13th to 14th June - The Ibiza Rally

Emma and I, and for some of the time Richard, had explored Majorca and Menorca when Bai Hai was based in Leucate, unfortunately we did not make it as far South as Ibiza and so we were very happy to stop there on this trip. 

We decided to hire a car to explore.  Before Covid, Greg and Richard had signed up to do the Mongol Rally together (driving a 20 year old car, costing £800, the 12,000 miles across Eurasia from UK to Mongolia).  However, to date they had not actually spent any time in the same vehicle together, so we thought it would be a good idea for one of them to be the driver and the other navigator.  It proved to be an enlightening experience.

Greg "Colin Macrae" and navigator
Children in the back

Putting two fairly strongly opinionated people in charge of navigating and driving through an unknown territory is not perhaps ideal.  Emma and I sat in the back like children watching their parents bickering, as we circumnavigated roundabouts several times and did more U-turns than we could count.  The drive was made even more interesting by the fact that Greg had this theory if that if you took Ibiza’a numerous speedbumps at double their intended speed you didn’t feel them. 

We all really liked Ibiza, which has a very different identity to the other islands in the Balearics.  On the first day we went to Ibiza Old Town with its meandering streets, and climbed up to the castle overlooking  the harbour.  


Ibiza Old Town


View from the castle

In the evening, back in Santa Eulalia, we enjoyed some superb tapas in a restaurant which turned out to be frequented by the local marina staff and so must have been good.


Night out with excellent tapas

The following day we drove around the island taking in sights like the original Hippy Market.  First established in the 1960s but now a major once a week event, attracting 100s of people with a variety of clothes and handicrafts.  For lunch, we went to the inland village of Santa Gertrudis, one of many very attractive little villages with quaint shops, restaurants and bars.  We enjoyed a three course meal, which included a superb main course of grilled swordfish, for just €13 per head.  It is ironic that the best meal to date has been by far the cheapest.   The Ibizan countryside is very attractive with lovely bays and beaches.  Emma continued her birdwatching education, seeking the identification of two further birds; both of which turned out to be sparrows.

The Ibizan vibe

Ibiza was certainly a place of surprises.  Moored a few spaces along from Bali Hai was a Moody 47, Bali Hai's predecessor.  It was in lovely condition, and we had been admiring it the evening before.  Then, that morning, Richard was returning for a run and a chap called out to him.  He turned to be Chris, a friend formerly from Hong Kong, with whom Richard plays football in Phuket.  On top of that coincidence, Chris and his wife Karen were the owners of the Moody.  So we had a pleasant evening of drinks on Bali Hai, swapping stories about the trials and tribulations of owning one of these fantastic boats.

We had a reasonably early night as the next day we would be heading off on another 48 hour trip to Motril on the Southern coast of Spain.


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