Day 6 – Ibiza
Woke up in Ibiza! Almost missed breakfast due to last night’s shenanigan’s, but made it in time to sample the amazing breakfast spread: omelet bar, avocado toast bar, crepes, caviar, pastries, champagne, smoked salmon, juice bar…. the list goes on. Rested and fed, we got ready for our day, which included no pre-booked plans. We spent a little time shopping to make sure that Patricia had enough clothes in case her bag didn’t show up. From there, we thought it would be nice to grab lunch at one of the many beach clubs in the area.
Last time we were here, we had breakfast at a great venue, Blue Marlin and the location and views were amazing. There is another venue across the bay from Blue Marlin, called Tropicana, which we’d heard great things about, so we decided to check it out. It’s only about a 30 minute drive from Ushuaia (which is on Playa d’en Bossa), so getting there was an easy drive. Despite trying to get a reservation (beach chairs or restaurant) through the Ushuaia concierge, we weren’t able to get through to them, so we just decide to show up. As expected, the “premium” tables at the restaurant and ALL the beach chairs were reserved, so we negotiated a little lounge space in the shade and had a fabulous meal of Iberico Ham, scallops, olives, ham croquettes, and a nice bottle of rose. After a two-hour, leisurely lunch, we again asked about beach chairs and by then, a few people had cleared out.
The beach geography at Tropicana is interesting. There is a white sand beach at the restaurant level and then about 20 feet from the water, there is a 3 foot drop off (stairs take you down) which is PACKED with smooth stones about 2-3 inches across. This extended from about 10 feet from the water to 5 feet into the water. So the move it walk in your sandals down to the shoreline, drop them off and then walk in the water via a metal bridge that the venue has installed. The bridge extends about 10 feet, which clears you of the rocks and lets you get into the water where there is soft sand. It’s all a little inconvenient, but overall the scenery is amazing: thatched umbrellas, rocky shoreline, sandy beach, a scattering of pine trees, cactuses, sunbathers, yachts and good times!
After an hour or two in the sun, it was time to head back and get ready for our next beach adventure: Experimental Beach. An extension of Experimental Cocktail Club in London, Experimental Beach or @ECCBeach (Instagram handle) is one of our favorite spots in Ibiza. It looks west toward the sunset, has great food, interesting cocktails – it just never disappoints. We had a few craft cocktails and a variety of Mediterranean specialties: Iberico ham, grilled octopus, patatas bravas, watermelon and Feta salad – all amazing. Our friend Alex, who happens to be in Ibiza this week too, joined us at Experimental Beach, but needed to meet up with his traveling companions, so we only stayed for a couple of hours – just enough time to catch the sunset!
Back at Ushuaia after our day of sun and sunsets, we got some good news: Patricia’s bag arrived! We had a quick outfit change and then caught the last 90 minutes of Martin Garrix’s DJ set. Super fun and managed to meet a few people who have stage-view rooms, which will be critical for tomorrow’s Swedish House Mafia concert. It’ll be packed on the floor, so an elevated view will be prime. After Ushuaia, we headed to the newly renovated Pacha Nightclub. Pacha has been around forever, dating back to the 1970’s when Ibiza first started to become a popular vacation destination. The downside of Pacha has always been space. It got very crowded and did not have good flow between or within rooms. The new renovation has solved this, by putting the DJ booth in the center of the main room. Although the flow is better, the bars are more numerous and everything is more modern, the charm that was the “original” Pacha is lost a bit.
End of an era, I suppose. The club scene in Ibiza is great, but it’s getting a bit more like Vegas every year: big productions, table service, chasing those dollars (or euros in this case). Thankfully there is lots that Ibiza offers outside of the club scene, and that’s the reason we will keep coming back!