A DAY & NIGHT OF FOOD & ADVENTURE IN IBIZA WITH RENOIR GUIDES TOUR 1
After meeting Jonathon Lipsin and Bernadette Mundy on Facebook through our joint love of Ibiza, Formentera and music, I invited them over to Ibiza for a days tour of the Island for, food, fun and frolics!
We arranged to meet outside the famous
Mar y Sol Carrer Lluís Tur i Palau, 22, 07800 Eivissa
In Ibiza Town. This was traditionaly the first port of call when disembarking your boat or ship in Ibiza town.
After their short sea trip from Formentera, we were joined by my friend Frank. Once settled in our hire car, I gave them a CD I had made of their favourite music (this was to become a regular tradition) we then set off for our tour.
Once out of Eivissa (Ibiza town) we headed to the middle of the Island and the pretty little bohemian village of Santa Gertrudis, where Bernadette had spent some time many years ago. Once we had parked the car our first visit was to an old haunt of Bernadette's, Bar Can Costa.
She became quite emotional, having not been there for many years, seeing the changes that had taken place.
Bar Can Costa Plaça de l'Esglèsia, 07819 Santa Gertrudis de Fruitera +34 971 19 70 21
There is only really one thing on the menu at this boho tinged village bar in the rural backwoods of Santa Gertrudis.
The Bocadillo de Jamón y Queso (known here as El Completo). A flatbread roll, split in half, toasted, anointed with olive oil and fresh tomato, inlaid, with slices of Jamón Serrano/Jamón Iberico and Manchego cheese, this is one sandwich worth going out of your way for.
Knowing Bernadette was a vegan. I thought the first food stop should be,
Wild Beets Carrer Venda de Llatzer, 9, 07814 Santa Gertrudis de Fruitera +34 971 19 78 70 www.wildbeets.com This is a Godsend for anyone on a restricted diet. Be they vegan or otherwise.
The menu is raw, vegan and plant-based cuisine, so no dairy, all dishes are gluten-free. They do a range of classic options with a mix of raw and cooked food with excellent fruit drinks.
We had
Fresh coconuts
Tortilla Espanola (not being vegan, I did not realise it was not made from eggs!)
After leaving Santa Gertrudis we drove down beautiful country lanes to visit one of my favourite spots. As it was early we just had a look around and took in the stunning views,
Cafeteria Ca’n Jordi - Las Puertas del Cielo Cami des Plá de Corona, Km 1.5 Santa Agnés de Corona +34 680 96 47 96 +34 616 06 15 59
Set in a pine forest, it as, fantastic clifftop views and sunsets.
They serve, very good, basic Ibicencan fish dishes, paellas and fideuà’s (a pasta paella).
After a fairly long drive up to the North of the Island, listening to great music on the CD player, we arrived in Port de Sant Miquel. Frank stayed in the car for a little snooze. We then climbed over a small hill from the main beach to find the secluded Chiringuito Utopia.
Chiringuito Utopia
Caló des Multons, Port de Sant Miquel de Balansat +34 650 866 199 y 687 253 491 One of the most peaceful beaches on the island and easy to miss, unless you know where the path begins!
It is only about 30m long and 25m wide but the water is crystal clear and it’s ideal for snorkelling.
There are no toilets or showers here but they are only minutes away from the beach of San Miguel which has both.
This small, rustic beach shack, serves lovely fresh food
Grilled dorada (gilthead bream) and vegetables a la plancha
Seafood salad
There is even, a sardine feast every Friday and Saturday, lunchtime and evening.
Climbing back over the hill, we got into the car. On leaving Sant Miquel we took the scenic coastal route over the high cliffs to the famous caves of Cova de Can Marcá. The access road affords a spectacular panoramic view of the Port de Sant Miquel, Pas de S'Illa, the Walled Island and Torre des Molar.
Walking down a pathway carved into the rock, it leads to the mouth of a cave 14 metres above sea level where the visit begins. "We took the guided tour here".
Cova de Can Marcá
Apartado de Correos 25, Port de Sant Miguel, 07815, Ibiza +34 971 334 776 www.covadecanmarsa.com The cave, Can Marçá, dates back over 100,000 years. Rodent bones and fossils from extinct species whose skeletons are kept in the Natural History Museum today, have been found there.
The caves themselves are small but have some nice stalactites and stalagmites in them. From the outside it's 200 steps to get down into the cave and 100 steps to get back to the top, so you need to be quite fit and mobile.
Inside, there are some beautiful rock formations and fluorescent pools of water.
Visitors will enjoy a 40-minute tour in a natural setting with effects of water, light and sound. Smugglers were the first to use the cave to deposit their goods. Today you can still distinguish the black and red marks that signalled the entrance and exit.
The tour ends with a light and music show where once flowed a natural waterfall but since the caves are no longer "living" this has been replaced with an "artificial" (pumped) waterfall. You can see the show here.
After leaving the cave, we carried on the coastal route down to Cala Benirrás for a late lunch at
Restaurante 2000 +34 971 33 33 13 Platja Benirrás, Sant Miquel de la Balensat This family-run favourite, has been serving up traditional cuisine since 1979! Including regional staples such as paella, fideuà (noodle paella), Bullit du Peix (Ibicencan fish stew) and a variety of fried fish. Here we lunched on,
Calamar plancha con patatas fritas,
Mixed salad for Bernadette
The seafood fideuà
Dishing up the seafood fideuà
With friendly and informal service it’s as authentically Ibicencan as they come.
After our meal and with sunset approaching we join the happy hippy throng, at the other end of the beach, firstly at
Elements & the Living Box Platja Benirrás, Sant Miquel de la Balensat +34 971 33 31 36 www.elements-ibiza.com This is a more trendy restaurant on the beach, offering Mediterranean cuisine, organic salads and exotic natural ice creams. The neighbouring bar is an elegant lounge with furniture fashioned from wood and random refuse. There are massage treatments available here as well.
As the sun begins its final descent we move onto the sand in front of the hippies
who put on a sunset show every night in summer with masses of drummers congregating, playing and dancing as sunset approaches.
with a final crescendo when the great orange ball disappears over the horizon.
You can watch the drummers here.
Once the show was over we drove back to Ibiza town where Bernadette and Jonathon got the late-night ferry back to Formentera. All in all an excellent day trip, which we have returned to in following years.
Returning to Formentera after many years made Jonathon relive his early favourites in music. These mixes have some of them.
There is also A Mix for Bernadette "The blues lady of Formentera"
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MIXCLOUD MUSIC - Mikeyb
