Formentera

A Caribbean-like island

Formentera – a place of endless beaches with fine white sand and water that shimmers in every colour, from pale turquoise to deep blue as the sea fuses with the sky on the horizon. Formentera is a slice of the Caribbean in the Mediterranean – only nicer, according to the opinion of everyone who knows and loves this smallest of the Balearic Islands. Formentera means tranquillity. The loud, hectic world seems miles away here, as if locked away behind a hundred walls. Days spent by the sea, nights at one of the little white towns – it?s a completely different lifestyle. Even the ?main city?, Sant Francesc, only has a population of 3000. People meet at the local restaurants – or by the sea. Though, in summer at least, real Formenterans give the ?in? beaches a wide berth. In that season, these beaches are teeming with the yachts of the rich and famous, and the beachside restaurants charge astronomical prices for mediocre food.

It?s to be avoided. There are lots of gorgeous, tranquil beaches with traditional beach shacks known as ?chiringuitos?, which are as much part of the island as the wind and sea. The island has been an artists? hub since the 1980s. Music greats, from Bob Marley to Pink Floyd, would party on the beach, often wielding self-rolled joints. Painters and writers would meet at Fonda Pepe in Sant Ferran. Several of them continue to live on the island to this day. Formentera only has a small selection of properties available for purchase. No one who lives here wants to sell – and hardly any permits are given for new constructions. The plan is for the island to stay just the way it is: original and authentic. And the island?s government is doing all it can to ensure the hordes of summer tourists don?t become overwhelming. So anyone able to live here is particularly privileged.