With the most expensive house prices in Spain, it was no surprise to see more than 700 companies demanding decent housing for their workers in Formentera. This follows the call from the ANPE union for help to face the mass exit of teachers this summer as yet again they are forced to leave with their “homes on their backs” due to the start of holiday rental season and the saturation of tourism on the islands.
44 hotels have joined the Protegim Ses Sargantanes project, an initiative to install over 100 shelters in their gardens for our beloved Pityusic lizards, which are threatened with extinction.
Clean seas activist, ultra-endurance athlete and Olympic swimmer Neil Agius failed in his bid to set a world record for an open-water swim between Mallorca and Ibiza in June. With the aim of lobbying governments to implement new conservation rules proposed by the United Nations for the protection of the marine environment, his attempt at the longest non-stop, unassisted, current-neutral open-water sea swim was abandoned after 46km due to multiple jellyfish stings.
After a disappointing 2022, Ibiza’s Rural Environment department has announced a huge harvest of between 1,000 and 1,500 tonnes of watermelon, from around 40 hectares planted by the sector this year. This resulted in a 55% increase in sales and 40% in turnover; great news for traditional Berenada celebrated at es Puig des Molins last August, 8.
A turtle born in Ibiza has been rescued and released in Italy after being found with a broken jaw caused by fishing nets in the waters off Naples. Technicians located a chip inside Paki which showed she had been born here in 2020… what a swimmer!
What can you do in two hours, twenty-one minutes and sixteen seconds? Drink six pints of beer? Binge-watch three episodes of Succession? What William Cheboi Rutto can do is win the Santa Eulària Ibiza Marathon. The Kenyan runner brought a little taste of world class distance running to Ibiza – and one of the loveliest marathon routes in the world.
© Juan Antonio Riera
A successful test flight of a seaplane owned by Isla Air Express has provided real hope that a direct inter-island service between Mallorca and Ibiza is not too far away. This follows news that a Madrid company, NextNorth, has unveiled plans for a four-minute helicopter taxi service between the two islands. Both schemes are subject to approval by the Aviation Safety board.
Nine restaurants from Ibiza and Formentera were awarded the Soletes del Verano award by the Repsol Guide: Can Xicu de sa Torre (Sant Miquel), Can Tixedó de Forada (Sant Antoni), Ses Casetes Art Café de Sant Mateu (Sant Antoni), El Carmen de Cala d›Hort (Sant Josep), La Cava Ibiza (Ibiza), Es Mercat (Ibiza), Rascalobos de Sant Jordi (Sant Josep), Il Giardinetto (Ibiza) and Cafuné (Sant Francesc, Formentera).
In a shock move, Pepe Roselló, owner of the legendary Space nightclub, has announced that his beloved club will open again – not in Ibiza, but in Italy! “We are happy to continue the 27-year history of Space Ibiza here in Riccione,” Pepe said.
Formentera’s Mobility department has continued its controls on cars traveling to the island with the installation of licence-reading cameras. Between June 1 and September 30, visitors with cars must first obtain authorization for their stay with a payment of 6 euros per day.