The island of Ibiza, off the Mediterranean coast of Spain, is a place whose very landscape evokes stories. The first one I heard was about Es Vedrô, a mythic mound of limestone that rises some 1,200 feet out of the sea near Ibiza's southwestern tip. Anyone familiar with ibicenco lore will tell you that this deserted rocky hump, inhabited only by goats, lizards and a few falcons, is said to emanate strange lights. Some claim that Es Vedrô is the Isle of the Sirens, where the creatures' enchanting voices nearly lured Odysseus and his sailors to their deaths. Others swear to having seen UFOs circling its craggy peaks. Standing on Cala d'Hort, the beach with the best view of Es Vedrô, I overheard a man explain to his friends that science has proven that the spot has a stronger magnetic pull than any place else on Earth, after the north and south poles. "It accounts for all those strange stories about sailors' compasses and gauges going haywire here," he said.
Eerily beautiful, Es Vedrô is an astonishing sight and one of the countless Ibiza treasures that often get lost in the island's reputation as a frenzied party destination. True, the influx of pop music celebrities and DJs in recent years has brought more than the common number of ravers and partying teenagers ashore. But those who write Ibiza off as a decadent playground are missing out. There's another side to la isla blanca (the white island) that is authentic and serene.
One of the Balearic Islands, Ibiza is only twenty-five miles long and twelve miles wide. Its hilly interior is largely rural, with pine forests, lush valleys and tiny villages. The 130-mile coastline, with its expansive sandy beaches and small rocky coves, unfurls around these pastoral landscapes like a white velvet ribbon. The two main towns are Ibiza—the island's capital, which dates from the 16th century—on the southeastern coast, and Sant Antoni, a self-dubbed rave resort, in the west.
These two places, situated on opposite sides of the island, could also not be further apart in character. Ibiza Town has a bustling harbor and narrow cobblestoned streets; Sant Antoni has high-rise developments and slabs of concrete. Ibiza has cute restaurants and shops; Sant Antoni has noisy clubs and bars. Ibiza attracts well-heeled visitors who come from their country villas or hotels for the occasional night out; Sant Antoni attracts clubbers who think of a vacation as one long night out. The good news is that geography largely confines the party scene to the western part of the island—Sant Antoni and its immediate environs. (The handful of discotheques hidden in the eastern countryside tend to be more expensive and therefore more exclusive.)
During my recent trip to the island, I quickly learned that there is no need ever to venture west, as the other areas have charisma and beauty to spare. Take, for example, the wild north, which is gloriously undeveloped. There are dozens of small, deserted coves of white sand and azure water that can be explored either by boat or by hiking down the rocky slopes. Perhaps one of the best ways to enjoy the splendid isolation is to stay at the Hotel Hacienda Na Xamena, the only five-star property on the island, which sits atop a 600-foot cliff and boasts spectacular sea views (and, in some rooms, a Jacuzzi from which to enjoy them).
Ibiza's circuit of well-marked main roads encourages spontaneity. A twenty-minute drive inland takes you to rural farmland, where you'll find groves of olive, lemon, fig and almond trees; or follow the roads to various country villages, whose whitewashed houses and chapels make them look as if they were frozen in time. The area in the north around Sant Joan de Labritja, where Jade Jagger owns a home, is particularly delightful, as is Santa Gertrudis de Fruitera, in central Ibiza, a tiny gem of a town, with cafés, galleries and shopping for handcrafted leather goods and antiques.
