Day No. 181 - Ibiza - Santa Gertrudis

I woke up quite late this morning, it was just before 8 a.m. The night was restless, it was very, very windy. Although we sought shelter in an old dried-up riverbed, our van shook quite a bit from time to time. According to our Windy app, there were gusts of up to 50kmh. After our morning coffee orgy, we saddle up Hector and drive to Santa Gertrudis. 

Santa Getrrudis is a beautiful little village, quite central on Ibiza, practically in the middle of the island. In front of the pretty little church there is a village square with cafés, restaurants and small boutiques with interiors, bric-a-brac and fashion. All very nice to look at. A stroll through this little village is simply lovely. 

We stroll on towards the village square and let ourselves be drawn in by 'Origins'. Here you can find clothes, jewelry and art from all over the world, e.g. Afghanistan, China, Russia and Africa. The owner speaks very good German, she comes from Switzerland. A lovely little store to browse and marvel at.

Langsam meldet sich der Hunger. Uns wurde die Bar Costa empfohlen, die heute leider geschlossen hat. Alternative Empfehlung ist das ‚Wild Beets’ in der Carrer Venda de Can Llàtzer 9. Marc findet es auch recht schnell mit GoogleMaps, das Innere ist gemütlich, der Kamin brennt und verströmt wohlige Wärme und der Laden ist gut besucht. Der Service ist prompt und freundlich, schnell haben wir die sehr dicke Getränkekarte und die Menüauswahl auf dem Tisch vor uns. Die Getränkeauswahl ist wirklich sensationell: Von Kaffee über Tee, frischgepressten Säften, Smoothies und frischer Kokosnuss ist alles dabei. Es gibt eine große Auswahl an veganen Speisen und Rawfood, von herzhaft bis süß, von Toast mit Ei, Avocado oder Lachs, natürlich alles vegan*, über Buddha Bowl bis hin zu Pancakes. Wirklich alles sehr lecker, allerdings sind die Portionen klein und die Preise sehr hoch. Das ‚Wild Beets‘ muss man sich leisten wollen, es ist wohl das beste vegane Restaurant von Ibiza. Mehr Informationen gibt es hier: www.wildbeets.com

Editor's note: Naturally vegan, my ass. - Tripadvisor writes: International, contemporary, European, healthy, suitable for vegetarians, vegan dishes, gluten-free dishes. - How are you supposed to recognize that everything here is vegan? - I only really realized it when my latte macchiato was on the table and the latte didn't remind me of milk at all. - The place is nice, but please warn me next time.

After lunch, we stroll on to the church on the market square. This Romanesque church is small, very well-kept and beautiful. The best thing about it is the classical music playing softly in the background, creating a wonderful atmosphere. 

Dann zieht uns ‚Es Cucons la Tienda‘ an. Auf den 1. Blick fällt uns die liebevolle Dekoration der Ware aussen auf. Hier gibt es neben den typischen Basttaschen allerlei Wohnacessoirs und Interieur aller Art, auch Kleidung und Schuhe für Sie und Ihn, sowie Kinderspielzeug. Innen ist der Laden viel größer, als man von aussen meint. Große Menschen sollten die niedrige Deckenhöhe beachten. ‚Es Cucons‘ ist auf jeden Fall einen Besuch wert. Ein El Dorado für Liebhaber der schönen Dinge.

We set off in our van to Benirràs to visit our friends Ilona and Jeroen, who have invited us for coffee today. On the way, we stop briefly at a fruit stand called 'La Choza', which translates as 'the hut'. Only when we get inside do we realize that this name is an understatement, as this store is much bigger than we thought from the outside. And it's not just a fruit and vegetable store, but a very well-stocked organic store that has almost everything from Pukka tea to Andechs yogurt, including many German products. However, these also have their price, the Andechser yoghurt costs €4 here. The store is very busy. Marc finds different types of tomatoes, which he loves, and we find bread. If, like us, you've been traveling in Portugal and Spain for a long time, you might miss the variety of German bread. And there really are many different types of bread here, all of which look delicious. We opt for a ciabatta with olives. And we find a sugar-free muesli, which we have also been looking for for a while. This store really made us very happy.

When we arrive at our friends' house, we sit together in the garden for a while with a cup of tea. I keep noticing the wild herbs in this wonderful, somewhat enchanted garden. We've already told you about the wild asparagus. Today I also see wild spinach. And of course the wild fennel, which can be found everywhere on the island. Jeroen gives us a yellow flower that tastes sour, it's goat's foot sorrel. Ilona shows us a type of goose cress whose stems are very tasty in salads.

It is interesting that the two children Isa and Hugo, who have been living in a van in the countryside for over a year, know exactly how to determine whether a plant is poisonous or edible. Hugo shows us how: first he picks a leaf, rubs it between his fingers and smells it. If it smells bitter, it is definitely poisonous. If it smells sweet, he rubs the juice of the leaf into the crook of his arm and waits. If the sensitive skin in the crook of his arm does not react, i.e. the skin there does not turn red, then the plant is edible. It's amazing what we can learn from children. 

We stay for dinner and have a delicious and very healthy lentil soup with garlic, ginger, turmeric and all kinds of secret spices. While we girls cook, Marc plays Lego with the children. We used to have Lego too, but today's Lego is much better and more complicated. The boys are building a police helicopter with step-by-step instructions. The challenge is to pick out the tiny parts from the huge mountain of Lego. 

As it is getting dark, we have to set off so that we can park safely in our river bed again in the light. The wind is still quite strong and we are safe there.