We drove north inland to Santa Gertrudis where we began to realise that villages in Ibiza were very different from those in Mallorca, mostly because of the white houses and also they can be just a few buildings without a heart. Although Santa Gertruda is supposed to have craft shops and galleries we couldn't find anything like that open and suddenly it began to rain so heavily that Greg fetched the car and whisked Ginnie and me away.
Further north we stopped at Sant Miquel, a small town where we found a beautiful white 16th C church, where the walls were delicately painted with the most exquisite friezes depicting life in the past on the land and sea. Ginnie and I photographed samples of them and wished the souvenir shop next door had copies of the paintings for sale.
All of the guide books described how Port de Sant Miquel was totally ruined by an enormous hotel dominating the little cove but we drove down to the harbour anyway, hoping to find a great spot for lunch. We should have believed the guide books!
The hotel must have had a thousand rooms so the 3 shops had lots of useless beach gear and the two cafes were ugh. Never mind.
One little book about Ibiza suggested we travel up a tarmac road up to Na Xamena at the top of the mountain overlooking the cove and although there was not a special viewing point it was really worth the drive to enjoy looking down the coast and to see the interesting homes built on this scenic track.
Onward to Sant Mateu and Sant Agnes, two tiny "villages" on the road crossing the northern part of Ibiza through pine forests and almond groves. Both villages consisted of a handful of houses and Sant Agnes also had a cafe/bar that many people drove up to from Sant Antoni for lunch.
In the country areas the white houses are extended from a nucleus to suit family needs. They are scattered frequently along the roads and in the hills so it is not surprising that Ibiza is called the "white island".
Sant Antoni, on the west coast, is the main tourist centre on the island, but we were guided by all of the books not to stop as most people there are on package holidays and many are British youth who fly there for a drinking binge. There are several popular beaches on that coast but the main road followed an inland route through tiny and quaint Sant Augusti plus larger and boring Sant Joseph. We detoured to Es Cubells to find a pleasant coastal spot for an afternoon refreshment. Although the scene from the high cliffs was worth detouring for, there was not even a puff of wind to help us cope with the extreme heat. So we opted for iced water and headed back to the airconditioned boat at Marina Ibiza to have a rest and freshen up before we headed off to the old part of town again.
It is definitely worth go to Ibiza to visit the town, especially the Dalt Vila area, which we soon sought out, looking for another good restaurant in the charming and chic Placa de Vila. The restaurant Dalt Vila (same name as the area) did not disappoint us at all even though we opted for the fixed price menu of the day (19 euros each). Ginnie and I had a starter of Gazpacho of Melon with ham (presented with a slice of canteloup on a fine skewer and large pieces of Spanish jamon in the delicious cold soup - we are both going to look for a recipe) and Greg had garlic prawns with a drizzle of Pedro Ximinez sherry around the edge of the plate. I next had perfect Rigatoni with veal ragout, Ginnie had fabulous confit of duck with berry sauce and Greg had the best oxtail dish he has ever eaten, all with superb presentation. Dessert was chocolate Brownie with ice cream and Ginnie opted for a decaf cappuccino. Our dinner wine was an excellent Mallorcan red, AN/2.
One of the most enjoyable parts of eating in the Placa de Vila is the people watching and last night we also had two additional buskers to entertain us. The Spanish crooner who also played guitar and harmonica was very good and the Marcel Marceaux type mime clown in his red and white striped t-shirt, black bowler hat and bulbous red nose was brilliant. He mimicked people as they sauntered past and played all sorts of pranks on them, while we laughed at all the fun. It was a lovely night to finish our stay in Ibiza.
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