Ibiza - island paradise

The Beaches

The beaches were, in a word, beautiful! We swam as much as we could. The water was warm, crystal clear, and full of beautiful shades of blue. While it was definitely crowded, the water was so healing for me. I love the beach; the color and movement of the water, the smell of salt and warmth of the water, the feel of the sand on my feet and in my hands, and the warmth of the sun on my face and my soul.

Water is less blue on cloudy days, but still more beautiful than the photo shows.

We swam in the clear blue waters as much as we could!

A line of jet ski's waiting to be rented.

Someone has been at the beach a long time!

Some great R and R

A look-a-like to our grandchild!

What the internet said the beach looked like...

This is what we found when we got there!

---

Formenterra

We took a boat ride to the island of Formentera and, as our mission president had suggested, rented bicycles. Thankfully, we had electric ones, which made riding all over the island much easier. We stopped at a couple of different beaches to swim and ate in the old town.

The long, thin peninsula at the top of Formentera has two different sides or coasts: one with waves and one that's calm. Most people seemed to prefer the calm side, but we chose the side with waves since it was less crowded. Diving into the clear, blue waves was a lot of fun, even though the high salt content stung our eyes a bit.

I'm glad we took the time to explore Formentera; it was a great experience. That said, I don't think I'd do it again as a day trip. There's so much to see on the main island of Ibiza that you don't even need to leave!

A quick 1 hour ride to Formentera

One of many light houses on Ibiza

We rented electric bikes to try many beaches!

The water was amazing. Healing.

An abandoned rental?

---

Restaurants

"I recently posted in the food section about two incredible restaurants in Ibiza: BrunchIt and Xamako. They are both so good, they're worth a trip back to the island!

What we realized is that restaurant ratings really do matter. Take the time to see what others are saying about a place before you go.

One night, we wanted to find a restaurant on the bay to enjoy the ambiance of the boats and lights. We walked the boardwalk, looking for a place with open seating. It was already around 10 p.m. (the dinner hour getting started in Spain), and we didn't want to wait long. So, we chose a restaurant that had a front-row seat to the bay available.

That was a mistake! …That's what you get for taking the prime dinner hour and an available good table without checking the reviews first!