| Ibiza and Formentera - the islands of happiness |
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| Written by jane69 | |||
| Friday, 12 August 2005 | |||
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;) The city of Ibiza, the capital, is also popularly known by the name Vila. It is perched atop a promontory that dominates the entire port. Rising above the Upper Town are the twins outlines of the Cathedral and Castle. Down below in the Lower Town are the Sa Penya and Sa Marina Quarters, bustling with the boutiques, restaurants and shops of all kinds that have made this part of Ibiza Town the city’s nerve centre. Towards the end of the sixties, Ibiza became famous thanks to the hippie movement, ;) which endowed it with the status of a counterculture paradise. Enduring legacies of this movement are the island’s ebullient festive side and the so-called "Ad Lib" fashion, a source of revenue and of an image projected to the world at large. ;) Dotting Ibiza’s shoreline are the beaches of Talamanca, Figueretes, Platja d’en Bossa and Platja des Cavallet, though the most famous beach on the whole island is, without a shadow of a doubt, the wide stretch of Ses Salines, famed for being the first nudist beach in Spain. The Santa Eularia des Riu area is the island’s holiday center. The humped form of the Puig de Missa presides over the town, a town located on the one river (the Balcar) ;) in the entire Balearics group. Sant Antoni de Portmany is second only to the city of Ibiza as the most popular and lively place on the island. In sharp contrast, the north coast, known as Els Amunts, is practically virgin and has scarcely any a town or village. This coast is rugged and sheer, and offers few points of access. Formentera, viewed by some as the last bastion of earthly paradise on the Mediterranean, ;) is solely accessible by ferry from Ibiza. Formentera is a tinny island with an area of less than 51 square mi, separated from Ibiza by a distance of just 11 mi. Apart from the two rocky promontories of La Mola and Cap de Barbaria, it is practically flat and has just one town – Sant Francesc de Formentera. Owing to its small size and fine sands, Formentera is a magnet for tourist seeking escape and tranquility. Fortunately, it has grown in harmony with the surroundings and its own resources, and has succeeded in maintaining a balance between modernity and tradition. ;) Sant Francesc de Formentera is the only town on Formentera and acts as the focal point and hub for the four areas of settlement: Pilar de la Mola, Es Pujols, Sant Ferran de Ses Roques and La Savina. Situated near Estany Pudent, halfway between La Savina, the island’s sole port facility, and Sant Ferran, practically all official services are concentrated here. In the olden days, the Church of Sant Francesc was used as a fort to fend off marauding corsairs. Es Pujols is the main tourist resort on island, a home to the majority of hotels and nightspots. The Pilar de La Mola is the highest point on Formentera, the ancient Frumentaria of the Romans. Before reaching the Pilar, a panoramic view of the entire island opens up, with the beach of Migjorn on one side and Pujols, on the other. |
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| Last Updated ( Sunday, 18 December 2005 ) | |||
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