May 4 - Ibiza, Spain

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Today we arrived at Ibiza, the third largest of the Balearic Islands.  It lies about 93 miles east of Valencia.  The island was settled by the Phoenicians, followed by the Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Moors and finally Christian Spaniards.  In other words all the usual suspects have had control of the place.  It’s a small island, roughly 10 times the size of Manhattan.  It appears that the principal industry is tourism and Ibiza is well known for its nightclubs, discos and party life.  In fact it is supposedly the place where electronic “techno” music originated.

We didn’t arrange for a tour today.  The options were limited and mostly involved beaches or 4 X 4 things, neither of which appealed to us.  As it turns out the weather was not totally cooperative for those things either.  It was cloudy and occasionally did a little misting.

We slept late, had a leisurely breakfast  and then took the shuttle bus into the little boat harbor which is close to the city center and old town.  We wandered the streets for a while.  It appeared that many shops were closed.  I wonder if it’s because it isn’t yet the big tourist season.  It’s clear that there are plenty of places to go for partying and nightlife.

Old fort and town

Over the top decorations at a cafe in Ibiza

We eventually found a café that looked nice at the harbor and decided to split a pizza and salad and some wine.  The tables were the size of postage stamps and when the food came Al’s water glass fell and spilled water on his camera.  That little bit killed the camera.  He’s tried drying it with the hair dryer, changing the battery and everything else we could think of to no avail, so the iPhone is now the official photographer.

The food was good and it was interesting people watching.  It never ceases to amaze us that you see every kind of outfit imaginable from the ridiculous to the sublime.  The sky started to look a little threatening so we finished up and headed back on the shuttle.

Today was a special day (a  birthday) and our cabin stewardess had decorated the cabin with balloons, candles, towel animals and a big banner.  There were cards from a variety of ship officers. We had dinner at the alternative restaurant, the Thomas Keller Grill and enjoyed a great meal and a lovely bottle of wine.  When we got back to our cabin there was a birthday cake waiting.  All in all it was a great day and Seabourn did a wonderful job helping us celebrate.

Balloons in our cabin

Birthday Dinner

Cake and a towel elephant

The last couple of photos aren't the best.  We killed Al's camera and somehow I've done something to my iPhone so it won't transfer my pictures to iPhoto so I can't edit them.  Oh well, I see a visit to the Genius Bar at the Apple Store when I get home.

Tomorrow is a sea day. Hurray!