E-B-ZA

Drinking coffee on a park bench in Ibiza what's up? It's the first coffee shop I’ve been to run by Australians, g’day mate. I’m out seeing the locals again because only locals are awake and out pre-10am here. Maybe a couple stragglers from the clubs but they're easy to spot. I have to admit I’m shocked there’s a school here at all, it seems like a wild place place meld young minds. It also seems like it should be illegal to school your kids here with what I've seen on the streets so far. Tour buses for school buses is hilarious also, but that’s what they do.

Transplants and clout-chasers abound around the locals, but I guess it could make for a unique blend of cultures that produces some interesting, good people.

Thursday in Barcelona was their national Independence Day called Catalan Day so I ran into street celebrations going before heading to the airport. Peace Barca.

Funny after listening to the majority of people speaking Spanish in Barcelona, almost everyone I heard spoke English in the line for boarding. It was all that I heard besides one middle-aged woman named Luciana who came up to ask me a question about boarding in Spanish. She was all excited then once she saw the confusion on my face, she was able to speak enough English to get by.

She then started asking me if I’d been to Ibiza and what clubs we were visiting. I said I hadn't and wasn’t really into that. She liked that answer because she's been going to ibiza for 35 years from the Basque Country in Spain as her vacation and has seen it become a major tourist destination for ravers over the years. She still had plenty of recommendations for other things to do there and took my phone and was zooming in and out on the Ibiza map showing me different spots I needed to see (which I noted, one was Cala Salada/Saladeta below).

Hilarious how pumped she was, she said she now stayed at a friend's that was off the main island, that she’d get to via boat after landing.

The first night in Ibiza immediately after checking in we took a tour bus to a little cove called Cala Vadella. I was not expecting the topless beaches here, but every one I've been to so far has been about half and half. No photos taken I'm not some creep, but did snap the night one sun.

Yesterday after coffee I made my way 7 miles up the coast hiking to that more remote beach (that was still extremely overcrowded) called Cala Salada. Turns out that does not mean "salad cove" it's the "salty cove". I'm getting good at Spanish. The trek in the sun had me sweating my ass off and the dive into the clear blue was an all-timer. Popped on a boat taxi (which I made as they were pulling the ladder up) back down the coast for a half hour ride home.

Other thoughts on Ibiza:

I've never been to Miami or Vegas but if I had to give my expert opinion this feels like a crossover between the 2. Many people may think that sounds amazing, for me not so much. Many of the people I'm with were saying, "but you'll have fomo!!!" for not paying 200 euros to stand nuts to butts with a zillion 19 year olds for a DJ.

Nope, you'd probably have to pay me to be there. I'll take a dive bar over a club, and a live band over a DJ any day of the week, but to each their own. It's a scammer's paradise. Lo siento por la negatividad!

I've loved the beaches and scenery, and have experienced Ibiza as a place to recharge. Lastly, I got to the bottom of the age old question, E-BEE-ZA or E-BEE-THA???

Spanish people say E-BEE-THA because that’s the pronunciation in Spanish; however, Catalan people say E-BEE-ZA as their dialect is a bit different. The people that were originally on the island say it like Americans, but there are way more Spanish people that come here and speak about Ibiza which is why that debate began. I'm sticking to E-B-ZA.

Still have another day here touring the old Town Ibiza and a final dinner before heading to Valencia. I'll check back in when I feel like it.