Week Thirteen: Brazil, Morocco, London to Ibiza

I apologize for the late posts lately. It’s been a combination of forgetfulness, poor timing, and lack of things to talk about. As my time abroad is coming to an end, there’s been less traveling and exploring on my part and more focus on school work. I plan on getting back out there though because my time abroad is, well, coming to an end. I did, however, have the opportunity to visit Ibiza, Spain this past weekend! Though I would have liked to go to Brazil and Morocco as well as my title suggests, I still felt that the hook of J-Lo’s “On The Floor” was fitting for the post. I have to be honest that this island wasn’t as magical as I expected-thank you, off season-but it was definitely my favorite trip so far and the best way to end my traveling in Europe.
My friend Naomi and I landed in Ibiza late on Friday night to meet up with our friends Jane and Jorilee so you can imagine that all we did was eat and call it a night. The next day, we planned to see ‘The Caves’ which were highly rated on TripAdvisor so we headed out in the morning to Sant Miquel which was outside of Ibiza. When we arrived, our bus driver advised that we don’t walk to the caves because it was dangerous so we found ourselves stranded. The town was completely deserted which was also very questionable. We finally found a way to phone a taxi and were back en route to the caves which was up a winding road without a sidewalk (special thanks to the bus driver for that one because that would have been a very dangerous walk). When we finally got to the top, we were met with a view that equally made me want to cry and to yell out, “Yaaass!” to mother nature which I ended up doing in my snap story. We had an hour to kill so naturally we took a baffling amount of photos and then found a place to sit that blocked out the cold winds. The cave tour finally started and it was…a huge disappointment. Half of the tour was spent outside walking down to the cave and once we entered the cave, the whole thing was essentially man-made. There were carved walkways, steps, and light installments throughout. Not to mention, there was a “light show” where the tour guide pressed a button to release an artificial waterfall and played music; while the music played, he sporadically alternated between different colors which eventually reached a strobe effect that was uncomfortably long and didn’t match the music. In the next part of the cave, he informed us that the water was combined with what I want to say was fluoride (don’t take my word for it) that created a jello-like effect upon viewing and a fluorescent effect when caught on camera. Thankfully I got a picture, but that’s all I got was one picture as he rushed us through this part. After that, we ended up back outside where we started and the tour was over. How that was 45 minutes, I have no idea. Definitely not worth 10.50 euros though.
We headed to Sant Antoni next where we heard about some nice beaches. We ended up not hitting the beaches. I don’t remember why, but it didn’t happen and after the world’s most difficult scavenger hunt, we found the bus station to head back into Ibiza. When we got back to Ibiza, we decided to just go to the beach near the place we were staying and even though it was cold and the whole day didn’t go according to plan, I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the day. It was odd to be fully clothed on the beach, but there was something so calming about watching and listening to the ocean. It made me think of being on the beach in California, but much, much quieter. The sun didn’t set on our side, but we stayed out until the sun went down. There was this small raft boat in the middle of the ocean that had a light and it made me think of the green light in The Great Gatsby. I wasn’t alone, but everything felt quiet at that moment and I felt a little bit in solitude. I felt completely at peace.
The next day, our final day, we woke up super late after having stayed up extremely late the night before. We planned on another cold, cloudy day in Ibiza, but to our surprise, the sun made a grand appearance. It wasn’t as warm as the day before was supposed to be, but we didn’t care. We had lunch by the water and bummed on the beach for the rest of the afternoon. We also took more pictures, obviously, but sometimes you just have to sit and take in the view. In my past trips, they were always jam-packed with activities and sights, and rightfully so as this trip is not just about London, but seeing as much of Europe as we can while we can; still, I greatly appreciated the leisurely feel of this trip which is why I felt it was the best way to wrap up my traveling. Though I would love to see more of Europe, I’m fortunate to have been able to see the places I have seen at this time in my life and to have the privilege to say that I have a mental and physical recollection of them. 🙂

Las Cuevas de Sant Miquel

Ibiza