England and Iberia Day 11

Waiting out the heat in Ibiza

Posted by Brian Hart on August 08, 2026 · 10 mins read
  • Start of day: Ibiza, Spain
  • End of day: Ibiza, Spain

The past three days – Palma, Barcelona, Ibiza – have been exceptionally warm. As in, drenched in sweat within a few minutes of walking away from the ship. Anticipating the heat, we didn’t leave the ship to tour Ibiza until 5:00pm, and even that was too early with the benefit of hindsight.

I really enjoyed Ibiza. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was like. Some combination of Carmel, California; Key West; and St. Augustine, Florida? I know I’m doing it an injustice, but it was unlike anywhere I’ve been before.

We took a shuttle from the port to the outskirts of the old town, then started strolling the streets. The shops were open, but we were still too early for the “proper” restaurants to open. As you walk along the waterfront you get more of the restaurants with photos of the food out front and someone trying to draw you in. Further up the hill, in the meandering side streets and narrow alleys, you find the more interesting establishments.

A young woman in a black crop top, white skirt and sunglasses pushed into her ponytail walks away from the camera down a shaded old-town street. The whitewashed wall of a building runs along the left with a small shopfront awning lettered Casa Afro further down. Leafy trees arch over the pavement, and beyond them a row of pastel buildings in cream, yellow and dusty pink stand in bright sun, one with a small flag hanging from a balcony. Parked scooters line the far kerb beside a black Mercedes van, and a green wheelie bin and dark litter bin stand on the tiled pavement. Deep blue cloudless sky above.

A restaurant table built from an old wooden cart with a spoked wheel, set for three on a sunlit pedestrian street. Woven rattan placemats hold glazed ceramic plates in green and terracotta, cut-glass tumblers and rolled napkins with cutlery. At the far end a shallow wooden bowl is piled with oranges, lemons, limes and a whole pineapple, beside a round terracotta urn holding dried flowers and a tall wrought-iron candle stand. A banana plant and potted greenery crowd in at the right under a white parasol, and cushioned stools with a striped linen cushion sit at the left. Across the street a red-washed building houses a small shop hung with jewellery and macrame.

A narrow, busy shopping street in the old town, walled by tall white buildings with green and brown louvred shutters and iron balconies. Souvenir displays crowd both sides -- a rotating rack of postcards, hoops of coloured bangles, keyrings, printed ceramic plates, straw bags and racks of jewellery, with a tray of fridge magnets held out on a stand at the right. A man in a blue polo shirt and denim shorts browses at the right; two boys in a salmon t-shirt and a white t-shirt walk down the middle, and a woman in a pink dress checks her phone beside a woman in cream. Cream parasols shade cafe tables further down, and a wrought-iron street lantern hangs at the top left against deep blue sky.

The frontage of Il DeK Italian Bistrot on an old-town street, its cream awning lettered IL DeK with ITALIAN BISTROT beneath and repeated in gold on the wall. Three large black-and-white mural portraits are painted on the shutters and panels -- a man in a hat smoking, a man in a flat cap slurping a strand of spaghetti, and a woman with long dark hair and heavy eyeliner. Through the open doorway at the right, a bar is stacked with wine bottles and wooden crates. Pavement tables in grey are laid with wine glasses, cutlery and coloured tumblers, surrounded by mismatched chairs in white, olive green, red and grey, with a bright red high table at the centre. Above, an ochre facade carries two tall windows with ornate wrought-iron balconies.

We found a lovely Italian place called Il Pavone that was just opening. We relaxed for a bit, sharing a few starters among us. It was good!

A wooden charcuterie board on a restaurant table, laid with folded slices of prosciutto, coppa and a dark chilli-flecked salami, wedges of hard yellow cheese, a crumbling white cheese and a blue-veined cheese pinned with cocktail sticks, arranged around a whole round ball of creamy burrata on a bed of shredded lettuce. A basket of bread sits at the right beside a green tumbler, with white side plates, black napkins, a bottle and a shaker around the edge of the frame. Three pairs of hands and forearms are visible at the far side of the table -- one in a navy and white floral dress, one bare, one in a black top -- with phones resting on the placemats.

A hand-painted ceramic tile sign set into a thick whitewashed wall, photographed at an angle. The tile shows a peacock in profile in blue-grey with its tail fanned out in green and ochre eye feathers, standing on a sprig of grass, with the words Il Pavone lettered beneath in flowing blue and green script. The rendered wall around it is rough and uneven, and a band of bright yellow paint runs down the wall at the right edge of the frame.

A narrow cobbled alley in the old town in low evening sun, lined with pavement tables and brightly painted wooden chairs in yellow, pink, purple, red and blue. At a white table in the foreground a woman in a navy and white floral dress leans over the table setting something down, while a young woman in a black crop top, white skirt and sunglasses on her head stands beside it looking toward the camera; the table holds glasses, a small dish and a bottle. A deep blue studded door with a dreamcatcher hanging beside it fills the left of the frame, and paper lanterns and bright fabric flower garlands are strung overhead between the balconies. Further down the alley a man in a white shirt sits reading at another table, with whitewashed walls and a chalkboard menu beyond.

After dinner, while I wouldn’t say the air temperature was exactly comfortable, it was at least reasonable. We did some more strolling and sightseeing before catching our shuttle back to the ship.

The Celebrity Apex seen broadside from across the water at golden hour, moored along the breakwater. The dark navy hull carries the words Celebrity APEX in white near the bow, with rows of white lifeboats slung along the superstructure and tier upon tier of balcony cabins above, topped by the glass-domed observation lounge and the funnel lettered APEX. Low evening light warms the white upper decks against a pale, cloudless blue sky, and the calm harbour water in the foreground is a deep rippled blue.

Brian takes a selfie on the quayside at golden hour, filling the right of the frame. He wears dark wraparound sunglasses and a white short-sleeved shirt printed with large blue palm leaves, and looks into the camera with a slight smile. Behind him across calm blue water the Celebrity Apex lies moored, its navy hull lettered Celebrity APEX and the low sun flaring off a window on the upper deck. A pale cream awning edge juts into the top left corner and a white rail runs along the bottom left. The sky fades from blue to warm gold at the horizon.

The Celebrity Apex viewed head-on from the pier at sunset, its dark blue bow rising above its own reflection in still water, mooring lines running down to bollards along the concrete quay at the left. The white superstructure and the glass-walled observation lounge catch the last warm light. A stanchion-and-rope barrier zigzags across the wooden decking in the foreground, a small red tender and a green gangway structure sit at the right, and low hills and moored boats are visible on both sides of the harbour under a clear sky graduating from blue to gold.

Turns out we’d picked the island’s biggest night. August 8 is Sant Ciriac, the heart of the Festes de la Terra, and it wraps up with fireworks over the port at midnight. Either through planning or by coincidence, the ship was set to stay until 11:59pm, so we had front-row seats for the show.

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