Honeymoon at Ibiza, October 2022

Our summer holiday this year was also our honeymoon. It was also a first time for us and our child, as we had always flown alone before.
This circumstance had already “limited” us in advance in the choice of destination, as we did not know how our child would react to flying. Therefore, the maximum flight time was set to 2 hours by us, as it is well known that you’re supposed to spend a few more hours at the airports. The choice was either one of the Greek islands or the Balearic Islands. Since we had already been to Crete in 2019 just as a couple, the choice then fell on the Balearics, Ibiza to be precise.

A more detailed holiday blog will be found in the following, in which travelling with a toddler will also be discussed from time to time.
Here are all 375 photos of our Ibiza holiday that have been found suitable for the internet. For all those who don’t feel like reading or just like looking at photos – follow the link.

For all others who are interested, this is where the holiday blog begins. Theoretically, there should be something to report on every day – sometimes more, sometimes less.

Flight to Ibiza – Tuesday, 04.10.2022

Common with air travel, you spend a lot of time waiting and waiting and waiting and…..
Since the airport in Salzburg, which is closer, was unfortunately not available as a departure airport from our travel provider, we first had to drive to Munich airport.
As with other flights from Munich, we parked the car at a nearby valet and were taken directly to the right terminal. In good faith that the navigation system would lead us directly to the parking service, we were allowed to do a little sightseeing tour before we actually arrived at the actual place.
On the one hand, the valet service has the advantage that we didn’t have to drag all our luggage across the airport grounds, but we also didn’t have to worry about horrendous parking costs.

Experiences at Munich Airport

As occasional flyers, we first had to find out how to get our tickets and get rid of our bulky luggage. Led by anticipation, we then unknowingly went to the wrong waiting area. Actually, we could have gone straight through security after dropping off our luggage and then passed the time in the security area. By chance, it turned out that we would never have flown to Ibiza from our waiting area. Our gate was indicated as D, so we also went to the D waiting area. In fact, however, access to gate D is via the security check in area C.

We waited in the waiting area between D and E (red circle on the left) – but access to the D gates is via area C (on the right).

As there was still plenty of time before boarding, we were in no hurry.
After some time of waiting, boarding began. As on our previous flights, we dutifully joined the “wood class” queue. A nice fellow passenger had then pointed out to us that our tickets entitled us to pre-boarding because of our young children. So we were able to board and take our seats without much waiting time. Of course, this had the disadvantage that we had to wait for ages until everyone had taken their seats. Meanwhile, our child was already busily practising boredom. And that although we still had a little more than 2 hours of flying time ahead of us.

Arrival in Ibiza

Fortunately, the flight went without any incidents worth mentioning. Of course, our child did not want to sleep the whole time. A few minutes before landing, tiredness won out.

Landing with the last rays of sun in Ibiza.

After a short wait at the baggage carousel, we finally received all the necessary documents and information from the tour guide at the airport.
It was already 8pm and we were exhausted and tired from the exhausting day. Our shuttle bus to the hotel had to wait for a delayed flight, so we arrived at the hotel at 8:45 pm. It had been several hours since our last meal and our offspring were increasingly hungry. So I took care of the check-in at the hotel, wife and child went to the buffet, which actually closes at 21:00. Fortunately, the restaurant manager was very obliging and let us eat at the buffet.

Acclimatisation – Wednesday, 05.10.2022

Recovered from the exertions of the previous day, we first familiarised ourselves with the hotel complex in daylight.

Of course, the way to the beach had to be scouted out immediately.
We wanted to spend a lot of time there over the next few days.

Sandstone-like (?) rock layers with formations eroded by rain and wind.

Public sandy beach directly at the foot of the hotel.

There were several sailing ships and catamarans anchored directly in front of the bay.

The bad weather at home quickly caught up with us again – around noon a short but heavy rain started, so that it was too cold to go to the sea in the afternoon.
We knew that in October it rains on average – according to climate table on Wikipedia – about 5 to 6 days. Of course, we didn’t expect the rain to start on our first full day of holiday.
The sun did not manage to dispel the clouds on this day. Earlier than expected, we went to the evening buffet.

