Santa Eulalia

Today was the day we decided to take the ferry up the coast to Santa Eulalia. Carole's not great on boats, especially small ones, but the water in the bay has been exceptionally calm since the storm on Saturday so it felt like worth the risk.

We wandered over to the little jetty we'd visited earlier in the week and before long a busy boat chugged in. We sat and watched smugly as it was ten minutes before ours was due and this one was clearly going to Ibiza town in the opposite direction, but even so several other tourists herded themselves onboard before being shepherded off again.

We were soon underway on the right boat, leaving our hotel behind as we zipped over the calm waters in the bay. But once we reached the headland, the strong currents of the Meditteranean hit the boat hard making it roll heavily in the water. This set the scene for the rest of the journey up the coast and Carole was not impressed.

Santa Eulalia is a much bigger resort and first impressions from the water are impressive. The seafront here is a good couple of miles long, with plenty of bars, cafes and restaurants in between the apartments, and in the middle is a very browsable market.

There was plenty to explore and further along we found some trees to give us some shelter from the strong sun - and it's only May! Being all-inclusive at the hotel, they had prepared a picnic for us to take with us, and amongst the palms with a view across the sea we found a picturesque place to eat it.

In the picnic bag we found rolls, cooked meats and salami, cheese, pate, apples and, a little bizarrely, a tin of tuna, which wasn't so easy to identify when still in its box - I wondered if it was that weird cheese with the maggots in, but that's just me being a paranoid Englishman abroad (apparently that's Corsica not Ibiza).

We then visited the markets where Carole successfully haggled for a couple of bracelets - typical souvenirs for the holidaymakers. Heading back towards the jetty where the boat came in, we spotted a bar selling a fantastic selection of ice creams, and sitting outside there was a good view along the beach and the turquoise sea.

Suitably refreshed, we then visted the large harbour, full of rich people's toys, some of which were for sale (if you have at least €500,000 spare). This was a tranquil yet sophisticated part of town and is clearly a stopping off point for people on sailing holidays. Almost twenty years ago I had a couple of fantastic sailing holidays around some of the Greek islands in the Aegean, and this place brought back lots of memories.

Eventually it was time to make our way back for the ferry, and before long we were on our way back. The sea was just as choppy and again the waves were hitting the boat from the side, making it roll severely. Carole was mightily relieved to be back on dry land.

Back in the hotel, we'd booked a meal tonight in the hotel's Japanese restaurant, one of three evenings over the course of the week where we could eat in one of the hotel's two themed restaurants. This was a new experience for us so when we saw the menu listing a series of cold sushi and another of hot, we weren't sure what to do!

With the waiter's help we made our selections (seemingly it's one dish from each list per person), but whilst the food was delicious and beautifully presented it didn't particularly fill us up. At least there was a dessert course (fried banana - eastern cuisine doesn't really do desserts) and this just about filled us up. Lovely food and a great experience (although being outdoors in the evening was bracing), but perhaps not one we'll try again.

Back indoors, tonight's entertainment was a one-man show by a chap named Jesus. But after a couple of numbers where he alternated between playing a synthesizer, 'singing' and running in and out of the audience so that he could give himself applause we decided it wasn't for us so we upped and left and took our drinks back to our room to relax after our hectic day.