As part of their 10th Anniversary celebrations, Toby Clarke and his team of experienced guides at Walking Ibiza are circumnavigating the entire coastline of Ibiza. Over 10 consecutive weekends, we will explore the island as we have never seen it before and to enjoy views and experience moments that we will never forget.
‘Around the Island in 10 Walks' will build up into a definitive guide to the coastline of Ibiza that we hope will inspire you to explore the island on foot. It's still not too late to join in each epic stage.
STAGE 4: CALA COMTE to cala salada
After scaling mountainous heights of up to 400 metres the previous weekend, Stage 4 turned out to be, as organiser Toby described it, ‘a walk in the park' by comparison. But, despite a welcome lack of steep climbs, our 23km walk from Cala Comte to Cala Salada would pack no less of a punch in ‘pinch-me' moments stakes. Stunning views, dazzling waters, dramatic cliff formations and adrenalin-pumping rock climbing - our adventure continued true to form!
OLIVIA EBELING TAKES UP THE STORY…
Since we started out on the Around the Island In 10 Walks series of weekly hikes, it has become a little game of mine to try to gauge how challenging the route ahead will be based on Toby's ‘word of the day'. Following after ‘adventure', ‘trust' and ‘acceptance' (acceptance of a solid 30km trek on Stage 3, that is!), this week's mantra, ‘Flexibility', seemed to promise an easier experience.
For the first time in four Saturdays, the weather was living up to the time of year and we set off from a foggy, windy Cala Comte. The world-famous turquoise waters next to us were in turmoil as we worked our way along this iconic part of the sunset coast. A drizzling rain added to the moody ambience of the morning, but our group remained undeterred, happily catching up with our fellow walkers of previous weeks.
After a gentle start, we reached a hidden cove and the first climb of the day. The azure waters were set off against a cloudy grey sky, but at least it had stopped raining – just as well, as we had some slick rockfaces to navigate! We passed a deserted but beautiful Cala Bassa, and soon after – shrouded by a smattering of fog - the unmistakeable outline of San Antonio's Sunset Strip and harbour appeared on the horizon.
Before reaching town, we stopped at an abandoned stone quarry similar to the famous Atlantis. Although much smaller than its better-known sibling, it made for a fascinating sight and we were lucky to have island expert and Walking Ibiza guide Simon with us, who explained why this particular stone was used to build the historic old city, D'alt Vila.
With lunchtime approaching, Toby knew he had little chance of containing us coffee addicts surrounded by the temptations of ‘the big city' and let us loose on a generous 1.5 hours break to find our preferred lunch spot in San Antonio. With perfect timing, the skies cleared up and the sun came out. We strolled along the bustling marina and soaked up the sunshine over coffee and a few cheeky beers. Winter weekends in Ibiza are just glorious!
Alas, the best was yet to come! Having successfully rounded up the group, Toby led us out of the town past the beautiful Cala Gració and – an Ibiza lover's favourite – Cala Gracioneta. The colour of the water was simply incredible, a bright and crystal-clear turquoise. But as it was still fairly windy, we resisted a swim stop and continued our way up the coast towards Punta Galera.
Dubbed the ‘head of the crocodile' by some locals, the striking rock formation makes for one of the island's most impressive views as it reaches out into the sea like a sleeping reptile. We were delighted when Toby revealed that we could actually walk out onto the rock platform. “I feel so free,” laughed one of my fellow hikers as we reached the end of the sleeping crocodile and threw her arms into the air.
By now we were not far from Cala Salada, but Toby still had a surprise up his sleeve! After climbing through otherworldly shapes of golden sandstone that made us feel like we were on another planet, we eventually reached what looked like a bohemian shrine at first glance. Flowers, hand-written signs with thought-provoking messages, offerings of fruit and – of course – vino tinto had us curiously inspecting the site and home to one of Ibiza's more eccentric residents.
Cala Salada was the final stop, and we descended onto this well-known stretch of sand with glee. Some of us jumped straight into the sea to cool off after a good eight hours of walking, while others went to investigate whether the local bar might be open. It was not, so we settled for good stretch, led by yoga teacher and avid Around the Island walker Saskia instead.
After four weeks of walking together, it felt surprisingly natural as our stretching circle all of a sudden turned into a ‘sharing circle'. Toby invited us – one by one – to share our thoughts on the theme of the day (‘flexibility', remember?) and the walk we had just completed.
Having finally tracked down some well-deserved finishing line drinks, Toby began to ponder his ‘word of the day' for next week. “I'm thinking ‘epic',” he mused. "Hmmm… on a scale from 1 to 'legs-on-fire', what level of challenging might that translate to?" I immediately wondered. Will YOU join us to find out?
Click here to follow the story as it continues to Stage 5.
Words: Olivia Ebeling & Tim Dackombe
