Happy Hours in Formentera

Ro and I spent just one week in Formentera, the week around Ferragosto. It's enough time to explore the island at a leisurely pace. We got around by scooter, which we'd booked from Italy through the agency, and I'd recommend it. Our hotel was in Platja Es Arenals. The beach is really lovely, and on it sits the Chiringuito El Pirata (a beach bar) that comes alive in the evening, at happy hour. Our holiday in Formentera was great fun with all those beach parties, and it's truly wonderful to stay on the beach after happy hour watching the stars and then dive in for a midnight swim. There are quite a few chiringuitos scattered around the island; the most famous are Tanga, Big Sur (near the salt flats), Mogambo in Migjorn, and so on.

As for the beaches, it's hard to find an ugly one in Formentera, but the most beautiful we saw were Cala Saona, where the sea is an incredible colour, Platja de Ses Illetes (the most famous one), truly extraordinary, Platja de Migjorn and Illa de s'Espalmador (the most beautiful of all). The name comes from "spalmare" (to spread) because behind the beach you can do mud treatments, though they're not recommended, since rumour has it this mud comes from a pigsty not far away……! Here the sand is pink and the water crystal clear and shallow for several metres. The day we visited this beach we'd joined a catamaran trip around the island, which I highly recommend.

We stopped at the natural pools for snorkelling and I must say we saw quite a few fish! The sunsets in Formentera are unforgettable… there's no shortage of strategic spots to watch them, like the Mola lighthouse, beautiful at night too under a full moon, Cap de Barbaria (where there's also a small cave that presents itself as a hole in the rock you have to climb down into), from which you enjoy a magnificent view, or from the El Mirador restaurant. A restaurant where you eat really good paella is Pequena Isla, on the road to the Mola lighthouse (Loc. La Mola Tel. 971/327 068), booking only, it's always very busy. In the same area, at Pilar de la Mola, the Hippy market takes place on Wednesdays from 4 pm to 10 pm, nice to visit. There's just one town where most of the hotels and restaurants are concentrated, Es Pujols, very pretty for an evening stroll.

The week in Formentera flew by and I must say that among the other Balearic islands it's definitely the one that struck me most, and this holiday will remain a lovely memory! Annalisa