Day No. 189 - Formentera - Caribbean flair in the Mediterranean Sea

Not every day is a good day and not every morning is a good morning. Fortunately, this is no different here on our trip than anywhere else in the world. - This is not because of our pitch - it is beautiful. The sun is already shining this morning on one side and the moon on the other. - It was quite bright tonight.

Today we're heading to Formentera, Ibiza's little sister. The beaches there are said to be even more beautiful and the color of the sea even more turquoise blue. The beaches are even compared to those of the Maldives. The fantastic beaches of the Maldives thrilled me in 2012. I didn't think I could spend hours and days just sitting and looking at the sea and be very happy. We are very excited and want to see for ourselves on site. The ferry is booked for 9 a.m., which doesn't sound too early. But before that, we have to pack up, drive to Ibiza with Hector, secure the vehicle and get to the port. Our morning routine is therefore considerably disrupted. - Marc is just as excited, as Formentera is the favorite island of Sabine, a good friend of his.

To save time, we left the lifting roof down last night and we both woke up annoyed. We both slept badly due to the narrowness of the bed. Secondly, the morning meditation is canceled due to lack of time. Thirdly, our beloved coffee is also canceled due to lack of time. After a quick, grumpy cat wash, we saddle up our van and drive towards Ibiza Town. We park our van in the Ikea parking lot and secure it with all the means at our disposal. We close all the bulkheads so that nobody can see in and arm all the alarm systems. Unfortunately I can't say any more at this point, it's all top secret. Once Hector has been secured to the best of our knowledge and belief, we walk to the place in the harbor where the Balearia ferry is due to depart. The quay is deserted. We ask around, no, no ferry leaves here, but around the corner, where Marc said the ferry would leave yesterday. So we quickly walk around the corner. But even there the quay is empty and there is no ferry in sight. While we stand at a loss for a moment on the deserted quay, the outline of the ferry appears on the horizon. All is well, we are in the right place. There's not much going on this early in the morning, just a few passengers getting off.

As we are about to board, the person in charge holds us back. Then 3 latecomers get off. The first thing I notice is that passenger 1 and 3 are dressed the same, which is 100% because they are wearing Guardia Civil uniforms. Only then do I notice that the man between them is wearing handcuffs. Oops, there was a snake in paradise too.

Then we can board and the ferry sets off. As we leave the port, we take a look at the Ibiza lighthouse, Faro de Botafoc - 38°54'15.0″N 1°27'14.0″E - with the number E-0264, which stands at the eastern entrance to the port. Lighthouses never fail to impress Marc. As he says: "You can trust that there will always be a lighthouse to show you the way. Both at sea and in everyday life, it's important to be aware of such lighthouses." - Let's see what else the day has in store in this respect.

We enjoy the short, half-hour crossing on deck. The sea is calm, the sun is shining and it would almost be too hot without the wind. There is a fantastic view from up here and we take a few nice photos, including of today's lighthouse No. 2 - En Pou - on the Isla de los Puerco - 38°47'56.1″N 1°25'19.7″E. This 28m high white lighthouse with black stripes was built in 1864 to a design by Emili Pou. This Spanish engineer and builder is known as the father of lighthouses on the Balearic Islands, as he built most of them, as well as the port facilities of Palma and Ibiza.

When we arrive on Formentera, we are greeted by glorious weather, plenty of sunshine and almost no wind. The first thing we do is hire a car, because we don't just want to lie lazily on the beach, we also want to explore the island. At first glance, we see lots of car rental agencies. However, there are exactly 2 car rental agencies open. After the first offer from a friendly young lady, we naturally check out number 2. Marc then assumes that no. 2 only exists to give the decision for no. 1 a better feeling. No. 2 is the epitome of a disgusting agency: dim lighting, dingy, untidy with an unfriendly man smoking behind the counter. No matter how good his offer is, I would never do business here. So back to no. 1.

