With temperatures still hitting 17 - 21 degrees, there's a wonderful ambience of content in the air here on the island. The locals are pretty much in holiday mode. Relaxed and smiling, this part of the year really is a gift after the hectic summer months have come to an end. I, for one, have been embracing this extended Autumnal weather and using the time to spend as much time in the sun whilst catching up with mates who I've missed during the season, eating and looking after the body I so brutally disrespected just a few paltry months ago.
Monday - Recovery Day
After a couple of late nights and perhaps the odd chupito of hierbas with the gang, it's time to treat my poor body in a more deserving fashion. The Nutribullet is getting a hammering at the moment. Mercado Viejo, the old fruit and vegetable market in Ibiza's Old Town, just next to the Dalt Vila ramp, is right next to my house and opens at 7:30am, so I pass by for some fresh seasonal fruit to blitz up and enjoy on my roof terrace whilst taking in the calm of the port.
Tuesday - Up at sunrise for a run
Just a couple of dog walkers on my route down to Playa d'en Bossa along the Figueretes promenade. The sand is bathed in a warm golden glow and I can't help but feel lucky to be awake at this early hour and appreciating the island in such a raw form. On the way back I spot a couple of mates reading the paper at The Croissant Show so I stop for a quick coffee and a catch up with Andres, the bonkers French proprietor, and we admire his unmistakable moustache for a while whilst dissecting the summer season 2015.
Wednesday - An innocent coffee
Coffee that turns out to be a long and leisurely lunch with a bunch of friends! Went up to Santa Gertrudis to meet a friend and the square was positively heaving! Practically every table outside every bar and cafe was taken and there was a happy buzz in the air as locals enjoyed each other's company in the unexpected November heat. We were lucky enough to bag a table in the sun outside Ulivans by the church and as my mate and I chatted away, we were gradually joined by 3 other separate buddies who just happened to be passing by with the same idea. Cue a long lunch of tostadas and salads to share, along with a couple of bottles of crisp white wine. And for under a tenner each. Perfection!
Thursday - Zen day
After a day catching up on emails and Skype meetings with clients, I drive over to San Jordi for a Candlelight Yoga session with my yoga group. Yoga and meditation becomes a big part of balancing life during the winter and there are plenty of classes of varying sizes, styles and for every level across the island. I have been coming to Carina Bo's class for a couple of years now and love the calming sessions in her beautiful villa overlooking the Salinas salt flats.
Friday - Dining club
A couple of mates of mine, David Beynon and Marco Pierre White trained chef Tim Payne have just started a genius dining club called the clandesDine Kitchen. They invite a group of foodie friends to their stunningly authentic Ibizan finca in the hills, and cook them a mind-blowing 4-course dinner which is served outside on huge wooden tables on their terrace. The ethos is to use locally sourced food and to provide an unusual and perfectly executed fine-dining experience. This Friday was the first of the winter and did not disappoint. It was great to see some familiar food-loving faces around the two tables and the menu included line-caught hake in a lightly spiced mussel broth, seared yellow fin tuna, saffron vegetables and an aubergine puree, and a deconstructed chocolate orange cheesecake for dessert. At just €45 per head and you bring your own booze, this is simply not to be missed. And it just so happens to be my mate's birthday celebrations so with 8 girlies around a table, volume levels and irrepressible cackles were hitting maximum. But it's home to bed relatively early feeling contentedly stuffed and remarkably impressed, sides splitting from excessive eating and ridiculous amounts of sordid banter.
Saturday - Girl's Night Out
A prospective night out at Pikes usually makes me giddy with excitement but also makes my liver quiver a tad as there's no such thing as a quiet night at Pikes. This week one of my old mates Lisa Chadderton took to the decks with her pal Kellie Allen for a ‘Girl's Night Out'. Starting off in the courtyard restaurant, Paco Fernandez serenaded us with a few badass tunes over dinner before we headed indoors for a night of disco and classic house. Not entirely sure what time I stumbled out of there. Pikes tends to have a habit of making time stand still. And they intend to put a party on every Saturday this winter. OOF.
Sunday - Foody film day
A lovely long walk on Salinas beach to blow away some hierbas based cobwebs, followed by a massive roast chicken with one of my best mates and next door neighbour, before settling in front of Netflix for the night. Zzzzz.
More tales of Ibiza's winter next week...
WORDS | Leena Sharma
