A 65-year-old man of American nationality died this Thursday after drowning off the island of Espalmador, in Formentera, after jumping into the sea despite the red flag flying due to the sea state.

I grew up with the beach in front of me. Before I knew almost anything about the world, I already knew how to hold a crab net from my grandfather, how the wet sand clung to my feet (also the varnish) and how the castles we built with my mother and my brother, with a bucket or just with our hands, had minutes counted before the sea took them away. Later came the long summers of adolescence: hours and hours with friends sitting on the sand doing nothing more than chatting, laughing and jumping again from that rock we saw from our house. Mornings, afternoons and evenings. The beach was our natural place. We didn't go there, we lived there.

In Formentera, calm seas provoke unease. A strange feeling in a sun and beach destination. The same anticyclone that encourages the arrival of tourists and recreational boats fuels the arrival of dinghies. And more and more are arriving. The figures confirm it: in the last weekend of May alone, 15 boats with 236 people on board arrived at the southern Pitiusa island, 17 of whom were minors. Data from the Government Delegation in the Balearic Islands confirms the trend: by May 31, 63 dinghies with 1,056 people had arrived in Formentera, 49% more than in 2025. Another 156 people arrived in Ibiza. There is no one left who disputes the facts: the route between Algeria and the Balearic Islands – and especially Formentera – is a massive and consolidated migratory route. Less than a year ago, the Spanish government was not so clear about it.

Our objective is the Torre de la Gavina, one of the five towers built in Formentera during the 18th century for the surveillance and defense of its fragile coastline. The other constructions are the Torre de la Guardiola, on the island of Espalmador, the Torre de Punta Prima, next to Es Pujols, the Torre del Pi del Català, on Migjorn beach, and the Torre del Garroveret, near Cap de Barbaria. The route we have traced circumvents the Estany del Peix, a large natural pond open to the sea by La Boca, which was the island's first major fishing and salt port. Indeed, the venda de Porto-salè takes its name from the Portus salarius, a salt exploitation from Roman times. An extraordinary place where natural and heritage values have built a powerful and extensive cultural landscape. We will also visit the public estate of Can Marroig, one of the emblematic corners of the Ses Salines de Eivissa i Formentera Natural Park. For inquiries about the island's public transport, we can consult the website busformetera.com, where we will find all the information about routes and timetables.

The former vice-president of the Parliament of Catalonia and one of the leading figures of the independence movement, Josep Costa, received a message at the end of April: “We’ve done it! The PP has voted for it! The King will sign this!”. It was from a previous life before politics. It was the technical secretary of the Consell de Formentera, Àngel Navarro, with whom he had worked as a lawyer at the island institution. Both drafted the reform of the Constitution which, years later, has ended up giving a senator to Formentera. It was a “regionalist and assertive” text, recalls Costa, born in Ibiza: “Along the way, many things have been destroyed, but some have survived”. For example, the toponym ‘Illes Balears’ in Catalan; and the fact that it states that the Constitution “restored” democracy in Spain, an implicit reference to the II Republic.

Starting from the next elections, Formentera will have its own senator. The constitutional reform that has allowed this since April 23rd has been the latest milestone for a territory that has fewer than 12,000 inhabitants but has a growing influence on the institutional system. “It is important because it provides the possibility of having a person who specifically looks out for this island during the processing of numerous laws made in Madrid,” explains political analyst Toni Fornés.

The plenary session of Congress approved this Thursday the reform of the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime (LOREG) that adapts the regulations to the recent constitutional modification that recognizes Formentera as its own electoral constituency to elect a senator. The text now goes to the Senate for final approval.

One of the makeshift boats that arrived this week on the coasts of Mallorca carried the body of a person on board. With this body, there are now three that have been located in the last few days on the coasts of the Balearic Islands.

A group of fishermen found the lifeless body of a woman this Wednesday at noon in waters near the island of Formentera, as confirmed by the Civil Guard.

An investigation led by the Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (Creaf) warns that the horseshoe snake (Hemorrhois hippocrepis), an invasive snake that already occupies 90% of Ibiza and can swim to the islets, "threatens" to extinguish the Pitiusa lizard (Podarcis pityusensis).

A study led by the Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (Creaf) warns that the horseshoe whip snake (Hemorrhois hippocrepis), an invasive snake that already occupies 90% of Ibiza and can swim to islets, "threatens" to extinguish the Balearic lizard (Podarcis pityusensis).

