Ibiza, Spain June 2003

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IBIZA, ONE OF THE BALEARIC ISLANDS OF SPAIN - JUNE 2003

Yep, I'm at it again, doing the blog time-travel - knocking off the easy ones, of which 5 days in Ibiza qualifies.

Looking through my journals and notes, I see that I was remise in writing about our short but lovely visit to Ibiza, one of the Balearic Islands of Spain, in June 2003. We were living in Germany then and decided a trip to Ibiza might be fun because friend Cecila Simon, cousin to Victoria and Marcela Sahade, our Argentine daughters, was living and working as a masseuse on the island of Ibiza, not far from Ibiza City, the main town of the small, picturesque island.

Look at the map above - that is the mainland of Spain to the left and the island of Mallorca to the far northeast. The Balearic Islands belong to Spain. Ibiza is the western most, then heading east Mallorca (the largest) and Menorca, with Formentera just below Ibiza. (You can put your cursor on the map and move it around for better orientation.) They officially speak Catalan, but folks tell us that the dialect spoken on the islands is quite distinct.

We only went for a about 5 days, but it was a nice break from Germany where folks don't usually leave in the summer, however, we needed to take advantage of Ceci's being on the island as she leaves in the low season, which of course is winter.

Once a hippy hideaway, but now much more mainstream “hip,” Ibiza is best known for its extraordinary clubbing scene. The flip side is very different - rural villages where the women wear long black skirts and straw hats, and the only traffic stoppers are the goat herds.

We were fortunate enough to see the “flip side” with our friend and guide, Cecila, or Ceci as most know her.

There is an atmospheric old walled town of D’Alt Vila with fine views from the walls of the cathedral and an amazing Museu Arqueologic. Since Ibiza is known for its beach scene, most beaches near Ibiza City are heavily developed. Away from the coach tours, Ibiza has numerous unspoiled and relatively undeveloped beaches, many of which Ceci showed us.

Ceci, at that time, did much of her masseuse work on the beach and lived in a converted camel barn. Yes, camel barn, and it was delightful. She was renting this place and the rent for even such a modest dwelling was astronomically high. She eventually saved enough money to buy a place of her own and still works in Ibiza in the summers.

Victoria, Ceci’s cousin and our former exchange student, trained as a masseuse too and now works in Ibiza also during the summers. This winter (2008) she is hoping to work in northern Spain (she is a permanent resident of Spain now) at a ski resort. In her “off” time she does continuing education courses to improve her techniques/knowledge either in Argentina or Europe. She wasn’t working in Ibiza in 2003 when we visited Ceci, but joined her not to much later and they both lived in the “camel barn” for many seasons.

As we speak, in November 2008, Vicky (see photo below) is in Argentina for the holidays - the whole family is there, including Marcela (see photo below) from Miami with little Cal (see photo below). The last time they were all together was for Marcela & Tim’s (see photo below) wedding in Argentina in December 2002.

So, while we didn’t spend a lot of time in Ibiza, we certainly saw a lot of it and as you can see by the photos, it is a beautiful place.

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Photos

Sign - Camel Barn
This sign marked the road to turn down to reach the converted camel barn that Ceci had fixed up and called home

Camel Barn
The outdoor space Ceci created was idyllic while the inside was functional and quaint

Me, Bernie and Ceci
We spent many lovely hours on this patio - had breakfast there every morning as the weather in Ibiza in June is about perfect

Mornings at the Camel Barn
Ceci made us wonderful breakfasts with strong coffee, which we enjoyed drinking slowly on the patio

Bernie getting a massage
Here is Ceci doing her thing on the (nude) beach - giving Bernardo a massage

Lovely Beaches
And lovely Ceci on the beach - note how few people there are - Ceci knew all the hidden gems of the island

Ceci and her Dad
This was taken at a pre-wedding gathering in Argentina Dec. 02; Ceci's father died not too long after that - very, very sad as he was a wonderful and much-loved man

The Bride, Marcela, her Twin Vicky, Me and B
The wedding in Argentina in Dec. 02: Vicky, in red, is the masseuse who works in Ibiza now. Ceci encouraged her to join her, and voila, Vic had a new career. Vicky had just finished her masters in journalism, so you see how life gets in the way of the best laid plans.

The Bride & Groom
I wish I could will Tim's eyes open, but alas this was the best shot I got of the couple that night. As you might imagine, they were in high demand and never seemed to stop moving!

Cal Jensen
Since I mentioned little Cal, I thought you deserved to see a photo of him. Marcela and Tim got married in Dec. 2002 and son Cal was born this year - July 2008

Comments

[Shondra]

Ibiza
Hi Kathy and Bernie.... Once again....muchas gracias! These pics are wonderful and your background story is great...as always. I have only recently had a bit of interest in visiting Ibiza mostly because of a very famous or maybe up and coming Flamingo vocalist who hails from Mallorca named: Concha Buika. I am in love with this woman's voice and her music! Whenever I go, I will definitely be seeking out any and all concerts that she does. I am certain that you might enjoy her music too with her sultry and souful vocals and mix of flamingo, jazz, samba, bossa nova sound. Stay well.... Shondra