On the way back from the restaurant to our room, the path inevitably led past the hotel bar.
Since we had all drinks included, of course one or the other drink was tried, of which one would not get a whole bottle to try at home.

Explorations – Thursday, 06.10.2022

On this day, it didn’t look like there was a realistic chance of at least an afternoon at the beach.
After lunch, I therefore decided to explore the area, especially the surrounding coast.
Meanwhile, the wife and child had a great time at the hotel’s playground.

Dried-up river beds despite rainfall

According to the map of the area, the photo just shown should actually be the riverbed of the “Torrent de Sa Fontassa”, shortly before it then flows into the sea.
However, this obviously non-water-bearing riverbed is rather used as a parking facility for beach guests.
The huge amount of rubbish of all kinds in the river bed suggests that the river course here very rarely carries any water at all.
The name of this river, however, suggests something rather frightening: Torrent de Sa Fontassa or, in German, roughly Torrent of Sa Fontassa.
Presumably the name is historical from a time when there was still regular rainfall on Ibiza or when the source of the river had not yet dried up.
This assumption is at least obvious, because there are some rivers that have “torrent” in their name.
Ibiza is affected by the decline of the groundwater level due to the increase in tourism. This problem is increasingly being counteracted with seawater desalination plants.
Our hotel is apparently supplied by such a plant, because the tap water had a slightly salty aftertaste.

But now back to the actual topic – the exploration tour along the coast.

Bilck from the restaurant “Ses Eufàbies” onto the bay.

Simple shelters of the local fishermen for their boats.

The morning’s hope for at least a sunny and warm afternoon was completely dashed shortly after noon at the latest.
Rain set in again. This time, however, the sun seemed to have the upper hand, because after only a short time, you could see the clouds dissipate and the deep blue sky emerge.

A little later, when we arrived back at the hotel, it was revealed what was still to come all night: another rain shower.
This time until the early hours of the following morning. Accordingly, I only took a few photos of the buffet before this day came to an end.

“light rain shower” – Friday, 07.10.2022

As mentioned before, it rained during the night. The rain shower also ended only in the early morning.
Actually, we had planned an excursion for today. Due to the rain during the night and the rather bad weather forecast, we decided to postpone the excursion.

After breakfast, we went to the beach despite the rather cool weather. Due to the cold air temperature and the cold winds coming from the sea, we returned to the hotel after a short time. As it turned out a little later, this was a wise decision, because – who guessed it? – a rain shower started again.
This time so hard that you could see the rain in the photo without any effort:

To make matters worse, all our clothes, which were actually hung out to dry on the terrace, got soaking wet.
After a good 2 hours, the heavy rain ended abruptly and only a little later the sun came out again.
I then spontaneously decided to go down to the beach.
Why?
Already in the morning I had noticed that somewhere down on the beach you could hear water splashing – as if from a mountain spring.
Since it had already rained from yesterday to today and now immense masses of water had come down again, I wanted to investigate the matter.
My expectation was not disappointed as I climbed the partly sharp-edged “stairs” to the top.

We had something planned for tomorrow, so the day ended earlier than usual for us.

Day trip to Eivissa – Saturday, 08.10.2022

We got up that day with an uneasy feeling. Actually, the excursion had already been planned for yesterday and had been postponed by us due to the uncertain weather forecast.
We still had a few days to go for this trip, but we didn’t want to postpone it too often. So we got up early, packed our children and backpacks and off we went to the next bus stop. Luckily there were only a few harmless clouds in the sky and the weather was also pleasantly warm.

