DOORS OF HEAVEN IN IBIZA

LAS PUERTAS DEL CIELO

 Y

 LAS ISLAS MARGARITAS

Ses Margalides islands are small islets that are right in front of "Ses Balandres" a precipitous area in the northeastern part of the island, where there are stunning rock formations of great beauty.

In some areas there are totally vertical rock walls falling into the sea. Here the huge amounts of rock combined with numerous pine trees that exist in this area makes of this place a real green lung of this island.

Inside the big island of Ses Margalides exists a huge hole where some ships can pass through it. As a curiousity In these islets inhabit lizards of black color. Of course is not easy to get into this islets due to the islets formation, easy to see on these pictures.

This place is visited by tourists drawn by the beauty of this place, so they come to enjoy this area and its views. The Sunsets are of the most beautiful on the island.

Ses Portes del Cel, along with "Es Castellar" have a form of semicircle that make the place an exceptional site.

There are several paths that lead us to the cliffs bottoms, but we must be very careful in some sections due to its difficulty.

And as indicated earlier, the sunsets in this place, a magical color and atmosphere of quiteness is created.

Any time (except at night) is a good time to visit this place where the green of the pines and the blue sea mixed with the color of the rock that is omnipresent in this site.

SA PENYA ESBERRADA

THE CRACKED CRAG

The fact is that this place is very nice, and it is known locally as "sa penya esbarrada" something like the cracked boulder,and its a landmark for the local people. So here is this famous rock, about to fall in the future. But this name it also refers to the remains of an ancient Muslim house that is very close to this rock and took the name of the cliff.

This rock is easily visible from the area called "Ses Portes del Cel" or the gates of heaven, and the view of the spectacular cliffs is just fantastic. The sunsets from this location are beautiful.

Of course, this natural and espectacular balcony overlooking the Mediterranean should be a place to enjoy, and not to call bad experiences and so you must respect the place and be careful when approaching the edge of the cliff. As for the views from this place as in the previous post, you can see the Margalides (Margaritas) islands and according to the thesis that Christopher Columbus was Ibizan is said to Margarita Island in Venezuela took the name these islets.

IBIZA UNDERWATER

SURROUNDED BY FISHES

Despite the crowds in Ibiza during peak season which coincides with the hottest days, there are still places where the sea is very transparent, and where life within its waters is exuberant.

To avoid the high temperatures is not easy, but a dip into the Mediterranean waters can help a lot. But if we do so, provided with a glass mask we will discover the universe that appears infront of us under the waters.

Dozens of silverfish come around us, and also we see all on a blue background that makes for a moment we forget all that is out of this live sea.

Fast movements combined with swimming serene of these fish, if we do not move or offer them some bread, that are circling slowly around us and staying with us for a while.

If snorkeled some more background we can see the same fishes, but with another fund, the impressive background offered by meadows Posidonia, that far from being an alga as often is confused, actually is a marine plant that oxygenates the sea and It produces blue colors only comparable to those in the Caribbean. Let us not forget that the award of "World Heritage" managed in 1,999 had much to do with the conservation of these prairies of Posidonia.

CALA PADA

CALA PADA

Located few kilometers from Santa Eulalia, between Santa Eulalia and the Es Canar tourist resort, we can find this beautiful cove of white sand and surrounded by pine trees. Surrounded by few bars and some hotels which are outside from the beach and make it a familiar and quiet beach.

Perhaps the pier (that sometimes serves as a makeshift trampoline to jump directly into the sea) is one of the most remarkable things about this quiet beach.

This beach is ideal for families since the water is not very deep and it is usually protected from the winds. It is not a very large cove as it has a length of 200 meters.

Now in spring,  but also in autumn and on winter, it is great  for a sunbathe, because during summer is much more busy, but the rest of the year usually is very quiet.

Some of the pines surrounding the beach have the shape the wind is sculped on them, adding the green color into the landscape that contrasts with the blue of the crystal clear waters of this beach, in addition to the native pine trees also this beach has some palm trees giving you a tropical touch.

CALA BOIX

CALA BOIX

the sand of this beach is black, although is not volcanic but anyway is unusual to find in Ibiza beaches with sand as dark as this one. Although currently I dont visit often this beach as I did when child and always  this beach is in my memory because it is one of the beaches where I most enjoyed thanks to its (sometimes) huge waves.

