Arriving in Ibiza

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Day 7 - Ferry from Barcelona - Ibiza

Our ferry to Ibiza is at 10.30pm tonight and it is finally sinking in what we are actually doing and we start to think- what are we actually doing???! No chance to back out now though, not after driving 1600 miles! Anyway, if we can do it in Australia on the other side of the world, we can do it in Ibiza, right? Right?? So we get our tickets and join the queue for the ferry. The ferry is running late and doesn't get into port until well after midnight. Luckily we have some DVDs and so sit in the car and watch family guy until it docks.

Eventually we start boarding the ship and set sail. Unfortunately you cant stay in your car during the crossing which is a shame as we planned to just try and sleep in the car. Being the cheap skates we are we didnt pay extra to get a cabin for the night to sleep in so we are left to fight it out for a free sofa (of which there is only about 10) on the ferry. We manage to grab one but i am guessing the reason it is free is because there are a bunch of extremely noisy italians right next to it who are watching a film very loudly on their laptop. We stay put anyway and eventually we manage to drift off to sleep. We wake up at about 8.30am, just as the ferry is arriving into Ibiza, so we manage to actually get about 4 hours in total which isn't too bad considering the circumstances.

Once we get off the ferry it is off to San Antonio where we haven't stayed before. Its where the majority of work is bound to be but we aren't over enthusiastic about the prospect as we know the bad rep of the west end. I can tell the effort of driving coupled with the lack of sleep is taking its toll on Greg as he starts to get a bit clumsy while driving into San An, missing turns etc. He admits that he is knackered and i feel bad i cant take over. At least we are nearly there though.

Day 8 - Our first day in Ibiza

We eventually manage to find the hotel and get parked right outside. The receptionist actually gives us a really big two bedroom apartment which is really big and looks quite good. Its nice to be able to unpack all my stuff properly at last, and in the process i realise that i perhaps did bring a lot more than i may possibly ever need... I thought i was being good only bringing 9 pairs of shoes! All we want to do is go for a kip but there is a lot more we need to be doing, so we head out to start looking for a phone, bank account and somewhere to print off CVs etc. What happens next is we take a wrong turn and as we dont have our barings yet, we actually end up walking around the outskirts of the west end for an hour trying to find our hotel again. I could nearly cry but just as i am about to give up hope we finally recognise somewhere and manage to get back.

We manage to find an internet cafe owned by a Scottish couple who have a lot of advice about jobs and apartments etc which is helpful. We buy a spanish mobile and print off some CVs and feel a lot better prepared at last. Afterwards we find a little cafe and have a coffee to wake us up a bit as we are lagging. We have two in quick succession and have that buzzing but really tired feeling i can't describe. Could sleep for a week but can't at the same time because we are now high on caffeine and sugar! The owner of the cafe is called Jose and over the next few days he ends up turning into a bit of a friend for us and someone else we can talk to. We go down every afternoon to get our wee cafe con leche and have a wee chat in spanish with him. Anyway I digress.

Later on we get ready and go to the supermarket to grab some supplies. After a week of eating out every afternoon and night, it will be nice to actually cook our own fresh food again. Greg ends up making a chicken dish with a creamy wine and leak sauce which i must admit is absolutely perfect and just what the doctor ordered. Its a shame he didnt make this dish for his come dine with me menu as he would have won hands down but ce la vie (la ve). We are on the verge of sleep by this point but we still mamage to head out for one drink at a bar just outside of the west end. I order a cocktail and to be honest, i think i could have probably made better myself as it just takes like orange juice (actually it probably is). It makes me think maybe i stand an ok chance of getting a job here as i am not a bad cocktail waitress if i do say so myself.

Day 9 - Second day in Ibiza

Ibiza Rocks bar are holding an open recruitment day today, so i make my way down to see them armed with my CV and photos. It turns out i am one of about 150 people who have had the same idea. I panic slightly that i am competing with so many other people, but then i have to remind myself that i have lots of experience, probably more so than most here, and i also have my NIE number and speak a little spanish unlike most too, but it is still daunting. There are a lot of pretty dolly birds about so it depends what they are actually looking for i guess... Everyone is divided up by what type of job they are applying for- Bar staff get yellow bands (including me), waiting staff get green bands and prs get purple bands. The guy who is giving out the bands comments that he is absolutely burning in the sunshine so i offer him some of my suncream. He laughs and says you're hired! and i laugh too but i am thinking in my head "No seriously, please do give me a job!". Unfortunately it isn't up to him and i now have to wait my turn to get interviewed by one of the managers. It takes another 2 hours till i finally get my opprtunity. Greg has been teaching me some more basic spanish since we arrived, and i pray the guy is impressed with what little i know. I keep practising the phrase Estoy aprendiendo (i'm learning) in my head over and over. As i am standing in the queue, a girl i worked with in Glasgow walks by me and we have a quick chat, promising to chat up at some point while i am here. It really is a small world!