A 49-year-old man is admitted to the Policlinic Nuestra Señora del Rosario in Ibiza after suffering a brutal homophobic beating in the early hours of Friday to Saturday in Formentera, as reported by the entity La Clau de s’Armari and condemned by the island council and the government.

L’Estufador is a coastal area located on the southern slope of La Mola, between El Ram and Punta Roja. The strict toponym, documented as early as 1712, refers to a cove at the foot of the cliff where there is a fishermen's pier, close to the outlet of the Torrent de la Talaia and Punta de les Pesqueretes. There is also the path of L’Estufador, which connects these landing places with the nucleus of El Pilar de La Mola, crossing the territories of the Talaiassa estate. Popular tradition associates the name L’Estufador with peculiar cavities in the rock that, when receiving waves on stormy days, expelled water vertically, creating a spring. These rock formations were removed by fishermen during the first half of the seventies, to prevent them from favoring the accumulation of posidonia. (source: eeif.es)

The plenary session of the Senate has definitively approved this Wednesday the reform of the Spanish Constitution promoted by the Balearic Parliament that modifies article 69.3 so that the island of Formentera has its own senator and is detached from the electoral tandem it currently forms with Ibiza.

The Consell Insular de Formentera has decided to intervene motu proprio on the coast due to the lack of action by the Spanish government (competent administration) in maintaining the protection elements of the dune systems of the Natural Park of Ses Salines.

The Civil Guard has opened an investigation to clarify the circumstances of the death of two bodies found on the beaches of Formentera.

The Civil Guard is investigating the discovery of the body of a dead woman found on a beach in Formentera. According to initial information, the victim may be pregnant, although this remains to be confirmed by the autopsy.

The Constitution will maintain the Castilianized name Ibiza, instead of Eivissa, which is what the Balearic Parliament had requested. The Congress of Deputies has approved this designation in the framework of the debate for Formentera to have its own senator. The proposal originated from a letter from the autonomous Chamber that proposed to give the youngest of the Pitiusa Islands a representative in the Upper Chamber and, in addition, established the designation "Eivissa". However, the PP amended it, stating that, for a "technical" reason, it is appropriate to maintain the toponym in Spanish. The PSOE's abstention allowed it to move forward.

The Congress has endorsed this Thursday the fourth modification of the Constitution of the democracy, and the reform will serve for Formentera to have its own senator. The proposal started from a text from the Balearic Parliament approved unanimously, and has received the majority support of the Lower House, with 312 votes in favor, 33 against, and five abstentions. Vox was the only party that opposed it, because it is against increasing institutional spending. However, this approval is not definitive, as the Senate must ratify it.

In the final hours before the Congress of Deputies vote to decide whether Formentera will have its own senator, there has been unanimous pressure from citizens and organizations on the island in favor of having their own voice. The president of the Formentera Island Council, Óscar Portas, made a "clear and firm" appeal to the parties represented in the Spanish Parliament to support the constitutional reform that would allow the island to have its own senator. The appeal comes on the eve of a vote that Portas himself has described as a "decision of profound democratic significance." According to the island president, this is not a partisan debate, but rather a matter of "institutional responsibility" in the face of a "historic and widely shared" demand by the people of Formentera. In this regard, he warned that "there is no room for abstention" in a vote that, in his opinion, will determine whether the island can be heard "with its own voice" in the Senate. Portas insisted that the proposal has the support of the island's institutions and the Parliament, and appealed for compliance with this political mandate. "We are not asking for a symbolic gesture, but for a fair and consistent decision in the general interest," he asserted. He also rejected the notion that creating a senator for the island is a privilege, defining it instead as a "matter of institutional dignity" and the effective defense of Formentera's interests. Platform of those affected by the coastal delimitation

Meanwhile, the Consell's position has received the support of the Platform of those affected by the coastal delimitation in Formentera, which has also urged the groups in Congress to facilitate the initiative's approval. The organization believes the measure aligns with the Senate's role as a chamber of territorial representation and would allow for the direct addressing of the island's specific needs. The platform emphasizes Formentera's unique character, marked by its island status, size, and isolation—factors that, it argues, justify distinct representation. In this regard, it points out that other territories with similar populations, such as El Hierro, already have their own senator. Both the Council and the platform agree that the vote is a historic opportunity to resolve a long-standing demand. Therefore, they urge the parties to act with foresight and set aside political calculations in a decision that, they assert, directly affects the quality of Formentera's democratic representation within the State.

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