Clayey materials from their small cliffs that surround it must have some guilt sand color, far from removing beauty, can even say it adds.

The beach is ideal for its waves, because usually its waters are quite moved, maybe that's why my memories with this beach are great because almost every time I went there when small, I enjoyed on the water with air mattress or pulling myself directly towards into the strong waves which broked on the shore of the beach.

Anyhow the beach is not very big, and although it is located in the east side of the island, I must say that there are enough hours of sun, and the beach itself faces the South and this gives more hours of sunlight than others of that area, which are very limited.

Surrounded by cliffs, with a bright water and almost always with waves and dark sand, that is certainly a unique beach of this kind. It has a small beach bar. It is accessed by a concrete staircase because you have to leave the car at some point at the top of a cliff, at that parking atop and next to where the vehicles are left there are also two larger restaurants. This is a beach for everyone though perhaps limited by the large rungs of the steps and is not recommended for people with mobility problems.

ES FIGUERAL BEACH

PLAYA DE ES FIGUERAL

After a period of "rest", I resume the activity of this blog of Ibiza with one of the most popular beaches on the East side of the island. This is the beach of Es Figueral, and I suppose that the name must reference perhaps, to a large number of fig trees that would be here in this area in the old days.

So the ancient fig trees may have been replaced by the big number of hotels that nowadays have been builded in this area, some huge ones, that are in the vicinity of the beach. It can guess from the pictures, that the beach is of fine sand, ideal for families and for the general public. Here also you can enjoy all amenities like restaurants, bars, sunbeds, lifeguards, showers, pedal boats, windsurfing etc. .....

In the background we can see the island of Tagomago, always present in the northeastern part of the island. These images were taken on this spring season, where still the small population of tourism allows us to enjoy the beaches without the huge number of tourists who will bask in them, within the next weeks.
 
Although this beach has massive attendance during the summer due to the numerous hotels congregated here, also has a wild side, in fact before construction was a isolated and nudist beach, and there are still wild sides that remind us those old days. In one side of the cove there is a kind of natural monolith that some have called as the "finger of God" in likeness of the one in Gran Canaria island (destroyed some years ago by a tropical storm), this one here, is still standing.

In the wild side of the beach, there is a pebble beach, much quieter than the sand side, but limited by a vertical wall that makes shadows on this beach quite early just after midday, so time to enjoy the sun here is quite limited.

It also has some small islets in this area, which reminds us of the nearby beach of aigues blanques.

In short, it's a beach to enjoy, that yes, like all those in the east of the island ideal to enjoy at first thing in the morning as it is when is better to swim and sunbathing. In the afternoon can be partially affected by shadows.
From this beach we can also discern in the distance the beach of "Sa Cala" Sant Vicent, and right next door of it, we can even make out the remains of an old lighthouse, which was replaced by a new one built on the islet of Tagomago.
We must not forget that even in this area will not enjoy sunsets (we are in the East side of the island), it can enjoy some beautiful sunrises, some as wonderful as the famous sunsets on the West side of the island.

ES NIU BLAU BEACH

PLAYA ES NIU BLAU

A little gem hidden between Santa Eulalia and Es Canar, a beach of the few ones where one can lie in the shade of the pines, swim in the crystal clear water and has a really clean sand. A beach that once I frequented small and this area left a mark on my memory, when I was playing down these pines (which were somewhat smaller than they are today).

Right next door is the only estuary that exists on the island (although very small indeed), and it seems to be the nature in this area has focused on waters, so not far away there is the mouth of the only river in the insular Spain. 

Of course nothing to do with the famous Galician tions (rías) which are obviously larger but this one leaves a picturesque corner next to the beach with their small boats moored in the lee of the wind, with the forest surrounding.

The best time to enjoy this beach is in the morning as it is located at the eastern side of the island. In that first hour sunlight, the sun plays with the sea, and reflects off the sea offering a silver white flashes, contrasting with the green of the many pines of the area.

The translation of "niu blau" would be "blue nest", although the predominant color of this beach is the green of the pine trees growing in the sand, but the green also contrasts with the blue sky and sea. A place to enjoy the sun and the shadow of the pines and of course without sunshades.