As Marc can't find his driver's license at the moment, a cute little Fiat Panda is rented to me, so it's clear who is driving today. While I sort out the paperwork, the friendly lady explains to Marc where we can find our car. We get the keys and set off in the direction of 'behind the yellow ...' where our car is supposed to be, so we turn left at the yellow pillar and walk happily along the road. After 10 minutes of searching, I get restless. Or should I say I become disgruntled? The restless night coupled with the lack of coffee on a hungry stomach doesn't necessarily make me any more patient. We walk kilometer after kilometer, but can't find a car. Exasperated, I call the lady and tell her she'll be there in 2 minutes. We wait. Spanish 2 minutes? Of course no one comes, after 15 minutes we go back. Almost back at the agency, I notice a yellow house. Maybe that's what was meant by 'the yellow'? But surely it only leads to the beach? But lo and behold, we find our car there in a tiny humpback parking lot. So we get in and drive off... oops, a manual gearbox. Mmh, I haven't driven for a while now, and the first time we start up is accordingly a failure. We hop along the mogul slope towards the road and off we go across the island.

Marc chose a nice café for our breakfast with a sea view.

From here on, I'll take over from Marc. - Because today I'm the co-pilot and responsible for planning the route. - We drive from La Savina on the PM-820-2 towards Es Pujols, probably the largest and most important vacation resort on the island. But first we drive along the salt pans, very beautiful. It is said that around 850 people live in Es Pujols. - But they probably only do so in the high season. We walk along a picturesque bay. The sea here really is turquoise blue. But it would be even better with a nice coffee. I had used Tripadvisor to find the La Kasa dei Kolori café. Top reviews and supposedly open. - But the only thing we see are construction workers, the building is currently being renovated. Well, another cafe then. As we pass through the town, we get our first impression. - A very nice place, but at this time of year, a single building site. No cozy, open café or restaurant. Everything is closed.

We drive on towards Sant Francesc de Formentera, the administrative center, considered the capital and most important town on the island. We are sure to get something for breakfast here. - But we don't find a nice café here either. But we do find an Eroski. Perhaps not our first choice among the supermarkets, but hunger is hunger. So we have breakfast on a wall in front of the supermarket.

Refreshed, we head west along the PM-820. Our destination is lighthouse no. 3 - Far de la Mola - 38°39'48.2″N 1°35'01.5″E - on the easternmost cape of Formentera. But before that, we stop once again at Restaurante El Mirador - 38°40'10.2″N 1°31'46.1″E - which is also still closed. Nevertheless, we enjoy the fantastic view of the island from the veranda. Then we come to the lighthouse, which was designed by Emili Pou y Bonet in 1861. The "beacon" is 142m above the sea and bears the number E-0250 - at first an oil lamp was used. It was not until 1970 that it was converted to electric light.

If you want to look over the edge of the cliff, you should be free from giddiness. The 120 meters alone are already enormous. But the deep blue of the ocean adds to the feeling of height. Sitting here and looking out over the sea is tremendous.

But we don't just want to see lighthouses. Formentera's beaches are legendary. But the next stop is Es Caló, with its beautiful natural harbor. - The former fishing village has a long tradition! - In Roman times, Es Caló de Sant Agustí was the only port on the island. Today, there are only a few fishermen who sail out from here. The village is also known for its fine sandy beach, Ses Platgetes, which is around 100 m long and 25 m wide. - But we are looking for something more beachy. So we continue on our way.

We not only find the perfect beach - 38°40'00.7″N 1°30'32.8″E - but also the perfect bench. It is located at Platja Es Arenals, at kilometer 11 - this is how I imagined Formentera to be and nothing else. - It doesn't matter that the Flipper & Chiringuito beach club, which is probably very cool in summer, is not open. - On the contrary, we enjoy the peace and quiet on the deserted, white sandy beach. The perfect time to cool off in the water. - A little siesta now, but lunch is still missing.

But the sun is shining and there is no wind for the first day in weeks - if you like long, solitary walks along the sandy beach, then this is the place for you. - The photos on Flipper & Chiringuito's website show that it's a good place to be even in summer.

