Friday Five: Ibiza Beaches

I was positively surprised by Ibiza. I thought it would be full of pissed up backpackers trashing the place, but it was utterly delightful. We were out of season and our hours were more 7am -10pm than 7pm - 10am, but we found some perfect beaches to while away the time, sip on a sangria, feel the sand beneath our toes and bob about in the Mediterranean Sea. Here are some of my favourites (yes, there are more than five: mi casa; mis reglas).

1. Babylon Beach

This was the closest spot to our accommodation and we walked down to see the sunrise a couple of times. Folks did yoga here to the gentle accompaniment of the lapping waves, and, although the bar was closed (don't worry - we found another one very close by!), it made for an idyllic setting. 

2. Marina Santa Eulalia

Just round the next inland is a beautiful cove full of yachts and hotels - the lights are very pretty on the water at night. 

3. Peurto de Ibiza

Not strictly a beach - more of a marina - at Old Ibiza Town. A perfect spot to sit and sip sangria while watching the boats coming in... and going out again. 

4. Playa Niu Blau

Great sandy beach with gradual drop-off into the sea for easy swimming. A cute little inlet at the far end of the beach was where boats were moored including one with a built-in slide. 

5. Playa Cala Pada

More good swimming and a restaurant right on the beach, where we shared an excellent seafood paella.

6. S'Argamassa Beach/ Cala Martina

There are eye-wateringly expensive resorts along this strip of beach where you can rent a day bed by the hour and sit by the pool ordering drinks and snacks all day long. We peered through the fence, then sat on the beach and swam in the sea for free before ordering a bottle of Albariño. There's an Ibiza to suit every budget.

7. Playa De Santa Eulalia

The main beach in town - the sand is raked every morning and the good folk of the town come to soak up the rays in the afternoon. The duathletes raced and rode up and down the promenade, and it offered spectacular opportunities for reflection in the evening. 

Word of the Week

Pilgarlic - defined by the OED as (arch) bald head; bald-headed man; poor creature; a man looked upon with humorous contempt or mock pity.

Often preceded by the epithet 'poor', the pil is (or was in the seventeenth century when the word was most common) pronounced the same way as peel, and so the image is clearly of a peeled garlic clove. Possibly this is due to the fact that a person who peels garlic would have hands that smell of it and so might be shunned or abandoned by others.

Another suggestion comes from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. When the pilgrims arrived in Canterbury, the Pardoner gave a barmaid money to buy a good supper, but when he returned, he found another man enjoying her company and eating his food, making him sleep under the stairs. “And ye shall hear the tapster made the Pardoner pull/ Garlick all the long night till it was near end day.” In this context, it sounds somewhat obscene, if we imagine what part of the man's anatomy looked like peeled garlic.

Either way, it is a pretty solid insult and one it might be fun to slip into conversation and see whether you can get away with it.