IBIZA

Santa Gertrudis

Such a big reputation for such a small place.

The most beautiful beaches I explored this summer belonged to this Mediterranean island.

Ibiza contains two types of life: the crazed, drunken tourists stumbling about Elvissa and the sun kissed hippies who inhabit some of the small inland villages, farms and beach huts.

It was really an advantage having a car (which, did I mention, was a convertible bug?!!) because we could avoid the busy main streets packed with foreigners and bars and escape to the more remote areas of the island. It really is tiny - it only takes about 45 minutes to drive from one side to the other, so we were able to tour all over, testing a variety of beaches and enjoying the landscape.

One village that we were recommended by a local was Santa Gertrudis. We stopped in this quiet area for an afternoon, walking through the small streets lined with white-washed buildings. Of course we couldn’t come to Ibiza and not have a taste of some of their traditional food.

At a small bakery in the village we tried orelletes, which is a pastry shaped like an ear with anise.

We also shared some flao, a tart made of goat’s and sheep’s cheese with herbs and honey. This was my favourite of the two. The cheese filling was sweet and had a really nice texture. If you’re ever in Ibiza, I highly recommend you try some!

After three days of sleeping in our car and living out of tiny backpacks, we were starting to feel like hippies. Just needing to darken our tans a bit and dress in all white, flowing clothes to fully blend in. We were seriously considering finding a beach hut for 3 and extending our stay a while. We could live off fruits and fish and earn a little money selling bracelets at the hippie market.