Luckily I am one of those people who enjoy cruising around the Med listening to a selection of classic house tracks and dance-floor bangers - don't we all? So, spending a day darting from Playa d'en Bossa to San Antonio to ensure that I made it onto both of the Tuesday Pukka Up boat parties was a mission which I was willing to take on.
Having only been on the Playa d'en Bossa boat once before, I was a little more excited to see how the 350 strong vessel was getting on approaching the mid-season madness. As expected it was a sell-out event and with a more mixed crowd than the San An gang, it was nice to see the people of the world gelling together over a free glass of bubbly at Plastik Beach Bar. I was a little surprised - but in no means complaining, that a Pukka Up branded bus arrived to pick us up and transport us to the jetty - a pretty short stroll away. Arriving in style and admittedly a little sweaty from the cosy bus trip down there, I hurried towards the boat which sat in the picturesque waters between the beaches of Figueretas and Playa d'en Bossa.
Although the Playa d'en Bossa gang are only able to host one boat, they made up for it in size as it was considerably bigger than those which depart from San Antonio, in fact adding a more elite and exclusive vibe to the party. This only heightened once we set sail and I was able to enjoy the sounds of Cream resident DJ Adam Sheridan who was joined by percussionist Ian - plus his insanely talented finger tips and electronic drums. We were even treated to a couple of special guest DJs such as Jodee Kitch who took charge of the cabin booth with some warm progressive house beats which occasionally crossed over to some techier sounds.
Arriving back at 5pm after 3 hours of a slightly grittier Pukka Up experience I only had an hour to make it back to San Antonio and onto another boat... Making it with a little time to spare, I was of course greeted by a swarm of tourists on arrival eagerly waiting to board one of the 6 boats which were lined-up along the harbour. Catering to a more typical Pukka Up crowd of attractive ladies sporting pink bikini's and pouts to match closely followed by a mass of lads grinning from ear to ear, the San An party was obviously going to be a more lively one.
With a much larger work force, fleet and market compared to Playa d'en Bossa, the San Antonio party and crowd proved that Pukka Up are clearly having one of their best season's yet; which left me to wonder whether they would be able to maintain the experience across so many boats. Each set off armed with a resident DJ, gimmicks and a couple of Pukka Up IT Girls and faded into the distance as they parties to the backdrop of stunning views. Blaring out classics from the likes of Avicii and Swedish house Mafia, Pukka Up know what their clientele want, and it is a fun and uplifting package.
Several Kopperburgs later and the party was over, with the Pukka Up fleet docked it was time for the after-party before 'THE after-party' to kick off. Flocking to the new Pukka Up Ibiza bar for a drink or two gave everybody a chance to cool down, spruce up and board the buses ready for Carl Cox's 'The Revolution Recruits' party at Space. A little sceptical about having to be in the club before 11pm I was hoping to sneak in a little later, but instead I bit the bullet and dove straight into the Sunset Terrace where I caught a blinding set from Wildkats and Krankbrothers before heading up to see main Pukka Up resident DJ, Sam Walker hosting a busy Premier Etage.
After a full day in the blazing hot sun I had successfully stomped around to some tech infused beats on the Playa d'en Bossa boat, waved my arms in the air like an excitable child to more proggy-electro sounds in San Antonio as the sun set and now I was almost ready to lay my head down and catch some zzz's. But not before checking out Coxy and his fierce line-up - which remains one of the best in Ibiza from week to week, let's just say I left Space (and Pukka Up) a very happy and rather sun-kissed girl - although definitely ready for bed!
