We celebrated Margot's birthday over two days, the first in a Cala between Eivissa and Sant Antoni, the largest and second largest towns on Ibiza, where there were swimming and snorkelling, and a three course dinner with Spanish cava or champagne by the cockpit table light.

The second day we celebrated in Sant Antoni by going out to dinner. The town has to be seen to be believed. It is a version of Blackpool in the Balearics. It is high rise apartment block after high rise apartment block, with the bay edged by night clubs, bars, cafes, fun fairs, Ferris wheels, and the loudest doof doof music ever heard. Pure unadulterated tat. The vast majority of the tourists are from the UK, and there is a scarcity of clothing, an excess of tattoos and sunburn, and the cafes serve chip butties and Sunday roasts. No ancient town or historical site in sight!

We consulted TripAdvisor for the best restaurant, as the pilot book just said there were thousands of places to eat - it occurred to us in hindsight that he didn't think anywhere was worth recommending. We however felt confident TripAdvisor could be trusted when it said the Kasbah was the second most popular restaurant of 147 in Sant Antoni and the third most popular of the 1,224 in Ibiza. After walking along a tatty strip bordering the beautiful bay at sunset, past "Shoping Centre" and blond flamenco dancers, and girls in thong bikinis (as such, somewhat overdressed), we came upon a most unprepossessing cafe called Kasbah. It had a pool table and was televising a sports channel of cricket and soccer. However the food was good and our Irish waitress lovely. And the cava sangria was delicious. We had a most entertaining time watching the passing parade - lurex evening bikinis being a particular feature.

We opted to leave the next day and sheltered in a quiet Cala, the Lehman's and Leslie's last, as tomorrow we head for mainland Spain at Denia, then on to Valencia. With the tropical storm last night, the heat has at last broken. We were told it had been between 34 and 40 degrees for two months, the hottest period in the last thirty years. Here's hoping that is the end of it.