Waiting for the bus, we almost suffered another setback to our day trip.
We were horrified to discover that mouth guards were the order of the day on the bus.
It did say on the website of the Foreign Office that this rule applies in public transport.
But neither on the outward flight in the plane or airport, nor in the shuttle bus to the hotel, nor while shopping did we see even one person with their mouth covered.
We were all the more surprised when the bus appeared on the horizon and suddenly all those waiting took out their mouth covers. Well, almost all of them – we didn’t have ours with us.
To our last minute rescue, a family from Scotland came to us and offered to get their replacement mouth coverings.
We had already concluded that we would be able to make our trip. Relieved – and with a residual hope in humanity – we then boarded our first bus towards Eivissa (Ibiza Town). Unfortunately, there was no direct connection from our town, so we had to change to an express bus to Eivissa in Sant Antoni de Portmany.

Around 11 am we finally reached our destination for the day: Eivissa or, as the locals call it, “Villa”.
Like many years ago on our first trip together to Venice, we did very little advance research for Eivissa.
We had our travel guide with us as a backup, but we wanted to explore the city ourselves as much as possible and not go through any tourist hotspots.

A little insight into our highlights in Eivissa

More photos can be found in the gallery.

Port of Eivissa

Monument a la Gent de la Mar (Monument to the People of the Sea)

Obelisc as Corsaris (Obelisk for the Corsairs)

Catedral de la Verge de les Neus o d’Eivissa (Maria Snow Cathedral or simply Santa Maria Cathedral)

View into a small side street.

Mercat Vell – the traditional fruit and vegetable market of Eivissa.

Many small details can be found in the windows….

… or at or over doors

a naturally grown sun and rain protection.

As we had already been travelling for over 6 hours in Eivissa, we decided to find out about the next ride home at the bus station.
For one thing, we were pretty tired by now, our child was understandably no longer in the best of moods, and besides, we didn’t want to miss dinner at the hotel.

Sunset in the “Cala Tarida” – Sunday, 09.10.2022

Today, Sunday, was primarily used to regain our strength. Of course, we didn’t want to go home empty-handed, so we had to buy some souvenirs.
We had already organised part of it the day before in Eivissa. Due to a lack of stowage options, we had to limit ourselves to the bare essentials.
In a tourist region, no problem to get souvenirs etc. even on a Sunday. Some shops are open at least until noon.

One important element of my holiday blogs has been missing so far: the sunset! This evening was one of the first when it was not at least cloudy in the evening.
We took the opportunity to go down to the beach with our camera equipment. The longing for the sunset was evidently felt by some, because the beach was better frequented than on sunny days.

Evening red in Cala Tarida

Humans and animals eagerly await the highlight of the evening.

The last rays of the day before the sun dips.

A day without a title – Monday, 10.10.2022

The start of the new week was relatively unspectacular from a blogger’s point of view, so there’s not really anything to report from that day.
As it was quite windy again, we spent the afternoon at the pool for once.

Short trip to Sant Antoni de Portmany – Tuesday, 11.10.2022

Who would have thought it – it rained again last night. A quick glance at the weather forecast and it was clear: no sun, sand and sea today.
A few days before, my wife had already expressed the wish to go to Sant Antoni de Portmany. Since we didn’t want to sit around in the hotel for another day, it was decided without further ado that this would be the day for the short trip.

As expected, the weather in Sant Antoni de Portmany was no better. Nevertheless, we didn’t let it spoil our mood and explored the city.
Due to lack of mobility and local knowledge, our radius of movement was limited to the area of the city centre. In addition, we could not go too far from the bus station due to the rain clouds moving around. With the onset of rain, we would have gone back to the hotel. Fortunately for us, the weather held out for some time.

Glass-clear water in the natural harbour of Sant Antoni de Portmany.

A “tiny” little house in the midst of the high-rises.

A shower of rain is enough for the sea to flood the mainland in some places.

Back in Cala Tarida at the end of the bus route.

In the evening I noticed that I had not taken a single night photo since our arrival. So the tripod would have come along for nothing so far.
In the evening, our hotel complex was always lit up in different colours, especially in the pool area.
There can hardly be a better template. So without further ado, I packed everything up and went in search of a motif.

Reflection of the illuminated palm trees in the children’s pool.

