Girlie getaway

As teenagers, my sis and I once watched a documentary about Ibiza, the clubber's paradise, and dreamt of going there to party together someday. We saw footage of 'superclubs', with thousands of people dancing like they were in a trance, hypnotised by the music - and we wanted to be part of that. Finally, this year, we got to see it for real! An early birthday celebration for Becca's birthday and a holiday bonding session.

10 JULY - RIDICULOUSLY LATE ARRIVAL

To save money, we (Becca, her long-time friend Susanna and myself) all booked late-night flights on discount airlines, which meant we arrived in Ibiza close to 1am. Then we had to get transfers to our hotel in San Antonio Bay, and find our hotel (without a map) to check in close to 2am. Being centrally located in the heart of the clubbing district, there were thousands of high-spirited revellers, zig-zagging across the streets in drunken states. And although we were all tired and not in the mood (for being hit on and called after), I must admit most of the party animals were well behaved...

We grabbed a bite to eat and some juice for the morning, before heading to bed at our (quite tidy and spacious) fourth-floor apartment.

11 JULY - IBIZA TOWN AND BORA BORA BEACH PARTY

After a cheap and cheerful breakfast, we briefly explored the local streets and markets before catching a local bus into Ibiza Town.

We traipsed around the town getting wonderfully lost, and explored some of the shops (with gorgeous shoes!) before heading to Bora Bora beach. We had to walk a couple of blocks, and on the way Becca and Su bought some lush beach towels. We also found really cheap vodka (8 euro for a litre of Smirnoff), which we mixed with softdrink for the beach party (you can BYO drinks or buy from the bar - but on a budget BYO is the way to go!).

We laid in a gorgeous shady spot, watched people for a while, then had a giggle in the warm, calm water. It was lovely to see a sandy beach again - and go swimming in the sea! Funny what you miss when you've been in London for four months. We spent a great deal of our afternoon chatting with other backpackers, dancing to the 'doof-doof' music on the beach, and swimming. We even met some Spanish boys who were on a buck's night (a fun group who were interested in English-Spanish translations), and saw the cutest black kitten (though it gave Becca a nasty scratch at one stage).

Around 7pm we headed to the amusement park a few blocks back from the beach, where Becca and Su got temporary tattoos on their ankles. Then we had a delish pizza for dinner (which was expensive but so worth it), before heading back to our room. Lici was feeling quite queasy when we got back - and we realised it was probably from drinking the tap water at Bora Bora - recycled sea water that was super-salty to the taste. I had a little snooze while Becca and Su went exploring, and woke a couple of hours later, fully revived and ready to party!

Again, due to budget restraints, we decided to explore the free entry clubs just downstairs from our room (rather than paying up to €50 each just to get in to one of the superclubs). Surprisingly, the music was quite good - kind of like the clubs we used to go to when we first started clubbing - and we really got into the dancing, finishing when the club closed at 6am! What a night!

12 JULY - SUNSHINE, PYROTECHNICS, DRUG DEALS AND SERENADES

A nice late sleep-in followed by fresh croissants, nutella and juice - what a great way to start our second day in Ibiza! Today we explored the market stalls and bought some jewellery before catching another bus to the stunning Calla Comte. We spent most of the day relaxing on the beach, taking turns swimming and shade-baking (under a beach umbrella), and gossiping about the hundreds of topless bathers about (only in Europe!). It was lovely and sunny, with a light breeze - just a perfect beach day, and a perfect location!

We caught the last bus back to San Antonio Bay, and walked to Cafe Del Mar (a famous cafe on the west coast) for the sunset and a cocktail or two. Cafe Del Mar started promoting cocktails and smooth music at sunset years ago, and became internationally famous when they started releasing compilation CDs of their music worldwide. We had to watch at least one sunset there! We also wanted to eat dinner there, but unfortunately Cafe Del Mar only does cocktails - so we decided to eat next door (at Savannah - where superclub promoters hold Hed Kandi's pre-party each week). What a treat! All of us decided that: dinner and a cocktail + people and sunset-watching = heaven.

After dinner we got to sit at the legendary Cafe Del Mar and enjoy a cocktail, though by now the sun had really set. Fortunately for us, a duo of fire-twirlers had set up directly in front of our table, and gave us an amazing pyrotechnic show! Susanna had difficulty concentrating, however, as a cute Welsh guy came over to our table and was trying to get her attention (and her number, hehe!). Sadly for him, she didn't oblige - she was out for a girls' holiday, after all! We finished our cocktails and took a short walk along the waterfront, before heading home.

Still in people-watching mode, we stood on our hostel's first floor balcony for a while, checking out the outrageous costumes clubbers had put together. Then Su (or was it Becca) noticed something a bit suspect... drug deals taking place right in front of us! We were fascinated, and watched in amazement for the next two hours. The scene went something like this - a dealer (posing as a necklace seller - but only holding three necklaces in his hand) would stand around at a very public corner, waiting for clubbers to approach him. Somehow the clubbers would always seem to know who the dealers were, and approached them boldly.

We watched as money changed hands right under our noses, and pills (or packets) were handed over. It was amazing the police didn't catch them - but it looked like a very professional operation - there were 'spotters' everywhere (people who were trying - not very successfully - to blend in by wearing nondescript clothing) who seemed to be watching the streets like meerkats. Fascinating to watch...

We then noticed that WE were being watched - by a group of lovestruck Italian boys who tried getting our attention by serenading us. It was funny and kinda cute, but we weren't interested (again - a girls' holiday) and eventually went to bed.

13 JULY - WHAT? MORE BEACH TIME?

Another day another beach - this time to the North-West of Ibiza, to a much quieter beachside town called xxxx? After a cool gelati, we read our books, chilled out on the beach and watched locals playing some sort of badminton-cum-ping-pong on the beach. We spotted some adorably cute Spanish boys (literally toy boys - waaay to young for us, but still...), who ended up calling out to us ('bella, bella!') but were too afraid to talk to us - it was a real laugh! We caught a late afternoon bus home and had to rush our packing to get to the airport on time (and I thought I lost my favourite purple undies), but we did make it and got to grab some dinner at the airport.

The island was beautiful from the plane windows - wish I'd taken the camera out then - and it was sad to leave so soon. It was fun to share a flight and train back with the girls. We were so overtired on the train we got very giggly and laughed till our sides hurt at the 'mind the gap' announcements.

We said goodbye at Clapham Junction, where I had to change trains, and I hugged my sis till her eyes nearly popped out. It was fab! We had a great time bonding on this girlie trip, and I hope we can all catch up again for another girlie holiday soon.

14 JULY - SUNRISE AND TIME TO REFLECT

Waiting for my second train at Clapham Junction, I saw the most amazing sunrise. It really put a magical glow on the whole experience. Reflecting on the trip to Ibiza - If I could go again I would stay for a week, away from San Antonio Bay (though the bus station was very handy), and I would save lots more so I could go into a couple of superclubs. Other than that, I would do everything else the same - beaches every day, late nights, late sleep-ins, BYO drinks and lots of market shopping.

I completely fell in love with Spain on this trip (Pamplona began to pull at my heart strings, and Ibiza captured it completely), and will definitely be going back.