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Monday, May 11, 2015 METRO 29
SO LONG, SANITY
Was it a good idea
to scrap kids’ air
passenger duty?
Travel: Page 33 »
»
IBIZA’S RETURN TO
INNOCENCE
As the island’s popularity and prices soar, Maya Boyd
discovers a quiet revolution going on in the countryside
30 METRO Monday, May 11, 2015
Escape
Travel | Culture | Adventure
Ibiza rocks, yes, but only to the
» Continued from Page 29
portrayed San Antonio as a modern
day Sodom and Gomorrah, the coastal
resort suffered terribly. The bad press,
however, had little impact on the rest
of the island and local life carried on
as normal. Today, you simply need to
head into the countryside to discover
Ibiza’s thriving rustic scene and
charming new additions.
Ex-Dorchester chef Simon Johnson
has lived in Ibiza for three years. He
opened the delightful Agroturismo
Morna (agroturismomorna.com,
doubles from £70) this year in the
sleepy Morna Valley, where red earth
crinkles into green mountainsides,
fig trees shade spring lambs and
thousand-pound menus belong to
another world.
Guests at the peaceful four-room
bolthole can read by the pool or
perhaps potter in the surrounding
fields. Johnson is a dab hand at
The backgammonplaying clientele of
Bar Anita remain
refreshingly
unaffected by Ibiza’s
quickening pace
foraging (his wild fennel chutney is
superb) and guests are encouraged to
join the hunt for wild asparagus and
purple-flowered garlic.
A half-hour stroll through country
lanes ends in sleepy San Carlos,
where whitewashed Bar Anita has
been serving home-made hierbas
liquor to weary travellers for more
than five decades. Anita’s was the
original hippie hangout of the island,
and the backgammon-playing
clientele remain refreshingly
unaffected by Ibiza’s quickening pace.
Anita’s is exactly the kind of place
that is revered in 2014’s sleeper
success, the sweetly illustrated and
self-published My Ibiza (£15,
lagaleriaelefante.com), a guidebook
written and designed by Hjordis
Fogelberg, a lifelong resident of the
Rustic:
island. Fogelberg writes openly about
the places she knows and loves,
sharing their charms with a refreshing
honesty. Estanco Can Xicu in San
Miguel (a tiny and traditional bar) is
described as ‘somewhere my father
loved’. San Agustin’s village store
was ‘somewhere to buy roasted
sunflower seeds’ as a child. It’s
endearing and unpretentious, and has
been a huge hit.
Similarly appealing are the Secret
Seeker guides (secretseeker.com, out
June) that each focus on Ibiza’s
walking routes, food and beaches.
They aim to highlight the kind of
places only stumbled upon by
accident, be it a hidden cove,
Hip: (From left)
Island visitor
Robert Plant,
Agroturismo
Morna, The Jam
Shack and a food
recommendation
from the Secret
Seeker guides
forgotten pathway or a beachside
barbecue shack. Perhaps the next
edition will include The Jam Shack
(facebook.com/jamshackIbiza, mains
from £5), the new Jamaican beach bar
in Cala Llonga, where authentic jerk
chicken goes hand in hand with fresh
coconuts and a rollicking reggae
soundtrack. It’s the epitome of Red
CLUB CONNECTIONS THE OPENING PARTIES
DC10
The Circo Loco party kicks off the
DC10 season with 30 artists
including trailblazers Jamie Jones
(above), Tale of Us and Dubfire.
May 25, £36
Ushuaia
Ibiza’s biggest outdoor venue has
DJ pairings including The Martinez
Brothers, Kolsch, Deetron and
Maya Jane Coles (above).
May 30, £36
Amnesia
The island’s legendary
super-club kicks off 2015 with
heavyweights Maceo Plex
(above), Apollonia and Guy
Gerber. May 30, £36
Space
Taking place a week later due to
local elections, this traditional
Ibiza opening party will welcome
crowds of 15,000. Line-up tba.
May 31, £44
Cocoon
The techo juggernaut’s opening
affair will include Dixon, Scuba
and, of course, Sven Vath.
June 1, £29. All tickets available
from ibiza-spotlight.com
Monday, May 11, 2015 METRO 31
Travel | Culture | Adventure
sound of the sea
Escape
Chic and cheerful:
Retreat:
Elevenses: Simple, carnivorous fare
Stripe-rustic and it’s easy to forget
that glossy glamazons are sinking £30
champagne cocktails on another
beach a few short miles away.
Another newbie for 2015 is Las
Dalias Beach (lasdalias.es, mains
from £8), the sand-in-your-toes
counterpart to Ibiza’s legendary Las
Dalias performance venue and hippy
market. Led Zeppelin and Ronnie
Wood both graced the stage at the
original and the family owners
bring the same sense of laid-back
irreverence to Es Figueral beach, with
GETTING
THERE
EasyJet (easyjet.
com) has return
flights from
London to Ibiza
from £100.
turquoise driftwood furniture and a
low-key seasonal menu of salads and
grilled fish. No VIP beach beds here.
Seasonal is also the buzzword at
Ses Escoles (canmiquelguasch.com,
mains from £12), Ibiza’s first and only
oleoteca – a place to sample olive oil.
Guests can tour the estate before
dining in the simply decorated stone
storehouse, where the menu revolves
entirely around local produce.
The restaurant belongs to a
conservation group that aims to
protect olive farming on Ibiza,
From only
£8
each way
a tradition dating back
thousands of years to the
arrival of the Phoenicians.
Across the water on
Ibiza’s sister island of
Formentera, there’s a similar
quiet revolution. Having left
their boho beach hotel Las
Banderas seven years ago,
Leah Tilbury (sister to the
make-up artist, Charlotte, Mossy’s
mate) and her husband John
Broekman have reopened their
‘jet set gypsy’ haven under a new
Holy: Sant Vicent
de sa Cala church
in north-east Ibiza
name, La Formentera
(laformentera.com, doubles
from £70). ‘We want to see a
return to real value,’
declares Broekman. ‘And to
recapture that carefree
1970s vibe. Ibiza’s prices
are going through the roof
and it’s unsustainable. It’s not
what the islands are about. We
want to live simply and beautifully
on the beach. To love life and
appreciate nature.’
You can’t put a price on that.
Flying from
Stansted Airport
this Spring?
It’s faster by train
Off for a little sun this spring break?
If you’re ﬂying from Stansted Airport take the train.
From just £8.00 each way it’s great value. Just
47 minutes from London Liverpool Street, 36 minutes
from Tottenham Hale, every 15 minutes.
For best prices book online at stanstedexpress.com/spring
Price per person, each way when 4 people travel Standard Class return or when booked 30 days in advance. Average scheduled journey time and frequency.
Quicker than coach or car • Free wi-fi • Onboard refreshments • Check-in only 2 minutes’ walk from Train Station