Torgit has dozed off a little, but I want to keep going. - There are still two things I definitely want to see on Formentera. I head south-west via the PMV-820-1. - Here - 38°38'28.0″N 1°23'21.9″E - is not only the southernmost point of the Balearic archipelago - it's also the southernmost point of the island of Formentera - but also the westernmost cape of Formentera. Why do I want to go here? This is Cabo de Barbaria, the third lighthouse on Formentera and No. 4 on today's tour. - There is conflicting information about the height of the lighthouse, so we'll leave it at no. E-0251. Its exposed location on the over 100m high rocky coast in the middle of a nature reserve with archaeological sites supposedly makes it a magnet for tourists and hikers. And this is probably where you can watch the most beautiful sunset on the island. - We will probably only be able to admire it on our next visit. According to legend, this lighthouse was dedicated to the 'barbarians' due to its proximity to the African coast. It has been used as a location in numerous films. - Nearby is the 18th century watchtower ("Torre"). - I sit on the edge for a moment and look out at the deep blue. This reminds me of footage from the movie "The Big Blue" in Germany "Im Rausch der Tiefe". A feature film by French director Luc Besson. Yes, it's getting a bit long in the tooth. But a cult movie, not only among divers.

We make our way back to the north. We stop once again in Sant Francesc de Formentera - if there's no breakfast, perhaps a late lunch will do. - Again, we don't find what we're looking for. There are two places open, but both seem to be more geared towards drinking. - So we don't. - We continue north. Our destination is the Platja de Ses Illetes. We park at the Es Ministre beach bar - 38°45'22.7″N 1°26'05.7″E. It doesn't bother us that the Tripadvisor ratings are subterranean and the restaurant is ranked no. 210 out of 215 restaurants in Formentera, because it's closed anyway. - Today it offers the perfect parking space for a visit to the beach. - While Torgit has chosen Platja Es Arenals as her beach on Formentera, this is my beach recommendation. Unsurprisingly, it is 315 degrees north-west. - Playa de ses Illetes is located at the north-western end of the island. The dune landscape can not only keep up with Sylt, it tops it. It is not without reason that it is considered one of the most beautiful and prominent beaches on the island and also one of the most popular. - There is not much evidence of this today. A few visitors, including naturist sun worshippers, enjoy the solitude. - Torgit enjoys the last rays of sunshine, I "wander" around a bit.

This beach, which has already been voted one of the most beautiful beaches in Europe and number 6 of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world, inspires me more and more. - Turquoise blue on both sides, very, very cool. Yes, this is how I imagine the Maldives. I would have loved to swim over to the next island. - But it's about 300 meters, not for the cold season. So I go back to Torgit. The only guests that come close to us now are two seagulls. - It's time to leave.

We head back to la Savina. - We've probably allowed a little too much time. We arrive at the quay thirty minutes early - but our ferry is already there and we are allowed on board. Somehow it looked a lot more modern this morning. - We look for a seat. One or two passengers join us. At this time of day, there seem to be a lot of workmen, refuse collectors etc. on the ferry. - It leaves suddenly. Why so early? - We later realize that this is the slow ferry. - When we arrive in Ibiza over an hour later, the ferry we should have taken is already in the harbor. - I just think, this is simply not our day. - Can it get any worse? - Yes, it can.

When we arrive at Hector, our VW Bulli, the door opens, but at the same time the alarm goes off. Has the car been broken into? Thank goodness not. But I must have forgotten to switch off the lights. The starter battery is flat. The alarm system runs on separate batteries. Opening the door when the battery is flat or disconnected triggers the alarm. This is alarmingly loud. This doesn't seem to bother anyone in the dark IKEA parking lot. Not even when we examine the car with flashlights. - At the same time, another electronic immobilizer is activated. - On our first tour, experienced campers gave us the following advice, which proves to be true today. "Electricity is the death of the camper!" - I took precautions back then. - We have a battery pack on board. After I bypassed the immobilizer (don't ask me how - it's a Kai Stüven Alarmtechnik secret), we can use the battery pack. We succeed at the second attempt. The engine starts. We can charge again. - We decide to drive north towards Benirras during the night. It's better to have friends nearby in case the battery plays a trick on us tomorrow.

Conclusion of the day: Formentera at this time of year is a dream for anyone who likes nature and secluded beaches. Provided you want to be completely self-sufficient. - Our mistake was that we once again listened to the naysayers. They kept telling us that you couldn't get to the island in a Cali. Funnily enough, we saw some on the way. If we'd had it with us, we would certainly have stayed a day or two longer. - So pack a snack and visit the island, even at the beginning of March.

PS: Somehow the karma, Formentera and me didn't work out today. So dear Sabine, it remains your island. But I can well understand what you love about it.