Ibiza - Bohemian Ground Zero Part 3 (final part)

The world is so big, and there is so much to see that when I go somewhere on vacation, I always think 'well, I'm only going to come here once so I better make the most of it and see everything'. This is not a particularly relaxing way to approach a holiday and if it was up to me there would be scheduled explorations, and activities from dawn to dusk, so that I could feel at the end of the holiday that I had DONE that place, you know, seen it all and experienced it as fully as possible... You can imagine that this approach to holidaying doesn't go down well with my more well adjusted family. They want to relax...I'm sorry, what did you say? Relax? Don't know the meaning of the word! Anyway, they want to lay around on beaches and lurk around in coffee shops  and generally take it easy... Hmmmm....there were compromises on both sides! What a long winded way of saying that we did a lot of stuff in the short week that we were there and I am going to tell you about 2 of those things now...

We took the bus to the very famous Hippy Market in Punta Arabi which was more northeast on the island and much lovelier than the scrubby little resort we were staying in. Huge trees, masses of vibrant flowers and the famous hippy market of course. If, like me, you are used to frequenting Camden Market in London, then this place will come as no surprise, so for me it was a bit of an expensive tourist trap. But for the less market savvy, you might actually quite like it. It isn't all tie dyed tunics and bongs..there was lots of fantastic handmade leather bags that had me drooling, but I draw the line at paying €250 for a handbag on a market stall, no matter the eyewatering beauty of it...I still feel pain, just thinking about some of those bags....
There were also loads of great boots and boot accessories... They were also very expensive but I sneakily took this picture because I reckon if I ever have a spare half an hour, I could knock up some of these little boho boot jackets... or whatever the hell they are...

The day after the Hippy Market we had another big excursion by boat to the Can Marçà Caves which are found in the north of the island in the Port of Sant Miguel. We took an hour and a half boat trip hugging the island to the port of Sant Miguel, where we were informed by our ear shatteringly loud guide, that the island at the mouth of the port was recently purchased by a Russian Oligarch for €30 million! That is rather a lot of money I think you'll agree! It had a very fortress like appearance and I would not have been at all surprised to see snipers up there or some kind of evil mastermind super villain activity... We didn't see that...(was a little disappointed) This is a picture I took later, when I was climbing to the caves...

Before we got to the caves however, we had the guts clutching experience of being driving by a lunatic, who was our tour guide. Well I say tour guide, but really he just drove the bus from the port to the caves high up along the cliffs. Picture him, I felt that it was very likely he was a german man who visited Ibiza many years ago, for some serious hardcore clubbing, and all that entails (ok drugs...I mean drugs), and shall we just kindly say that it left its mark upon him. He was very brown, teeth and crewcut hair very white, designer sunglasses, didn't speak much but laughed a great deal and grinned more than is natural for the human face. He got us crammed in the poky little minivan, there was no seat belt for me but thankfully the kids had seat belts. My chair was only attached to the actual minivan by a few loose screws so every time he braked or accelerated hard (and that was all the time) my chair would jerk violently. He then drove thusly around a winding clifftop road and I feel sick just telling you about it! Anyway, we got there and I kid thee not, everyone just started laughing as they got out of the van! That kind of laughter that is one part hilarity and 9 parts relief. 

Anyway, we went into the caves and they were lovely. I love stalagmites and stalactites and all that limestoney loveliness, very magical...

This particular grotto was called the 'Buddha Grotto' on account of the supposedly Buddhalike main blobby limestone thingy, and I grant you, it does, with a stretch, look like Buddha, but really, once you've been to Ibiza, you start seeing Buddhas everywhere!

Then we had to drive back with crazy clubber man. We all knew what we were getting into, well...sort of. The drive back down the hill got us back to the port in one piece, which is more that I can say for the van. I had my suspicions about that vehicle from the get go, but when I opened the sliding door to get out, I slid the door right off! Yes, door, not on van anymore! I felt very bad that I had broken his van but I also felt amazed that we had been driven in that hunk of junk from the beginning. 

I could tell you a million other things about Ibiza, places to go and stuff, but really, you just got to go and have an adventure of discovery yourself.

Have a great weekend and whatever you're doing or wherever you are going, make it an adventure!