Insanity in Ibiza
Trip Start
Jan 14, 2009
1
29
34
Trip End
Jun 07, 2009
Ibiza, Balearic Islands, Spain and Canary Islands
Thursday, April 16, 2009
We were the first two scheduled to make it our villa that we agreed to rent with 8 other dudes from Wash U. We weren't so sure we got this place and if it was going to be sketchy or not. When we arrived at the airport, we took a cab a Go-Kart place in San Antonio, a city outside of Ibiza City itself. After waiting a few minutes in the pouring ran, a small, white van that looked like a toy car to me at the time pulls up to us. Some guy Josh walks out and begins helping me put my bag into his lunch-box sized trunk. Amidst this fun, an ACTUAL truck rolls by, but in the process, splashes my entire body, head to toe, with rain water accrued over the past few hours on the curb of the street. Just another inauspicious start to a Jake Bernstein Adventure.
However, once we arrive at the villa, we knew it was legit. Although it was raining, we could tell we were getting our money's worth without question. We were a little bit from town, meaning a convenience store, but the wife of the owner gave us a ride down there. We grabbed some food and other things for the week. Since we got up early in the morning and it was raining, we decided to sleep the rest of the afternoon as we awaited our friend Jack's arrival. Once he arrived, we made a few drinks in celebrating of reuniting old friends and fraternity brothers as well. A Wash U friend of mine Danielle was also staying on the island, and she had some friends as well. We invited them over, and had a little 'food and drink' gathering that proved to be a fun first night in Ibiza, including a late-night, but invigorating dive in the pool and listening to TV music channel that featured the best song ever-each and every Euro club mix song.
The next day we woke up, and thankfully, the weather was beautiful. We sat out by the pool, taking in some sun, sharing some laughs and having a few drinks. I, of course, remained my arrogant self and did not put sunscreen on in order to maximize my tan-ness for the remaining semester. I would...
Later that evening, we showered and went to a Tex-Mex restaurant that was a little bit overpriced, but compensated due to the big beers and oversized sombreros...It's an oversized hat; it's funny (Celebrity Jeopardy-Burt Reynolds / Terd Ferguson). Once we got done with dinner and walked about 25 minutes back to our villa, all the rest of the guys from London had arrived and we decided to get a little rowdy before hitting up a club. We went to a club called Pachá, which is actually a chain of clubs in Spain. Luckily, perhaps because it was in the off-season, we did not have to pay a cover, which usually run from 30-60 euros (aka $50-$100). We proceeded to dance our faces off till late at night, raging to some European techno with an absurd amount of bass while semi-clothed dancers pranced around the stage. We walked out of the club around 4:30 am, only to still find a huge line packed with people ready to party until 10 am then ext morning most likely. Eventually, we all hitched cabs back to the villa. [Note: Jon and I are the only 2 guys out of 12 that speak Spanish so getting around EVERYWHERE was squarely on our shoulders]. Even so the guys from London were impressed, and I felt like my Spanish had greatly progressed (I am also a masterful poet based on that rhyme right there).
Friday, we all woke up around 1 pm since we had gone to bed severely late in the morning/night, whichever you want to call it. We made our way out towards the 'famous' beaches that we had read and heard so much about. Once arriving there on a semi-cloudy afternoon, we enjoyed the sand on a relatively small, but apparently famous beach where celebrities are usually crawling during summer season. Although it was unexpected, in the grand scheme of things, it was a pleasant beach and very relaxing. On our way back (which was about an hour process) we ran into a 2nd crew of Wash U girls who we knew were staying in Ibiza. We all hitched the same bus back to San Antonio in search for a supermarket, but soon realized that it was Good Friday and practically everything was closed. Nevertheless, we did find a place where we could buy supplies in preparation of celebrating my 2 friends' (Jack and Eric) 21st birthdays.
We all made it back to the villa, and began preparing for the evening of eventual debauchery for some us. We went to a club called Eden, but perhaps in good fortune, there were not many people there as some of our friends 'went over the top' in their pre-gaming. We actually left the club for a little while where I feverishly tried to hale down some cabs so we could make our way home. Eventually, we all made it there, except for the fact that I haled down a random Spanish girl to take us up the hill to our villa for a small fee. Let's put it this way: Eric needed a bed quickly. Either way, both recent 21-year-olds made it through the night alive.
The next day we leisurely rolled out of bed, not trying to do anything is the weather was gross outside, featuring a little bit of rain. To make it interesting, 3 of us (Nolan, Jeff, and myself) created "challenges" that resulted in liquid rewards throughout the day, which kept us busy to say the least. Later that evening, the Wash U crew of all girls came over and collectively, we all made our own batches of food, ranging from pizza to pasta to hamburgers on our charcoal grill outside. The weather cleared up a little, and some of us soaked up the magnificent, majestic, and magnanimous view outside of our villa. I, as I do on a weekly basis, remind myself that I am in some exotic or alternative place other than the United States (i.e. St. Louis, Palm Harbor, Maine, etc;), and it just makes me feel like I am experience life as best I can.
As the night went on, we continued our festivities at the villa and eventually wound up at a club called Es Paradis (It's Paradise). It was definitely one of the cooler clubs I had ever seen, yet semi-scarce of people only because it was the off-season. Of course, we still managed to have a great time, dancing our faces off and raging to heart-thumping techno mega-bass. We eventually all made it back to the villa, once again, some of us parting ways the next day. For Jon, Jack, and myself we realized we did Spring Break right. We went to an exotic, beach location with an awesome crew that absolutely rocked out for the few days that we inhabited the party capital of the world. I. Love. Abroad.
