Sailing

We sailed aboard the "Lisa" last week to the nearby dream island of Formentera. "Juan & Andrea", our favourite restaurant (run by the owners of Pacha club), is a place one could only dream of for a boat outing. Once the anchor hits the white sand at the base of the bay, the restaurant's Zodiac comes to pick you up to sweep you to shore, sailing over cristalline turquoise water I have only seen in Southeast Asia and the Caribbean!

People who arrive by boat get to eat at the tables decked out in the sand, covered by a cream coloured awning that keeps the blinding sun at bay for a few hours of bright shade and superb food. The luxury of digging your feet into the soft sand even while you eat is, I suppose, one of those things only city dwellers really crave. I remember Gai's resort in the Philippines, Pansukian, had all white sand walkways among the garden so that people could walk barefoot in the sand. She confessed to me one day that the locals thought they'd run out of money when they built the walkways, otherwise why would they be of sand?

Ultimately, the boat is still the best way to visit the island's best kept secrets, and one of the best ways to watch the sun set. I miss you, Ibiza.
(pictured in this entry: Es Vedra at sunset, Dalt Vila Ibiza old town by night, Playas del Compte beaches, dusk on the boat, Formentera's Illetas beach)