September 4/16th 1995
September 14th 1100 On the rocks
Into the last two days of another Ibizan sojourn with Amanda this time. Its been pretty much as expected with few surprises and I don’t feel in any way let down by the island. Its not as cheap as it once was however but it has given all it usually offers. The bill for the twelve nights here was 91,000 pesetas, that feels like a hefty price to pay, even for this place between two people (about £40 a night by 1995 standards, it’s now about £130 a night per apartment in high season there and £74 in low season, and that’s quite reasonable by current Ibizan prices).
However, other things have changed, these more about my perceived nature of the people now coming here. It’s less of everything. Less friendly, less sexual, less good at the clubs and also less adventurous than it used to be. I can imagine, for many, it might be a little stale now in comparison to a decade ago. However, these are only minor criticisms, (if indeed they are criticisms at all). I think the island has retained it’s integrity well. I might well say much the same thing about London, leading me to think it is perhaps me that has changed. Maybe I am just getting older and (possibly) wiser about my expectations of the island.
I am disappointed more people did not come in the end. Does that also say something about how people feel about the island now. Or indeed me.
Enough about that side of things. There were plenty of positives to the time we spent here. No sexual encounters as such (well a few), that’s quite a change. Having a rental car made a difference, we travelled to all those places I’d enjoyed before. Cala d Hort, and the north eastern cliffs (no jellyfish this time!).We also toured the north western villages and outlying areas as well, beautiful areas especially around San Mateo and Santa Ines, a lot of greenery sitting on rich red ochre soils, to contrast with the azure and ultra marines of the Ibizan sea and skies.
We made it to Ku (or rather Privilege as it’s now been renamed), an interesting experience. though not one I’d want to repeat unless in a large group., as it felt too large and overwhelming a space to be fully enjoyed. I think .
Meeting a guy in Anfora for sex was more like par for the course Though even that wasn’t exactly as overwhelmingly exciting as previous experiences. I did not go out on my own so much as Amanda was with me but I did not feel I wanted to I guess. Age creeping in here. I think the ability to feel so well here becomes more and more important each time I visit the island now. Everything that seems to afflict me in London goes away, more or less. That tension, the pain and ill health caused by pollutants all go. Only mosquito bites and sun exposure are annoyances but there’s no competition really!. All in all there is plenty to celebrate here and Amanda felt the same way. Maybe a larger group would have been more interesting for us, though she has not said that at all but it would be a fair comment.
The weather has been good after a huge storm on our first day with hail falling , the first time I’ve seen hail fall here in fact. But generally it’s been warm with maxes around 27 to 32C. And as always its been a good place to take some of the future.
September 14th 1400 On the rocks
Talking earlier about reflections . I always seem to plan something here and then never do anything about it when i get back to London. I don’t think its because I lose interest in an idea but its more that it becomes difficult to find the energy to put it into practice., at least that’s my perception of it. It maybe that in fact its just I don’t try hard enough to do anything , that I’m inherently lazy. Or that it doesn’t seem practical once I return to London life again. Or that I don’t take risks anymore , living in a safer sex culture for example.
However, there are a number of things that I could attempt quite easily.. joining a gym again to feel better about myself, to go out more often, easier said than done as there has to be a reason to meet people or a context. On a more complicated level I would like to get away from the HIV-AIDS area directly and work on something like the ”Freedom Express” idea , and here it seems very plausible (as did the Ibizan shop and health shop ideas here in Ibiza a couple of years ago). In London though it is harder to get these ideas off the ground, to make them work out. The ”Freedom Express” idea still interests me but it’s going to need to be re-thought in terms of how to realistically get it off the ground. One possibility might be to be a backer for it initially with capital investment and a sound business plan . A market testing phase being an obvious first step .
That was the sum total of all I wrote or committed to my diary, at least, in this twelve day trip.
On to an Ibizan Diary June 1996, part 1