While I was taking the pictures by the pool, I noticed the almost full moon in the sky. Without thinking twice, I decided to try my luck on the beach.

As it was already relatively late, it was only a matter of time before the next day dawned.
And a few photos later, the time had come – it was Wednesday, 12 October 2022.

Cala Tarida by day and night – Wednesday, 12.10.2022

Totally absorbed in the night shots, I didn’t notice at all that the next day – and thus our last complete day of holiday on the island – had already dawned.

Although I took almost an hour of photos on the beach, in the end there were unfortunately only a few usable photos left.
On the way back to the hotel room, I had to put the camera on the tripod again and take more photos in the hotel area.

At some point, however, it was time to stop after the well-known last photo and to finish the shoot.

In the morning came the routine look at the weather forecast: partly cloudy, mostly sunshine.
This came at the right time for us, because so far we had only discovered a little of our surroundings.
At lunch we then discovered that today is the Fiesta Nacional de España – the Spanish bank holidays.
In keeping with the occasion, there were traditional Spanish dishes and specialities from the region.

In fantastic weather, we explored the surrounding area a little more, while our child took off in the buggy to dreamland.

Excursus: Pityusen lizard vs. horseshoe snake

The pityusen lizard – or wall lizard – also enjoys the sun on Spain’s bank holidays.
They must always be wary of their main predator: the horseshoe snake, which was introduced in the early 2000s and has been multiplying invasively ever since. This is also a concern for local authorities, as the pityosa lizard is a protected species.
The horseshoe snake has no natural enemies on Ibiza – much to the chagrin of the pityusen lizard population, which has declined by about half since the invasion.

To celebrate, another sangria with a view of the sea.

Tomorrow our flight goes back, so the suitcases still had to be packed.

Return to Munich – Thursday, 13.10.2022

Shortly after noon we were picked up by the airport shuttle and taken to Eivissa airport.

For us it was a bit surprising that boarding starts only 30 minutes before departure.
By now we knew that we wouldn’t have to join the queue, as we were allowed to board before everyone else thanks to the child for pre-boarding.

Taxiway of the airport in Eivissa.

Somewhere over the Mediterranean

High above the clouds… freedom must be boundless.

Just under 2 hours later: approach to Munich.
And just like on the outward flight, our child’s eyes closed again shortly before the landing approach.

Approaching Munich Airport

In order not to have to drive for more than 2 hours after the exhausting day, we booked a hotel in advance.
After baggage claim, to which we had to run through the entire Terminal 1, we briefly informed our valet service provider.
Only a few minutes later we were picked up directly at the exit and driven to our car. From the valet it was only a few minutes to the hotel.
So we could then drive back home the next day relaxed and refreshed.

Acclimatisation II – Friday, 14.10.2022

To make the most of the day in Munich, we took our child to the visitors’ park at Munich Airport.
Even now we had to gain the experience that the navigation system is not always right. We became aware of this when we were suddenly standing in front of a gate of the airport with the inscription “security area” with the car.

When we then drove according to signs and on sight, we had reached the visitor park without any problems. Entrance here is free – only the parking ticket is chargeable.
From this visitor park, you can look out over the airport grounds. At the time of our visit, there was a charge for access to the visitor hill.
There is a large children’s playground at the foot of the visitor hill.

Access to these aircraft is also subject to a charge.

Summary of the holiday in Ibiza

Even if it may sound in some places as if the holiday was only marked by bankruptcies, bad luck and mishaps: that was definitely not the case.
Of course, there were one or two things that did not go as hoped.

Looking back, both my wife and I would travel to Ibiza again.
Next time, however, probably again as with most of our holidays only with half board and definitely with a rental car.
We did see some of the island – but there would have been considerably more to see. However, many of these things are inaccessible by public transport.
Either there is simply no connection, or you have to change trains several times, so that a day trip would mainly take place on the bus.

We were surprised how “easy” it is to travel by plane with a child.
Of course, every child behaves differently. Ours is apparently suitable for air travel with a flight time of 2 hours.