekend in Ibiza, my mind and body feel a little exhausted!
So my travels to Ibiza have left me with some after thoughts...
-What is the crime rate in Ibiza? And if it is as I suspect high what are the types of offenses?
-Did it really only take a 15 minute / 12 Euro cab ride to get from San Antonio to Ibiza on the other side of the island! Surely it's not that small in width?
-What about the rest of the island, is it as party crazy or maybe just maybe are there relaxing resorts, beautiful beaches, and scenic mountain walks?
