This season Defected's Hannah Thomas will be bringing you weekly updates direct from Ibiza.
Out of the plethora of sandy beaches and cute little coves in Ibiza, I think I may have found my favourite yet. Aguas Blancas, situated in the north east on the road from San Carlos to Cala san Vicente, boasts around a half mile stretch of soft, fine sand backed with high cliffs and unspoilt surroundings. One of the reasons it is so popular with island residents is that, unlike many other of the larger beaches, it has remained unblemished by development. It’s quite tricky to access though because of the cliffs and so the only way to get there is by car or bike and a scramble down the step steps from the car park.
Unsurprisingly Aguas Blancas’ best feature is the sea; christened ‘white waters’ because of the colour of the sea caps produced by the constant fresh breeze (a God send in August and perfect for maximising the tan). Although the seabed is sandy there are a few rocks dotted around so watch out for those or else you’ll cut up your feet like I managed to! There’s also a cluster of small isles (big rocks really) that poke through the sea a swim’s length from water’s edge, two of which make great platforms for jumping and belly flopping.
I also really liked the way there are a real mix of people there; the hippies, families, posers, locals and tourists make for some great people watching. It’s also actually one of the few official nudist beaches so also great for sausage watching!! Although it wasn’t as crowded as, say, Salinas, it did get quite busy so next time I head there I’m going to make sure I arrive early to bag a better spot nearer the shore. The sand further back was ridiculously hot so my feet good a real pasting that day. It’s also a good idea to get a spot nearer the sea because from around 4ish the sun begins to disappear behind the cliffs leaving much of the beach in shade. If it’s a peaceful day you’re after I’d also recommend trekking further up to the most northerly point of the beach which is only accessed over the rocks which creep down from the cliff face to the shore. Towards that end of the beach there’s also a spot where you can smother yourself in the muddy clay which is said to do wonders for the skin if you let it dry in the sun before washing it off in the sea. Whether there’s any truth in that I’m not sure but either way it was fun caking ourselves so we resembled a group of poorly ETs.
On the partying front, I have to say that overall, I was a bit disappointed with my nights out on the town this week. I headed back to Wisdom of the Glove at Pacha for the first time since May and once again it didn’t quite work for me, despite the ace line up. I’m pleased to report there were far more people than last time but the problem of there being an obvious discord between the musical direction of the night and the crowd still remains. It was felt immediately as soon as we entered; the majority of the white-linened VIP crowd not really knowing what to do with Four Tet’s experimental sound. The vibe was much better in the funky room where DJ Tennis was working his magic but this was short lived. Thugfucker soon cleared the dance floor; another testament to what seems to be a growing trend of producers preferring to showcase their own productions rather than playing for the punters.
I also popped into Radio 1’s gig at Ushuaia for the last few hours and once again I wasn’t massively impressed. I don’t know what I was expecting but I probably shouldn’t have been expected anything other than a pop concert. Not that it’s a bad thing, but I think the average age was around 22 and it seemed as though they were just hungry for the hits. Another issue was that the DJs only had half an hour sets so it never felt that any of them really managed to get going properly. My age really showed when someone (I can’t remember who) dropped ‘Bump n Grind’. Me and my crew in the production box were loving it but judging from the sea of blank faces, I reckon only a handful of the crowd had ever heard it! Aargh!
Enough moaning though. Defected In The House was, once again a top night out. Tensnake was definitely the crowd’s favourite as he dropped ‘Mainline’ and ‘Coma Cat’, but for me Osunlade played the stand out set of the night mixing it up with an eclectic selection of tracks including Ninetoes’ ‘Fine’, ‘Envision’ and one of my all time Defected favourites The Cure and the Cause’s ‘Fish go deep’. I’ve never seen him fail to catch his crowd with his tribal beats and soulful grooves.
Thank the lord for Defected who never fail to deliver the goods.
Hannah x
Defected In The House is at Booom! Ibiza every Saturday throughout the season - click here for full line-up details
