I?ve just gotten back from a sailing trip in the Balearics. We started with a hellish crossing from Mallorca to Ibiza. Our 39 foot yacht got sandwiched by two storms which tossed us around enough to make Patrick and I pop like a champagne bottle. Bleh. Twelve hours later we arrived at Santa Eulalia in Ibiza. The sun came out and the water stopped foaming; the holiday had begun.

After a day of relaxing in Santa Eulalia harbour, we headed to Ibiza town to see what all the fuss was about. It was loud and crazy, which seduced Nick, Ian and I to head to the Manumission closing party at Privilege. Rumour has it that Privilege is the largest club in the world. The sound system was easily the best I?ve ever heard, and it definitely had an awe inspiring atmosphere.

After a short nap, we sailed off to a beach on Formanterra. This was the chilled out part of the trip, and it was much appreciated after Privilege. Formanterra was relatively undeveloped, as it can only be accessed by ferry. It reminded me of a beach that I used to camp on in high school. Very peaceful

The next day we sailed up to San Antonio to catch the sun set at Caf? Del Mar. As a long time fan of Caf? Del Mar?s mix CDs, I really enjoyed this. Just as the sun was going down, a schooner sailed across the bay, casting a clich?d but beautiful silhouette. Everyone clapped. The business of San Antonio again led to a long night of dancing and drinking. It got a bit hazy near the end, but I apparently went up good looking girl in Eden (a club) and did a jig. While it made Rob laugh, she was un-amused.

We then headed to Benirras, a small beach which is only accessible by a dirt road. It was a stunning little cove with warm water, lots of fish, and happy people on the beach. If I ever head back to Ibiza, it?s on the top of my list of places to go back to. It felt just as untouched as Formanterra, but less out of the way. The only catch was that since it was on the north side of Ibiza, the sand was a bit rocky.

The next day we headed back to Mallorca to return the boat. Luckily there was no storm waiting and a consistent wind allowed us to sail all the way back. Nice. After returning the boat we still had one more night, which we spent in Magaluf, ?Mallorca?s Party Capital?. It was one of the most disgusting examples of globalization gone wrong that I?ve ever encountered. Somehow the English had managed to transform this beach town into Chav heaven. I found it incredibly entertaining. There was no Spanish food there, but it?s renowned as the best place to get a pint, a curry, and a punch in the face. I had a few pints, a curry, and witnessed more than one punch in the face. The reputation was well deserved. The funniest bit was the piss poor karaoke that went on at our hotel pool. It was part of some Red Cross fundraiser. Despite the over amplified speakers, and the abusive elevator music, hundreds of pale and overweight families basked in it. Amazing.

See the rest of my pictures here. Thanks to Ian for being such a great skipper.