The guy is spanish so i introduce myself in spanish and he asks in very fast spanish whether i speak spanish fluently. I say no but then get to use my favourite phrase Estoy aprendiendo! to which he seems impressed. I explain my experience and that i also have my NIE and a car on the island and he nods approvingly and writes some notes down on my CV. He says 'Don't worry, i'm just writing horrible things down about you' and i don't know whether he is being sarcastic or not. Anyway, he finishes by saying we'll probably get you in for a trial and will phone you in the next few days which is promising. Fingers crossed he does but if Australia taught me anything, its not to take what he says for granted as quite a few times i was told they would get me in for a trial and then i never heard anything back. Plus he still has about another 50 people to interview so it may well be there are other people he ends up liking better. So we'll wait and see.

We decide to take a drive to explore some of the island as we havent actually done anything yet other than look for jobs and look for apartments on the internet. We end up at Sant Miguel and head to what is signposted as a cove. We drive half way up a mountain and arrive at the most gorgeous view point out to sea. It's very pretty indeed. We also do a tour of the underground caves which are also very pretty. It's nice to do something a little bit different.

Later on we just chill out and i cook a homemade pizza for dinner. Our oven looks like it is working but when the guy from reception comes up to look at it we realise we haven't swtiched it on properly doh. After dinner we take a drive to Playa den Bossa as we have to meet a woman who is renting out a room there. She is from Berlin and although the flat is really spacious, the room itself is quite small. Plus she wants us to move in next week when we arent able to commit until the beginning of june. So we cross it off the list for now, but are panicking a wee bit that we will struggle to find anywhere else. We did the exact same thing in Australia though, so again we really just have to relax a bit and wait it out.

We head out to the west end when we get back and brave it going into the scottish bar that the girl i met earlier works in. She isnt on shift but we stay for a few drinks anyway. There are some absolute sights walking about and i am cringing when i watch them. i really do think we are getting old, especially when i moan they have given me cheap rum which is also cheap to buy, instead of a proper rum which is maybe a wee bit more expensive. Oh how times have changed!! We eventually decide enough is enough and head back up to the apartment for another day of job searching.

Day 10 - Day 3 in Ibiza

Greg is armed with all his promo CDs today and we try to target as many places as we possibly can. Every place he goes into seems to be quite interested and he doesnt get any outright no's. I am feeling a lot less confident today as everywhere we turn there is a group of girl handing in their CV. I end up handing my CV into a four star hotel which i figure not many people will have done and the woman seems really interested. Then we walk by a nice little beach bar right on the bay, and greg goes in to ask about dj shifts. I work up the courage to ask by chance if they are looking for bar staff. The guy points to a woman and says speak to the manager, who is currently speaking to two other girls about work. My heart sinks and i am nearly about to walk out when she appears in front of me. We get chatting and she seems impressed by my experience and the fact i have my NIE number and again says she will probably get me in for a trial but i have already heard it. Again i dont hold my breath but we will see what happens. Greg convinces me it would be a good idea to go jogging tonight as it is a bit cloudy and less warm today and i foolishly agree. Turns out we must have jogged about 5km and i am absolutely exhausted by the time we get back. My poor wee hips feel like they might dettach themselves form my body at any moment.

Once again we make our own dinner and next thing Greg's mobile rings. He looks disheartened whne they ask for me, but it turns out to be Francesca from the little bar i went into earlier asking if i will do a trial on Friday. Hell yeh! So i feel a bit more confident but also nervous... Greg feels even more paranoid about getting work now, and feels a bit deflated when he realises he has a missed call from a private number while we are out jogging. I reassure him that they'll prob phone back again but i can see that he is just anxious to get something sorted. We head out down towards San An bay again to celebrate with a beer or two then back up to the room to get a well deserved kip.

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Comments

[Jen]

Hi
sounds like you guys had an amazing road trip! Just reading all about San Antonio makes me want to go back there. Stayed in the Ses Sevines hotel twice and loved it as right on the beach. Also it's next to some gorgeous bars & a burger king! Were you in the bar on the beach with the pillows outside? Xxx