A beautiful sail in to Ibiza greets us this morning, sunshine and warm (really warm) weather.  We are doing un-Ibiza things today, who is surprised?  We have rented a car and are planning to drive around the island to more remote spots than the party-central/beachy stuff.  The day starts out great with the easiest rental ever!  The rental company sent us a picture of the car, a map showing where it was parked and a picture showing them putting the keys under the mat, and voila! We had our car right in the port parking lot. Walk out, find the car, find the keys and we were off – it was great. 

Our plan had been to drive out to the furthest point, find lunch along the way, then circle back through scenic coastal roads.  Unfortunately, those plans were scuttled when we made a wrong turn trying to get onto the motorway and the traffic was horrendous. Plan B!  Instead of visiting Santa Gertrudis, the geographical center of the island, last, we ended up going there first because we could re-route there easily. 

This part of the island is sort of scruffy and not overdeveloped like Ibiza Town.  There are tons of olive groves and hacienda type buildings surrounded by tall stone walls that line both sides of the roads we are driving along.  We find Santa Gertrudis easily enough along with free parking – always a bonus. The town was described as a quaint little village, and it is that.  One main square, a lovely adobe style church and little else.  It is also supposed to be where the hippies originally settled, and the people here (who aren’t tourists) definitely still seem to fit that bill, very hippy-ish (as they spell it).  Much more relaxed vibe.

We wandered about for a bit, but there isn’t much wandering to be done.  Looked at all the restaurants (all 4) and decided to try our luck at Café Boca, which I had read about as a great place to have jamon serrano. Unfortunately, every table outside is filled, and it is too nice a day to eat inside.  So we go next door – what the heck – to Restaurante Santa Gertrudis where we had huge bocadillos and made the mistake of also ordering pan y tomat (we should have known when the guy who took our order gave us a look like, are you crazy?). But both the Jamon Serrano and chorizo bocadillo were excellent, as was the pan y tomat. And it only cost 15.70 Euros total – what a deal! It was so much food though, that we took one half of each sandwich with us for a snack later!

Meandering back to the parking lot, we manage to extract the car from the tight space and navigate out onto the roads through the center of the island. It is definitely un-Ibiza Town-ish. There isn’t another car on the road, and we enjoy beautiful views across the olive groves and down little narrow roads that cut through the fields. Stopping at a restaurant on the crossroads of some of these tiny roads, we grab a cappuccino before heading back otu toward San Miguel, a typical Ibicenco village set up on a hill.

Easily finding the church perched at the top of the hill, and used by the villagers to hide from marauding pirates, we park and wander around the pretty white church. We can see why the villagers barricaded themselves in here, the walls are huge and made of sturdy rock, and the views views down into the village confirm it was a great strategic location Further around the back of the church we peek into the locked graveyard, then circle back to the car for a final good by to the poet Maria Villangomez Llobet, who was born on the island, and whose statue adorns the courtyard.

Heading back down out of San Miguel, we start our Eastward trek out toward the coast, driving through the beautiful green hilly interior, through one-horse towns and finally onto the coast road heading toward Aiguas Blancas, a popular beach (supposedly for nudists!).

Arriving at Aigua Blanca, we find carpark easily enough and pay our 4 euros to park – even though the parking attendant guy thinks we’re crazy since he told us the tide was in and there was very little beach – and of course we don’t have any beach gear at all – we’re just here for the scenery – and no – before you even think it – not the “nudists” scenery!). Out of the car, we hike down a really steep road to the beach access, where, as promised, there isn’t much beach left to enjoy. Some hardy souls are down there – and the views are lovely – although nary a nudist is to be seen.

Done with the beach, we hike up the super steep road (phew, work out!) and proceed to drive the narrow little roads back toward Ibiza Town, stopping in the very cute – and very small – little town of San Carlos with the gorgeous white washed church and a few inviting little cafes around the square, where we decide it is time for an afternoon beverage.

Refreshed, we make the quick and easy drive back to the port, finding the parking lot to drop the car without incident and spending the rest of the afternoon and evening on the ship overlooking a pretty little bay where sailboats dotted the sparkling clear waters after our unexpectedly nice day on Ibiza!