"There are closing parties, and then there are real closing parties" I reminded a my friend Jo recently when she contacted me in the last week of September.
She'd found a cheap return flight to Ibiza from the UK and wanted to come over and stay for a few days with her friend Beth. However, she was under the misguided belief that Ibiza is well and truly shuts from the first week in October.
"But there will be nothing to do" she claimed, "It won't be sunny, nothing's open and we won't be able to go to the beach" she continued.
I told Jo to put her faith in Ibiza, book a flight and come over. £40 return was too good a bargain to miss for a break on the White Isle.
Just why do people think that Ibiza shuts at the end of September?
Wise folks know that October is probably one of the best months to visit here. Sometime a bit 'hit and miss' weather wise, the October of 2013 has been glorious. The sun shining high, but not with the same intensity as July and August. The beaches are still open and so are some of the most popular beach clubs.
Sure, the island pace of the high season has slowed down but there is still plenty to offer.
"Welcome to Ibiza." I said to Jo and Beth as we walked from the arrivals hall into a bright, sunny and comfortably warm mid-October day.
"What's the plan?" enquired Beth.
"There is none." I replied. "The best way to enjoy a long weekend in Ibiza is not to have a plan. Let the island guide you around".
First stop. The beach. Driving home to unpack and decide what to wear was not on the cards.
Not a moment to lose.
Cala Conta was the first stop. An almost empty beach greeted us. Quiet and peaceful. The music from the nearby Sunset Ashram drifted in the air. We stripped off and ran over clean, white and near deserted sand into the crystal clear waters of the still warm Mediterranean Sea.
Later, over a small beer at Sunset Ashram, my phone alerted me to a message. Friends on the island were intending to visit the closing of Sa Trinxa beach. Would I like to join them?.
"You see," I said, telling them about the message, "no need to make plans here."
With the suitcases still in the boot of the car we headed for Ses Salinas.
A normally crowded and noisy place during the peak summer months, we walked bare foot along the sand, passing a scattering of sunbathers and children playing freely with bat and ball. The car park was virtually empty and more importantly free, the car park wardens having shut shop a few weeks before.
A 'cool vibe' greeted the three of us when we reached Sa Trinxa. There could've been no more than forty people sat on the beach, and around twenty people in the beach club.
Ordering a jug of Sangria, we joined my friends who were already sat on the sand. As the music of Jonny Sa Trinxa filled the air, we sipped our wine-based summer beverage. The sun slowly set behind the peninsula, bringing to a close a magical day.
That weekend also included watching live bands at the 'Octoberfest' street party in San Rafael, a trip across the bay in a ferry, and enjoying good food at top-class eateries around San Antonio.
Oh, and plenty of sunbathing on the beach.
"I take it all back." said Jo as I dropped her and Beth at the airport "Can I come back same time next year?"
Just a minute.
Images: by Just a Minute as he toured Ibiza in October with his friends.
